Real ID and the possible repercussions

[Pfeff]

I know there are tons of posts about it already with plenty of flaming in them, so please keep the arguing to a minimum here (and on topic). I will add that I do not use the Blizzard forums personally, but I know there are a shit load of people that do, and although some points in this topic might be generalized or extreme, they WILL apply to someone at some point in time. If those outliers aren't addressed before they become an issue, then the possible outcomes could be much worse than anyone deserves.

Real ID is a huge step in the wrong direction. If you are lucky enough to have a common name, or aren't in a position in your own life where your name being known matters, then this discussion is not for you.

It's common knowledge that future potential employers can and will look you up when you apply. Normally this doesn't matter if you aren't vocal with your opinions or behave yourself as you should. Often times this information is used to make the best assumption they can about you as a person before they know you. In the United States, we have several laws in place to protect individuals from being denied employment due to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc., but that does not mean they are followed when an employer sees something they don't like. You can blame the individuals for those actions (as you should), but information that we choose to share or discuss in a fantasy world should not be able to negatively affect the way we act or talk in our real lives. I own my own business, and while I am not worried about employers finding out that I play World of Warcraft, I am concerned about my customers looking me up to decide if they want to go with my company or another. My company donates 10% of our total revenue to charity, which we have long-term relationships with. These days gaming has become much more main stream than it has been in the past, but it is often still a subject of taboo. I have no problems with people knowing I play, but by the time it comes up, they already have their opinion of me and my business. Potential charities and customers can only go on the things they find when doing their research. Blizzard is very high up on basically any google searches that are remotely close to it, which will be bumping my posts up higher than they should be when my name is searched (and trust me, charities and customers will go through 20 pages to find out if we are ethical).

If I have an issue with the game, I could post in the Tech Forum. My name will now be found associated with a game (which is ok since I am only looking for help). On the flip side, if I am involved in some sort of RP or discussion on a controversial subject, my name will be associated with my opinion or I may be deemed antisocial, which will result in customers or charities declining our offers simply because of a disagreement on an irrelevant matter, and that is unacceptable considering I am given no choice of whether I want my name shown or hidden.

If there was an option to hide/show your information, then this whole discussion would not even be an issue, as you wouldn't be having to make a decision on whether you want to play WoW, or you want your information out to be viewed by all.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...er-online.html

The above link is a horrible and isolated incident. However, if this happens even ONCE, anywhere in the world, because of Real ID, it is too many. Considering how many women, children, and psychotic lonelies play this game, it's only a matter of time before someone must put a RL face to the vent voice they fell in love with. Will continue these thoughts at a later time in the replies.
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I will be continuing this, but as of right now I must stop writing before the black and white of the post box ruins my eyesight. Trust me, this will be much longer when I'm finished, but I don't want to accidentally close the window and lose it all, so I'm posting it up to this point.

TL;DR - Wrong thread for you, move along

Blizzard is not Facebook!

[Pfeff]

It's cool that you and your coworker share the same interest, but there is a certain stigma still associated with playing games (specifically to MMO's). Even though in reality it does make you more social to an extent, that is not how most people perceive it, especially not most business owners and the like (trust me, I'm at trade shows every month).

As far as taking responsibility for your actions online...sure that's a great idea, but I will never put my business (or for many people a future job) on the line, just to post an opinion. While many of us, and the people we associate with, don't see an issue with our playing the game, I can promise you many employers, and my clients, could base a decision off of one post I made, and down the line it could be from years ago.

Keep in mind, they aren't offering this as an option. They are saying if you want to come on our boards, whether it's for RP or Tech Support, your name will be public.

I would never force something like that on to my customers, even if their name was published one time for using my company.

Real ID is a great idea, when it was first released (I need to know you and you must confirm you know me), but this is just an insane idea that is causing an uproar throughout their whole player base.

As far as the example I posted...sure it can happen without Real ID. But instead of learning lessons from the past events, Blizzard decides to make those crazies have to take one less step. I'm not saying people will be murdered because Real ID is what it is...I am saying they are making it even easier for the outliers to be rage without the screen. Like I said, if Real ID assists even one person to do that, it is far too many for a feature that isn't necessary and is as unwanted as this is.

Blizzard isn't the first company to think of making their game a social network, but there is a reason that this is the first thing like it.

[dddmaster]

you said you dont use the forums , why the fuck do you care then? Just to increase your post count? Go write a blog , so people who care can read it instead of spamming some mmo gaming forum

[Backreaper]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...er-online.html

The above link is a horrible and isolated incident. However, if this happens even ONCE, anywhere in the world, because of Real ID, it is too many. Considering how many women, children, and psychotic lonelies play this game, it's only a matter of time before someone must put a RL face to the vent voice they fell in love with. Will continue these thoughts at a later time in the replies.

your ingame character will be not shown by default when you post though you can have it shown if you want and your name will not be tied to your old posts, this makes it near imposible to find out who that 6 lvl higher paladin was that ganked you or that vent voice you fell in love with.

[Narphet]

It's cool that you and your coworker share the same interest, but there is a certain stigma still associated with playing games (specifically to MMO's). Even though in reality it does make you more social to an extent, that is not how most people perceive it, especially not most business owners and the like (trust me, I'm at trade shows every month).

As far as taking responsibility for your actions online...sure that's a great idea, but I will never put my business (or for many people a future job) on the line, just to post an opinion. While many of us, and the people we associate with, don't see an issue with our playing the game, I can promise you many employers, and my clients, could base a decision off of one post I made, and down the line it could be from years ago.

While your concerns may have some legitimacy, the answer to an unwarranted stigma is not to hide from it, it is to prove it false.

[Pfeff]

you said you dont use the forums , why the fuck do you care then? Just to increase your post count? Go write a blog , so people who care can read it instead of spamming some mmo gaming forum

Feel free to go elsewhere. Thanks.
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your ingame character will be not shown by default when you post though you can have it shown if you want and your name will not be tied to your old posts, this makes it near imposible to find out who that 6 lvl higher paladin was that ganked you or that vent voice you fell in love with.

Just because it won't be on there by default doesn't mean there won't be a ton of people using it. Pugging, for example, will get your characters name, and if that person happens to be a female that posts on the forum with their character up, it's that much easier to find them. You make it seem like noone will use that. If even 1 person does and has something happen to them, that is more than needed to happen. All because of a stupid feature to jump into the facebook fad.

---------- Post added 2010-07-07 at 01:34 AM ----------

While your concerns may have some legitimacy, the answer to an unwarranted stigma is not to hide from it, it is to prove it false.

I have no contact with my clients until my company is hired, and I refuse to lose even a single job just to prove that WoW players aren't always what you think they are, or because of something I said in an MMO forum, or because they don't want my employees in their house because of a false feeling towards the company's owner. That is a fight that shouldn't even have to be fought in the first place.

[Flowne]

you said you dont use the forums , why the fuck do you care then? Just to increase your post count? Go write a blog , so people who care can read it instead of spamming some mmo gaming forum

indeed

[Pfeff]

indeed

If you guys really think this is as far as they will take it and that this step won't affect you either now or in the future, you're simply being naive.

[Narphet]

I have no contact with my clients until my company is hired, and I refuse to lose even a single job just to prove that WoW players aren't always what you think they are, or because of something I said in an MMO forum, or because they don't want my employees in their house because of a false feeling towards the company's owner. That is a fight that shouldn't even have to be fought in the first place.

Neither should the fight against race or sex discrimination, but hey, it needs to be done. Not that I am comparing MMO stigma in severity to racism or sexism, but if you are truly worried it will have an adverse effect on your life, you either shouldn't be doing it, or you should be setting out to prove it wrong.

[Pfeff]

Neither should the fight against race or sex discrimination, but hey, it needs to be done. Not that I am comparing MMO stigma in severity to racism or sexism, but if you are truly worried it will have an adverse effect on your life, you either shouldn't be doing it, or you should be setting out to prove it wrong.

Again...the cause isn't worth me losing money over. No reason anyone should have to fight that fight anyway. It's not a matter of me caring if people I know know I play. It's a matter of my professional side being affected because of one of my hobbies that is harmful to noone. Hurting us simply because of what ignorant people think is no reason for me to fight for it.

Sexism and racism are different in that you cannot control who you are. If it comes down to making a choice between my professional image and a game, you can assume which will win.

[Zurth]

How many John Smiths are there in the world?

[Narphet]

Again...the cause isn't worth me losing money over. No reason anyone should have to fight that fight anyway. It's not a matter of me caring if people I know know I play. It's a matter of my professional side being affected because of one of my hobbies that is harmful to noone. Hurting us simply because of what ignorant people think is no reason for me to fight for it.

Sexism and racism are different in that you cannot control who you are. If it comes down to making a choice between my professional image and a game, you can assume which will win.

To me it seems a little backwards to chose a job over hobbies, since generally hobbies are the things you actually enjoy, and(although I personally don't believe it as true) your job is the one forcing you to choose. But if that is your choice, then make it. No reason to protest against the evolution of the internet.

[Pfeff]

To me it seems a little backwards to chose a job over hobbies, since generally hobbies are the things you actually enjoy, and(although I personally don't believe it as true) your job is the one forcing you to choose. But if that is your choice, then make it. No reason to protest against the evolution of the internet.

I own my company. If I chose warcraft, I would lose my house, as well as roughly 20 other families that I employ. No thanks...and since when is choosing to take away my choice for privacy any sort of evolution? Been trolling the official thread on the official site. Up to 1000 pages and about 20k replies of NO.

[Narphet]

I own my company. If I chose warcraft, I would lose my house. No thanks...and since when is choosing to take away my choice for privacy any sort of evolution? Been trolling the official thread on the official site. Up to 1000 pages and about 20k replies of NO.

Your choice for privacy is just as intact as your choice to post.

By my count 20k is a massive 0.15% of the population, assuming each poster is unique. Keep on trollin'.

[Pfeff]

Your choice for privacy is just as intact as your choice to post.

By my count 20k is a massive 0.15% of the population, assuming each poster is unique. Keep on trollin'.

I meant lurkin in it, not trolling. You're missing the point, though. If Blizzard allows our real names to be on our forum posts, that opens the gate for them to use it for more. It's not simply an issue of your name on the forum.

[tanked]

Am I the only one who agrees with the OP?

Simply put, this "feature" isn't needed. Xux made very valid points, but aside from those it comes down to this: why do we need to have our real names published on the forums?

It doesn't really influence trolling. Sure, maybe it will stop people who are afraid to say it without hiding behind an avatar but people can still flame and troll each other. The mods will still have to deal with each person.

Real ID doesn't make us more close-knit, or promote real life realationships either. You make friends in game, that I agree with 100% and the in-game version of real id is pretty cool. But its simply not necessary to have on a forum.

There is a reason we name our characters "deafnight", "strife", "tanked", etc...

IMO, its blizzards way of trying to jump on the social network train. News flash bliz: we dont want facebook / myspace / twitter intertwined with WoW. WoW is a great game, and the forums are part of it (sort of). Leave the social networking crap out of the game.

ps: People can argue that if you want to track someone down you can regardless. But what are the chances your going to find a person based purely on a WoW character name?

[Pfeff]

It doesn't really influence trolling. Sure, maybe it will stop people who are afraid to say it without hiding behind an avatar but people can still flame and troll each other. The mods will still have to deal with each person

If this is the underlying issue, a ban from both the forum and the game instead of just revoking your ability to post would be more than sufficient.

[Narphet]

If this is the underlying issue, a ban from both the forum and the game instead of just revoking your ability to post would be more than sufficient.

You know that would not fly with the community. I concede that they have not been very forthcoming with their reasons for the change, but regardless...the risks are being grossly overstated, and the solution is a simple one.

Not a big deal.

[Pfeff]

You know that would not fly with the community. I concede that they have not been very forthcoming with their reasons for the change, but regardless...the risks are being grossly overstated, and the solution is a simple one.

Not a big deal.

If you think real names on the forum are as far as they will take it, then I made a time machine I would like to sell you. I promise it works.

[Narphet]

If you think real names on the forum are as far as they will take it, then I made a time machine I would like to sell you. I promise it works.

And if you think even going as far as attaching your name to your in-game character is still not easily remedied...etc etc.