World of Warcraft: Blizzard Backs Away from RealID Forum Policy

MikeB

World of Warcraft players and MMO aficionados alike were stirred into an uproar over Blizzard's recent announcement of a new forum policy that would utilize the Battle.net RealID system to combat the game's rampant flaming and trolling issues on its official forums by forcing players to reveal their full first and last names whenever they post. The idea being that players would be less prone to fly off the handle at each other if the "veil of anonymity", which has been part and parcel of internet discourse for just about forever, was removed.

While some people agreed with this idea, there have been a number of privacy issues raised concerning the new policy, to say the least, and Blizzard has taken to the game forums today to officially respond to all the hub-bub.

Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime announced today that Blizzard is officially backing away from the proposed RealID forum policy, stating, "...we've decided at this time that real names will not be required for posting on official Blizzard forums."

An excerpt from the full announcement is available below:

It's important to note that we still remain committed to improving our forums. Our efforts are driven 100% by the desire to find ways to make our community areas more welcoming for players and encourage more constructive conversations about our games. We will still move forward with new forum features such as the ability to rate posts up or down, post highlighting based on rating, improved search functionality, and more. However, when we launch the new StarCraft II forums that include these new features, you will be posting by your StarCraft II Battle.net character name + character code, not your real name. The upgraded World of Warcraft forums with these new features will launch close to the release of Cataclysm, and also will not require your real name.



I want to make sure it's clear that our plans for the forums are completely separate from our plans for the optional in-game Real ID system now live with World of Warcraft and launching soon with StarCraft II. We believe that the powerful communications functionality enabled by Real ID, such as cross-game and cross-realm chat, make Battle.net a great place for players to stay connected to real-life friends and family while playing Blizzard games. And of course, you'll still be able to keep your relationships at the anonymous, character level if you so choose when you communicate with other players in game. Over time, we will continue to evolve Real ID on Battle.net to add new and exciting functionality within our games for players who decide to use the feature.

You can view the full announcement here.

Neverdyne

We won!

Nilenya

 good on them! No Blizz NGE, it was looking juicy for a while.

barasawa

I just remembered that "The Noob" had a strip on this a few months ago.

 

http://thenoobcomic.com/index.php?pos=378

 

Is that a scary prediction, or does he know someone at Blizzard?

itbewilly

No way.....I wouldnt have known that had i not read the other 2 or 3 threads already made.Do some damn research and stop posting the same stuff someone else already beat you to.

Tarka

Well done Blizzard for this decision

Kaynos1972

Finally !

Stradden

Originally posted by itbewilly

No way.....I wouldnt have known that had i not read the other 2 or 3 threads already made.Do some damn research and stop posting the same stuff someone else already beat you to.

 

Hm, well, since those are forum posts and not news posts, I'd say there's a pretty distinct difference there. It's not a race for information. Nobody's shouting "first". Consider simmering down a little bit.

Bob_Blawblaw

I wonder if we had all done as Jon suggested and quietly walked away if Blizzard would have done this fantastic 180?

wow.pwns111

hmmm... makes me wonder. Could this whole thing just have been an elaborate publicity stunt?

Stradden

Don't put words in my mouth Bob, I said that people should be prepared to walk away and to write a well thought out letter or email about it. I never said don't tell them why you're leaving, i said don't be loud and rude and fly off the handle.

Sometimes I wonder if you purposely take what I say out of context.

TheMaelstrom

Originally posted by Stradden

Don't put words in my mouth Bob, I said that people should be prepared to walk away and to write a well thought out letter or email about it. I never said don't tell them why you're leaving, i said don't be loud and rude and fly off the handle.

Sometimes I wonder if you purposely take what I say out of context.

To be (somewhat) fair, I think a lot of people can read an article and still miss the real context of it. It's not the same as having a conversation with someone face to face.

That being said, I think your article was exceptionally well-done, and in my opinion the context was crystal clear. Some people just like starting fires. Hehe.

Dreathor

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Originally posted by wow.pwns111
hmmm... makes me wonder. Could this whole thing just have been an elaborate publicity stunt?

---

An interesting idea.

EvilGeek

Well glad to see that all the buzz provided a better outcome, I don't play WoW, feel decidedly 'meh' about the game, I was more concerned about the effect of one corporation getting away with this having a trickle down effect to all and sundry.

 

At the end of the day it's your name, you should have control over who uses it  not the corporations, in that respect it's a small win, I'm cynical about how long this will last until some other attempt at forcing social networking integration, they seem to feel that's where the money is ...

jaxsundane

Originally posted by itbewilly

No way.....I wouldnt have known that had i not read the other 2 or 3 threads already made.Do some damn research and stop posting the same stuff someone else already beat you to.

 Are those news posts you are talking about or just forum posts?  Difference being you are reading a post from an employee of mmorpg with official links.

Illyssia

Originally posted by Neverdyne

We won!

 

Well, yes and no. it's the sentence "Over time, we will continue to evolve Real ID on Battle.net to add new and exciting functionality within our games for players who decide to use the feature." that is the telling one. Short term yes it's a U-turn. long term the business suits at Blizzard believe their hired economists plans to embrace social networking...just need to move more slowly so not to lose all their gamers.

Kraoss

Originally posted by Dreathor

 

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Originally posted by wow.pwns111

hmmm... makes me wonder. Could this whole thing just have been an elaborate publicity stunt?

---

An interesting idea.

Now that the people are breathing a sigh of relief, they'll forget to complain about all the new forum rating changes for awhile.

Imagine if all they were going to add was the new forum rating system, like Turbine did. Think there would of been an outcry? Will if be less now that they aren't forcing RealID on the Forums?

Duster505

Sorry Stradden but you already said in your article ...

 

"First, I'd like to say that while I can appreciate the massive storm of hate that has poured down on Blizzard since this announcement was made, both on their official forums and on third party forums like ours, I honestly don't think that this is going to get the job done."

But to the point.. you do realise how naive this idea from BLizzard actually was when the PEGI in Europe actually demanded that BLizzard games would have age restriction of 16-20 (depending of country) if these changes had gone through.

No... the big gaming companies dont always think that far ahead.  In fact they almost never do.  They are stubborn and greedy - just like most of us are.  Including you and me.

Trident9259

Originally posted by Bob_Blawblaw

I wonder if we had all done as Jon suggested and quietly walked away if Blizzard would have done this fantastic 180?

 

 

 

soe would have loved if that had happened 5 years ago when they dropped the nge.

 

 

we shouldn't deny our beloved developers some little bad press and negative word of mouth when they show us how much they care by taking advantage of our attachment to their games by revamping systems no one wants. 

 

just cancelling is not enough. whether they like it or not, they are dealing with people, not "subscriber numbers". 

 

at least in this case blizzard had the good sense to turn around, and everyone is happy. 

 

if people just cancel the people are left unhappy because they want to play and the developers loose because they loose subscribers (current and possibly potential as well). 

Tarka

Originally posted by Stradden

Don't put words in my mouth Bob, I said that people should be prepared to walk away and to write a well thought out letter or email about it. I never said don't tell them why you're leaving, i said don't be loud and rude and fly off the handle.

Sometimes I wonder if you purposely take what I say out of context.

 I agree.  Having myself been one of those people sat on the other end of a phone having to listen to irrational asshats and whiners, you'd be amazed how far a little politeness whilst detailing your greivance will get you.

I used to go out of my way to help those who offered a rational and mature explanation for their grievance, and for those who just wanted to shout at anyone and act like an immature brat, they got nothing extra from me.

Novic2

Robert Kotick: With Real ID we could sell personal data for millions!

Online Gamers : Boo!

Robert Kotick: I don't care. I'm here to take the fun out of games.

*Online gamers start to leave..*

Michael Morhaime: O.k this has gone far enough. Wow is my baby, not yours Bobby.

Trident9259

Originally posted by Tarka

Originally posted by Stradden

Don't put words in my mouth Bob, I said that people should be prepared to walk away and to write a well thought out letter or email about it. I never said don't tell them why you're leaving, i said don't be loud and rude and fly off the handle.

Sometimes I wonder if you purposely take what I say out of context.

 I agree.  Having myself been one of those people sat on the other end of a phone having to listen to irrational asshats and whiners, you'd be amazed how far a little politeness whilst detailing your greivance will get you.

I used to go out of my way to help those who offered a rational and mature explanation for their grievance, and for those who just wanted to shout at anyone and act like an immature brat, they got nothing extra from me.

here, here tarka....

 

 

you can't expect everyone to act in a composed and rational manner when changes of such magnitude are rubbed in people's  faces with a "and that's final" note.

 

the feeling of helplessness, frustration and so on will bring the worst out of anyone. 

 

if developers learn to ASK first, allow for debate and then act on that feedback you will find people will be more composed and rational. 

 

and there is no reason this isn't taking place. why do they employ  community managers and what not?

erictlewis

Well I am glad that has happened.  I for one would have hated to see this happen. Even though I dont play wow any more and gave up on the game years ago.  I tell you why.  Because if Blizard wout have gotten away with this.  All our games.  Soe, NCsoft, and everybody else would have went this dirrection in a rather fast hurry.

I would bet you all the studios were looking to see how this went down and what i would have meant for them in the long and short term.

So its a win for evry gamer.

 

 

Teala

Originally posted by Stradden

Don't put words in my mouth Bob, I said that people should be prepared to walk away and to write a well thought out letter or email about it. I never said don't tell them why you're leaving, i said don't be loud and rude and fly off the handle.

Sometimes I wonder if you purposely take what I say out of context.

 Jon your article was dead on.   It was very clear in its meaning and like so many others, no doubt helped bring about Blizzards change of mind.   Thank you for your efforts.   

Teala

Oh and Woohoo!   That is one small victory for us gamers!   Now if we can get them to fix the mess that is realID in game!   That needs better implementation!   Fight on!  

Tarka

Originally posted by Teala

Originally posted by Stradden

Don't put words in my mouth Bob, I said that people should be prepared to walk away and to write a well thought out letter or email about it. I never said don't tell them why you're leaving, i said don't be loud and rude and fly off the handle.

Sometimes I wonder if you purposely take what I say out of context.

 Jon your article was dead on.   It was very clear in its meaning and like so many others, no doubt helped bring about Blizzards change of mind.   Thank you for your efforts.   

 For once I agree with Teala.  Now...if you'll excuse me.....I think I need to go an lie down in a dark room.  Just kidding