Battle.net Update: Upcoming Changes to the Official Forums

Originally Posted by Sopiel

And, what if your name -is- unique? You do realize that some people have very very unique names that are rare and it's highly unlikely that any other WoW player will have this name. Not to mention that it is -your- name. Who in the world plasters their name over the internet on a gaming forum, without forethought?

Not everyone who doesn't want to give out their name in this fashion is a flamer or a forum troll, attempting to hide their true identity to get away with being a jerk. Some of us just understand the seriousness of this issue and aren't so jaded and desensitized by the internet and ridiculous sites like Myspace, that we're willing to easily give up our private information. Not everyone wants their fifteen minutes of internet fame, or to be that girl/guy with a million subscribers on youtube. Just how some people still have manners, class, and etiquette, some people also believe in privacy and understand that the internet and especially a gaming forum is no place to plaster personal info, like a real name.

I'm the only person in the world with my name, and this is a great change.

If you have manners, grace, class and etiquette, when someone searches up your name, they won't see anything bad. Just like in life. Welcome to the internet.

Originally Posted by krasgoth

I operate a business, and WORK for a business at the same time. What, people are going to estalk you because you have to post about a technical issue? You must be mentally challenged, seriously. Besides being rude to eachother, this is seriously what you expect to happen?

#1) You post a question about a technical issue about your Radeon card not interacting properly with something in Cataclysm.
#2) Random idiot searches up your business from your real name and delivers a bomb to your business doorstep.

SERIOUSLY?

I imagine you with a tinfoil hat, huddled behind a bunch of tins of beans, in a basement with a rifle, ready to shoot anyone who ventures near you.

I have to edit this because this is probably what people believe, which is hilarious. They imagine that their business and life will be ruined because they post about something relating to the game. I have news for you, folks. Unless you're being a troll or posting defamatory slurs against people, no one is going to search up your name or make threats against you. Even if you're doing that, no one is going to search you down on the internet anyways.

Great news for you folks: No one cares where you live, what you do, or that you look at camel porn in your spare time. Get over your sense of self worth and keep posting in the forums in a normal matter.

Ok. Since you can't read apparently, I shall reiterate. I own a business that subcontracts manufacture of missile components for the US government. I have to have national security clearance to operate my business. The flip side is I have to register with a business database that has public access. Any schmuck with half a brain can look me up by real name and get info on my business. I have an uncommon name. There is a >>POTENTIAL<< for really really bad things to happen if people were to get my real name from a forum post. Again, POTENTIALLY. Im not paranoid. I dont wear a tinfoil hat. I do run a multimillion dollar business, and I have 0 desire to expose myself to potential threat. And with what I do, I have to be careful. Which means, that if this RealID crap goes through, I cant use the forums, because I cant risk my business. Again, what about this is a good thing? I am not unique in the fact that I dont want my real name broadcast to potentially millions of people. You obviously know nothing of credible threat. And PS, do you ever read the paper, or watch the news? People kill each other all the time, or get stalked, or get raped etc. This sort of thing just makes it easier for the sick bastards who do that sort of thing. You must be a republican.

If they make my real name public/accessible in any way or form, I'll have to quit WoW and have my account deleted. Yeah, there's only one of me in the entire world.

Heck, I don't even USE the official forums, but this is the worst idea I've ever heard.

Originally Posted by ld420

Ok. Since you can't read apparently, I shall reiterate. I own a business that subcontracts manufacture of missile components for the US government. I have to have national security clearance to operate my business. The flip side is I have to register with a business database that has public access. Any schmuck with half a brain can look me up by real name and get info on my business. I have an uncommon name. There is a >>POTENTIAL<< for really really bad things to happen if people were to get my real name from a forum post. Again, POTENTIALLY. Im not paranoid. I dont wear a tinfoil hat. I do run a multimillion dollar business, and I have 0 desire to expose myself to potential threat. And with what I do, I have to be careful. Which means, that if this RealID crap goes through, I cant use the forums, because I cant risk my business. Again, what about this is a good thing? I am not unique in the fact that I dont want my real name broadcast to potentially millions of people. You obviously know nothing of credible threat. And PS, do you ever read the paper, or watch the news? People kill each other all the time, or get stalked, or get raped etc. This sort of thing just makes it easier for the sick bastards who do that sort of thing. You must be a republican.

I'm not a republican, but thanks for assuming I live in the states and conform to everything that goes on there. I don't even live in your country.

So, let's get through your post here. This is what is going to happen:

You post about your character getting stuck in the 4th room of Uldum, and wonder how to get it out. Now, an aspiring person decides "Hey, I'm going to search up this fellow's name, he sounds like an interesting guy." Now, he looks you up on google and does... what exactly?

What is a random person from the internet going to do with this information, which is accessible to anyone in the public domain as you said yourself in a REGISTRY for gods sakes. Anyone can look up this information, as you specifically stated.

How are you "Risking your business"? Do you "Risk your business" every time you use a credit card? Ever fill up your car with gas? Go out to dinner? Ever go to the movies? You hand your credit card to a waiter, leave it for 10 minutes, and expect that when it gets back, everything is in order. Yet, somehow, when you post legitimate information on a blizzard forum, people are going to look up your REAL LIFE BUSINESS and STALK YOU because you asked about something on World of WARCRAFT?

C'mon now. This is seriously hurting my brain. If you can describe something that fits the following criteria that would make people want to:

A) WANT to search you up in the first place, especially if you're posting like a normal user.
B) Search up your PERSONAL BUSINESS, dig through the internet, and find something that anyone can already look up in the first place.
C) Send you something in the mail or visit your place of business (Which, if it is a million dollar a year operation, surely has a FRONT OFFICE which allows people to not walk in and KILL YOU, which they would never do anyway).

I'd be happy. But there is no valid reasoning behind it, only sheer paranoia.

I love the people who keep arguing that this doesn't matter, because there's already so much info out there about anyone, anyway. Are you kidding me? That's like saying, there's already a chance that you might die today by getting hit by a random meteor, falling from the sky. Sooo, just feel free to not wear your seat belt when you drive to work, look both ways when you cross the street, or worry about eating that sushi that smells like bum. Really, there's already a chance you might die, anyhow, so why attempt to protect yourself in the meantime, yeah?

Don't be ridiculous. Some people attempt to keep themselves safe. If your name is out there on some list with a phone number and address, on a phone book type site, then so be it. BUT, it's not quite the same as purposely doing something that posts your full name on a site that most people would deem unnecessary or unsafe. Think before you skim over this new change like it's nothing.

I'm glad MMO-Champion became my WoW forum of choice awhile ago.

Originally Posted by sicness

This exactly. You guys act like every single person in this game will kill you because they have your information and base it off of them acting like a two year old in game. Hello! It's called anonymity in game and them taking advantage of it, just because they act that way doesn't mean they really are that way and will really come and kill you...

Why should anyone be worried about millions of people who want to see you death, if a single one would be enough to kill you? ^_^
Your logic is false, and your example to extreme. Getting more gold spam into my regular mail would be already annoying enough. Or getting one JOB out of 12 not because of a search in google which leads to wow … and yes, I would not hire someone who is playing wow, if I get someone similar who is not playing wow.

---------- Post added 2010-07-07 at 12:47 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Pafinator

Apparently you will have the option of including your avatars name, so it would be "John Smith"/"Deathlord"

Why should I do this if I want to troll? It would be far better to stay John Smith.

After this change goes through I won't even want to bump my guild thread.

Blizzard is nothing short of stupid. This idea and the person that came up with it should be gotten rid of and the entire notion of personal information accessable on FORUMS should be forgotten.

My mother posted something on a yahoo group that appeared to show her email. Someone got that email address and her real name and ended up threatening her via email and even sending people round to where she lives. Eventually it managed to get sorted out but if that can happen from an email and a real life name - that'll happen on the blizzard forums too. It's sickening.

Originally Posted by krasgoth

I'm the only person in the world with my name, and this is a great change.

If you have manners, grace, class and etiquette, when someone searches up your name, they won't see anything bad. Just like in life. Welcome to the internet.

I do have manners, grace, class and etiquette. I also have erotic fanfiction, squeeing posts over this game or that, and a WoW forums thread where I randomly hug people just to try and put a smile on their face. None of this is bad. And in a perfect world, someone googling my name would not see these as anything bad.

Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. We live in a world where geeks are still looked at with mild distaste, fanfiction is not respected, and women who don't "fit the mould" are looked on with some suspicion. Why should I have to suffer because someone finds this stuff out (in connection to my real name) and thinks that my occasional dabbling in smutty fanfic or overly giddy friendliness is somehow "wrong" and "bad"?

I'm just saying that you can behave like a saint online but still have some elements to your life that you'd prefer to keep reasonably quiet. Not because it's bad, but because the world will give you grief for it because THEY think it's bad.

(NOTE: I'm not so much talking specifically about the WoW forums here, but rather why the idea of forcing people to identify themselves by their real names in fannish spaces is a bad idea, even if the person behaves impeccably)

I bet over half of the whining twats that are concerned about privacy here are using facebook/myspace/other networking sites that are bigger privacy risks than your name being on a forum.

Originally Posted by Rellekk

Hi my name is Josh Lambert, and im dying to see how the big bad scary wow player is gonna find info on me.

Josh Lambert? Interesting. There is a a link that leads to a database with us sex offenders. Is that you? Brave step if you are really that sex offender. What have you done?

Originally Posted by Usagi Vindaloo

I do have manners, grace, class and etiquette. I also have erotic fanfiction, squeeing posts over this game or that, and a WoW forums thread where I randomly hug people just to try and put a smile on their face. None of this is bad. And in a perfect world, someone googling my name would not see these as anything bad.

Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. We live in a world where geeks are still looked at with mild distaste, fanfiction is not respected, and women who don't "fit the mould" are looked on with some suspicion. Why should I have to suffer because someone finds this stuff out (in connection to my real name) and thinks that my occasional dabbling in smutty fanfic or overly giddy friendliness is somehow "wrong" and "bad"?

I'm just saying that you can behave like a saint online but still have some elements to your life that you'd prefer to keep reasonably quiet. Not because it's bad, but because the world will give you grief for it because THEY think it's bad.

(NOTE: I'm not so much talking specifically about the WoW forums here, but rather why the idea of forcing people to identify themselves by their real names in fannish spaces is a bad idea, even if the person behaves impeccably)

To be honest, if you have erotic fanfiction, online hugging, squeeing posts, furry nation subscriptions, a tie-up bondage thread somewhere, or are a member of the communist party of America, you really shouldn't be surprised when that stuff gets onto the internet, under a fake name or linked under your real name. If that's the kind of thing you enjoy, expect it to be listed at some point in your life.

I'm not being mean or anything about this change, it's just simply the direction the internet is going. This is what people ask for, their own private stage. Privacy will still be there, just not in the same form as it was before. The world might give you grief but, to be honest, that's the risk of posting anything on the internet. You may as well just embrace what you do and be proud of it. The same shadows that were there to hide in during the 2000s are still there, they're just a lot smaller than they used to be.

Whilst trolling and 'internet flame heros' might be (somewhat) cut down by this, Actizzard may see quite a substantial drop in normal active topics as a result also due to privacy and other concerns. I personally think this is the single worst decision I've ever seen from them - it shows almost complete disregard for privacy concerns. The arguable opt-in 'choice' is one thing but it's clear this is the direction they are wanting things to go. I already dislike Real ID in it's infant state and it looks like it's going to get much worse.

I guess if they really want player feedback and active discussion in future, they'll have to look on the popular fan sites like this one and others.

Originally Posted by krasgoth

Oh oh, do me. Scott Lisicky. Tell me if you come up with anything sarcastic about me, based on your comprehensive google search.

lol, got a blog with a guy who had a high heel fetish.

Originally Posted by Ssateneth

The people whining about this are typically trolls hiding behind some anonymous name. I for one am for this.

Obviously you didn't hear about the fuckery that is this new system - basically some poor girl in the states gave her battlenet ID to one of her friends, and he had some asshole on his list that could also see her details, and through "innocent" questions to the friend in question, he was able to find where she lived and her home phone number, which he proceeded to paste all over their server and the forums.

Now imagine this but on the forums - People can virtually and physically stalk someone with just a name and a general location, and the most cunning don't even need a location. And then, said unsavoury people, in which this game are MANY, are free to basically track down these people.

We lose our privacy, and potentially our safety.

And as other people have mentioned, yes it can stop people from being anonymous assholes, to use the exact quote, but remember - people who troll and are assholes are just like assholes irl, typically: They don't care what we think of them or their inane ramblings, as such it doesn't matter to them if we know who they are.

Originally Posted by NefariousNinja

lol, got a blog with a guy who had a high heel fetish.

Zomg, i posted about my GIRLFRIEND'S SHOES.

NO WAY.

So uh, what's the big deal again?

the problem is not the trolls
The problem is that everyone knows your account login name (aka the email you signed up with). Alot of people have used their real names as email so you even know that then. If you would have known that by the time you created your email of the account, you might have choosen a more anonymous email (like whatsoever@gmail.com).
This also leads to the point that everyone without an authenticator basically can only wait for hackers to bruteforce their pw as they know the loginname already.

Im not impressed, eventho i own authenticators.

Originally Posted by krasgoth

I'm not a republican, but thanks for assuming I live in the states and conform to everything that goes on there. I don't even live in your country.

So, let's get through your post here. This is what is going to happen:

You post about your character getting stuck in the 4th room of Uldum, and wonder how to get it out. Now, an aspiring person decides "Hey, I'm going to search up this fellow's name, he sounds like an interesting guy." Now, he looks you up on google and does... what exactly?

What is a random person from the internet going to do with this information, which is accessible to anyone in the public domain as you said yourself in a REGISTRY for gods sakes. Anyone can look up this information, as you specifically stated.

How are you "Risking your business"? Do you "Risk your business" every time you use a credit card? Ever fill up your car with gas? Go out to dinner? Ever go to the movies? You hand your credit card to a waiter, leave it for 10 minutes, and expect that when it gets back, everything is in order. Yet, somehow, when you post legitimate information on a blizzard forum, people are going to look up your REAL LIFE BUSINESS and STALK YOU because you asked about something on World of WARCRAFT?

C'mon now. This is seriously hurting my brain. If you can describe something that fits the following criteria that would make people want to:

A) WANT to search you up in the first place, especially if you're posting like a normal user.
B) Search up your PERSONAL BUSINESS, dig through the internet, and find something that anyone can already look up in the first place.
C) Send you something in the mail or visit your place of business (Which, if it is a million dollar a year operation, surely has a FRONT OFFICE which allows people to not walk in and KILL YOU, which they would never do anyway).

I'd be happy. But there is no valid reasoning behind it, only sheer paranoia.

I use a IP spoofer, and MAC address spoofer so I remain anonymous online. My choice.
When I do go out to eat, or buy gas I use a credit card with a shell company name, or an alias to protect my identity. My choice.
When people ask what I do, I tell them I own an avionics company. My choice to stay anonymous.
My car is registered to a secondary company so I cant be looked up by tag. My choice.
All of these things I do by choice (although the govt briefed me as how to stay anonymous as I own a "risk" business, so I HAVE to have my anonymity. I dont understand what you arent getting here.
Me posting on WoW forums will mean I have to use my real name. NOT MY CHOICE.
My company builds missile systems that kill people for the govt. If you did that would you want people to be able to find you?

Again, the REAL bitch here is that people who want/need to stay anonymous will be unable to legitimately use a service they PAY for. I have explained 3 times now how this is bad for ME, and im one of millions. You still have yet to explain how exposing peoples real name is a good thing.

This exactly. You guys act like every single person in this game will kill you because they have your information and base it off of them acting like a two year old in game. Hello! It's called anonymity in game and them taking advantage of it, just because they act that way doesn't mean they really are that way and will really come and kill you...

It only takes one. Unfortunately for me, I've already met that one. And the last thing I need is for him to find out I'm playing world of warcraft, or what my character name is.

I bet over half of the whining twats that are concerned about privacy here are using facebook/myspace/other networking sites that are bigger privacy risks than your name being on a forum.

And the other half? Are we just not worth protecting? I work very hard to keep my identity on the internet secret for a very good reason. People like me ALONE should be a reason not to do this. Endangering the lives of people who are victims of stalkers is not worth eliminating a few forum trolls. That's what you people don't get.

Yea, that's just what I want, for every idiot who reads the Blizzard forums to know my real name or email address.

Battle.net 2.0 is just a comedy of stupid on Blizzard's part.