Blizzard has lost its collective effing mind

masteen · Post by **masteen** » July 7, 2010, 3:43 pm

RealID (aka your real name) will now be mandatory to post on their forums. ALL their forums going forward, including the tech support and bug forums, which do not have an issue with trolls.

It's also looking like it's going to be mandatory to just play SC2, and, while not officially announced, their cozy deal with Facebook leads me to believe it will be for Cataclysm as well.

One of their blue posters put up his info yesterday, and within hours his Facebook and loads of other personal info (including criminal information) was out there. Today, Blizzard decides that forcing blues to post with RealID might cause privacy issues, but it still fine for their paying customers.

I unsubbed last night, and as of right now have no plans to buy Cata. I am not sure what they're smoking out there in Irvine, but it must be some crazy shit.

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » July 7, 2010, 3:45 pm

Kickbacks from facebook ad space

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » July 7, 2010, 3:53 pm

Yeah this was the tip over the edge I needed too. I'm done with WoW, not gonna stand for this nonsense.

I'm excited to try out Final Fantasy 14 later this summer anyhow

miir · Post by **miir** » July 7, 2010, 4:16 pm

'Official Forums' are a total waste of time unless they have heavy handed moderation.
They are probably doing it to intentionally kill their forums.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » July 7, 2010, 4:31 pm

The forums are just the start.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » July 7, 2010, 5:09 pm

Pretty much. I'm just waiting for the announcement that Real ID will be required to play WoW and your personal info won't only be broadcast to your friends like they stated. Either way I'm not sticking around to find out.

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » July 7, 2010, 5:31 pm

This is equal parts crazy and stupid. What the hell are they thinking?!?

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » July 7, 2010, 5:36 pm

a friend mentioned on the mage forums, a frequent poster spoke of running some ad on that spammed for realid keys, and within minutes was flooded with folks' information.

I have been playing console games a lot more lately...and as soon as it is required for wow, or any of their games, I'm out.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » July 7, 2010, 5:37 pm

I thought it couldn't get dumber when I read that it was open to friends-of-friends. For a game that is plagued by stolen accounts/info, this is probably the dumbest route they could take.

Dregor Thule · Post by **Dregor Thule** » July 7, 2010, 6:16 pm

It's pretty fucking ridiculous. I was hoping they'd make it so if you posted on a character it would show all your characters with a click to try and reduce the trolls, but this is stupidity.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » July 7, 2010, 6:21 pm

Kluden wrote:a friend mentioned on the mage forums, a frequent poster spoke of running some ad on that spammed for realid keys, and within minutes was flooded with folks' information.

I have been playing console games a lot more lately...and as soon as it is required for wow, or any of their games, I'm out.

There is currently a security hole where, if you don't have your parental controls set up and RealID disabled (unchecked), ANY MOD can get your real life infoz.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » July 7, 2010, 7:15 pm

so, you have to set up your account with parental controls to disable it?

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » July 7, 2010, 9:44 pm

I believe so Boog.

Account cancelled.

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » July 7, 2010, 10:22 pm

They must've hired former facebook security managers to run the show for them.

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » July 8, 2010, 1:32 am

I restarted my account on Sunday. I paid for 6 months. I cancelled today, giving real id as the reason. If I would've known about this earlier, I never would've renewed. Well, I have 6 months to play!

Post by **Xouqoa** » July 8, 2010, 11:22 am

I think I read somewhere that your RealID does NOT have to be your real name, but perhaps I am mistaken.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » July 8, 2010, 11:29 am

Xouqoa wrote:I think I read somewhere that your RealID does NOT have to be your real name, but perhaps I am mistaken.

I'm not sure on that. Even if so, Blizzard's complete disregard for peoples privacy in general is unacceptable. It's a shame they reached the inevitable point of being a big shitty corporation that doesn't give a damn about their consumers.. They have some seriously talented people and it's their die hard fans that they're shitting on that got them to this point.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » July 8, 2010, 11:48 am

wouldn't they punish people just for posting the in-game name of other players on the forums?

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » July 8, 2010, 11:53 am

Boogahz wrote:wouldn't they punish people just for posting the in-game name of other players on the forums?

Yep. NAMING AND SHAMING IS BAD, MMMKAY?

masteen · Post by **masteen** » July 8, 2010, 12:09 pm

Xouqoa wrote:I think I read somewhere that your RealID does NOT have to be your real name, but perhaps I am mistaken.

Your RealID is whatever you put in as your name for your bnet account. I was stupid enough to actually use my real name. I would have put "Bob Loblaw" had I known this shit was coming.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » July 8, 2010, 12:33 pm

I have yet to receive my email for parental control from blizzard that I signed up for last night. I wonder if they are getting flooded.

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » July 8, 2010, 2:21 pm

Bob Loblaw...hahahahhaahaaaahhahhahah fantastic thank you for reminding of the best 3 seasons of tv...evah.

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » July 8, 2010, 6:12 pm

http://asnowstormbyanyothername.blogspot.com/

Please tell me I'm not the only one creeped out by reading that. Jesus Christ, don't piss off an online community filled with nerds with nothing better to do!

Leonaerd · Post by **Leonaerd** » July 8, 2010, 6:59 pm

The two Blizzard employees who are set to be married to each other should find at least one surprising gift at their wedding.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 8, 2010, 8:53 pm

This development and thread has been entertaining! Best WoW thread yet!

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » July 8, 2010, 10:06 pm

I agree. I'm a big fan of realID if only for the frenzy it has caused.

Kwonryu DragonFist · Post by **Kwonryu DragonFist** » July 8, 2010, 10:44 pm

Why did Blizzard feel the need to do this?

And why are so many people offended?

Everyone got so much to hide or?

masteen · Post by **masteen** » July 9, 2010, 12:17 am

Massive lulz:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PQtNRKZq04

TL;DW: GearScore modified to mine RealIDs from EVERYONE.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » July 9, 2010, 10:45 am

Story makes Yahoo News.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100708/en ... 0708222249

Thu Jul 8, 6:21 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) –

Activision Blizzard, maker of World of Warcraft and other popular videogames, is drawing fire over its plan to require users of its discussion forums to start posting their real names.

Blizzard announced on Tuesday that it would begin introducing the "Real ID" feature to its official bulletin boards and the move to require real first and last names has drawn hundreds of comments, most of them negative.

Blizzard said in a blog post that the change was intended to "help improve the quality of conversations and make the forums an even more enjoyable place for players to visit."

"The official forums have always been a great place to discuss the latest info on our games, offer ideas and suggestions, and share experiences with other players," it said.

"However, the forums have also earned a reputation as a place where flame wars, trolling, and other unpleasantness run wild," Blizzard said.

"Removing the veil of anonymity typical to online dialogue will contribute to a more positive forum environment, promote constructive conversations, and connect the Blizzard community in ways they haven't been connected before."

Most of the feedback from fans of Blizzard's

online role-playing games denounced the real names requirement.

"I can't even begin to fathom why you would do this," wrote "Tophia."

"Even as someone who hates the fact that these forums are a joke and overrun with trolls and morons... I can't stress enough how terrible a solution this is," said "Whiplashr." "I don't want my real name out there."

"With this decision, you are going to alienate so many people from these forums. Myself included," said "Pyrogx." "I will never post in a gaming forum where my real name is displayed. Ever."

"Tacotruck" supported the move. "I look forward to this change. The trolling has always been terribly annoying on Blizz forums."

Blizzard is not the only online operation grappling with the question of anonymity on the Web.

US newspapers have also been debating the practice of allowing anonymous comments and The Buffalo News announced last month it will begin requiring real names from people who want to leave comments on its website.

World of Warcraft, which was launched in 1994, is the most popular multiplayer online role-playing game with more than 11 million monthly subscribers.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » July 9, 2010, 10:55 am

Bubba Grizz wrote:Story makes Yahoo News.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100708/en ... 0708222249
Thu Jul 8, 6:21 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) –

...

World of Warcraft, which was launched in 1994, is the most popular multiplayer online role-playing game with more than 11 million monthly subscribers.

Uh. Warcraft maybe was released in 1994. But World of Warcraft wasn't even a thought back then. That's a FAIL!

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » July 9, 2010, 11:46 am

I think they meant that the Warcraft games started in 1994.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » July 9, 2010, 12:02 pm

Even more funny...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NgAkWxcPBE

Psyloche · Post by **Psyloche** » July 9, 2010, 1:35 pm

Bubba Grizz wrote:Even more funny...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NgAkWxcPBE

Very nice.

Dregor Thule · Post by **Dregor Thule** » July 9, 2010, 2:01 pm

And just like that, they've scuttled the real name idea for the forums.

Hello everyone,

I'd like to take some time to speak with all of you regarding our desire to make the Blizzard forums a better place for players to discuss our games. We've been constantly monitoring the feedback you've given us, as well as internally discussing your concerns about the use of real names on our forums. As a result of those discussions, we've decided at this time that real names will not be required for posting on official Blizzard forums.

It's important to note that we still remain committed to improving our forums. Our efforts are driven 100% by the desire to find ways to make our community areas more welcoming for players and encourage more constructive conversations about our games. We will still move forward with new forum features such as conversation threading, the ability to rate posts up or down, improved search functionality, and more. However, when we launch the new StarCraft II forums that include these new features, you will be posting by your StarCraft II Battle.net character name + character code, not your real name. The upgraded World of Warcraft forums with these new features will launch close to the release of Cataclysm, and also will not require your real name.

I want to make sure it's clear that our plans for the forums are completely separate from our plans for the optional in-game Real ID system now live with World of Warcraft and launching soon with StarCraft II. We believe that the powerful communications functionality enabled by Real ID, such as cross-game and cross-realm chat, make Battle.net a great place for players to stay connected to real-life friends and family while playing Blizzard games. And of course, you'll still be able to keep your relationships at the anonymous, character level if you so choose when you communicate with other players in game. Over time, we will continue to evolve Real ID on Battle.net to add new and exciting functionality within our games for players who decide to use the feature.

In closing, I want to point out that our connection with our community has always been and will always be extremely important to us. We strongly believe that Every Voice Matters, ( http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/about/mission.html ) and we feel fortunate to have a community that cares so passionately about our games. We will always appreciate the feedback and support of our players, which has been a key to Blizzard's success from the beginning.

Mike Morhaime
CEO & Cofounder
Blizzard Entertainment

Now for them to introduce the slightly less offensive feature that they probably wanted all along! Bait and switch! Fuck, as long as I can look at someones level 1 alt and see their level 80 main, I'll be happy.

Also, that stalker blog was creepy as fuck.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » July 9, 2010, 2:19 pm

Bubba Grizz wrote:I think they meant that the Warcraft games started in 1994.

I realize that's probably what they meant. But the statement as it stands in the article is clearly wrong.

Regardless, everyone can now continue to enjoy your Blizzard forums anonymously.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » July 9, 2010, 2:34 pm

Dregor Thule wrote:And just like that, they've scuttled the real name idea for the forums.

Hello everyone,

I'd like to take some time to speak with all of you regarding our desire to make the Blizzard forums a better place for players to discuss our games. We've been constantly monitoring the feedback you've given us, as well as internally discussing your concerns about the use of real names on our forums. As a result of those discussions, we've decided at this time that real names will not be required for posting on official Blizzard forums.

It's important to note that we still remain committed to improving our forums. Our efforts are driven 100% by the desire to find ways to make our community areas more welcoming for players and encourage more constructive conversations about our games. We will still move forward with new forum features such as conversation threading, the ability to rate posts up or down, improved search functionality, and more. However, when we launch the new StarCraft II forums that include these new features, you will be posting by your StarCraft II Battle.net character name + character code, not your real name. The upgraded World of Warcraft forums with these new features will launch close to the release of Cataclysm, and also will not require your real name.

I want to make sure it's clear that our plans for the forums are completely separate from our plans for the optional in-game Real ID system now live with World of Warcraft and launching soon with StarCraft II. We believe that the powerful communications functionality enabled by Real ID, such as cross-game and cross-realm chat, make Battle.net a great place for players to stay connected to real-life friends and family while playing Blizzard games. And of course, you'll still be able to keep your relationships at the anonymous, character level if you so choose when you communicate with other players in game. Over time, we will continue to evolve Real ID on Battle.net to add new and exciting functionality within our games for players who decide to use the feature.

In closing, I want to point out that our connection with our community has always been and will always be extremely important to us. We strongly believe that Every Voice Matters, ( http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/about/mission.html ) and we feel fortunate to have a community that cares so passionately about our games. We will always appreciate the feedback and support of our players, which has been a key to Blizzard's success from the beginning.

Mike Morhaime
CEO & Cofounder
Blizzard Entertainment
Now for them to introduce the slightly less offensive feature that they probably wanted all along! Bait and switch! Fuck, as long as I can look at someones level 1 alt and see their level 80 main, I'll be happy.

Also, that stalker blog was creepy as fuck.

Why do you care though? I've never understood this. I guess after posting here for so long, I see no reason why any other forum shouldn't function the same.

The reasoning for me disliking the real name thing had nothing to do with wanting to troll anon, I say whatever the hell I want on any forum I post on, the difference is that unlike here, most of the time when I bother posting elsewhere my post gets edited or deleted by a mod. I've always thought this is pussy bullshit.

Anyhow, it's too little too late for me. I also don't have much confidence that they won't try to cross these lines again now that they've got the idea in their head once.

The real ID thing is fucking stupid anyhow. EQ had cross server chat a long time ago, it worked fine then without any stupid added layer like real ID. There is absolutely zero reason that you shouldn't be able to chat with anyone, on any faction, on any server in WoW.

They really need to get over themselves, it's like not letting you fly in WoTLK until 77 to force you to walk through all their damn content - they just want to stop people from talking cross faction to force you to acknowledge their boring, pointless lore.

Done ranting now. Maybe.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » July 9, 2010, 3:10 pm

Aslanna wrote:
Bubba Grizz wrote:I think they meant that the Warcraft games started in 1994.
I realize that's probably what they meant. But the statement as it stands in the article is clearly wrong.

Regardless, everyone can now continue to enjoy your Blizzard forums anonymously.

Funny thing is, I went to a few other articles and they all had 1994 for WoW. No one checks the facts anymore.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » July 9, 2010, 3:49 pm

This was Mike Morhaime using what clout he has left to save Blizzard from the blind greed of their Activision overlords. This isn't done, as Kotick and the TP boys still have visions of Facebook cash dancing in their eyes. The functionality is in the API, they're just going to use lube before buttfucking us next time.

Ashur · Post by **Ashur** » July 10, 2010, 2:04 pm

Zaelath · Post by **Zaelath** » July 12, 2010, 10:44 am

PA should have just reposted:

and had the weekend off

Sartori · Post by **Sartori** » July 12, 2010, 6:22 pm

They did link that, actually. Anywho, stupid idea...looks like they reversed their decision sort of. I don't care, I'll play SC2 with a fake name and any MMO they put out can blow my nuts.