Yesterday, Blizzard announced that their RealID system was coming to their forums. That means your real name will be used when posting. I cannot think of anything that can make me more angry than this. Why so much anger? Several reasons. First, this is a game. By definition it's an MMORPG, emphasis here on the "RPG". It's a place where I can play the game my way, and separate myself from the real world. I don't want the real world and my online world to mix unless it's on my terms. Blizzard is now taking that choice away from me and millions of other people.
This isn't Farmville, this isn't a Facebook app, but someone seems to want to turn it into one. When Blizzard made this announcement, my view on the game shifted. I still love and respect the game, but now I have this nagging thought in the back of my head that someone wants it to be more of a social network than an MMORPG. I've been asking Blizzard for more tools to communicate with your friends in and out of the game like Everquest does, but this is too much.
Blizzard is also telling people that this is to clean up the forum trolls. Whoever thought of that decision never read Usenet. We'd argue for months at a time on particular topics, all using our real name. Granted, Usenet was unmoderated, but we weren't afraid of calling people out. I just don't see this change as being a help. In fact, it will move people towards other forums such as our own, the instance, mmo-champion, tankspot, and elitist jerks.
I also don't believe that this is just for a forum cleanup. If anything, you're going to lose a large part of the intelligent community simply because they don't feel comfortable posting with their real name. I think that there's something like direct Facebook integration coming. I don't want Facebook invading a game. It's a terrible idea because the game stood on its own. The most I ever wanted was the ability to talk to guildies out of the game, not also see their drunk pictures because they happened to be in my guild.
One argument some people have is that the forums are optional. I disagree with that. I'm paying for the ability to post to those forums. It's where I go to ask about class issues, quest problems, and other things. It's the first place I go to. I don't troll the forums, but now I'm going to be punished for those that did. Also, Blizzard requires that you post on the forums when you have a customer service issue and can't call in which means your real name will be exposed. That, to me, is not "optional".
The people most at risk are the ones that have the most to lose. People looking for a job are probably the ones that have to worry the most. A potential employer can Google your name and "oh, look, they posted on the WoW forums. Well, we don't want WoW players working here". Teachers, women, children (if not blocked), and others that may be ridiculed are all at risk, simply because they posted on a game forum.
Other problems I see:
Gankers / Campers on PvP servers
Gold sellers
Annoying people on the forums (the bigots and racists are the worst IMO)
Stalkers
Professionals that don't want their name shown in a Google search
Harassment
There are two solutions:
1) Get rid of RealID on the forums altogether.
2) Use RealID on the main forums, but allow character names on the customer service forum.
I would implore Blizzard to rethink this change. Not only does it make over 22,000 people upset, but it puts the game in a different light. Now people will think of it as the world's biggest Facebook app, and that stings.
This isn't Farmville, this isn't a Facebook app, but someone seems to want to turn it into one. When Blizzard made this announcement, my view on the game shifted. I still love and respect the game, but now I have this nagging thought in the back of my head that someone wants it to be more of a social network than an MMORPG. I've been asking Blizzard for more tools to communicate with your friends in and out of the game like Everquest does, but this is too much.
Blizzard is also telling people that this is to clean up the forum trolls. Whoever thought of that decision never read Usenet. We'd argue for months at a time on particular topics, all using our real name. Granted, Usenet was unmoderated, but we weren't afraid of calling people out. I just don't see this change as being a help. In fact, it will move people towards other forums such as our own, the instance, mmo-champion, tankspot, and elitist jerks.
I also don't believe that this is just for a forum cleanup. If anything, you're going to lose a large part of the intelligent community simply because they don't feel comfortable posting with their real name. I think that there's something like direct Facebook integration coming. I don't want Facebook invading a game. It's a terrible idea because the game stood on its own. The most I ever wanted was the ability to talk to guildies out of the game, not also see their drunk pictures because they happened to be in my guild.
One argument some people have is that the forums are optional. I disagree with that. I'm paying for the ability to post to those forums. It's where I go to ask about class issues, quest problems, and other things. It's the first place I go to. I don't troll the forums, but now I'm going to be punished for those that did. Also, Blizzard requires that you post on the forums when you have a customer service issue and can't call in which means your real name will be exposed. That, to me, is not "optional".
The people most at risk are the ones that have the most to lose. People looking for a job are probably the ones that have to worry the most. A potential employer can Google your name and "oh, look, they posted on the WoW forums. Well, we don't want WoW players working here". Teachers, women, children (if not blocked), and others that may be ridiculed are all at risk, simply because they posted on a game forum.
Other problems I see:
Gankers / Campers on PvP servers
Gold sellers
Annoying people on the forums (the bigots and racists are the worst IMO)
Stalkers
Professionals that don't want their name shown in a Google search
Harassment
There are two solutions:
1) Get rid of RealID on the forums altogether.
2) Use RealID on the main forums, but allow character names on the customer service forum.
I would implore Blizzard to rethink this change. Not only does it make over 22,000 people upset, but it puts the game in a different light. Now people will think of it as the world's biggest Facebook app, and that stings.
July 7, 2010 at 12:11 PM
I understand where the inspiration is coming from for all this fear and hate, but I really think a lot of it is overblown. Sure, I've read about the predictions of widespread rape and murder as a result of this, as if Blizzard are defending the gates of personal safety for twelve million people. But honestly, its silly.
Sure there are stories about people not getting jobs or getting discriminated against in some way because of wow. I question their validity.
You of all people should be able to attest to how much of a non-issue this is. Your name is out there, are you living in constant fear of your life?
You say this needs to be on your terms, and it is. They have said that the option exists whether to associate your character's name with your real name, so that link does not have to be on the forum, presumably.
Their stance that the forums are optional is valid. I have posted very rarely on the forums, because they are 99% noise to 1% signal. I know how to find the useful info, but that doesn't require a login or divulging my name. I don't have to post.
Sure there is potential for idiots and crazies to be idiots and crazies, but blizzard is not the safety buffer between us and them. People who want to do harm will find a way, same as it has always been throughout history.
I just don't see the big deal.
July 7, 2010 at 1:43 PM
After reading a great deal of the posts today both pro and con I agree Syn. This has been blown out of proportion. However, I agree with Mike in that this is a game. A game in which I can choose who I want to share my identity with. I am not a forum troll but I have posted on the forums seeking information. I do not want my real name disclosed. That information is between me and Blizz, not between me and 5 million other people. I think that is the bottom line, and it makes everyone wonder what the next step might be.
I don't believe that this will prevent forum trolling either. I think this will prevent people from posting who may be legitimately looking for information or asking questions. I for one know that it will make me think long and hard before posting anything on the forums again.
As for RealID. I have no desire to share my inforamation with people in game. Those that are friends of mine already know who I am and how to get in touch with me and those that aren't don't. My system is fine without it.
July 7, 2010 at 1:58 PM
Light is an excellent disinfectant. RealID is a bold and healthy decision by Blizzard. Own your words or don't post.
July 7, 2010 at 4:05 PM
Russh: "The Blogger Profile you requested cannot be displayed. Many Blogger users have not yet elected to publicly share their Profile."
July 7, 2010 at 4:45 PM
It's clear to me now that there's no reason for me to reactivate my account and play the Cataclysm if this forum RealID will continue its course in invading our privacy. World of Warcraft is not a social networking site, grinding wow gold isn't the same with farmville coins or cafe world credits and same with privacy. They can create a new forum or application if they want too.
July 8, 2010 at 6:26 AM
Starman, I couldn't agree more. I already posted my thoughts on the Instance's site, I hope you don't mind a little bit of "wall of text".
Firstly, the troll argument is a rationalization. This is not motivated by a desire to “clean up” the forums, but by a multi-million dollar deal with Facebook. Battle.net IDs morphed into Real ID because Facebook uses real names, instead of abstractions. Perhaps this “accountability” nonsense is what they use to justify this change to themselves. Lack of anonymity will not deter disruptive posters, if they care very little for their anonymity, or if their anonymity remains de facto intact due to the fact that their name is, say, Scott Johnson, which narrows their identity down to merely tens of thousands of Scott Johnsons.
I think the Facebook integration is an ill-conceived idea born from the reality-divorced avarice of Robert Kotick, forced down the throats of both the old guard at Blizzard (as opposed to ATVI) as well as us. But it, on its own, and the targeted advertising, and all that follows, is not that big of a deal at the end of the day.
What is a really big deal is the forced use of real names, and Blizzard’s official response to worries. It is such a great big deal that both my wife and I have cancelled our subscriptions, written letters to Blizzard and the ESRB, and will refuse to purchase any Blizzard or Activision products ever again, if this “feature” goes live.
Because in the adolescent male dominated, xenophobic gaming community (and I am merely noting trends, not painting everyone with the same broad brush), some animals are more equal than others. It is all well and good for a middle-class, white, straight male with a reasonably common name to not be worried.
It is entirely reasonable, however, for any female with a common female name to have reservations. It is entirely reasonable for a transgendered person whose legal name is still distinctively male to have reservations. It is entirely reasonable for a person with an Islamic name such as Muhammad or Abdul to have reservations.
Because it is guaranteed that women and girls “outed” in front of the gaming community in such a manner will be asked to show their titties. It is guaranteed that transgendered players “outed” in front of the gaming community will be called freaks and perverts. It is guaranteed that persons with Islamic names will be labeled as terrorists and called “sand ni**ers”.
It is the furthest thing from acceptable that Blizzard’s response to this is “the forums are optional”. Because this is tantamount to “we don’t care about you”. The emotional wellbeing and right to participate of people who would be targeted on a very personal level by ignorant, malicious bigots is not optional. It’s outrageous of Blizzard to imply this.
And it’s equally outrageous of Blizzard to refer to consent. “Your name won’t be public record without your consent”. This is a video game developer pushing the entire responsibility for the safety of the millions of young, inexperienced, naive people on those people themselves, through the copout of a scrolling EULA and an Accept button.
“You can turn it off via parental controls” either assumes that all parents are responsible and informed, or else implies that children whose parents are not responsible and informed can be harassed, stalked, abused, or worse.
I love this game. I love the “true” Blizzard, the men and women who create these wonderful games with the love they obviously have for the game and their players. Having to leave breaks my heart. But I can’t possibly stay, and give money to the evil, ignorant greed that has no respect or sense of responsibility for their customers. My subscription is cancelled, and although I have a week of playtime left, I won’t be logging in.
They will have me back as a customer when they reverse this horrible decision.
July 8, 2010 at 11:20 AM
blizz can't control their user's behavior, and names or no names won't make a difference in that regard. this kind of thing can and will happen anywhere in life, and (i laugh as i type this) blizzard's forums are no safe harbor from this.
i don't think it makes sense to discount blizzard's stated reasons. I think they do hope that this improves the forum experience. That's not to say that the facebook deal is not the driving force - most certainly it is. In light of the facebook deal, my concern is not over names (because, sorry, that concern is way overblown) but over data sharing.
I quit facebook because they were intent on selling every bit of information they had to advertisers, exceeding what their policy stated, and amending that policy to be more and more loose as they got caught double dealing. RealID's facebook integration will facilitate (and authorize) data sharing between the two networks. That's fine for the people who want to use both networks, but my concern is that my battle.net info might be shared regardless of my lack of a facebook account.
If Blizz does well and keeps my data out of facebook (unless I choose to share that data with facebook), then we're ok. If not, then they will lose this customer.