Ah, the Blizzard situation makes sense now.
SUPER SCARY WARNING: ANY POSTING OF A LINK TO THAT IDIOT THAT POSTED ALL THE INFORMATION ABOUT DEVS….YOU KNOW THE LINK…WILL GET YOU BANNED AND SPANKED PUBLICLY. DO NOT POST IT. WE LIVE ON THE INTERNET, OF COURSE WE HAVE SEEN IT AND WE THINK IT IS PROBABLY THE CREEPIEST EVIDENCE OF SAD NERDINESSOCITY EVER. DO NOT BRING IT HERE.
Essentially, gamers tend to think that being the most profitable NA MMORPG makes Blizzard licensed to print their own money.
No, I am serious. People really think that Blizzard can afford anything, and can do anything. Because, after all, gaming is like, the biggest business in the entire country. Forget Boeing and those other massive companies, we are talking subscriptions here, people. Also, it is obvious that people tend to think that Blizzard is filled with over 2,000 heartless employees, not a single one of them that give a flying pee about customer service. After all, who else are they referring to when they say “Blizzard”?
You know what? Here’s my gut feeling after a day (or has it been two?) of hearing from about 10,000 people concerning Blizzard:
Some gamers really have had their feelings hurt by Blizzard. Some of these wackos are literally saying that they wish some thing bad would happen, so that Blizzard could “learn a lesson.” Many of these clueless dorks are literally saying that this is proof that Blizzard gives absolutely no poo whatsoever about customers, despite the fact that Blizzard has even allowed a forum to even exist. People, of course, are not giving any credit whatsoever to a company that has probably spent more than any other NA gaming company on customer service, simply because they are angry at a game that they once loved, or because they think “big evil corporations” like Blizzard are evil monsters that are made of of robots. Yes, I’m serious. Some of these people truly have on these selective and time-release blinders, that allow them to get oh-so-angry at Blizzard, while shopping at Wal-Mart and using such services as Facebook.
Now, let’s process this for just a second. Let me sum up the idea:
“Blizzard is a huge, evil corporation that is like, super mean to their customers. Warning people ahead of time that if they post on the forums that their account name (whatever it is, fake or not) will be used on the post is like, really mean. They have so much money that they should just hire one thousand more people to police their forums. I mean, after all, there are some games that do not even have an official forum, or some games that really (and I mean REALLY) do not police their forums, yet Blizzard is the most evil and this must be some kind of attempt from them to control people’s minds or to kill off many of their players because they hate them so much for being mad about nerfing raiding years ago.”
I am going to bet, say a million internet dollars, that this is not really about privacy or about a bigger picture. This is about angry people that are angry at developers. They always are. Frankly, the loudest critics of this have been people that do not play WoW, or at the very least have never or will never post on the Blizzard forums, because of the state they have always been in. A state that Blizzard is finally getting the guts to fix by using extreme measures.
This isn’t about some evil corporation trying to screw their playerbase. This is about a bunch of extremely weird people (many of them that are secure enough to post their locations on Twitter using Foursquare or that tell all 1,000 of their followers where and when they will be) that have never raised an eyebrow about internet security before now. These are people that already use their real names, or that already list their real life locations.
These are people with websites, web personalities and blogs.
As if pulling information from those is impossible.
As though it has not always been the easiest of tasks to simply do what psychos have always been able to do: befriend the person in game, join their guild, give it a week and gather their address through conversation. I mean, where are these protests over the fact that the player servers are displayed right there under their names, or that there is nothing stopping players from putting their character name and information in their signature (no one does that right?) Wait a second, there is also a clickable link to that persons Guild as well, that lists all the players in the guild?
This is about all these bloggers, podcasters and writers that wake up everyday, looking for something to claim as evidence that developers, especially the big fish that is Blizzard, are evil or corrupt groups of soulless monsters. This is about overblown paranoia from people that need to consider how unsafe driving is, and that are 100 percent ignoring the years and amazing amounts of cash that Blizzard HAS spent on trying to fight those bad, bad, internet meanies. None of that matters now, to these people, because Blizzard suddenly wants players to be accountable no matter what they post, on a forum that is completely an option and was ignored by all of these writers, podcasters and bloggers in the first place.
Oh well, if there’s one thing that angry geeks are good at, it’s forgetting their anger once a new expansion is released.
Beau
The sheer volume of nerd rage seems to be indicative of the general trend towards a failure to think critically. What is truly sad is that it’s not really that unexpected. I continue to hope that Blizzard will weather the storm of misinformation and false rumours, and proceed with this innovation. Human nature isn’t going to change, and muddy thinking seems to be here to stay–it just requires that those bold enough to change things ignore the emotion-driven, uninformed whining and just get on with it. Blizzard can do it if anyone can.
It doesn’t matter that I’m not a private person. That has nothing to do with it. This has about the fact that you can no longer post on Blizzard’s forums, which most importantly include stuff like support forums where people are encouraged to post, without showing your real name.
You really don’t believe that all the people that have criticized Blizz for this move really believe that they are “a huge, evil corporation that is like, super mean to their customers”.
If that’s the way the discussion is going to go, how about I start saying that everyone that support this move is mindless corporate slave drones that can’t fail “to think critically” (to quote the comment above). I’d like to think that a lot of us (not all, there are nutcases in all camps) are thinking critically.
Some people that oppose this change do it on a kneejerk reaction, absolutely. Some of us have been arguing for Internet privacy for a long time. I’ve chosen not to be a very private person online, even posting comments on blogs in my real name. But I would like the choice, and think the choice is important, to not have to display my name on a support forum for example. Or take part in the community (I used to post a lot on my realm’s forums, for example, taking part in what was back then a thriving community).
I’m not an angry, raging nerd. I’ve criticized Facebook for a long time on privacy issues, I’ve deleted my account with them. I believe Blizzard should be criticized for this move too.
Ahyes, storm seasons finally coming in with a big blizzard in July. *LOL*
The sea of immature and subconsciously insecure people is raging and will carve maybe a few inches off the hard coast that is a giant corporation.
Squalls of misinformation will blow trough the digital forests and leave only the strongest trees standing. Those whose roots are firmly planted in reality and common sense.
All hail the Troll-Killer that comes boundin’ up on a mighty, epic steed, to flail away the so called “privacy” of the faceless masses and will finally uncover the holy grail of truly “mature gaming”.
God, I do love these guys at Blizzard.
It takes guts to fire such a bomb at its players.
But well, they know that only those tend to rage and whine, who have something to loose, whichever that may be.
Those who are contend with sensible change, will normally just sit tight and play some more.
Bravo, I say!
if they follow through with this, Blizzard will gain much favor in my eye. Despite the fact that some very few concerns raised are true and can subsequently be fixed for sure, most of them are just rubbish.
CU
SaM
Yes, people are getting more upset over this than it’s probably worth, especially considering that the forums *are* optional, and everything you do and submit to Blizzard’s services belongs TO BLIZZARD. I’m not upset personally because I haven’t played a Blizzard game in years, nor do I care if my real name is associated with Starcraft or Diablo.
However, you have to admit that there is serious potential for very dangerous abuse. You don’t need to post to the forums to read them, and those who do post will now run the risk of exposing themselves to many, many people with whom they have only marginally chosen to share their names. Yes, Blizzard can do what they see fit with *their* forums, and yes, the change will probably encourage better behavior. But a lot of the concerns are about Blizzard making huge changes without any apparent concern for their customers. Sure, people use their real names on Facebook (mostly); but they enter into using that tool with an explicit understanding of the fact that they are their “real selves” on Facebook.
And, no, I didn’t, and don’t, use my real name in this comment, or when I comment elsewhere. Beau, I think you work so close to the “gaming mainstream” that you may not realize, and neither does Blizzard, that “gaming mainstream” hasn’t achieved nearly the cultural and social acceptance that would make it okay to “go public” with my gaming life. I spend countless hours playing games – they are a big part of my life. But I don’t talk about them publicly. I don’t discuss them at work, I don’t talk about them with family, or friends. Not because I’m ashamed, but because those people aren’t interested, don’t really care to understand, and I’d rather avoid the general awkwardness that comes with trying to explain (especially professionally). It’s not my issue – it’s theirs, and I don’t care to try to fix them. I’d rather just leave it alone and continue to enjoy games.
What worries me is that other companies will follow suit, which is why, despite leaving WoW years ago, I’ve thrown my two cents into the blogging ether. If other companies follow this example, then it *does* become my problem, and I just don’t see the value in this move, by Blizzard or any game company.
The problem is, people are worrying more about *potential* abuse then about the real abuses that have gone on for a long time. Where are all these protesters WHILE the forums became what they are now? Where are all these protesters when “hacker” groups come out in mass quantities in the games that these protesters love (EVE and others.)
It is my argument that people like to hate Blizzard. It’s simple. They are willing to ignore facts, cold hard facts, to express their hate for a game company that provides completely optional luxury items.
Where did I say that there was no possibility that it was a bad idea?
And wow, so many grammatical errors in that entry…mind removing it and replacing it with this?
——-
The way the forums have been up to now is besides the point, really. This is about privacy – and that Blizzard no longer cares about it. Before you got to be “anonymous”, unless you named your character after yourself or used a nick that was easily to identify with you. But you weren’t yourself. That’s just changing the subject.
A lot of people like to hate on Blizzard. A lot of people like to hate on SOE as well, for real or imagined reasons. And Mythic. And Funcom. And…
I don’t hate Blizzard. I don’t enjoy WoW anymore, for changes they’ve done. And now I feel they are stepping over a very real border. And I am under no illusion that this is the end of it either. That’s “thinking critically”, to consider all options and to problemetize a particular phenomenon.
Here’s why I think this post is offensive – you’re assuming that all the criticism against this simply comes from a hate of Blizzard. Even though a lot of people, including people in the MMO-blogosphere, have explained in a very calm manner why they are opposed to this move, you assume we only do it because we like to hate Blizzard. You do not bring up the various reasons for concern, instead you muddle the subject and bring in completely different topics that are not even related to the matter at hand.
As I said above, if that’s the way this is going to play out, I’ll happily call you a mindless corporate slave drone that have bought completely into the whole “troll-killer” theory only because Blizzard said so. That you, and other people that think it’s a good thing only because people will be “accountable” (which is a whole other bag of slimy worms) fail to think critically and accept everything Blizz is saying without considering the possibilities why this might be a bad idea. After all, the corporate overlords need their money and they deserve it without question.
See? We can all play that game. And it’s not very funny, mostly because I like you.
Dude, go get your editor and ask them to read your posts first! lol Seriously, though, why CAN’T my readers edit?? *looks it up*
Back to arguing.
“None of that matters now, to these people, because Blizzard suddenly wants players to be accountable no matter what they post, on a forum that is completely an option and was ignored by all of these writers, podcasters and bloggers in the first place.”
Really? Nobody addressed that? All these writers, podcasters, and bloggers totally missed that? Never mentioned it once?
I declare your research into the subject woefully incomplete. Please put away that mile-wide brush you use to tar us all.
As for your use of the straw man fallacy to complain about people using (in some cases) the straw man fallacy, something about pots and kettles comes to mind.
I am going to bet, say a million internet dollars, that this is not really about privacy or about a bigger picture. This is about angry people that are angry at developers.
This is the most clueless statement I’ve ever read on your blog. The best case I’ve read against Real ID was made on Habitat Chronicles. Brian Green and Raph Koster have both referenced him in response to the Real ID topic.
The net is this.. the change is going to result in:
**The trolls now get more information to harass
**The best players will leave
**The casual players will panic when they realize that their private-time activity is now public.
How do you know who I am talking about? Could it be that I am referring to someone that actually never has complained about these issues? Could it be that the list is too long, or that I didn’t want to name names specifically.
The best part of my generalization is that many people seem to think that I am talking about them. for example, no offense Pete, but I never had him in mind nor have I read anything from him other than a game review for a long time, since last I posted on his blog.
If anything, I could ask you to show me the proof that the people I was talking about (the writers that do not play WoW, nor post on their forums) actually DID address the issues in the only place I would see it: in their writing.
Beau
Whatever. I sure don’t want this to happen to me: *link removed. do not post that here*
Beau,
Before you start making sweeping generalizations about those of us who disagree with Blizzard’s decision, it is YOU, not us that needs to provide the statistical evidence to back up your claim.
I am not making sweeping generalizations about those of you that disagree with the decision. I am making very particular comments towards some very particular people: those that disagreed with Blizzard, yet have never raised an eyebrow for the security issues that already existed.
How do you think people are finding the information that they already have, and are posting? After all, the ID system isn’t in effect. It’s because these sweeping security issues have existed on every forum, Hell all over the internet, for a long, long, long time.
Beau
The irony of someone who is against the public display of personal information posting links to sites that are doing EXACTLY that is delicious and disgusting at the same time. Way to “prove a point” I guess?
And yes please let’s all be afraid of the Internet, shampoo, toothpaste, the boogie man and whatever other sensationalist crap like the nightly news shoves in our faces. That’s healthy.
Whatever. I sure don’t want this to happen to me: *link removed. do not post that here*
You know Scott over at *the mere mention of that link removed* not only shared that link but quoted it. It’s not like you are keeping the cat in the bag. And yes, Leala, it does prove a point. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you goes both ways.
People don’t want to have to share their REAL NAME in order to get technical support or post game suggestions on a forum. What’s so hard to understand about privacy?
Sid: comparing a customer on a optional forum to a worker for the largest NA PTP MMO has got to be…well, pretty much what I’ve learned to expect. lol Oh well.
As to the link: any other posting of it will be removed and the person banned. I don’t give a flying shit who has the cat out of the bag. Consider it something we do out of principle.
beau
Yes they will require a real name, not your friggin address, childrens school and wifes phone number as is listed on that severely misguided blog. If you don’t want to be exploited don’t exploit others goes both ways. No one deserves harassment, even blizzard employees. We would all get farther if we treated them with a shred of the decency we ourselves expect to be treated.
@Beau:
It’s only “optional” in so far as you can opt-out of participating at all. All or nothing scenarios presented as “optional” always bug me. Heck, I mean at some level just about everything except breathing is optional.
But if you look at a real “use” scenarios, what exactly is optional about having to use your REAL NAME on a public “search-engine” enabled website to get support for a failed install of Starcraft?
My biggest criticism of this approach is that it doesn’t even solve the underlying problem of eliminating trolls. In fact, it actually makes it worse in that it becomes pretty easy for a hateful or malicious person to attack your real identity.
That’s the real irony. Supporters of Real ID actually think it will fix something. The reality is that it simply extends the problem from being contained to the WoW forums to whatever other real world avenue that a vengeful person chooses.
Case in point: Blizzard does not, nor have they ever had, my real name. It’s pretty easy to avoid ever giving that information. All you need is an email address, a product key, and to pay with game cards.
If the solution to stopping troll posts is transparency, what’s to stop someone like me (with completely falsified information) from trolling?
Now consider who is more likely to have a fake account name… a legitimate casual user or a forum trouble-maker?
The entire internet, this website, our myspace and facebook pages, all are searchable. I have said it already, but I will restate it: I am not claiming that this will fix everything. I am claiming that this is an ATTEMPT to fix something that we all know is a problem. But being worried about a name being out on the internet is like being worried about, well, your name being out on the internet. It already is.
Guess what? I have all of your information, right now. You would be surprised what I can find out with the information you have given me on this website by just being here.
Don’t use Blizzards products. Don’t go to their page. Don’t use their forums. Simple.
Of course, probably every person I have told that too will resub as soon as Cata comes out, trust me.
If you haven’t seen this yet~
*link removed. Ire is in DEEP DEEP trouble now. Please read earlier comments, you PhillyfartHead*
It was posted by *name of super mean person removed* on his blog. This is an exemple of what will happen once the RealID goes live
Don’t use Blizzards products. Don’t go to their page. Don’t use their forums. Simple.
I love the totalitarian response. Look — either play by our rules or take your ball and go home. There is no room here to debate the quality or sanity of the rules themselves.
The simple reality of the situation is that this ATTEMPT is not worth the associated cost. That it won’t “fix” the problem and merely extends the problem from existing just on the forums to potentially our real lives.
In addition, the “threat” that having your real identity exposed is just as likely (more likely) to scare away your best posters.
I know that as an addon developer, I’ve posted maybe a hundred+ helpful posts on the official forums in the Custom UI/Macro section. If I had to share my real identity in order to make that comment, I never would have done it.
Now consider who is less likely to continue posting under this “threat” of exposing your real identity. The helpful, gainfully employed guy like myself who doesn’t want his name to show up in the Google results — or — the 19 year old jerk who works a minimum wage job and enjoys trolling the forums?
Exactly, Irenor.
forest/trees
Call it what you want, it is still a fact. Remember, though, that I do not work for Blizzard. lol I am simply telling you what they have said. We all DO agree that they have said “Play by our rules or go home” right?
I don’t knock ‘em for it. People like the dude that created the Link That Shall Not Be Named are the saddest, creepiest buttheads, ever and ever and ferever. People like him are the reason for all of this, period.
Beau
I think Blizzard are the only ones to judge whether the attempt is worth the cost or not. And yes, call it what you will, but they firmly said (unless it changes) that you need to “play by our rules or go home.”
Beua, even if you were purposely being contrarian in order to drum up discussion you couldn’t be further off base on this subject or seem more uncharacteristically obtuse.
“Guess what? I have all of your information, right now. You would be surprised what I can find out with the information you have given me on this website by just being here.”. – Beau
Threatening the privacy and trust of your audience, even a joke, in order to make a point is appallingly unwise.
It would be unwise if I were threatening, true, but I am not.
Beau
“WE THINK IT IS PROBABLY THE CREEPIEST EVIDENCE OF SAD NERDINESSOCITY EVER.”
Beau, can you not see why many of us do not want our real names on the Blizzard forums when there are characters playing WoW who do that?
And yes they’re WoW players. I’ve been pretty vocal about my opposition to this and I have a max level character of every class. Why would people who aren’t WoW players bother?
They are the same people who will see my real name if I were to post on Blizzard’s forums.
It’s really the lethal cocktail of the highly emotional state players get into plus the instant accessibility of personal details that alarms me. Sure I can get a thousand real names from the phone book that mean nothing. But I can now get the real name of the cocksucker who’s keeping me corpse-camped.
How can this end well, Beau?
Ok, first of all, that quote was about the guy that MADE that site that was on the Link That Shall Not Be Named. I am not saying, for the record, that any of you that are concerned are THE CREEPIEST EVIDENCE OF SAD NERDINESSOCITY EVER.
Next, I completely understand your concern, but not your paranoia. Why? I have already explained it a few times, but here it is again:
1) If someone wanted to kill, stalk or harass another player from the forums, they could have done so with no amount of work. There is so much information out there and more sitting, waiting, that it is insane. If you are on the internet, try to be aware of it. They are always discovering scary things about the internet and how it so very easily can be exposed. Will showing a players real name make it even easier, much easier? Possibly. Again, though, the Link That Shall Not Be Named didn’t expose the equivalent of what Blizzard will (remember, they haven’t even done it yet!) but it exposed so so so much more. So, to “teach” blizzard some kind of lesson, the dumbass publicly let loose (yes, readily available, but still) information that was MORE than Blizzard ever would. This typical dork reaction to something that not only happens in much, much more invasive ways (ask your bank where your info is going, yet do you protest them?) but that hasn’t even gone into effect yet is the only thing that equals it to some kind of NGE: both were reacted to in ways that made me ashamed to belong to the whole “culture.”
2) The mere existence of your name (if it is even correct, unlike mine on my account) does not take away the existence, power, or abilities of the law.
I tell you what man: when the first little girl is murdered and beat up, and a note is left on her body saying “Thanks, LiveID!”, you can say “Look Beau! We told you so! There is NO WAY that that man could have found that little girl, even though they have done this for years before the existence of LiveID!”
Beau
Beau, you perhaps did not threaten the privacy of your readers with malicious intent,, you did however threaten the _trust_ of your readers.
Trust is a fragile thing, and by simply stating you have the means and the ability to conduct untrustworthy acts against those that have by participating in your micro community placed said trust in you is, undeniably, unwise.
I was wrong. Blizzards realID policy change is not, like I thought, an admirable yet heavy handed attempt to encourage user behavior responsibility. There is far greater evidence that this policy is about monitizing the customer base.
Says the person posting anonymously on the Internet.
If you haven’t noticed, most people contributing in this discussion with civility aren’t hiding behind anything because they have nothing to hide.
I can assure you “alarmist” that noones out to get you, least of all me or Beau. So you can drop the crazy talk about trust and threats, or you can take it elsewhere.
Dude: saying that I have access to your information is saying what any website owner can. Everyone knows that. You know about IP addresses, city information, name of cities…AND you have provided me with an email address (real or fake, who knows?)….PLEASE stop assuming that this basic, basic, basic information is somehow deadly (without me breaking the law, just like always) or uncommon.
Beau