Blizzard is "Definitely Listening" to Real ID Feedback
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
And even for people who do not run businesses, you work for people who run businesses. A lot of people are surprised to hear how often employers do internet searches on job applicants. If someone sends me a resume and a google search brings up information that I dislike or even THINK a client/colleague would frown upon, that person is NOT getting a job...and no, I won't even tell you that's why you didn't get the job.DTWolfwood said:heres a good example of y the system is stupidVerbal Samurai said:
Although its beginning to go away, there is still a stigma associated with games. Unfortunately, it will probably be decades before it goes away completely. I make an effort to separate games that I play from my real life as a result. I will not be employing anyone who doesn't, except maybe to clean the floors and I'm NOT alone on that point. Anyone who aspires to do more than clean up for minimum wage, should think twice about WoW with the direction its going in.
Take that Mitch McFakerson!
Still, I don't use the official forums all that much any more, mostly just to post in suggestions. However, the idea of an prospective employer actually searching for my activities online is a disturbing thought, and so far, I've kept both professional and non-professional activities online separate. I keep two email accounts, register on most forums and websites under an alias, not because I'm worried about people revealing all my dirty secrets, of which most of which are depressingly mundane, but rather I don't like being tracked in that manner by complete strangers.
At least, when I give my information to Google, or The Escapist. I -expect- that information to stay private unless I otherwise give that information out, i.e. putting my real name in my profile etc.
Unfortunately, I recall something in the WoW ToS that states to the effect of Blizzard being allowed to make -changes- to the ToS at their prerogative without consulting you as the customer first. This is fine, because as you click 'I Agree' you are essentially signing this agreement, so I don't believe they're doing anything remotely wrong. It just sucks.
Still, I don't use the official forums all that much any more, mostly just to post in suggestions. However, the idea of an prospective employer actually searching for my activities online is a disturbing thought, and so far, I've kept both professional and non-professional activities online separate. I keep two email accounts, register on most forums and websites under an alias, not because I'm worried about people revealing all my dirty secrets, of which most of which are depressingly mundane, but rather I don't like being tracked in that manner by complete strangers.
At least, when I give my information to Google, or The Escapist. I -expect- that information to stay private unless I otherwise give that information out, i.e. putting my real name in my profile etc.
Unfortunately, I recall something in the WoW ToS that states to the effect of Blizzard being allowed to make -changes- to the ToS at their prerogative without consulting you as the customer first. This is fine, because as you click 'I Agree' you are essentially signing this agreement, so I don't believe they're doing anything remotely wrong. It just sucks.
Yeah, its cause I can't act like a jerk. That is totally why I don't want some psycho on WoW knowing my real name and from that being able to basically hunt me down. And this will absolutely work. I couldn't make my "Real" name Jim Smith or something else that is extraordinarily common and be a total dick on the forums anyway. Or better yet, I could use my boss' name, or the name of someone who gave me shit in high school, or someone who's applying for the same job I am just to perform a little character assassination. No way someone could possibly abuse this system in a vindictive way. No, this just makes responsible people uneasy to post on the forums for fear that some psychopath will disagree and stalk/kill/rape them.Andy Chalk said:
I quit WoW a while ago but if I had seen this as an existing player, I'd cancel my account the next day. As it is I won't be getting Starcraft 2 cause 1. They're fucking it up. and 2. It'll have the same battle.net stalker risk that WoW is gonna have.
So yeah, congrats Blizz, you've found the perfect way to control your community by making everyone fear for their safety and privacy so they don't say anything publicly.
Also, it just astounds me that everyone at Blizzard's legal department is saying this is fine. I would think even a day one law school student would realize that the ToS and EULA won't protect them from litigation if someone gets attacked because of information that was derived from the Battle.net Forums.
Guess u consider some1 playing WoW or SC2 some1 unworthy of your workVerbal Samurai said:And even for people who do not run businesses, you work for people who run businesses. A lot of people are surprised to hear how often employers do internet searches on job applicants. If someone sends me a resume and a google search brings up information that I dislike or even THINK a client/colleague would frown upon, that person is NOT getting a job...and no, I won't even tell you that's why you didn't get the job.DTWolfwood said:heres a good example of y the system is stupidVerbal Samurai said:
but please look at it with some context here. Should that person be foolish enough to have his name show up on something of ill repute, you shouldnt hire him. But whats the shame is letting ppl know your pass time is gaming? a las Blizzard is retarded in what they are doing here. since they even mention having "multiple teams" on the forums will be on the lookout for fake-sounding names. so instead of getting one or 2 more mods to moderate the Forums for trolls and flamers, they are gonna hire entire teams to scan for fake names...talk about ridiculous expenditure!
How does this affect you purchasing Starcraft II?Sylveria said:
Did you not bother to read the information? It is regarding being on the forums, I've been playing wow since it came out and I dabbled in the forums for a bit and then one realizes that they are nothing more than a cesspool of epeens. I haven't been back to the forums in like 2 years and it hasn't affected me playing the games at all. You don't want your name out there, don't go to the forums, or if you absolutely have to don't give anyone a reason to hunt you down. Problem solved. It's not like you're gonna log into the game and you have to play under your real name.
/double sighThe_root_of_all_evil said:
While I don't go to the Blizzard forums, or indeed play an Blizzard games, this is just a terrible idea. I'm nervous enough posting my wherabouts with my address, phone number, ZIP Code, and whatnot when signing up for a site, the Escapist included, I don't want to have to give my real name just to get online or whatever it is that is needed for your real name.
At the moment I feel like that character from Network, yelling about how we accept the fact that our space gets smaller and smaller, and how we should stop it.Rednog said:
Lookee here.
http://wowriot.gameriot.com/blogs/Americans-are-bad-at-games/Real-Names-on-the-Official-Forums-New-REAL-ID-function?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wowriot+%28Latest+Wowriot+Blog+Posts+-+Wowriot.Gameriot.com%29&gr_i_ni
Also here.
http://seewhatyoudidthere.com/2010/07/07/realid-changes-the-very-real-ease-of-stalking-in-the-internet-age/
It's easy to find information about people. Type your name and country into pipl.com or Spokeo.come if you don't believe me. And why should we just stop going to the forums? And why is it our fault if someone targets us? It just reeks of blaming the victim.
So what if they've ruined the forums? Just don't go there!
So what if they've ruined half of the game? Just don't use that half!
A guy found your telephone number and is harassing you? It must have been your fault!
You're forgetting that malevolent people EXIST, and are far more common that you'd like to think. You want a recent example: a guy in Germany hunted down and stabbed a guy who had six months previously killed him in Counter Strike! Crazies EXIST, and with a little time and a little money they can easily get your details.
Not even mentioning the fact that Potential Employers could easily find out about you with this, and they have been told in the past to not hire WoW players!
The really obnoxious thing is, after that fiasco with the Blizzard Mod having all his details found out (top link I posted) Blizzard have made it so GMs, CMs and Moderators no longer have to reveal their first names. Now doesn't that just make your blood boil? THEY can keep their privacy but WE, the lowly consumer, must have our names spread for all to see!
This.Sylveria said:
Considering WoW is a den for hopeless shut-ins with no social skills and bizarre personalities (amongst the perfectly reasonable, interesting and well-adjusted people; I have a lot of friends who play WoW), I would be very concerned about posting in this type of environment. Doubly so because of how competitive it can get. I wouldn't be surprised if we got at least one story about some PvPer mailing a bomb to an opposing guild's guild leader.
Of course, you have to consider that the stalkers, jerks, and wierdos might be a bit more inclined to control their behavior when everyone can see their full name and address and can point the authorities directly at an offender.
I would be much more concerned about this if I were a woman, of course, judging by how strangely nerds treat women on the Internet. Highlighting every female on WoW (and posting their personally identifiable information) is probably going to do more to drive females away from WoW than anything else you Blizzard could reasonably do.
And I would be much much more concerned about this if I actually played WoW. In other words...
http://www.jlh-design.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/simpsons_nelson_haha3.jpg
I don't think there's anything wrong with the hobby. It's my hobby too after all. But most people who run businesses and/or are in my field are older and don't understand gaming and certainly don't "respect" it as a worthwhile hobby. Its greatly looked down upon and you will not be taken seriously by a lot of people. That's VERY bad for business.DTWolfwood said:Guess u consider some1 playing WoW or SC2 some1 unworthy of your workVerbal Samurai said:And even for people who do not run businesses, you work for people who run businesses. A lot of people are surprised to hear how often employers do internet searches on job applicants. If someone sends me a resume and a google search brings up information that I dislike or even THINK a client/colleague would frown upon, that person is NOT getting a job...and no, I won't even tell you that's why you didn't get the job.DTWolfwood said:heres a good example of y the system is stupidVerbal Samurai said:
It sucks, but its true. Maybe things will change in 30 more years. By then, even the oldest people in charge will have grown up with games and it won't be a big deal at all. Sadly, that's just not the case today.
HAHAHAHAHAH...Mr.Pandah said:
Oh man. Well...there are many arguments against and for this system, but one thing is 100% sure. Blizzard forum traffic will rapidly decrease if this goes into full effect. Period.
Now, I'm sure all the proponents might say "Yeah, but at least it'll keep the trolls away." but the truth is that a) Not that many people care about that nearly as much as peeps might imagine and b) This is bound to hurt word-of-mouth marketing potential from Blizzard. I mean sure, you get to interface with Facebook or other such sites (towards which this move was obviously aimed), but you also decrease the number of posters so...yeah.
In short, Blizzard has made a series of slow, gradual and safe changes and has because of this caution prospered. But in this case well...we'll see. Still, I forsee the clouds of a mighty shitstorm on the horizon. Wether it'll turn out to be just another fart in the wind or a hurricane of the magnitude of SOE's take with Star Wars Galaxies.....we'll have to wait and see.
I'm just happy I chose to say bye bye to WoW myself already and thus remain happily unaffected by any of these angry arguments for and against this.
I tried, I show up in none of those. Also there apparently are a ton of people with my name (not a fairly common one, or at least I thought so). Only thing that shows up on a google result is my escapist profile. I take my name off the escapist, poof, I'm a ghost.Mantonio said:
And like I said, this has absolutely no effect on the gameplay.
There are so, so many ways this can, and will and, in fact, already has gone wrong. I'm surprised there has been no mention so far of Micah Whipple. This unfortunate person is a mod on the B.net forums who revealed his name to show he was not upset by the changes in the least. Minutes later he had been tracked down and all his personal info revealed. Do they seriously want make that kind of weapon available to use against anyone who posts?
Also, Micah Whipple is a pretty fake sounding name. If I were looking out for fake sounding names to ban, he'd be on it. But, seeing as it's his real name, what's to stop other people with fake sounding real names from getting banned?
Also, Micah Whipple is a pretty fake sounding name. If I were looking out for fake sounding names to ban, he'd be on it. But, seeing as it's his real name, what's to stop other people with fake sounding real names from getting banned?
In a way I'm feeling what Andy has to say here, and I for one am intrigued at how people will behave when we can identify them personally. This still feels just unsafe, but even that argument flounders when one considers that if they stop being jerk-asses, maybe people will be less likely to eviscerate you.
If left to our own devices, we've proven we cannot be mature by and large. Facing actual consequences for harassment, racial remarks, and just generally being a douche sounds pretty good to me.
If left to our own devices, we've proven we cannot be mature by and large. Facing actual consequences for harassment, racial remarks, and just generally being a douche sounds pretty good to me.
So what if I applied for a job with your company, and someone else who plays WoW (how many millions play it now?) has the same name as me and acts like an ass on the forums?Verbal Samurai said:And even for people who do not run businesses, you work for people who run businesses. A lot of people are surprised to hear how often employers do internet searches on job applicants. If someone sends me a resume and a google search brings up information that I dislike or even THINK a client/colleague would frown upon, that person is NOT getting a job...and no, I won't even tell you that's why you didn't get the job.DTWolfwood said:heres a good example of y the system is stupidVerbal Samurai said:
Although its beginning to go away, there is still a stigma associated with games. Unfortunately, it will probably be decades before it goes away completely. I make an effort to separate games that I play from my real life as a result. I will not be employing anyone who doesn't, except maybe to clean the floors and I'm NOT alone on that point. Anyone who aspires to do more than clean up for minimum wage, should think twice about WoW with the direction its going in.
I don't even play WoW... and you're going to avoid hiring me because I share a name (not something I can help) with an internet troll.
I did an internet search with my name, and found plenty of stuff out there... but none of it is me. It's other people with the same name. Even has the same spelling.
Unless your name is something VERY unique, finding one person in the US/Canada just based off the first and last name is impossible. Look in the phone books and you'll find several people in the same city sharing the same name.
edit to add: Regardless of the RL consequences or lack thereof, I still think using someones REAL name is dumb. A simple "user 23543423452523" will do. That attaches any of their forum posts to their account or accounts (can link with credit card or GUID maybe?) while leaving their personal info out of the picture.