Per https://buymeacoffee.com/ripplebiz/region-filtering:
> After some discussions, and that there is some confusion
around #channels and #regions, it's been decided to drop
the requirement to have the '#' prefix. So, region names
will just be plain alphanumeric (and '-'), with no # prefix.
> For backwards compatibility, the names will internally have
a '#' prepended, but for all client GUI's and command lines,
you generally won't see mention of '#' prefixes. The next
firmware release (v1.12.0) and subsequent Ripple firmware
and Liam's app will have modified UI to remove the '#' requirement.
So, silently add, but don't duplicate, for users who have already
added hashmarks.
Jack Kingsman