Quite possibly one of the worst privacy issues in gaming history. I completely agree that trolls are despicable, but trolling in a games forums is a minor issue when it comes to the major damage that can be done in real life. While there are people with common names, foreigners, like myself, have to deal with people finding me via google now, as I'm the only result with my name.
People play games for escapism, I am curious as to who thought this was a good idea.
IMO, this is an awful idea, it has the potential to make a LOT of people think twice about contributing to what can be a great resource for gamers.
Not girl-gamer friendly either, as someone who has both received unwanted attention, and watched another female suffer from a very persistent stalker, this would successfully discourage me from contributing to the forums.
P.S. Found this post and think it sums up most people's thoughts:
I just got off the phone with Blizzard's Technical Support (nice gentleman who helped answer my questions by the way) so now I feel a bit more secure about making this post. Also the 30 minute hold time gave me a few moments to gather my thoughts so I can speak thoughtfully without fear or anger leaking through.
Before I voice my opinion I will state that I have a recorded converstion from a Blizzard employee saying that the posts made today and before the new Real ID system goes into place on these forums WILL NOT show our information. Only posts made after Real ID is put into the forums will have this information.
This new system is a horrible idea. There are already well over 80 pages of people stating their ideas on this subject so I doubt what I say will be heared but I will try to present my arguments against Real ID in the hopes that someone will listen.
1. UNIQUE NAMES: Some people (including my husband for one) have very unique names. The linking of a person's real name if you have a common name is less troublesome because that person would be hard to track with a name alone, but if you have a name that is very uncommon linking it to a public forum is very invasive to that person. It could lead to that person being harrassed or annoyed (I will not overreact and use the word stalked) while trying to interact with their hobby.
People play this game for relaxation on their off time. But, for example, if you had a unique name and applied for a job and the potential employer googled your name and found posts on a gaming forum they may not hire you because they have ill conceved notions about gamers. In this exaple the employer may be working off an unfair stereotype but it still would hinder that person getting a job. And FYI without a job that person wouldn't be able to have the money to play WoW. Just a thought Blizzard.
2. COMMON NAMES: For those on the other side of the fence having a fairly common name can also lead to harrassment in a different way. You could be mistaken for someone else entirely and that can lead to confusion not only on the forums themselves but also outside of them.
The last thing I need is someone tracking me down via a google search of my fairly common name, getting my WoW info because I asked a question on a forum about a game I paly for fun, and contacting my character in game, or on the forums to yell at me about alamony payments when I dont have a ex-husband.
3. GENDER: As a female this one bothers me a lot. Not only do I not want to be petitioned by random people for cyberlovin while I am playing a game, but more importantly I do not want to be a target offline. Most males my not understand the fear women have in today's world about this but it is a real and genuine threat that does, sadly, happen. Women are stalked, hurt, even killed every day and we are taught from a young age to be careful and cautious when dealing with the unknown (aka strangers and the internet). It is a terrible reality about our society and I wish it wasn't so but fact is it happens.
I have been occasionaly harrassed while in game for cyberlovin (can not use the real words they use due to being banned on the forums if I do) and I have reported it when it does and Blizzard has never done a thing about it (repeat violations in some cases and their toons are still in the game with no reprocussions). I can't imagine what would happen if more of these perverts knew I was an actual girl. I shudder the think about it.
4. MINORS: Similar to the gender issue. There are minors that play this game and giving out their information to the general public is a bad idea. Even people who are 'adults' aka 18, 19, 20 can still be very impressionable and giving out their real names to the world wide web can only lead to trouble.
5. IDENTITY THIEFT: I know you can't steal a persons ID with ONLY their name but hainvg someone's full name is a great place to start.
6. WoW CRAZIES: Most people who paly this game are what would be classified as 'casuals'. But some people take this game way to seriously. I have been shocked and even fealful of a few of the players I have come across and giving them the ability to track me down and potentally harm me because I beat them in a duel frightens me.
7. INTERNET CRAZIES: Even worse these are the stalkers and child molesters that pray on people on the internet. I dont want then to have access to my full name!
8. SPAMMERS: Giving the internet as a whole your information can lead to spamming and flooding of your e-mail.facebook, exc even more then it is already. Gold sellers are going to have a hayday with this one.
If your name was Jerry Sienfled and you had a wow forum post I bet you ever single variation of your name at most popular e-mail hosters is going to be flooded with fake Blizzard emails. JerrySiefeld@hotmail, @gmail, @yahoo, exc. and now the gold sellers and hackers will have a way to customize those fake mails to your real name! Dear Jerry, We at Blizzard are please to announce you are in the beta! Please visit our fakelink to get your account hacked.
9. SAFETY OF BLIZZARD: Just like giving out a real name to fellow players is a bad idea, giving out the names of all your forum moderators is just as bad or worse! Your poilcy now is to have your phone representatives only use their first names for thier own safety (remember I recorded the conversation) and now you are going to change that! You could have an employee tracked down this way and come to serious harm. Not safe or smart.
So what can you do instead of using a person's full name? How aobut only being allowed to post on one toon? You have to pick a toon and that is that. Or using a set handle? Set up Real ID with this and I would use it in game as well.
And for all the people who say the forums are optional I will remind you that I pay the same subscripion fee that you do and so limiting what I can do with it doesn't seem like the most fair solution. I feel I should be able to use the forums to get information and to share ideas. I agree the trolls are a pain but there has to be a better more secure way then this.
-Quira
Probably one of the best posts. Worth the quote and reiteration.
Worst idea ever. I have a pretty unusual name, I don't want the first thing people to see when someone Google's me being some ultra-geeky Starcraft or WoW talk.
Since battle.net accounts are now tied to email accounts, and full real names will be in forums, seems like this change may end up helping malicious people to discover and compromise users accounts.
Digg this up people. I know the submitter isn't a power user but we've got to make an effort to get this to the front page so this kind of insanity gets some attention.
This is big.
I rarely post on the forums, but this will stop me from doing so ever again. I have in the past, and likely will again, work in high end retail of the sort where you're basically paid to forward the notion that you're the customer's friend. A lot of high end retail does this as a means of increasing customer loyalty.
I don't mind it, because people are generally nicer to their friends than they are to a random retail drone, so I used to get way fewer customers from hell, but it does mean that I have to watch what information Google turns up, because my customers will Google me at some point, and in the field I specialize in, many of them have certain expectations of young women that I challenge at my peril. People at work have apologized for swearing in front of me, something that anyone who knew me outside of work would find hilarious.
I am also soon to be married to a teacher with a distinctive last name, and given the shoddy reasons that teachers are fired for being caught doing on Facebook, I have no intention of letting the 'Think Of The Children' brigade having the barest idea of what I do with my time.
Right now, a search of my name doesn't turn up anything about me, and the privacy on my Facebook is turned all the way up.
I hope this doesn't signal a persistent thread. It won't deter the trolls. They're spurred on not by people not knowing who they are, but by not seeing and being seen by people when they're spewing their bile. MySpace and Facebook bullying are good examples of trolling done under one's real name. For a more old school example, check out the letters to the editor column in any local newspaper. I personally know a guy who was well known in his community who wrote things that he would never say in person to be published under his real name in the paper. He should have known better, but he did. Often.
aquatriniJul 6, 2010Buried
Quite possibly one of the worst privacy issues in gaming history. I completely agree that trolls are despicable, but trolling in a games forums is a minor issue when it comes to the major damage that can be done in real life. While there are people with common names, foreigners, like myself, have to deal with people finding me via google now, as I'm the only result with my name.
People play games for escapism, I am curious as to who thought this was a good idea.
princessanaJul 6, 2010Buried
IMO, this is an awful idea, it has the potential to make a LOT of people think twice about contributing to what can be a great resource for gamers.
Not girl-gamer friendly either, as someone who has both received unwanted attention, and watched another female suffer from a very persistent stalker, this would successfully discourage me from contributing to the forums.
kanockJul 6, 2010Buried
P.S. Found this post and think it sums up most people's thoughts:
I just got off the phone with Blizzard's Technical Support (nice gentleman who helped answer my questions by the way) so now I feel a bit more secure about making this post. Also the 30 minute hold time gave me a few moments to gather my thoughts so I can speak thoughtfully without fear or anger leaking through.
Before I voice my opinion I will state that I have a recorded converstion from a Blizzard employee saying that the posts made today and before the new Real ID system goes into place on these forums WILL NOT show our information. Only posts made after Real ID is put into the forums will have this information.
This new system is a horrible idea. There are already well over 80 pages of people stating their ideas on this subject so I doubt what I say will be heared but I will try to present my arguments against Real ID in the hopes that someone will listen.
1. UNIQUE NAMES: Some people (including my husband for one) have very unique names. The linking of a person's real name if you have a common name is less troublesome because that person would be hard to track with a name alone, but if you have a name that is very uncommon linking it to a public forum is very invasive to that person. It could lead to that person being harrassed or annoyed (I will not overreact and use the word stalked) while trying to interact with their hobby.
People play this game for relaxation on their off time. But, for example, if you had a unique name and applied for a job and the potential employer googled your name and found posts on a gaming forum they may not hire you because they have ill conceved notions about gamers. In this exaple the employer may be working off an unfair stereotype but it still would hinder that person getting a job. And FYI without a job that person wouldn't be able to have the money to play WoW. Just a thought Blizzard.
2. COMMON NAMES: For those on the other side of the fence having a fairly common name can also lead to harrassment in a different way. You could be mistaken for someone else entirely and that can lead to confusion not only on the forums themselves but also outside of them.
The last thing I need is someone tracking me down via a google search of my fairly common name, getting my WoW info because I asked a question on a forum about a game I paly for fun, and contacting my character in game, or on the forums to yell at me about alamony payments when I dont have a ex-husband.
3. GENDER: As a female this one bothers me a lot. Not only do I not want to be petitioned by random people for cyberlovin while I am playing a game, but more importantly I do not want to be a target offline. Most males my not understand the fear women have in today's world about this but it is a real and genuine threat that does, sadly, happen. Women are stalked, hurt, even killed every day and we are taught from a young age to be careful and cautious when dealing with the unknown (aka strangers and the internet). It is a terrible reality about our society and I wish it wasn't so but fact is it happens.
I have been occasionaly harrassed while in game for cyberlovin (can not use the real words they use due to being banned on the forums if I do) and I have reported it when it does and Blizzard has never done a thing about it (repeat violations in some cases and their toons are still in the game with no reprocussions). I can't imagine what would happen if more of these perverts knew I was an actual girl. I shudder the think about it.
4. MINORS: Similar to the gender issue. There are minors that play this game and giving out their information to the general public is a bad idea. Even people who are 'adults' aka 18, 19, 20 can still be very impressionable and giving out their real names to the world wide web can only lead to trouble.
5. IDENTITY THIEFT: I know you can't steal a persons ID with ONLY their name but hainvg someone's full name is a great place to start.
6. WoW CRAZIES: Most people who paly this game are what would be classified as 'casuals'. But some people take this game way to seriously. I have been shocked and even fealful of a few of the players I have come across and giving them the ability to track me down and potentally harm me because I beat them in a duel frightens me.
7. INTERNET CRAZIES: Even worse these are the stalkers and child molesters that pray on people on the internet. I dont want then to have access to my full name!
8. SPAMMERS: Giving the internet as a whole your information can lead to spamming and flooding of your e-mail.facebook, exc even more then it is already. Gold sellers are going to have a hayday with this one.
If your name was Jerry Sienfled and you had a wow forum post I bet you ever single variation of your name at most popular e-mail hosters is going to be flooded with fake Blizzard emails. JerrySiefeld@hotmail, @gmail, @yahoo, exc. and now the gold sellers and hackers will have a way to customize those fake mails to your real name! Dear Jerry, We at Blizzard are please to announce you are in the beta! Please visit our fakelink to get your account hacked.
9. SAFETY OF BLIZZARD: Just like giving out a real name to fellow players is a bad idea, giving out the names of all your forum moderators is just as bad or worse! Your poilcy now is to have your phone representatives only use their first names for thier own safety (remember I recorded the conversation) and now you are going to change that! You could have an employee tracked down this way and come to serious harm. Not safe or smart.
So what can you do instead of using a person's full name? How aobut only being allowed to post on one toon? You have to pick a toon and that is that. Or using a set handle? Set up Real ID with this and I would use it in game as well.
And for all the people who say the forums are optional I will remind you that I pay the same subscripion fee that you do and so limiting what I can do with it doesn't seem like the most fair solution. I feel I should be able to use the forums to get information and to share ideas. I agree the trolls are a pain but there has to be a better more secure way then this.
-Quira
Probably one of the best posts. Worth the quote and reiteration.
kanockJul 6, 2010Buried
Worst idea ever. I have a pretty unusual name, I don't want the first thing people to see when someone Google's me being some ultra-geeky Starcraft or WoW talk.
gamers403Jul 6, 2010Buried
they've made it that much easier for pissed off players to go hunting down their enemies and stabbing them in RL - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/7771505/Video-game-fanatic-hunts-down-and-stabs-rival-player-who-killed-character-online.html
whereamiJul 7, 2010Buried
Good thing I changed my name to Max Power.
ravenlarkJul 7, 2010Buried
BREAKING: Spurned guild member goes on cross-country rampage.
yourbuddybillJul 6, 2010Buried
Since battle.net accounts are now tied to email accounts, and full real names will be in forums, seems like this change may end up helping malicious people to discover and compromise users accounts.
generalstarJul 7, 2010Buried
"Twelve Year Old Gamer Shot Twice in Face over Blizzard Forum post"
Oh the wonderful publicity.
Smart move, eh guys?
ravenlarkJul 7, 2010Buried
http://www.cad-comic.com/comics/c0a129271278475206.jpg
bugmenot2Jul 7, 2010Buried
Kevin Rose
frakkinbastardJul 7, 2010Buried
Blizzard is interested in only one kind of contribution: your money.
delsolmanJul 7, 2010Buried
LEEROY JENKINS!
vodd9Jul 6, 2010Buried
Digg this up people. I know the submitter isn't a power user but we've got to make an effort to get this to the front page so this kind of insanity gets some attention.
This is big.
SpeakOfTheDevilJul 7, 2010Buried
Ben Dover
kbir007Jul 7, 2010Buried
I'm a stupid moron with an ugly face and big butt and my butt smells and I like to kiss my own butt.
mrquackerJul 7, 2010Buried
Well that f**ker shoulda stopped ganking me and corpse camping.
bigp3rmJul 7, 2010Buried
I'm pretty sure this is coming from Activision. They want to make battle.net into facebook.
mrquackerJul 7, 2010Buried
I. C. Weiner
purplekatJul 7, 2010Buried
I rarely post on the forums, but this will stop me from doing so ever again. I have in the past, and likely will again, work in high end retail of the sort where you're basically paid to forward the notion that you're the customer's friend. A lot of high end retail does this as a means of increasing customer loyalty.
I don't mind it, because people are generally nicer to their friends than they are to a random retail drone, so I used to get way fewer customers from hell, but it does mean that I have to watch what information Google turns up, because my customers will Google me at some point, and in the field I specialize in, many of them have certain expectations of young women that I challenge at my peril. People at work have apologized for swearing in front of me, something that anyone who knew me outside of work would find hilarious.
I am also soon to be married to a teacher with a distinctive last name, and given the shoddy reasons that teachers are fired for being caught doing on Facebook, I have no intention of letting the 'Think Of The Children' brigade having the barest idea of what I do with my time.
Right now, a search of my name doesn't turn up anything about me, and the privacy on my Facebook is turned all the way up.
I hope this doesn't signal a persistent thread. It won't deter the trolls. They're spurred on not by people not knowing who they are, but by not seeing and being seen by people when they're spewing their bile. MySpace and Facebook bullying are good examples of trolling done under one's real name. For a more old school example, check out the letters to the editor column in any local newspaper. I personally know a guy who was well known in his community who wrote things that he would never say in person to be published under his real name in the paper. He should have known better, but he did. Often.