It's over
polycounter lvl 18
Blizzard has jumped the shark. It is a one way ride to blind corporate evil from this point onwards.
http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=25626109041
http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=25626109041
The first and most significant change is that in the near future, anyone posting or replying to a post on official Blizzard forums will be doing so using their Real ID -- that is, their real-life first and last name -- with the option to also display the name of their primary in-game character alongside it.
Replies
I never really post at the official forums though so I guess it's not a super big deal for me.
maybe the nerds won't be so fucking horrible to each other if they can't hide behind their anonymity.
This doesn't effect me at all, but I'm all for it.
I'm less worried about the nerds offending each other than the nerds who think its OK or acceptable to hunt someone down and harass them in real life because they ganked them in WoW or something.
The nerds who talk shit on the internet are harmless. It's the ones who take it seriously that are worrisome.
Calling someones cell phone over and over super late at night and creating various screen names just to harass someone after they continue to block you. Yeah good times.
That's ok though. What goes around comes around and usually it's a lot worse when it comes back.
On the Blizzard side I see why they are doing it. Hope it helps out.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/24/content_8039953.htm
yet another reason I'm glad I didn't pre-order
Fuck you blizzard [and all other parties implementing similar policies], the anonymity of the internet was one of the things that made it the revolutionary wild west that it is. You will not get my business.
Let's hope the US (and Polycount) don't implement such policies, eh ZacD?
we are in agreement.
The forums belong to them, they can run them how they please. How is taking away anonymity an evil act? If what you're saying is so "edgy" that you can't post it on blizzard's forum attached to your name, then don't post it or post it elsewhere.
It's like the KKK parading on your lawn and forcing them to take off their masks. And yes, I very much do think pricks in the KKK and pricks on the internet can all be grouped together.
I could track down about 99% of the people on this forum who post regularly.
I am outside your window right now.
So what exactly are you planning on doing to inspire a stranger to track your down btw? Is it something you would do in person?
I don't know what I'd do with my spare time
Well maybe I am being a little overly paranoid, I know you dont need the full name, to track someone down, but there's id theft using names and ip, addresses(siging up to credits cards, etc, there is a ton load of id theft going on, there's no reason to give them more info easily). Also cyberbullying theres a lot of that going on at the moment. I know there are people out there waiting for me to show my face and will try and track me down and destroy me.:shifty:
Do women really want there sex identified in online games, sometimes they go to a lot of trouble to hide itm for good reasons.
There are lots of people that do not care that their identity is exposed, and will act as they always had, like idiots.
And bollocks to "nothing to hide nothing to fear", no single person is perfectly pure, privacy is everyones right, you cant guess at what others may find wrong in you or your actions, and what repercusions may come from that.
I'm not too concerned.
But it's so much easier to blame your inability to act like a 12 year old on the internet anymore on Blizzard turning into a corporate monster!
They dont care about their identity they dont know enough to care about it. I garantee it wont stop any of the smack/shit talking folks. The sum total of it will be exactly the same as it was before and probably more specific.
Well I think that rumor is a result of these rumors.
-S. Korea will be getting SCII free, as long as they paying a WOW Subscription
-Russia is on a pay to play basis.
I think the real names won't matter to the majority (although I like to maintain my anomitility, as I've already been a victim of credit card fraud myself) As one of my friends is bugging me every other day if the beta is back, and seroiusly it's getting annoying.
There seems to be a handful of people who think this is what people are concerned about, so I'll spell it out for you guys:
We are not worried that we suddenly won't be able to act like idiots on the internet any more. We are concerned that the not-so-stable people that play games (of which there are many) might overreact a little after getting beaten in one too many duels. Someone on shacknews linked to an article where a guy was recently killed for talking during a movie. This is not an unreasonable concern. Another concern mentioned in the official battle.net thread is that women are going to be put at much greater risk now (risk of stalking online, risk of stalking in reality, harassment for cybersex, etc). If you think this is bullshit, I encourage you to talk to a couple of female gamers.
Can anyone think of a good reason for this policy? Anonymous flame wars on a forum between idiots hurt no one, except the people dumb enough to get excited about them in the first place. Yes, they're annoying, but they're still completely harmless. This new policy, on the other hand, could lead to serious problems for people who've done *nothing* stupid or wrong.
My name on US-West and East have always been jacque_choi, as has my steam name.
I don't get harassed by people trying to look me up.
But I have been called the N-bomb, along with various other completely racist/homophobic names. I'd like to think that would end if they couldn't hide behind an alias.
Theres a lot of stupid/insane people in the world and I really dont mind not having all those i meet ingame/internet people to know exactly who and where I am. I mean im a pretty gentle guy and try not to step on anyones toes. But its impossible because some people get offended and angry sometimes without you even knowing. I met this one kid who was angry at me because he thought I was cheating at a LAN, ofcourse that time i could settle it right there just showing him I wasnt.
Im with Ferg, good points Ferg!
* Sideways
jk i dont play golf
totally agree with you here.
If there's a problem on the forums Blizz can already get your real name, account info, yadda yadda and step in. I don't see how giving out my real name to 3rd parties helps - it's certainly not needed to connect with your "RL" friends. If I want them to know my WoW forum name, then I'll tell them and if not, then I don't. duh.
I just hate this "we'll make it more SOCIAL (without asking you for your consent)" BS which is such a "hot thing" in gaming CEOs minds. If I want to blare out to the world what I'm doing I'll just get Facebook, Twitter, Xfire, etc. But believe it or not, some people just want to be left alone and have a quiet time enjoying their games without getting pokes and nudges all the time from the real world.
Unrelated from all that, another thing to consider is that Blizzard has most likely done their research into this. They're not known for acting rashly and without the long view in mind. If they really thought this was going to lead to people getting hurt or harrassed, they most likely wouldn't implement it.
dude, your thinking is scary....
Blizz has done their research (yeah?), they're knowing what they do...
The Government has done their research, they're knowing what they do...
The Police has done their research, they're knowing what they do...
BP has done their research, they're knowing what they do...
stop thinking like that.
Questioning things, within reason, is a GOOD thing! And you should never stop doing it just because a corporation/government was lucky enough to just not fuck up yet....
Its a pretty bold idea that probably got thrown around quite a bit before actually solidifying and I doubt it would fly if it was a super-easy way for the entire blizzard community's identity stolen. I may be wrong about this but I assume they have people that are paid to think about stuff like this to potentially prevent law suits... but like i said, i may be wrong. :poly122:
But hopefully it'll bring down some of the jack-assery.
Love to see any amount of data supporting that there is some sort of negative effects caused by this "internet" mentality. Everytime I've seen someone try to bring this sort of thing up it's never backed up in the least (And is often contradicted by statistics).
It's what essentially amounts to some old fart yelling about "Them kids these days!", which is 99% of the time bullshit caused by people fearing and misunderstanding change combined with a nostalgic, light coloured, and fluffy ass view of the past.
Generally if you look at how the terrible, crime ridden, unempathetic, attention deficient, delinquent youth is doing these days, it seems to be better than it was in the past. Atleast based on the last statistics I saw, which may have been wrong or outdated I suppose (though somewhat doubt).
Also, I agree with what Ferg mentioned.
I think you mistook me. I wasn't advocating a blind faith in anything, only that in this day and age, you can bet Blizzard's legal team has picked apart the decision for days on end. I only trust that Bliz has examined the issue to the point where they aren't putting people in harm's way to the extent they'll be liable. In this case, I think that probably works out best for everyone.
As for questioning the government, I've done the anti-establishment, slogan spraypainting, 'fuck the cops' liberal bit. I've got the 8" scar on my leg from the police gas canister during a 'peaceful' protest in Berkeley to prove it.
I certainly don't have any statistics. As I said, it's just my opinion on the matter from personal experience. I do think it's pretty well accepted that the 'internet tough guy phenomenon' is pretty pervasive, and isn't isolated to kids. On the other hand, there's probably pretty good statistic for what you said (not that I trust statistics as being much of a measure of anything). Maybe kids do have better socialization than they did 20 years ago... I really don't know. I don't think I have a starry eyed view of the good ol' days or anything, my opinion is purely based on my own experiences. I'm not a particularly social person on the internet outside Polycount; I just remember playing WoW for awhile and the constant "I'll come to your house and kick your ass" stuff from every nerd with a laptop. Meh, it's all just opinion until someone does a decent study over a good period of time.
Handles, nicks, sign-in names are silly, when a google search will bring your stalker axe murderer to PC, and on PC you've linked to your portfolio (with your real names), which usually has a phone number, email address, postal address.
And if that won't do it, there's the domain registration details anyone can search for, that'll have all of the above in it, 9 times out of 10.
Then, before you know it, you're emailing them a keystroke recorder virus, you're befriending them, you're meeting them for coffee, you're ductaping thier hands and mouth and you're stuffing them into the back of your van...
I don't understand people trying to be anonymous on the internet.
Yes. Good advice.
(That means you end up with a BNet name, a forum name and a IRL name? Hassle!)
Deal's off man. The deal, IS, OFF!
Lets just see how long this lasts before some parents cause some sensationalised headlines to appear about some kid in the US/China/Korea backtracking some foul mouthed tiddler for some real-time revenge.
Accountability is one thing, making it far to easy to track and trace is quite another.
@ glynnsmith: the difference between searching for that type of info and something like Real ID, is that the latter (Real ID et-al) is *verified data*, searching isn't because it pulls up hundreds of results you have to cross-reference, making the whole identity theft thing just that more time consuming. Not that I'd know or have done that *cough*
Even though I have a pretty common name, I don't see any benefit from this move at all.
For the most part this will more than likely hinder people from being openly social video games and Face Book are two different things.
Because of this new move I am going to be hesitant to purchase (SCII+) from blizzard as this is definately something I do not want to promote in anyway shape or form.
It's okay that some of you are okay with this and you don't see a problem with it now, but when you become a victim I am sure you'll be wishing you were against it or could have spoken out to do something about it (I am sure they lurk forums for feedback, or they're employees pass on the "there's another blizzard topic" to fellow co-workers).
I for one would enjoy not worrying about the psycho's hunting me down and or maybe waiting for my children or wife to come home before I do, that just doesn't really sit well with me, does that sound like fun to you? I don't think so.
I say some anonymity is better then none and crying about how someone trash talked you in a game is pretty low to even mention that they are hiding behind there alias, just sounds like you want to know who they are, but why? *psycho bell sounds*
I'd take trash talking over real life stalking anyday, this is from someone who rarely gets to play games, just FYI.
Posting on the forums is fine as I won't ever do it (so go crazy with that), but I am speaking more of the lines of future advances of this "idea" to display real names globally within games, I like my privacy.