Is being on WoW in public?

[timtim89]

I got into a big argument with this guy because he was telling me that being in trade or any other chat is being in public, I agrued the counter point that it is not because nobody can see you or know where you are at. Example being I could very well be naked doing a LFR or any other number of things and nobody will ever know.

Anyways what do you guys think? Is being on WoW consider being out in "Public" or not?

[kynthrus]

I think trade chat would be considered some form of public forum.

[Pliers]

Publicly anonymous.

[Oerba Yun Fang]

Very much depends on how you define "in public." If you define it as in the same room with other people, then obviously not.

If you define it as talking to another person, then yes.

[melodramocracy]

Wow servers are technically private servers, so no.

[Rivin]

Well, it's as public as being on a forum or in a chat room. Whether or not that counts as "in public" depends on your definition of the term. When I hear "in public" I usually think of being in a physical location with other people.

[morainesedai]

To be clear; here is the definition of "Public". Clearly, putting something in trade chat meets several of the many definitions. So YES, it is public, in several ways.

Definition of PUBLIC

1
a : exposed to general view : open
b : well-known, prominent
c : perceptible, material
2
a : of, relating to, or affecting all the people or the whole area of a nation or state <public law>
b : of or relating to a government
c : of, relating to, or being in the service of the community or nation
3
a : of or relating to people in general : universal
b : general, popular
4
: of or relating to business or community interests as opposed to private affairs : social
5
: devoted to the general or national welfare : humanitarian
6
a : accessible to or shared by all members of the community
b : capitalized in shares that can be freely traded on the open market —often used with go
7
: supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by income from commercials <public radio> <public television>

[sinisterwyvern]

To be clear; here is the definition of "Public". Clearly, putting something in trade chat meets several of the many definitions. So YES, it is public, in several ways.

Definition of PUBLIC

1
a : exposed to general view : open
b : well-known, prominent
c : perceptible, material
2
a : of, relating to, or affecting all the people or the whole area of a nation or state <public law>
b : of or relating to a government
c : of, relating to, or being in the service of the community or nation
3
a : of or relating to people in general : universal
b : general, popular
4
: of or relating to business or community interests as opposed to private affairs : social
5
: devoted to the general or national welfare : humanitarian
6
a : accessible to or shared by all members of the community
b : capitalized in shares that can be freely traded on the open market —often used with go
7
: supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by income from commercials <public radio> <public television>

Definition wins

[morainesedai]

Definition wins

too often people use what they think a word should mean rather than what the word really means.

[Pliers]

too often people use what they think a word should mean rather than what the word really means.

If most people think a word means something, its definition is secondary to its practical application.

[Rivin]

too often people use what they think a word should mean rather than what the word really means.

Well, he didn't ask if it was by definition, but whether it would be "considered" in public, which is usually tied to public opinion and commonly-held viewpoints more than outright fact. :I

[Vyncent]

I got into a big argument with this guy because he was telling me that being in trade or any other chat is being in public, I agrued the counter point that it is not because nobody can see you or know where you are at. Example being I could very well be naked doing a LFR or any other number of things and nobody will ever know.

Anyways what do you guys think? Is being on WoW consider being out in "Public" or not?

While physically you are not in public, verbally it is a 'public forum', i.e. it is not private or limited in who is able to read and post in that form. Just because it is part of a virtual game does not make it any less public. Many people of all ages make use of both General and Trade chat. Strictly, from a legal point of view, if something is said in either chat forum, and someone takes offense at it, and Blizzard does nothing in an effort to restrict the offense, it leaves them as a company open for potential lawsuit. Hence, the terms that are listed in the EULA and the ToS that state that offense language is not permitted.

[melodramocracy]

You need to be a paying customer of the game to have first-hand knowledge of what gets said in trade chat.

This forum, however, is a public forum... I don't need an account here to view messages. The number of people who are a potential audience don't really have much to do with whether something is public or not.

[Imnick]

You are not in a physical location but anything you write in trade chat is in the public eye, so in one sense no but in another sense yes
And the definition also says yes
So I would also say yes

[Wozarib]

It's a publicly accessible system within which you can suffer the consequences of your actions, despite other players not being able to personally identify you outside of your in-game name.

So yes it's public with a thin veil of anonymity to protect a user from another user.

[Hedleyazg]

While WoW has "public" channels in the sense that you are auto put in them. The game itself is not public.

[Zaelsino]

Clever wordplay aside, it's kind of the complete antithesis to the idea.

I mean, if you don't go spouting it off, there's virtually nothing that anyone can infer about you... perhaps aside from your fluency in a certain language and meaning (if any) behind your character name.