Yes, the nuclear option of leaving needs to always be there, but if that is the only way of communicating with a company, you can't communicate much.
The phase people are in now is sort of a floudering "I've been blindsided with something I never expected to be a variable in my decisions". People aren't thinking like consumers yet, they're thinking like wounded community members. Even the people who are claiming to be jumping to another game are doing it just because it's another game, not because they've actually compared privacy policies carefully. Until I start seeing serious apples-to-apples discussions of which games offer a better commitment to not go down the same road as RealID, I'm willing to believe the firestorm of angst in the WoW community will eventually pass.
Hard to disagree on one point, as it is simple logic: If you really "hate" a game (I'm still trying in vain to imagine how such a thing can happen, but still), you should probably quit. Don't turn it into a dysfunctional relationship, as there's enough of that in the real world.
If it's making you angry all the time, you should probably quit. If it's making you miserable, you should probaby quit. Hell, you probably know when you should quit, and you probably know you have a bit of a problem if you still can't.
On the other hand, the written word has power even the basest of trolls can enjoy - someone with a well-expressed opinion, more so. Jon should know this, as he is a writer - and after all he has written this, right?
Your disappointment nicely worded and explained matters. People complaining on forums for a record number of posts in a day matter...
But only if you put your money where your mouth is! No need to shut off either one.
Now I am going to go and buy a couple of boxes so that I can cancel *both* and send them a message! Oh wait -
My opinion is that a lot of those who complain are just drama queens. First, I do not want anyone to convert me. I can't convince you that this change will not affect the quality of their games in any way, but neither can you convince me that this change is a game-breaker. You will just end up pissing off people who don't care about this change or don't see it as that much of a big deal.
You won't buy starcraft and diablo because of this??? Seriously?? I just find it amusing that anyone will pass on a great game just because of a forum change.
People will make a compromise with this. They might quit but they will eventually come back. Mark my words.
I already pre-purchase the SC2 Collector Edition, and will also purchase for Diablo3 Collector as well as Cata's expansion once announced! As long as me and my friends can continue to fund in anyway Blizzard we will continue to do so at all costs.
I agree 110% with any decision they make, including RealID!!!
My opinion is that a lot of those who complain are just drama queens. First, I do not want anyone to convert me. I can't convince you that this change will not affect the quality of their games in any way, but neither can you convince me that this change is a game-breaker. You will just end up pissing off people who don't care about this change or don't see it as that much of a big deal.
You won't buy starcraft and diablo because of this??? Seriously?? I just find it amusing that anyone will pass on a great game just because of a forum change.
People will make a compromise with this. They might quit but they will eventually come back. Mark my words.
Well, drama is what makes the world go round. Understand drama and you begin to understand human beings.
Otherwise you will keep saying "Seriously?" and "I just don't get..." and "I can't believe" till the end of days...
You'll even believe you cannot convince any other person - despite the fact that you had me there for a moment.
I wish there was a link to what excatly Real ID was because I initially though it would be some kind of facebook link to your ingame avatar. Time to go find out for myself.
there are two good reasons why I’m not the one to start spouting off about it: 1) I don’t play World of Warcraft, so this move, at least for now, doesn’t affect me in the slightest. 2) As a condition of my job, I post on a volatile internet forum on a daily basis using my real name.
Your article is pretty decent, even though I disagree with you, and I applaud your encouraging people to take what little action they can that will actually make an impact. I have already canceled my subscription and no longer plan to buy Cataclysm, SC2, and D3 (whenever that happens).
I do disagree with the part I quoted above though, and here's why:
1) I don't play World of Warcraft, so this move, at least for now, doesn't affect me in the slightest.
It's the same mentality that a large portion of the player base has taken on when they say "well I don't use the forums so it doesn't matter" -- it doesn't affect me right now, so why do I care?
Blizzard is a leading gaming company; others will follow suit. This may be shocking and new now, but if gamers, forums users, and people in general allow this, it will become the standard, not the exception. You should care because you post online. And giving out your name is a big deal, as evidenced by this article:
Check it out, in 20 minutes, the author of the article found a ton of information about the forum poster who said "what's the big deal? My name is ----- ------." and called the forum poster at work, who then realized the real potential for harm.
By the way, a lot of places use Social Security Numbers as a means of identification (even though I think technically they're not supposed to) such as colleges/universities. For example, a classmate at my university of mine told me he could get my social security number in less than a minute because he knows my first and last name. Your information is not safe anyway, but handing it out on a silver platter is not a good idea either.
My point in all of this is that not just WoW forum users, not just WoW players, not just gamers, not just forum users, not just internet users, but EVERYONE in the world, especially "free nations," should be concerned about and offended/angered by a company that has the audacity to force its customers to give out their personal information, regardless of whether that information is "just" their name or not.
and 2) As a condition of my job, I post on a volatile internet forum on a daily basis using my real name.
What's your point? It's YOUR job. It's not my job. It's not the other 11 million WoW subscribers' job. It's YOURS. You chose to accept the position knowing that posting with your name was a condition of getting paid. Key word: chose. It was a choice that you made AND you're an employee. WoW subscribers are not employees. They're customers. Does your insurance agent plaster your name on the door of their office building? Does your doctor post your chart on a bulletin board? Does your bank put your name on its signs? No. They don't. Because you are the customer and they respect your privacy.
Of course I know that I can unsubscribe (I have), refrain from buying future products (I will), and turn on parental control settings for Real ID (which I will). But my boycotting doesn't make their actions any less wrong and I have a right as a free citizen of a free nation to voice my opinion. The fact that they can even do something like this seems like something that slipped through legislative cracks.
Furthermore, as a professional, the people who read your articles generally respect your privacy. They know it's your job, and short of a few crazies, I bet most people have left you alone. Call your local radio/TV stations and ask them the same question, I'll bet you get a similar answer--most people leave them alone. But then, they're not forcing every person who watches the 11 o'clock news to use their real name to submit phone/video/forum responses. Some people do, and that's their choice, but some don't, and that's their choice too.
The issue here is not necessarily posting with real names. The issue is being FORCED to post with real names without real choice. The only choice that exists under the new Real ID system is "post or don't" which, for people with any kind of security/safety issues, isn't a choice at all, and for people who need help, isn't much of a choice.
I opened by saying that your article was well-done, and I respect you as a writer/reporter, but I seriously think your opinion is flawed and highly recommend you reevaluate your perception of the situation. This does not just affect the couple hundred thousand people that actually use the WoW forums. It affects everyone who believes s/he has freedom of choice and the right to keep his/her personal information private.
I think all MMO players should care, because if Blizzard pulls this off, you can bet that every other company will be doing something like it in a year or two.
I'm thinking about what Kyleran said, maybe all those people voicing their protests, should send Activision a good old fashioned paper mail letter. It is too easy to delete e-mail. If nothing else they would have to hire a truck to take them away ... would draw some attention eh?
It is not likely other MMOs will follow Blizzard's example in this case. Blizzard will lose subs and I'm sure they know it, but it will only be a drop in the bucket compared to its millions. Other MMOs can't afford that drop.
"If you're going to act like a noob, I'll treat you like one." -Caskio
I was the person who stalked the kid and called him at work the other day (http://bit.ly/cWG59Q ), and after getting a huge response from that post, and thinking on it overnight, I've written this post as a reasoning to my cancelation ( http://bit.ly/aDYyFx ) and have gone ahead and done it. I don't want to leave, but if this remains in-game and goes live, I will not be coming back to WoW or *any* Activision Blizzard product so long as they so unabashedly disregard the safety and security of their customer base.
I quit WoW just recently and was planning to go back until I read about the RealID news... I never used my real name in any social networking sites in the internet for security reasons. Having it posted in a popular mmo forums for the whole world to see is something that really ups my paranoia. I'm just glad I quit the game earlier.
people now have a chance to vote with their vallets. we'll see how strong their faith is.
imo, battlenet security is turning into a joke. email as login? email publicly available? real name publicly available? if that isn't forcing people to buy additional protection, by reducing quality of service, i don't know what is.
meh. i quit playing two years ago. i guess i won't start again anytime soon.
I quit yesterday and I left them a note about their ridiculous decision. I disagree with those who say "stay and complain"... on a situation such as this one. It's better to leave and give very concise, well written, reasons why you have taken your money and used it to better purpose.
Don't be fooled into thinking a business is more concerned with their paying customers than those who have left and had good reason for doing so.
I don't see what the big deal is. More than half of the people I know have fake names for online things.
I can't wait to see how Blizzard's forums will be like in a few months when more than half of the people are "John Smith".
If you guys are so aggravated, go find another MMORPG. Leave a complaint before you go. Eventually they'll get the idea. I'd say roughly 40% or more people don't support this move, including people who don't support it but don't really care either. That's a big chunk of players (and money).
For me, I'm not playing Starcraft on Battle.net anymore for sure. I'll find some other RTS like the Command and Conquer series. Just leave quietly. Blizzard will still feel the pain.
As for you RPGers, go play something like Guild Wars (Guild Wars 2 coming out soon, gonna be awesome) or, if you really like WoW's design, play Runes of Magic (which pretty much requires money). If you're willing to pay $15 a month to play a game, you probably won't mind paying $20 a few times a year (for making your gear better).
In my opinion those that stay and complain, on the official forums thus revelaing their real names if they do so after the change happens, will have less weight than those hat cancel their suscriptions, Activision-Blizzard will already have your money, you stayed with them, they know you are hooked. They will then start to think about how to move the line in the sand again, and how they can more profits from you.
The way to get Activision-Blizzard to take notice is to actually hit their bottom line, remove your money from them, they will then have to explain the declines in profit to their shareholders, and someone will be held to account for the decision.
If you stay, the bottom line doesnt change and the shareholders arent unhappy, and they can safely ignore and delete and mute all the rage posts on THEIR forum, as they dont have to entertain criticism on it if they don't want to.
I already pre-purchase the SC2 Collector Edition, and will also purchase for Diablo3 Collector as well as Cata's expansion once announced! As long as me and my friends can continue to fund in anyway Blizzard we will continue to do so at all costs.
I agree 110% with any decision they make, including RealID!!!
Proving yet again that the addicts will continue to get bent over a table until they pull the plug on the game.
Sad, sad sheeple; too blind to see where this is headed.
I will be happy to speak with my wallet, as some of you mention. I have no desire to support this trend. I'd be very interested to see the real (you know, the factual ones) cancellation trend as a result of this upcoming change. I've seen many posts claiming to cancel. How many really will, and how many will be back when Cata hits? I will be emailing to have mine completely deleted, so none of that for me!
I'm not so sure it's as simple as just walking away...Especially for those who do things the right way and enjoy helping out on the Forums but would like to keep the creeps off their doorstep...You know, the Folks who have put hundreds upon hundreds of hours into a Game they love...
I think the obvious 1st step (if you have that much of a problem with it) would simply be to stay off the Forums...Forum use will diminish greatly...I don't think there is any doubt about that...
Part of me thinks this is a genius move and the other part thinks there has got to be a better way...The last part wishes SOE had done the same with the SWG Forums years ago cause there are plenty of jerks I would LOVE to visit in person....
Proof that this is a big deal to a lot of peoples. 2k pages. Is just a game, why should everyone know who you are. And why all this, to prevent trolling? Cmon, nobody ever died from troll posts. Kinda stupid the reason to implement this real id thing.
Proof that this is a big deal to a lot of peoples. 2k pages. Is just a game, why should everyone know who you are. And why all this, to prevent trolling? Cmon, nobody ever died from troll posts. Kinda stupid the reason to implement this real id thing.
That's the point. Anyone with eyes can see it wasn't "to prevent forum trolling" and is an obvious trend towards profit, which is all they care about anymore even when it's at the expense of their fans.
This was definitely "the straw that broke the camels back" for me causing me to cancel my sub.
Anyway, I completely understand how some people don't see this as a big issue, while others like myself do. Personally I don't have a facebook, twitter, myspace, linkedin, etc account. My name is unique. I also know that I do searches on my employees and perspective employees. I do look at what they do and how they present themselves outside of the workspace and have used those sites to influence my desicision in hiring / firing.
Right off, it still might not be a huge thing. it's just your name on a forum, but I don't see how that even fixes anything. To use the sad excuse that they're trying to do it to clean up the forums. If an a-hole wants to be an idiot on the forums, will his real name showing really prevent it?
Also, I look at the whole thing as data. They're exposing the public forums to a customers PI, i.e. relating their game play to their real name. Sure I don't have to post, but that doesn't stop that data as being exposed. How long until other sites such as armory are then able to link to that data as well? How long until each character that you run is tied to your name on those sites? I'm willing to bet that it WILL happen. maybe not tomorrow, but if this happens, that's next.
Sure, it ties the idiots names to thier toons. Again, no big deal, but lets say your a healer who can't keep one of those idiots alive for some reason. How long until they're getting harrassed in real life?
Then again, there might be absolutely nothing negative that can come of it. However, with 12 mil people subing to the game, I'm not up for playing those odds.
I agree with the post, if you state you case in a logical and polite manner and you feel that the change is that bad they can not live with they should leave. That’s what I did when SEG went to the NEG system. I hated it and stated my opinion and saw it would not change. However I was not aware of the change before I ended up paying for the second expansion. That left me with such a bitter taste that I quit and avoid anything to do with Sony Online products. I even went further and refused to buy a Playstation.
I maybe a small fish in the pond and my impact not significant but if everyone did this then it will make a company stand up and notice. However there will always be fans that no matter what they will stick around thick and thin.
Regarding the Real Name, it does have big
implications on privacy as we are all aware of the telemarkiters and how identity theft is rampped with the online age. I for one would be concerned and can see down the road were like Facebook they maybe forced to change the policy. Time will Tell.
I guess it kind of sucks for people with rare names. As for me, I have a pretty common name, even including my middle name, so I don't really care about the realID thing.
People have already started leaving over this. I wouldn't be surprised if it's more each day. I'm giving Bliz. a chance to come to their collective senses. If this is pushed live, the next step would be in game if this is successful. I never signed up for World of Facebook. If this does in fact go through, don't worry. I will be leaving. There's too many other mmorpgs out these days to have to put up with this.
Margrave this is the type of sentiment that Blizzard may not be sensitive to. You're going to wait and see rather than actually take action. Blizzard Ent. can just guess you will continue to play in the end. What I would recommend, since you seem to feel strongly about this, is go to the account manager and cancel your subscription and state the reason. That way, you've taken your action now and the message is clear. You can still play until your time has run out and you can always resubscribe if they change their mind (or if you do).
So to any other subscriber reading this: If you don't like this recent change, just go to the account manager and cancel your recurring subscription. It's not like you're locked into the decision, but at least you've made your point. You need to take a visible stand if you won't to make a difference.
i quit wow last yer but this move has made sure i will never re-sub or buy another blizzard product, i go to great lenghs to protect my privacy on the net and i want to keep it that way.
Playing: FFXIV Future: wishing for SWG 2, World of Warcraft Classic Played: Most current and extinct MMO's - 18 Years in....
Comments
Yes, the nuclear option of leaving needs to always be there, but if that is the only way of communicating with a company, you can't communicate much.
The phase people are in now is sort of a floudering "I've been blindsided with something I never expected to be a variable in my decisions". People aren't thinking like consumers yet, they're thinking like wounded community members. Even the people who are claiming to be jumping to another game are doing it just because it's another game, not because they've actually compared privacy policies carefully. Until I start seeing serious apples-to-apples discussions of which games offer a better commitment to not go down the same road as RealID, I'm willing to believe the firestorm of angst in the WoW community will eventually pass.
Hard to disagree on one point, as it is simple logic: If you really "hate" a game (I'm still trying in vain to imagine how such a thing can happen, but still), you should probably quit. Don't turn it into a dysfunctional relationship, as there's enough of that in the real world.
If it's making you angry all the time, you should probably quit. If it's making you miserable, you should probaby quit. Hell, you probably know when you should quit, and you probably know you have a bit of a problem if you still can't.
On the other hand, the written word has power even the basest of trolls can enjoy - someone with a well-expressed opinion, more so. Jon should know this, as he is a writer - and after all he has written this, right?
Your disappointment nicely worded and explained matters. People complaining on forums for a record number of posts in a day matter...
But only if you put your money where your mouth is! No need to shut off either one.
Now I am going to go and buy a couple of boxes so that I can cancel *both* and send them a message! Oh wait -
I quit
feels good to be playing something new for a change.
My opinion is that a lot of those who complain are just drama queens. First, I do not want anyone to convert me. I can't convince you that this change will not affect the quality of their games in any way, but neither can you convince me that this change is a game-breaker. You will just end up pissing off people who don't care about this change or don't see it as that much of a big deal.
You won't buy starcraft and diablo because of this??? Seriously?? I just find it amusing that anyone will pass on a great game just because of a forum change.
People will make a compromise with this. They might quit but they will eventually come back. Mark my words.
I already pre-purchase the SC2 Collector Edition, and will also purchase for Diablo3 Collector as well as Cata's expansion once announced! As long as me and my friends can continue to fund in anyway Blizzard we will continue to do so at all costs.
I agree 110% with any decision they make, including RealID!!!
Well, drama is what makes the world go round. Understand drama and you begin to understand human beings.
Otherwise you will keep saying "Seriously?" and "I just don't get..." and "I can't believe" till the end of days...
You'll even believe you cannot convince any other person - despite the fact that you had me there for a moment.
I wish there was a link to what excatly Real ID was because I initially though it would be some kind of facebook link to your ingame avatar. Time to go find out for myself.
holy crap. 2014 pages and counting..
news link
Your article is pretty decent, even though I disagree with you, and I applaud your encouraging people to take what little action they can that will actually make an impact. I have already canceled my subscription and no longer plan to buy Cataclysm, SC2, and D3 (whenever that happens).
I do disagree with the part I quoted above though, and here's why:
1) I don't play World of Warcraft, so this move, at least for now, doesn't affect me in the slightest.
It's the same mentality that a large portion of the player base has taken on when they say "well I don't use the forums so it doesn't matter" -- it doesn't affect me right now, so why do I care?
Blizzard is a leading gaming company; others will follow suit. This may be shocking and new now, but if gamers, forums users, and people in general allow this, it will become the standard, not the exception. You should care because you post online. And giving out your name is a big deal, as evidenced by this article:
http://seewhatyoudidthere.com/2010/07/07/realid-changes-the-very-real-ease-of-stalking-in-the-internet-age/
Check it out, in 20 minutes, the author of the article found a ton of information about the forum poster who said "what's the big deal? My name is ----- ------." and called the forum poster at work, who then realized the real potential for harm.
By the way, a lot of places use Social Security Numbers as a means of identification (even though I think technically they're not supposed to) such as colleges/universities. For example, a classmate at my university of mine told me he could get my social security number in less than a minute because he knows my first and last name. Your information is not safe anyway, but handing it out on a silver platter is not a good idea either.
My point in all of this is that not just WoW forum users, not just WoW players, not just gamers, not just forum users, not just internet users, but EVERYONE in the world, especially "free nations," should be concerned about and offended/angered by a company that has the audacity to force its customers to give out their personal information, regardless of whether that information is "just" their name or not.
and 2) As a condition of my job, I post on a volatile internet forum on a daily basis using my real name.
What's your point? It's YOUR job. It's not my job. It's not the other 11 million WoW subscribers' job. It's YOURS. You chose to accept the position knowing that posting with your name was a condition of getting paid. Key word: chose. It was a choice that you made AND you're an employee. WoW subscribers are not employees. They're customers. Does your insurance agent plaster your name on the door of their office building? Does your doctor post your chart on a bulletin board? Does your bank put your name on its signs? No. They don't. Because you are the customer and they respect your privacy.
Of course I know that I can unsubscribe (I have), refrain from buying future products (I will), and turn on parental control settings for Real ID (which I will). But my boycotting doesn't make their actions any less wrong and I have a right as a free citizen of a free nation to voice my opinion. The fact that they can even do something like this seems like something that slipped through legislative cracks.
Furthermore, as a professional, the people who read your articles generally respect your privacy. They know it's your job, and short of a few crazies, I bet most people have left you alone. Call your local radio/TV stations and ask them the same question, I'll bet you get a similar answer--most people leave them alone. But then, they're not forcing every person who watches the 11 o'clock news to use their real name to submit phone/video/forum responses. Some people do, and that's their choice, but some don't, and that's their choice too.
The issue here is not necessarily posting with real names. The issue is being FORCED to post with real names without real choice. The only choice that exists under the new Real ID system is "post or don't" which, for people with any kind of security/safety issues, isn't a choice at all, and for people who need help, isn't much of a choice.
I opened by saying that your article was well-done, and I respect you as a writer/reporter, but I seriously think your opinion is flawed and highly recommend you reevaluate your perception of the situation. This does not just affect the couple hundred thousand people that actually use the WoW forums. It affects everyone who believes s/he has freedom of choice and the right to keep his/her personal information private.
This is only the beginning...
It is not likely other MMOs will follow Blizzard's example in this case. Blizzard will lose subs and I'm sure they know it, but it will only be a drop in the bucket compared to its millions. Other MMOs can't afford that drop.
"If you're going to act like a noob, I'll treat you like one." -Caskio
Adventurers wear fancy pants!!!
This is exactly what I did.
I was the person who stalked the kid and called him at work the other day (http://bit.ly/cWG59Q ), and after getting a huge response from that post, and thinking on it overnight, I've written this post as a reasoning to my cancelation ( http://bit.ly/aDYyFx ) and have gone ahead and done it. I don't want to leave, but if this remains in-game and goes live, I will not be coming back to WoW or *any* Activision Blizzard product so long as they so unabashedly disregard the safety and security of their customer base.
I quit WoW just recently and was planning to go back until I read about the RealID news... I never used my real name in any social networking sites in the internet for security reasons. Having it posted in a popular mmo forums for the whole world to see is something that really ups my paranoia. I'm just glad I quit the game earlier.
people now have a chance to vote with their vallets. we'll see how strong their faith is.
imo, battlenet security is turning into a joke. email as login? email publicly available? real name publicly available? if that isn't forcing people to buy additional protection, by reducing quality of service, i don't know what is.
meh. i quit playing two years ago. i guess i won't start again anytime soon.
I quit yesterday and I left them a note about their ridiculous decision. I disagree with those who say "stay and complain"... on a situation such as this one. It's better to leave and give very concise, well written, reasons why you have taken your money and used it to better purpose.
Don't be fooled into thinking a business is more concerned with their paying customers than those who have left and had good reason for doing so.
I don't see what the big deal is. More than half of the people I know have fake names for online things.
I can't wait to see how Blizzard's forums will be like in a few months when more than half of the people are "John Smith".
If you guys are so aggravated, go find another MMORPG. Leave a complaint before you go. Eventually they'll get the idea. I'd say roughly 40% or more people don't support this move, including people who don't support it but don't really care either. That's a big chunk of players (and money).
For me, I'm not playing Starcraft on Battle.net anymore for sure. I'll find some other RTS like the Command and Conquer series. Just leave quietly. Blizzard will still feel the pain.
As for you RPGers, go play something like Guild Wars (Guild Wars 2 coming out soon, gonna be awesome) or, if you really like WoW's design, play Runes of Magic (which pretty much requires money). If you're willing to pay $15 a month to play a game, you probably won't mind paying $20 a few times a year (for making your gear better).
In my opinion those that stay and complain, on the official forums thus revelaing their real names if they do so after the change happens, will have less weight than those hat cancel their suscriptions, Activision-Blizzard will already have your money, you stayed with them, they know you are hooked. They will then start to think about how to move the line in the sand again, and how they can more profits from you.
The way to get Activision-Blizzard to take notice is to actually hit their bottom line, remove your money from them, they will then have to explain the declines in profit to their shareholders, and someone will be held to account for the decision.
If you stay, the bottom line doesnt change and the shareholders arent unhappy, and they can safely ignore and delete and mute all the rage posts on THEIR forum, as they dont have to entertain criticism on it if they don't want to.
F2P/P2P excellent thread.
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/282517/F2P-An-Engineers-perspective.html
Proving yet again that the addicts will continue to get bent over a table until they pull the plug on the game.
Sad, sad sheeple; too blind to see where this is headed.
I will be happy to speak with my wallet, as some of you mention. I have no desire to support this trend. I'd be very interested to see the real (you know, the factual ones) cancellation trend as a result of this upcoming change. I've seen many posts claiming to cancel. How many really will, and how many will be back when Cata hits? I will be emailing to have mine completely deleted, so none of that for me!
~Hashberry, seeking MMO!
I'm not so sure it's as simple as just walking away...Especially for those who do things the right way and enjoy helping out on the Forums but would like to keep the creeps off their doorstep...You know, the Folks who have put hundreds upon hundreds of hours into a Game they love...
I think the obvious 1st step (if you have that much of a problem with it) would simply be to stay off the Forums...Forum use will diminish greatly...I don't think there is any doubt about that...
Part of me thinks this is a genius move and the other part thinks there has got to be a better way...The last part wishes SOE had done the same with the SWG Forums years ago cause there are plenty of jerks I would LOVE to visit in person....
Just kidding...
Proof that this is a big deal to a lot of peoples. 2k pages. Is just a game, why should everyone know who you are. And why all this, to prevent trolling? Cmon, nobody ever died from troll posts. Kinda stupid the reason to implement this real id thing.
That's the point. Anyone with eyes can see it wasn't "to prevent forum trolling" and is an obvious trend towards profit, which is all they care about anymore even when it's at the expense of their fans.
This was definitely "the straw that broke the camels back" for me causing me to cancel my sub.
Anyway, I completely understand how some people don't see this as a big issue, while others like myself do. Personally I don't have a facebook, twitter, myspace, linkedin, etc account. My name is unique. I also know that I do searches on my employees and perspective employees. I do look at what they do and how they present themselves outside of the workspace and have used those sites to influence my desicision in hiring / firing.
Right off, it still might not be a huge thing. it's just your name on a forum, but I don't see how that even fixes anything. To use the sad excuse that they're trying to do it to clean up the forums. If an a-hole wants to be an idiot on the forums, will his real name showing really prevent it?
Also, I look at the whole thing as data. They're exposing the public forums to a customers PI, i.e. relating their game play to their real name. Sure I don't have to post, but that doesn't stop that data as being exposed. How long until other sites such as armory are then able to link to that data as well? How long until each character that you run is tied to your name on those sites? I'm willing to bet that it WILL happen. maybe not tomorrow, but if this happens, that's next.
Sure, it ties the idiots names to thier toons. Again, no big deal, but lets say your a healer who can't keep one of those idiots alive for some reason. How long until they're getting harrassed in real life?
Then again, there might be absolutely nothing negative that can come of it. However, with 12 mil people subing to the game, I'm not up for playing those odds.
I agree with the post, if you state you case in a logical and polite manner and you feel that the change is that bad they can not live with they should leave. That’s what I did when SEG went to the NEG system. I hated it and stated my opinion and saw it would not change. However I was not aware of the change before I ended up paying for the second expansion. That left me with such a bitter taste that I quit and avoid anything to do with Sony Online products. I even went further and refused to buy a Playstation.
I maybe a small fish in the pond and my impact not significant but if everyone did this then it will make a company stand up and notice. However there will always be fans that no matter what they will stick around thick and thin.
Regarding the Real Name, it does have big
implications on privacy as we are all aware of the telemarkiters and how identity theft is rampped with the online age. I for one would be concerned and can see down the road were like Facebook they maybe forced to change the policy. Time will Tell.
I guess it kind of sucks for people with rare names. As for me, I have a pretty common name, even including my middle name, so I don't really care about the realID thing.
Margrave this is the type of sentiment that Blizzard may not be sensitive to. You're going to wait and see rather than actually take action. Blizzard Ent. can just guess you will continue to play in the end. What I would recommend, since you seem to feel strongly about this, is go to the account manager and cancel your subscription and state the reason. That way, you've taken your action now and the message is clear. You can still play until your time has run out and you can always resubscribe if they change their mind (or if you do).
So to any other subscriber reading this: If you don't like this recent change, just go to the account manager and cancel your recurring subscription. It's not like you're locked into the decision, but at least you've made your point. You need to take a visible stand if you won't to make a difference.
i quit wow last yer but this move has made sure i will never re-sub or buy another blizzard product, i go to great lenghs to protect my privacy on the net and i want to keep it that way.
Playing: FFXIV
Future: wishing for SWG 2, World of Warcraft Classic
Played: Most current and extinct MMO's - 18 Years in....
Interesting Fact - I own 27 Tarantula's