RealID on forums - a serious threat to minors

Ashkael

When I first set up my account way back when WoW was first released, I was under 18. All I had to do was click a little check box that said I was over 13 and had my parents full consent. I am the account holder, but my mom has happily paid for the WoW service for years until I got my own credit card and paid for it myself. If I were to use RealID (and I don't) then it would show MY name regardless of who was actually paying.



And this is what I'm worried about. Anyone under the age of 18, but over the age of 13 can create an account as long as they check a box that says they have parental consent. They can use their own name as the account holder, and that's what shows up on RealID.



How can anyone think that this is a good idea?

 

 

 

I tried to make this EXACT post on the official forums, but it was promptly deleted. (Not locked, but deleted outright) I am genuinely concerned here. Blizzard is opening the door to the abuse of minors and that is both morally reprehensible and outright illegal if I'm not mistaken. What's more, it seems that my attempts to inform people of the safety risks via official forums are being stonewalled by absolute censorship.

 

RealID is turning into a RealProblem

Nytakito

Sounds to me like any parent concerned about the saftey of their child will have to make the decision wether or not to allow their child to play. 

Ultimately it is the responsibility of the Parents to provide safety and protection for their children.  Pushing it on Blizzard because of RealID is just a lame cop out for a bad parent.

Ashkael

Originally posted by Nytakito

Sounds to me like any parent concerned about the saftey of their child will have to make the decision wether or not to allow their child to play. 

Ultimately it is the responsibility of the Parents to provide safety and protection for their children.  Pushing it on Blizzard because of RealID is just a lame cop out for a bad parent.

There's nothing in the EULA that tells a parent that the account holders full name will be displayed when posting on forums.

 

It is Blizzards responsibility to NOT endanger the welfare of a child.

lethys

I guess so.  It's really dumb for them to do all this stuff about showing people's real identity anyway.  I mean, I'm still buying Starcraft because the problem has practically no effect on me, but it could be a problem for people who play WoW who don't feel necessarily comfortable having their guildmates knowing their real names.

 

It's a weird relationship that you have with guildies now that I think about it; you spend a ton of time together but probably only two or three people in a guild know your real name; obviously some exceptions, but in reality thats the way it is.  I know that whenever I sign out a guild app though most of the time First Name is a requirement to put in.  And also like why you aren't a douche and whatever.

Xerith

Blizzard can alter their EULA and will, and most likely will once this system goes live. Really theres no difference between this and a social networking site like Facebook, which displays far more than just your name, the only difference now is you will actually know who you are playing with.

I will agree however on the fact that some people like to just remain anonymous within a game world, without having people they play with actually know who they are.

Nytakito

Originally posted by Ashkael

Originally posted by Nytakito

Sounds to me like any parent concerned about the saftey of their child will have to make the decision wether or not to allow their child to play. 

Ultimately it is the responsibility of the Parents to provide safety and protection for their children.  Pushing it on Blizzard because of RealID is just a lame cop out for a bad parent.

There's nothing in the EULA that tells a parent that the account holders full name will be displayed when posting on forums.

 

It is Blizzards responsibility to NOT endanger the welfare of a child.

 Are you referring to the EULA that has stated in clear text it can change at anytime, that you are REQUIRED to accept before playing the game, this acknowledging and accepting the fact that it can, and WILL change?

Or was there a different EULA that you were referring to?

Ashkael

Originally posted by Nytakito

Originally posted by Ashkael

Originally posted by Nytakito

Sounds to me like any parent concerned about the saftey of their child will have to make the decision wether or not to allow their child to play. 

Ultimately it is the responsibility of the Parents to provide safety and protection for their children.  Pushing it on Blizzard because of RealID is just a lame cop out for a bad parent.

There's nothing in the EULA that tells a parent that the account holders full name will be displayed when posting on forums.

 

It is Blizzards responsibility to NOT endanger the welfare of a child.

 Are you referring to the EULA that has stated in clear text it can change at anytime, that you are REQUIRED to accept before playing the game, this acknowledging and accepting the fact that it can, and WILL change?

Or was there a different EULA that you were referring to?

I'm referring to the EULA that has more or less proven that it cannot hold up in a court of law as it is an ultimately unreasonable contract. The very same EULA that cannot bend or break the law by any means, nor does it define what the law is.

 

Neither Blizzard nor anyone else can hide behind a contract that says "Well, you agreed to let us break the law, so we're off the hook." As soon as a minor gets assaulted (or worse) as a result of personal information being publicly posted by the RealID forum feature, we'll see that Blizzard cannot exempt themselves from responsibility.

lethys

It's dumb to say the parents use this as a cop out because they don't expect a business to do something so dumb.  I mean, its not like anyone is in favor of it, even gamers.

VirusDancer

So what you are saying is that the 400lb shim is going to go around and eat the children that were in his, er her, its guild?

jusomdude

You don't have to post on the forums once this new system goes through... and you will be warned that you are about to post your real name before you post.

 

Not saying it's not a bad idea, but it is avoidable. Old posts aren't affected.

Kyleran

I see what's coming next.  First they use RealID to expose your name, then they start charging a monthly fee in the cash shop to keep your name off the list, sort of like how the phone company does with the phone book.

Smart!

expresso

OP by claiming you over 18 when you are were in fact 13 is illegal and probably fraud... reap what you sow.

If real id showed your age there would be an issue but it's your name.. ever seen a residential phone book? has names, address and phone numbers.

Nytakito

Nobody supports it??  Odd, I think it's a great idea!! 

ForceQuit

Originally posted by expresso

OP by claiming you over 18 when you are were in fact 13 is illegal and probably fraud... reap what you sow.

If real id showed your age there would be an issue but it's your name.. ever seen a residential phone book? has names, address and phone numbers.

I didn't read that anywhere in the OPs post.

Nesrie

Originally posted by expresso

OP by claiming you over 18 when you are were in fact 13 is illegal and probably fraud... reap what you sow.

If real id showed your age there would be an issue but it's your name.. ever seen a residential phone book? has names, address and phone numbers.

 You are mistaking a violation of policy with the term illegal. Doing what you suggests would not land that person in jail. They're not the same thing.  Getting a name and location, you can pretty much find out anything you want about people these days. There is a risk, although I would hope the risk would be minimized not just by Blizzard policies but also basic parenting efforts... and parenting is an effort parents!

catlana

Originally posted by Nytakito

Nobody supports it??  Odd, I think it's a great idea!! 

The number of trolls that will no longer be heard is huge. Yeah, this change does not bother me in the least. 

ForceQuit

Originally posted by Kyleran

I see what's coming next.  First they use RealID to expose your name, then they start charging a monthly fee in the cash shop to keep your name off the list, sort of like how the phone company does with the phone book.

Smart!

There will be an App for that.  Complete A/S/L tied into your email, facebook, b-net, phone number, address, current geo-location, and more.

MortisRex

Originally posted by expresso

OP by claiming you over 18 when you are were in fact 13 is illegal and probably fraud... reap what you sow.

If real id showed your age there would be an issue but it's your name.. ever seen a residential phone book? has names, address and phone numbers.

 You demonstrate a monumental failure to comprehend even a very basic post on a gaming message board. At no point anywhere did he claim to "be over 18" when he was in fact, 13. You have failed internet law school. You negate everything you say by demonstrating an overwhelming ignorance of the very post you are trying to criticize. You are awarded no points and may god have mercy on your soul.

ForceQuit

Real ID / Real Name is in the addon API's?  Parental controls not withstanding.  It'll be interesting to see how this is confirmed and plays out.

jdnewell

While I dont think this is a very good idea overall for blizzard it wont effect me in any way.

But I can see a potential problem.

Some 16 year old asshat posts something dumb or insulting on a forum and ends up getting assaulted by someone. Sounds a bit rediculous I know, but it will happen.

I do however think the trolls and people who hide behind a computer screen to be internet bullies will have something to ponder before they post.

demonic87

I support it 100%. People post whatever they want and act like internet tough guys because of the ability to be anonymous. This will route out those guys and most of them would be to afraid to try anything. This can be countered by putting fake names though, but its a step in the right direction. Hurts minors? Minors shouldn't be playing games if they can't handle the internet. Simple as that, do your part as a parent and protect them from it.

elocke

This post is in a word pointless. Real names being available to the public, which they are in Real Life anyway!, will not bring on child molesters or other criminal elements. Nothing has changed here. It is life as usual. Blaming companies for your mistakes or a parent's is getting VERY old.

MMO.Maverick

Originally posted by demonic87

I support it 100%. People post whatever they want and act like internet tough guys because of the ability to be anonymous. This will route out those guys and most of them would be to afraid to try anything.

This is an interesting point.

Why would it route them out, it's just a name, you still can't touch them. If they say that this and that person is a piece of s**t with crap in his head instead of a brain as they maybe tended to do before, they can still do that, what are you gonna do about it? Nothing, first you knew the alias name of a troll, now you'll know the real name of the troll, it's still a troll that can have his/her way any way they like.

Only now the smart ones can sneak some racist/cultural/sexist insinuations into their posts and getting away with it.

 

So, I ask: how would it route them out? One forumname they use has been replaced by another name to be used on forum.

ForceQuit

Originally posted by elocke

This post is in a word pointless. Real names being available to the public, which they are in Real Life anyway!, will not bring on child molesters or other criminal elements. Nothing has changed here. It is life as usual. Blaming companies for your mistakes or a parent's is getting VERY old.

You're right, I would never allow my children, in a million years, to use this system.  That's because I'm a good parent.

ForceQuit

Originally posted by cyphers

Originally posted by demonic87

I support it 100%. People post whatever they want and act like internet tough guys because of the ability to be anonymous. This will route out those guys and most of them would be to afraid to try anything.

This is an interesting point.

Why would it route them out, it's just a name, you still can't touch them. If they say that this and that person is a piece of s**t with crap in his head instead of a brain as they maybe tended to do before, they can still do that, what are you gonna do about it? Nothing, first you knew the alias name of a troll, now you'll know the real name of the troll, it's still a troll that can have his/her way any way they like.

Only now the smart ones can sneak some racist/cultural/sexist insinuations into their posts and getting away with it.

 

So, I ask: how would it route them out? One forumname they use has been replaced by another name to be used on forum.

 

The logic goes something like this:  Using your real name will deter trolls because there will be consequences.  Otherwise you are correct, simply substituting one name for another will have no effect on trolls. 

In effect, Blizz is admitting that giving out real names will have consequences, about a thousand potentially serious ones having been voiced on various forums since the announcement.

If there really are no consequences to this system, then Blizz are lying through their teeth and have ulterior motives.

GTwander

Might as well throw in my 2 cents, though this doesn't affect me in the least bit (at least yet).

 

I for one hope that all internet communications take this turn at some point. Regulation like that can be bad, but with the current security risks of being online, it could only make everything so much better. Imagine having every scammer and hacker using the internet having to have all his information hang around his neck... it makes all the stuff that ruins lives currently, something totally prosecutable. You'd see a golden age of internet safety at the risk of an invasion of personal privacy. Though, I would vouch for it just to destroy the essence of anonymity. People are going to act more "human" if they know they can't be a complete stooge and get away without it sticking to their RL persona. WoW is probably the best test center for this kind of thing, but without this affecting internet communcation as a whole, they are just at risk from outside criminals that can get their info without disclosing their own. Not fair imo.