View From the Road: It's Time to Grow Up

[The Maddest March Hare]

I think that this top 10 list [http://uk.askmen.com/top_10/videogame/top-10-low-status-games_10.html] is a fantastic example of how games are viewed. Hell, WoW in in there as the number 1 game you never let anyone know you play.

This is coming from a fairly well read and popular Men's Magazine, and it's things like this that drag down our source of entertainment to a level of "something to pretend we don't do".

Also, Pokemon is in there. To which I call bullshit. Look beyond the cutesy appearance and you have a fairly in depth strategic turn based battle system that takes an adult mind to be really good at. No child under 5 (as the franchise is often said to be aimed at) would be able to grasp that much information..

 

[Falke]

Assuming you have a choice, why would you want to work at such a blinkered company in the first place? Better to be honest from the outset to find out where you both stand.

Asuming you do? REALID was notgiving you a choice. Also the world is not black white. There is still plently of jobs in which being a gamer would not ruin you but serverly dimnish your standing.

 

[Mantonio]

This whole article reads a bit inflammatory. You sound like you're criticising people for being against Real ID, when they have plenty of reasons to be against it. Believe it or not, it's not just a simple case of 'They don't want people to know they play videogames! Grow up you big babies!' To think so would be ludicrous.

I shall post my evidence from other threads thus.

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

And 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. People with malevolent interests. No matter how much you play it down, 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! And he's one of the SLOWEST examples!

Crazies EXIST, and with a little time and a little money they can easily get your details. Plus, annoyingly enough, shortly before being cancelled the plan was changed so that Moderators and such didn't have to show their names at all! So how come they get to keep their privacy while we, the lowly consumer, have to take the unnecessary risk of having our details out there?

Finally, to all who said that Read ID would cut down on trolls, I present to you this picture.

Edit: You know what, here's my unedited, 'I don't care about appearing uncivil' response. This article is just bad. It reeks of either someone who is so stuck in their own view they can't see others, a fanboy who is being apologetic, or someone who's being paid off.

 

[Gildedtongue]

Well, then there's the boss who finds out the guy or gal who kept killing him or her in a battleground because he or she ran the same path over and over again is one of his or her subordinates, and decides to fire him or her, "For, unrelated reasons..."

People questioning a coworker because they haven't joined the company guild and left the group he or she started playing with when he first started 3 years ago.

The "Model worker who runs raids three nights a week" would be proven to be not a model worker, because there's time and effort that he or she hasn't given the company.

 

[copycatalyst]

I raise my glass too you, Sir.

 

[The Philistine]

B-but John, your witty tagline is what gets me through the week.

OT: You pose a good argument, however games such as World of Warcraft, and even gaming in general tend to attract a certain character of folk who favour anonymity for more malignant purposes, to paraphrase one John Gabriel. I've been on Barrens chat, the stereotype isn't without some basis. Unfortunately it is stuck to everyone equally.

I do play WoW. There's quite a few business professionals in my guild, and none of them were the least bit happy about Real ID. From what I gathered, it was about as much about what their clients would thing as their employers.

Of those people, the guild master is an infrequent poster on the most helpful subforum on WoW's official forums and there's a head hunting officer who makes posts on the guild recruitment forum. Neither was ready to post on the official forums with their real names and would sooner have moved to a fansite or stopped posting altogether. And neither were anything but nice and helpful on the forums.

The sad fact is, gaming has very little place in a professional image. Unless you're part of the gaming industry, of course. There's social baggage many people over 20 have about gaming. Unless they bring gaming up as something positive you could use to build a rapport, more often than not it's not worth bringing up.

 

[maxben]

I don't want someone to be able to Google my interests or find out much about me through the Internet. Is that wrong of me? I specifically don't have facebook for that exact reason.
I would not mind my name on the WoW forums if it was impossible to Google it or search it through the forums.

 

[John Funk]

If we, the ones who should know better, act like our hobby is something to be ashamed of, then how can we expect anyone else to think differently? If we're not going to act proud of what we love, who will?

Gaming is for adults, too. It's time to start acting like it.

It's just as adult to not wish to wear your interests on your sleeve. It's also adult to not pretend that you know the single motive for another persons actions. Shame is NOT the only reason to want privacy, and it borders on arrogance for anyone to assert such a notion.

In fact, implying that someone who doesn't hold your world view is childish seems to me to be...childish. Privacy advocates don't need to be filled with shame in order to do things they don't want others to know they do. They just want the right to choose what activities they make public.

I play WoW in my bedroom. I think you agree that almost everything else I do in my bedroom is and ought to be private unless I explicitly share it. I'm pretty certain most folks would agree with that. Even if I'm on the net, I should only be sharing that which I choose to share, not what some corporation or recent college grad bait and switches me into sharing.

Then clearly, this article was not addressed at the people who didn't explicitly say "I don't want people knowing I play WoW." That's... not really hard to understand, sorry.

That's your choice. But it should be no different than saying "I'm a Steelers fan." And until people start talking about it, then it won't be.

Except you imply my choice is "childish" by claiming your argument is the "adult" view. That's an appeal from authority and has zero value in logic or debate. You don't get to pejoratively label the other side of the argument like that. Your whole point rests on the appeal that your assertion (wanting to keep your hobbies private is somehow shame-based and therefore childish) is the only option without ever hinting that other reasons might exist. And when one is presented, you claim I missed your point.

No matter how you think it "should" be, there's plenty of reasons even a Steelers fan might not want to self-label, and many of them indicate nothing about maturity or lack of it.

You really missed the entire point of the article, didn't you?

It's not childish to want to keep your hobbies private. That wasn't what I was arguing. Rather, I was saying that we should stop acting like the hobby itself is for kids and something shameful to be involved in.

Don't put words in my mouth.

 

[John Funk]

Edit: You know what, here's my unedited, 'I don't care about appearing uncivil' response. This article is just bad. It reeks of either someone who is so stuck in their own view they can't see others, a fanboy who is being apologetic, or someone who's being paid off.

This article is not about RealID. Stop trying to make it about RealID. You're missing the point.

 

[DTWolfwood]

Sensational news makes for great news. Unless u get the media to start talking about the mundane stuff like making friends on the internet via games, the perception of gaming will always be the homophobe/bigot 12 year old screaming.

Rather not have my employers/future employers see im a gamer. Then they might assume ill be gaming at work and hire the next guy who doesn't pop up on the internet with WoW attached to it.

Its not about growing up as it is about making a living. Valid as your points maybe, I don't hide that im a gamer to anyone because of shame, but because of my livelihood. Unless i work in the industry, i have every reason to keep my gaming to myself ON THE INTERNET. I tell ppl i talk to that i game, i just rather not have it plastered all over the internet where once its out, its out forever.

 

[DuX1112]

I totally agree with John Funk.

In other words: We, the gamers, should get out of the closet. It's about time.

Personally, for me, I am aware of many of my supposed "defects" (yeah, people can see gaming as a defect too - along with having a philosophical mind and reading books. Yup, had some reproachment for all those things). But the only way to emerge victorious is to face the judgement and accusations head on, cut through the bulls*it they throw at you and stand strong. No other way folks...

Maybe we should do a Gamer Pride Parade, huh?

And about trolling. Well. Why the hell not doing it wearing your name and your face while you're at it? Ah, fear. Well, trolls should best stop trolling then, because it doesn't help anyone.

Cheers everybody... This war shall be fought another day.

 

[DuX1112]

On an obviously related topic: what's with this fear of someone "googling" you? First, WHY would someone google exactly you? Second, so, what if he does? Maybe he's an evil person (ooo), and maybe he's a long lost friend trying to find you? What, he'll read your status update or get a hint of the pages you have made an online profile on? I mean, come on so you have a profile on Facebook, big deal, everyone does! Gee, you have a blog! Everyone does! You tweet? Oh gee... So lets just all pretend we don't do any of that. Better put on some masks, ain't it... :/

I mean, bah, I just can't understand people. I know and have felt the fear of self-censorship. I have done self-censorship. But very, very seldom, once or twice, if I was a jerk. But then, if you're doing it to yourselves all the time, there's no need for any government or center of power to do it for you, right? Ever thought about it? They just let you control yourself by fear and paranoia (omg, someone's gonna google me and come kill me! As if anyone couldn't break into your house and beat the crap out of any of us, anytime).

Everyone wants to be accepted, but no one wants to come as they are. It's paradoxical, really. And kinda tragic.

If everyone in the world had the guts to be sincere, truthful, transparent and be what he/she truly is, there would be no hypocrisy at all, no lies at all, no shame. But then again, yeah, some people obviously like it like this.

Take care.

 

[Negatempest]

Wait, so revealing your real life name in WoW=Interviewers for jobs knowing that you play WoW? Now I understand why people don't want their names in WoW.


P.S. Yes, that was heavy sarcasm. That is some serious conclusion jumping. Don't give me this BS that the interviewer could connect the name online to you because that is some freakin serious detective work that is ALOT more labor than it is worth.

Really. I have last name that only three other people in my home country share. Two of which are female. It takes about five seconds to find anything about me online.

If it is that easy to find you online, than chances are that they know you play WoW already, which defeats the purpose of your arguement. If it is extremely easy for one individual to be found out online, than that individual has ALREADY been found out on what they do on their free time. Thus what is on the line is what I have said before. It is our Ego, nothing more.

 

[Callate]

"You know, someone who wanted to break into this house could break a window and get in that way."

"Oh! Well, I guess there's no point in closing or locking the doors, then."

There's a difference between it being possible to find information about someone online and that information being offered up easily and freely without that person's consent or benefit. Some information remains largely private, and there is and ought to be a difference between what one can find with a Google search or even a background check and what one can be found by using, say, a professional investigator's service.

Just because our information might be accessible on line is a poor argument for not caring that it be made easy to obtain.

 

[Ferricyanide]

Whether you like it or not, the vast majority of people over 40 frown upon games. It can cost you a job with a potential employer or cause you to lose credibility with an existing employer or colleague.

In 30 years, the vast majority of people in the business world will have grown up playing games and the stigma will disappear. Pardon me for not wanting to martyr myself, professionally speaking, in the hopes that that day will come early.

I'm going to have to second this. Not all of us have the good fortune to find ourselves in a situation where gaming makes us an asset, not a perceived liability.

 

[Falke]

of which are female. It takes about five seconds to find anything about me online.

If it is that easy to find you online, than chances are that they know you play WoW already, which defeats the purpose of your arguement. If it is extremely easy for one individual to be found out online, than that individual has ALREADY been found out on what they do on their free time. Thus what is on the line is what I have said before. It is our Ego, nothing more.[/quote]

Actualy it is not. If you googlemy name the first three hits are a Warhammer Tournament in which I participated (I still hate that list, that one already caused trouble for me) a published article by my aunt and the cat-pension of my mom. There is no way to connect my name to my WoW account in any way except for checking Blizzards credit card data. In the above posts you can also already found links how this can be done with people without unique names too but if you choose to claim that my worries about loosing my job are just my ego there's really nothing left to say.

 

[Falke]

You really missed the entire point of the article, didn't you?

It's not childish to want to keep your hobbies private. That wasn't what I was arguing. Rather, I was saying that we should stop acting like the hobby itself is for kids and something shameful to be involved in.

Don't put words in my mouth.

I don't really see this as a fair assesment. The article clearly starts with RealID and how people had issus with others finding out about their hobby through exactly that. It then goes to talking about it in general but the premise is still there and it is exactly in that context that people were worried about being exposed. I do not think anyone here thinks gaming is something shamefull. Unfortately many of us are in an environment in which others decide it is. It is not up to us to decide this but by the people around us. And while I do not believe it was the intetion to appear like that from down here in the mud there admitting to be a gamer could cost my job and turn me into a social outcast in my own family I have to say I can see how it can be misunderstood. I think you are lucky to live in circumstance that allow you to have this opinion but I do not.So I guess what I'm trying to say is that you should consider that a lot of us do not hide their gaming out of classic shame but simple because it's a survival technique.

 

[ThreeKneeNick]

Stop making baseless assumptions. Some people just don't want other people to know certain stuff, period. There doesn't need to be any rational reason behind that, there doesnt need to be fear and shame, it is just the way it is, people want to stay in their comfort zone, the zone they have been in SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME internet WoW.

Even if they want their employers, co-workers, or random people to know stuff, they will want to tell them. They will not want you to find out by snooping, or just stumbling upon the knowledge somehow - that's not something anyone likes, regardless of the subject of the matter, good, bad, or shameful. They don't want someone to come over and suddenly know more stuff than when they last met. It makes everyone uncomfortable.

And people certainly don't want THAT to make gaming more visible.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

For a second there I thought you were going to say something else, and I had my angry gram ready.

Luckily, it was a thoughtful article expressing a completely different point of view from what I expected based on the subtitle, and my respect has been restored and increased.