No not wrong. How did you know the first hits were your friend and not someone else? Because it's your friend you already knew where he worked and what his facebook is. How will someone who does not have that insider knowledge know the first two hits are your friend and the other 200 are someone else?
So some psycho gets mad at you for ganking him and starts harassing someone who he thinks is you. This person who shares your name then doesn't have any idea what the hell is going on.
reVerse on
0
jackalFuck Yes. That is an orderly anal warehouse.Registered Userregular
The amount of fear mongering about this is staggering. By itself a name means nothing. It has no valuable information to it at all. The simple act of having your real name show up on the WoW forums does not make you a target. It does not put your job in jeopardy. It does not make you less hire-able to company X. It does not create a threat to your security and well being. It does not do anything. If another person sees your name and googles it with no other information it's a needle in a hay stack. What everyone is worried about is that someone people will see your name and then somehow back into where you are located or some other piece of information that will suddenly narrow down which Chris Morrison plays Terribaad on the Malorne server. That's when things can start to get interesting with searches. If using real names is such a threat why do so many people use their real name on facebook and myspace? Why does the management team at the company I work for post their name AND picture on our website for anyone to see? Why when I call UPS does the guy on the other line give me his first and last name before asking if he can help me? You know why? Because it doesn't matter, that's why. It's beyond me that so many people are so up in arms about this. It is one thing for Blizzard to announce they are opening up all of your bnet account information. As it stands it's just your first and last name. Contrary to what so many people want to believe, your first and last name is not some heavily guarded secret.
Wrong. For giggles, I just googled my roommate's name. The first 2 hits are his job description, where he works (along with address and phone number) and the third hit was his Facebook. Just from his name alone. Just because you're named John Johnson or something doesn't somehow lessen other people's very warranted anger over this. What happens if my roommate makes a post on the forum and a few days later pisses someone off in arena or a dungeon? Don't tell me that won't happen; I personally have had people roll endless level ones on my server to trash talk me several times over my WoW playing career. With a simple google search my friend is now getting prank calls and pizzas to his WORK. I don't even understand how this can be okay with people. Is it a matter of "WHELP DON'T BOTHER ME NONE SO NO ONE ELSE SHOULD CARE EITHER!"?
No not wrong. How did you know the first hits were your friend and not someone else? Because it's your friend you already knew where he worked and what his facebook is. How will someone who does not have that insider knowledge know the first two hits are your friend and the other 200 are someone else? They wont! I have said it before and I will say it again. Just knowing/googling the persons name means nothing. Why is it so hard to understand that this is purely contextual?! If people want to get up in arms about this then it's there right. I am not going to stop anyone. It's silly to continue to fear monger though. I abandon hope in this thread. Ciao!
No you are wrong. There are three people with my name that show up with a google search, and I am the only one with any significant online presence. They would guess correctly.
The amount of fear mongering about this is staggering. By itself a name means nothing. It has no valuable information to it at all. The simple act of having your real name show up on the WoW forums does not make you a target. It does not put your job in jeopardy. It does not make you less hire-able to company X. It does not create a threat to your security and well being. It does not do anything. If another person sees your name and googles it with no other information it's a needle in a hay stack. What everyone is worried about is that someone people will see your name and then somehow back into where you are located or some other piece of information that will suddenly narrow down which Chris Morrison plays Terribaad on the Malorne server. That's when things can start to get interesting with searches. If using real names is such a threat why do so many people use their real name on facebook and myspace? Why does the management team at the company I work for post their name AND picture on our website for anyone to see? Why when I call UPS does the guy on the other line give me his first and last name before asking if he can help me? You know why? Because it doesn't matter, that's why. It's beyond me that so many people are so up in arms about this. It is one thing for Blizzard to announce they are opening up all of your bnet account information. As it stands it's just your first and last name. Contrary to what so many people want to believe, your first and last name is not some heavily guarded secret.
Wrong. For giggles, I just googled my roommate's name. The first 2 hits are his job description, where he works (along with address and phone number) and the third hit was his Facebook. Just from his name alone. Just because you're named John Johnson or something doesn't somehow lessen other people's very warranted anger over this. What happens if my roommate makes a post on the forum and a few days later pisses someone off in arena or a dungeon? Don't tell me that won't happen; I personally have had people roll endless level ones on my server to trash talk me several times over my WoW playing career. With a simple google search my friend is now getting prank calls and pizzas to his WORK. I don't even understand how this can be okay with people. Is it a matter of "WHELP DON'T BOTHER ME NONE SO NO ONE ELSE SHOULD CARE EITHER!"?
No not wrong. How did you know the first hits were your friend and not someone else? Because it's your friend you already knew where he worked and what his facebook is. How will someone who does not have that insider knowledge know the first two hits are your friend and the other 200 are someone else? They wont! I have said it before and I will say it again. Just knowing/googling the persons name means nothing. Why is it so hard to understand that this is purely contextual?! If people want to get up in arms about this then it's there right. I am not going to stop anyone. It's silly to continue to fear monger though. I abandon hope in this thread. Ciao!
If you really think putting other information together here and there to find someone is really that difficult then nothing I can say will ever help you understand why people do not like this. In my case I don't give a damn about people 'finding' me because I share a name with a very popular local figure and any googling will just give you endless hits about him. In my case, I'm angry that there is such a flagrant disregard for my privacy and the selling of my information to Facebook to help Blizzard's bottomline. I don't care to what degree my personal information is being given out; I have no way to 'opt-out' of this short of not posting on the forums that are a part of the monthly fee I pay and I don't want my name out there for my own peace of mind. There is more than one situation in which this change will be a real hassle. I have a friend who plays who does not reveal that she is a girl because of an unpleasant harassing event. The solution for her is to just never post on the forums again? That is a load of crock.
Any 'benefits to the community' such as trolls going away (and let's be honest, Blizzard says this is the goal but it's really not) due to fear are outweighed immensely by the possible downsides.
Fragarach on
0
jackalFuck Yes. That is an orderly anal warehouse.Registered Userregular
edited July 2010
One of my friends is google cloaked (yes, I just invented that term) by a neo-nazi and an african american male model, but not everyone is that.... ummm... lucky.
One of my friends is google cloaked (yes, I just invented that term) by a neo-nazi and an african american male model, but not everyone is that.... ummm... lucky.
An African American and a neo-nazi? I bet both of them aren't happy about it, either.
No not wrong. How did you know the first hits were your friend and not someone else? Because it's your friend you already knew where he worked and what his facebook is. How will someone who does not have that insider knowledge know the first two hits are your friend and the other 200 are someone else?
So some psycho gets mad at you for ganking him and starts harassing someone who he thinks is you. This person who shares your name then doesn't have any idea what the hell is going on.
Just the thought of some poor asshole getting pizzas delivered to his house that he didn't order, and maybe prank calls about how horde are fags makes this whole thing hilarious and totally worth it.
I'm glad I picked this week to quit WoW for good, because it really does seem like they're trying to go a step too far here, and who knows what it might lead to.
Also, people get their real life info found out just by posting a single picture online or their email address. It was one thing when it was just your realID friends seeing your name, but this forum shit is too far imo. There are plenty of 4chan kiddies that play WoW, and some of them really don't have anything better to do than find out who you are IRL and try to troll you if you piss them off.
The answer to this seems pretty straightforward - create a new account using time cards and a gmail address with the same name as the CEO of Activision (or his wife, kids, whatever), roll a rogue, and mercilessly gank lowbies in STV.
Just Some Dude on
Cog in the machine Cog Herder
0
jackalFuck Yes. That is an orderly anal warehouse.Registered Userregular
The answer to this seems pretty straightforward - create a new account using time cards and a gmail address with the same name as the CEO of Activision (or his wife, kids, whatever), roll a rogue, and mercilessly gank lowbies in STV.
It wouldn't change anything. Kotick already knows everyone wants him dead.
Meet my new character:
Bõbby
<Kotick stole my identity>
So, now people know that to use their real name causes their real name to be used on the forum. So, they stop and start using nicks.....
What does Blizzard do when people, who may have been okay with this, start complaining that THEIR name is real, but they seriously doubt Long P Dong the Paladin who is arguing dps with them is not their real name?
Bizazedo on
XBL: Bizazedo
PSN: Bizazedo
CFN: Bizazedo (I don't think I suck, add me).
The answer to this seems pretty straightforward - create a new account using time cards and a gmail address with the same name as the CEO of Activision (or his wife, kids, whatever), roll a rogue, and mercilessly gank lowbies in STV.
But they still don't see your name in-game unless you friend them with realID. Which is one of the crazier things about this change.
Outside of level 1 troll alts, the forums now are linked to who you are in game. The new system you can link a character if you want, but you don't have to. So it is being separated from the game instead of integrated.
It also makes me paranoid about what the next big RealID announcement is going to be.
So, now people know that to use their real name causes their real name to be used on the forum. So, they stop and start using nicks.....
What does Blizzard do when people, who may have been okay with this, start complaining that THEIR name is real, but they seriously doubt Long P Dong the Paladin who is arguing dps with them is not their real name?
The answer to this seems pretty straightforward - create a new account using time cards and a gmail address with the same name as the CEO of Activision (or his wife, kids, whatever), roll a rogue, and mercilessly gank lowbies in STV.
But they still don't see your name in-game unless you friend them with realID. Which is one of the crazier things about this change.
Outside of level 1 troll alts, the forums now are linked to who you are in game. The new system you can link a character if you want, but you don't have to. So it is being separated from the game instead of integrated.
It also makes me paranoid about what the next big RealID announcement is going to be.
yet
I still predict that at some point in the near future, the nametag function will now look like:
Holycow the Argent Champion
<Leeroy Jenkins Fan Club> Rob Smith
I'd been waiting for Cataclysm to maybe start playing again. That won't be happening. This shit is way over the line.
There are so many idiot kids playing WoW who wouldn't think twice of fucking with the first search result they find for your name if they don't like you. This shit is going to be a trainwreck and I'm honestly amazed Blizzard is this fucking stupid.
I wouldn't care so much if it was limited to if you posted on their forums, but if there are addons already that can pull that shit out without you doing anything then I'm pretty much done with Blizzard products.
And the apologists are so myopic about it. Not everyone wants to or can have their personal info blasted all over the internet. Not everyone posts their every move and action on Facebook or whatever dumb social network is popular this month. Some people still value and/or need their privacy. If Blizzard wants to shit on that then so be it, they obviously have enough subscribers to not care about a loss, but there will be a loss with myself as part of it.
I did some Google and Bing vanity searches on my full name and I'm pleasantly surprised that there's a ton of other people with my name obfuscating my identity. Google actually pulls my webpage from college up on the first page but as the second to last result. Adding in my board name or WoW character name actually makes it even less accurate since I've gone to great lengths to keep them separate and my board/char names are made up of common or near-common words.
Even so, I'm still opposed to this change because then a connection would be made that could possibly bridge my online self with my offline name and then all of my work to keep them separate would be ruined.
And yeah, the people who will remain on the forums are ones who used fake names. And then the trolling from those people will be even worse because there's less normal people to help counteract. This also fucks with what GC personally wants for the forums in that he wants everyone to talk about an issue rather than people already invested in the issue creating an echo chamber. Now the only people talking will be Balls McScrotum and his pals and I can imagine him just abandoning the forums altogether at that point.
Opty on
0
reVerseAttack and Dethrone GodRegistered Userregular
Blizzard isn't being stupid, they're being greedy. They're doing this for the money.
What money? They already have all this information, they want to share it for free.
Well, there has to be some perceived profit potential in this. No company would do such a massively negativity generating move if they didn't believe they can get much money as the result.
Blizzard isn't being stupid, they're being greedy. They're doing this for the money.
What money? They already have all this information, they want to share it for free.
It's probably a highly lucrative deal with some tie-ins for advertising with facebook. IE, blizzard gets 1% of advertisement payout hits off of people who link their accounts and facebook gets, potentially, a few thousand more users to get advertisement money from.
bowen on
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
i pm'd mutilate what i found out about him, kind of hoping i hit it, i didn't exactly spend a bunch of time on it since i'm at work but the worst that can happen is i didn't get the right guy
It was not me but he got close. A lot closer than I figured anyone would get. Although I am sure an IP trace helped for some of it. I am not going to change my stance that a name by itself is harmless I will conceede that there are plenty of crazies out there that you don't want to have your name. These people are everywhere though and not just playing WoW.
Anyone with any significant presence on their realm will have their country/state known or easy to find out, from there locating them is far simpler with their name.
Want to troll some asshole on your server that you know is from pittsburg and named Michael Catasby? Now you don't even have to do it on the wow forums, you can mail him pictures of your ball sack
This post WILL get deleted, Im just trying to get this information out so other people will realize how much Blizzard is screwing us over.
After a long talk with a few Blizzard phone reps, it turns out BLUES will NOT have their real names posted in the forums due to "Security Concerns." Blues are free to hide from the nightmare RealID will turn these forums into, and yet we, the paying customers, will be forced into it?
Thats right everyone, YOU will have to reveal your real name in order to post on these forums. Blues, on the other hand "Cannot risk having their personal lives compromised by in-game issues" (Thanks, Josh with no last name - thats a gem).
I have already canceled my account and filed a complaint with the ESRB about all of this, I suggest you do the same.
It's probably a highly lucrative deal with some tie-ins for advertising with facebook. IE, blizzard gets 1% of advertisement payout hits off of people who link their accounts and facebook gets, potentially, a few thousand more users to get advertisement money from.
What I don't get, though, is what the HELL that has to do with the forum?
They have a separate opt-in for Facebook.
So why go through all this with the forum? Is it really just to make moderating it easier?
(above vitriol not directed at bowen).
Bizazedo on
XBL: Bizazedo
PSN: Bizazedo
CFN: Bizazedo (I don't think I suck, add me).
Blizzard isn't being stupid, they're being greedy. They're doing this for the money.
What money? They already have all this information, they want to share it for free.
Well, there has to be some perceived profit potential in this. No company would do such a massively negativity generating move if they didn't believe they can get much money as the result.
I dunno, this is a company that has released games after christmas (extending developer costs and potentially damaging sales) when they could have just shipped it out at a better time unfinished like everyone else does. It might be unfair to assume their motive is financial when we have no idea how they'll actually make any money from this (they could easily lose a lot from the sound of it).
It's probably a highly lucrative deal with some tie-ins for advertising with facebook. IE, blizzard gets 1% of advertisement payout hits off of people who link their accounts and facebook gets, potentially, a few thousand more users to get advertisement money from.
What I don't get, though, is what the HELL that has to do with the forum?
They have a separate opt-in for Facebook.
So there's real life ramifications for being a dick, I guess. As if that stops anyone now on facebook. Then let's say someone lets their kid posts, and the kid uses less than perfect grammar and spelling, and their work googles them and suddenly they don't want to keep that person employed. Even though the post was kosher, but obviously a kid wrote it.
Or, maybe they got hacked. Then suddenly once google caches it they give out kiddie porn. Good move Blizzard.
And yeah Biz, I know where you're going, this is a hamfisted attempt to moderate it a really cost-effective way. They're basically trying to reduce the number of posts/type of posts through fear of retribution of your real life name. Which is retarded.
bowen on
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
This post WILL get deleted, Im just trying to get this information out so other people will realize how much Blizzard is screwing us over.
After a long talk with a few Blizzard phone reps, it turns out BLUES will NOT have their real names posted in the forums due to "Security Concerns." Blues are free to hide from the nightmare RealID will turn these forums into, and yet we, the paying customers, will be forced into it?
Thats right everyone, YOU will have to reveal your real name in order to post on these forums. Blues, on the other hand "Cannot risk having their personal lives compromised by in-game issues" (Thanks, Josh with no last name - thats a gem).
I have already canceled my account and filed a complaint with the ESRB about all of this, I suggest you do the same.
Posters: Governor Kotick, I should have expected to find you holding Blizzard's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board.
Kotick: Charming to the last. You don't know how hard I found it, signing the order to terminate your anonymity.
Posters: I'm surprised that you had the courage to take the responsibility yourself.
Kotick: WoW Posters, before your execution, you will join me at a ceremony that will make this RealID operational. No player will dare oppose Blizzard now.
Posters: The more you tighten your grip, Kotcik, the more subscriptions will slip through your fingers.
Before following any advice, opinions, or thoughts I may have expressed in the above post, be warned: I found Keven Costners "Waterworld" to be a very entertaining film.
And btw I love the complete failure in logic of "we have a bunch of poorly behaved, socially retarded idiots around here so we're going to let them see your real name that will fix it." Give me a fucking break. Joe Shmoe the normal guy with a valid argument and point of view is the one going to be harassed by Jonny Dipshit, not the other way around. Knowing Jonny Dipshit's name does nothing for anyone because normal people don't care, but Joe Shmoe is going to get vulgar phone calls at work when he pisses off Jonny Dipshit.
Troll victory all around. If Google's motto is "don't be evil" then Blizzard has stepped up to the other side of the line.
Honestly one of the dumbest/worst things I've seen a company do in .. 15 years on the intertron.
And this from someone whose Google/Bing search don't produce any results for him (even with my state), doesn't have a facebook or any other shit, etc.. Posting my real name wouldn't do shit to me, it's just a really offensive breach of privacy.
Posters: Governor Kotick, I should have expected to find you holding Blizzard's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board.
Kotick: Charming to the last. You don't know how hard I found it, signing the order to terminate your anonymity.
Posters: I'm surprised that you had the courage to take the responsibility yourself.
Kotick: WoW Posters, before your execution, you will join me at a ceremony that will make this RealID operational. No player will dare oppose Blizzard now.
Posters: The more you tighten your grip, Kotcik, the more subscriptions will slip through your fingers.
It was greenlit on Fark yesterday (from slashdot I think).
At any rate, I found this part of the linked story o_O
One World of Warcraft player, Jim Brand, contacted BBC News to say how disappointed he was over the change.
"I have been using the forums for over five years, reporting bugs and trying to be helpful. Now, to have the privilege to help people on the forums I have to reveal my real name; I'm dead against it," he said.
"I work in a charity and deal with governments officials. If they do a search and see I am a gamer, it could affect my employment prospects," he added.
This post WILL get deleted, Im just trying to get this information out so other people will realize how much Blizzard is screwing us over.
After a long talk with a few Blizzard phone reps, it turns out BLUES will NOT have their real names posted in the forums due to "Security Concerns." Blues are free to hide from the nightmare RealID will turn these forums into, and yet we, the paying customers, will be forced into it?
Thats right everyone, YOU will have to reveal your real name in order to post on these forums. Blues, on the other hand "Cannot risk having their personal lives compromised by in-game issues" (Thanks, Josh with no last name - thats a gem).
I have already canceled my account and filed a complaint with the ESRB about all of this, I suggest you do the same.
welp!
Hahahaha, holy shit that's golden!
So they acknowledge there are security issues with the system.
And then make a move to protect ONLY their employees.
Blizzard isn't being stupid, they're being greedy. They're doing this for the money.
What money? They already have all this information, they want to share it for free.
They're building framework for a larger infrastructure. First it was the new battle.net that allows the purchase and management of blizzard digital content. Next is Real ID, a form of social networking and communication within these titles. I would expect in the next few years for battle.net to include more than Blizzard titles, eventually absorbing new Activision games.
Well, on the plus side, this news has made everyone stop trolling each other and focus all their efforts on Blizzard.
Indeed, a poster in a official forum thread mentioned that not only was this the first time he'd ever seen a thread break 700 pages (that was what it was at last night) but it was 700 pages without falling into a flame war and with all the posters sticking to commenting about the original post. And most of them agreeing with each other. That's practically unheard of in video game forums.
Decomposey on
Before following any advice, opinions, or thoughts I may have expressed in the above post, be warned: I found Keven Costners "Waterworld" to be a very entertaining film.
This post WILL get deleted, Im just trying to get this information out so other people will realize how much Blizzard is screwing us over.
After a long talk with a few Blizzard phone reps, it turns out BLUES will NOT have their real names posted in the forums due to "Security Concerns." Blues are free to hide from the nightmare RealID will turn these forums into, and yet we, the paying customers, will be forced into it?
Thats right everyone, YOU will have to reveal your real name in order to post on these forums. Blues, on the other hand "Cannot risk having their personal lives compromised by in-game issues" (Thanks, Josh with no last name - thats a gem).
I have already canceled my account and filed a complaint with the ESRB about all of this, I suggest you do the same.
welp!
Hahahaha, holy shit that's golden!
Yeah, I'd hold off for an honest to goodness confirmation on that. Phone reps are notoriously wrong with anything but the most basic info. I'd take whatever they say with a grain of salt.
If it IS true though... holy fuck.
The Wolfman on
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
Regardless of my stance on the issue the backlash from this will almost have to force them into action. Whatever monetary gains they are getting from Facebook I can't see them just taking the brunt of this. Bad PR is one thing. Bad PR that hits the wallet will not last.
This post WILL get deleted, Im just trying to get this information out so other people will realize how much Blizzard is screwing us over.
After a long talk with a few Blizzard phone reps, it turns out BLUES will NOT have their real names posted in the forums due to "Security Concerns." Blues are free to hide from the nightmare RealID will turn these forums into, and yet we, the paying customers, will be forced into it?
Thats right everyone, YOU will have to reveal your real name in order to post on these forums. Blues, on the other hand "Cannot risk having their personal lives compromised by in-game issues" (Thanks, Josh with no last name - thats a gem).
I have already canceled my account and filed a complaint with the ESRB about all of this, I suggest you do the same.
welp!
Hahahaha, holy shit that's golden!
Yeah, I'd hold off for an honest to goodness confirmation on that. Phone reps are notoriously wrong with anything but the most basic info. I'd take whatever they say with a grain of salt.
If it IS true though... holy fuck.
It is true. Companies can't release employee names for liability reasons.
Neva on
SC2 Beta: Neva.ling
"Everyone who is capable of logical thought should be able to see why you shouldn't sell lifetime subscriptions to an MMO. Cell phone companies and drug dealers don't offer lifetime subscriptions either, guess why?" - Mugaaz
Posts
So some psycho gets mad at you for ganking him and starts harassing someone who he thinks is you. This person who shares your name then doesn't have any idea what the hell is going on.
No you are wrong. There are three people with my name that show up with a google search, and I am the only one with any significant online presence. They would guess correctly.
If you really think putting other information together here and there to find someone is really that difficult then nothing I can say will ever help you understand why people do not like this. In my case I don't give a damn about people 'finding' me because I share a name with a very popular local figure and any googling will just give you endless hits about him. In my case, I'm angry that there is such a flagrant disregard for my privacy and the selling of my information to Facebook to help Blizzard's bottomline. I don't care to what degree my personal information is being given out; I have no way to 'opt-out' of this short of not posting on the forums that are a part of the monthly fee I pay and I don't want my name out there for my own peace of mind. There is more than one situation in which this change will be a real hassle. I have a friend who plays who does not reveal that she is a girl because of an unpleasant harassing event. The solution for her is to just never post on the forums again? That is a load of crock.
Any 'benefits to the community' such as trolls going away (and let's be honest, Blizzard says this is the goal but it's really not) due to fear are outweighed immensely by the possible downsides.
An African American and a neo-nazi? I bet both of them aren't happy about it, either.
Just the thought of some poor asshole getting pizzas delivered to his house that he didn't order, and maybe prank calls about how horde are fags makes this whole thing hilarious and totally worth it.
I'm glad I picked this week to quit WoW for good, because it really does seem like they're trying to go a step too far here, and who knows what it might lead to.
Also, people get their real life info found out just by posting a single picture online or their email address. It was one thing when it was just your realID friends seeing your name, but this forum shit is too far imo. There are plenty of 4chan kiddies that play WoW, and some of them really don't have anything better to do than find out who you are IRL and try to troll you if you piss them off.
This is an insanely terrible idea.
It wouldn't change anything. Kotick already knows everyone wants him dead.
Meet my new character:
Bõbby
<Kotick stole my identity>
So, now people know that to use their real name causes their real name to be used on the forum. So, they stop and start using nicks.....
What does Blizzard do when people, who may have been okay with this, start complaining that THEIR name is real, but they seriously doubt Long P Dong the Paladin who is arguing dps with them is not their real name?
PSN: Bizazedo
CFN: Bizazedo (I don't think I suck, add me).
But they still don't see your name in-game unless you friend them with realID. Which is one of the crazier things about this change.
Outside of level 1 troll alts, the forums now are linked to who you are in game. The new system you can link a character if you want, but you don't have to. So it is being separated from the game instead of integrated.
It also makes me paranoid about what the next big RealID announcement is going to be.
Hung Gai
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
yet
I still predict that at some point in the near future, the nametag function will now look like:
Holycow the Argent Champion
<Leeroy Jenkins Fan Club>
Rob Smith
There are so many idiot kids playing WoW who wouldn't think twice of fucking with the first search result they find for your name if they don't like you. This shit is going to be a trainwreck and I'm honestly amazed Blizzard is this fucking stupid.
I wouldn't care so much if it was limited to if you posted on their forums, but if there are addons already that can pull that shit out without you doing anything then I'm pretty much done with Blizzard products.
And the apologists are so myopic about it. Not everyone wants to or can have their personal info blasted all over the internet. Not everyone posts their every move and action on Facebook or whatever dumb social network is popular this month. Some people still value and/or need their privacy. If Blizzard wants to shit on that then so be it, they obviously have enough subscribers to not care about a loss, but there will be a loss with myself as part of it.
Even so, I'm still opposed to this change because then a connection would be made that could possibly bridge my online self with my offline name and then all of my work to keep them separate would be ruined.
And yeah, the people who will remain on the forums are ones who used fake names. And then the trolling from those people will be even worse because there's less normal people to help counteract. This also fucks with what GC personally wants for the forums in that he wants everyone to talk about an issue rather than people already invested in the issue creating an echo chamber. Now the only people talking will be Balls McScrotum and his pals and I can imagine him just abandoning the forums altogether at that point.
Well, there has to be some perceived profit potential in this. No company would do such a massively negativity generating move if they didn't believe they can get much money as the result.
It's probably a highly lucrative deal with some tie-ins for advertising with facebook. IE, blizzard gets 1% of advertisement payout hits off of people who link their accounts and facebook gets, potentially, a few thousand more users to get advertisement money from.
Anyone with any significant presence on their realm will have their country/state known or easy to find out, from there locating them is far simpler with their name.
Want to troll some asshole on your server that you know is from pittsburg and named Michael Catasby? Now you don't even have to do it on the wow forums, you can mail him pictures of your ball sack
welp!
They have a separate opt-in for Facebook.
So why go through all this with the forum? Is it really just to make moderating it easier?
(above vitriol not directed at bowen).
PSN: Bizazedo
CFN: Bizazedo (I don't think I suck, add me).
So there's real life ramifications for being a dick, I guess. As if that stops anyone now on facebook. Then let's say someone lets their kid posts, and the kid uses less than perfect grammar and spelling, and their work googles them and suddenly they don't want to keep that person employed. Even though the post was kosher, but obviously a kid wrote it.
Or, maybe they got hacked. Then suddenly once google caches it they give out kiddie porn. Good move Blizzard.
And yeah Biz, I know where you're going, this is a hamfisted attempt to moderate it a really cost-effective way. They're basically trying to reduce the number of posts/type of posts through fear of retribution of your real life name. Which is retarded.
Hahahaha, holy shit that's golden!
Kotick: Charming to the last. You don't know how hard I found it, signing the order to terminate your anonymity.
Posters: I'm surprised that you had the courage to take the responsibility yourself.
Kotick: WoW Posters, before your execution, you will join me at a ceremony that will make this RealID operational. No player will dare oppose Blizzard now.
Posters: The more you tighten your grip, Kotcik, the more subscriptions will slip through your fingers.
Also:
Oh hai there international news organization reporting on how pissed off people are
Troll victory all around. If Google's motto is "don't be evil" then Blizzard has stepped up to the other side of the line.
Honestly one of the dumbest/worst things I've seen a company do in .. 15 years on the intertron.
And this from someone whose Google/Bing search don't produce any results for him (even with my state), doesn't have a facebook or any other shit, etc.. Posting my real name wouldn't do shit to me, it's just a really offensive breach of privacy.
It was greenlit on Fark yesterday (from slashdot I think).
At any rate, I found this part of the linked story o_O
Well shoot, I guess they'll know now anyway!
They don't even mention the fact that he removed his facebook because of it.
So they acknowledge there are security issues with the system.
And then make a move to protect ONLY their employees.
What.
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
They're building framework for a larger infrastructure. First it was the new battle.net that allows the purchase and management of blizzard digital content. Next is Real ID, a form of social networking and communication within these titles. I would expect in the next few years for battle.net to include more than Blizzard titles, eventually absorbing new Activision games.
Indeed, a poster in a official forum thread mentioned that not only was this the first time he'd ever seen a thread break 700 pages (that was what it was at last night) but it was 700 pages without falling into a flame war and with all the posters sticking to commenting about the original post. And most of them agreeing with each other. That's practically unheard of in video game forums.
Yeah, I'd hold off for an honest to goodness confirmation on that. Phone reps are notoriously wrong with anything but the most basic info. I'd take whatever they say with a grain of salt.
If it IS true though... holy fuck.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/10543100.stm
USA Today - 'WoW' studio Blizzard to require real names on forums
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2010/07/wow-studio-blizzard-to-require-real-names-on-forums/1
ABC News - Bye-Bye Trolls? Blizzard Forums to Use Real Names
abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=11108240
CVG - Fans rage over Blizzard forum plans
www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=254846
PCGamer (UK) - Why Blizzard’s new forum plan is an epic fail
http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/07/07/why-blizzard%e2%80%99s-new-forum-plan-is-an-epic-fail/
The Register - Blizzard exposes real names on WoW forums
www.reghardware.com/2010/07/07/wow_forums/
About.com - WoW Real ID: A Really Bad Idea
http://antivirus.about.com/b/2010/06/22/wow-real-id-a-really-bad-idea.htm
Ars Technica - Blizzard: post about StarCraft 2? Use your real name
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/07/blizzard-post-about-starcraft-2-use-your-real-name.ars
Gamespy - Blizzard to Require Real Names on Official Forums
uk.pc.gamespy.com/articles/110/1104456p1.html
Kotaku - Blizzard Forums Will Soon Display Your Real Name
http://kotaku.com/5580585/blizzard-forums-will-soon-display-your-real-name
Joystiq - Your real name to appear on Blizzard's official forums
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/06/your-real-name-to-appear-on-blizzards-official-forums/
Inc Gamers - Blizzard Going Too Far With Real ID?
http://www.incgamers.com/Columns/94/blizzard-going-too-far-with-real-id
MTV Multiplayer - Blizzard Cracks Down On Anonymity In Official Forums
http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2010/07/07/blizzard-cracks-down-on-anonymity-in-official-forums/
TechEYE.net - Blizzard forces users to show real names: Internet security
they have heard of it
http://www.techeye.net/security/blizzard-forces-users-to-show-real-names
Product Reviews News - WoW Real ID System: Security Flaw Found
http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/07/07/wow-real-id-system-security-flaw-found/
ITWorld - Blizzard to share your name with angry video game nerds
http://www.itworld.com/personal-tech/113202/blizzard-share-your-name-angry-video-game-nerds
Voodoo Extreme - Is Blizzard's Real ID Safe, Or A Playground For Sexual
Deviants?
http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/55728/Is-Blizzards-Real-ID-Safe-Or-A-Playground-For-Sexual-Deviants
Examiner National - World of Warcraft Players WoWed by Blizzard's REALID
announcement
http://www.examiner.com/x-48234-Santa-Ana-Internet-Examiner~y2010m7d7-World-of-Warcraft-Players-WoWed-by-Blizzards-REALID-announcement
EuroGamer - Blizzard forums to require real names
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/blizzard-forums-to-require-real-names
GameFocus - Blizzard To Kill Anonymity On Forums
www.gamefocus.ca/?nav=new&nid=10091
Strategy Informer - Battle.net removes "veil of anonymity" on forums,
real names used
http://www.strategyinformer.com/interstitial.php?
oldurl=http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/8551/battlenet-removes-veil-of-anonymity-on-forums-real-names-used
HuskyStarcraft - Blizzard Forums: First and Last Names [VIDEO]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBwTpHNZDpQ
AusGamers - Blizzard Switching Forums to Real ID System
http://www.ausgamers.com/news/read/2926798
Australian Gamer - Blizzard decide to give out subscribers' real names
http://www.australiangamer.com/news/3239_blizzard_decide_to_give_out_subscribers_real_names.html
Zeroday - Is Korean Law Driving Policy at Blizzard?
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/zeroday/2010/07/07/is-korean-law-driving-policy-at-blizzard/
It is true. Companies can't release employee names for liability reasons.
"Everyone who is capable of logical thought should be able to see why you shouldn't sell lifetime subscriptions to an MMO. Cell phone companies and drug dealers don't offer lifetime subscriptions either, guess why?" - Mugaaz