Real ID comes to WoW

[Rasix]

 

[Musashi]

Would you like to log in to World of Warcraft with Facebook?

Facebook users receive access to the auction house!

[Khaldun]

My understanding is that even if you do post you don't have to import your Facebook friends list or use any of that functionality.  I'm just saying that if it cleans up the boards and makes them civil, then it's genius.  Fuck the fallout.  If it doesn't?  Then obviously the Internet Fuckwad Theory is flawed, human nature is broken beyond repair, and I'm a giant dildo.

I'm fascinated that you evidently regard making World of Warcraft's official forums into civil and clean places for polite discourse to be a transcendently valuable objective which outweighs other concerns. Because you have never struck me here as being particularly driven by a need for high signal-to-noise civility in online conversation. How exactly will the cleaning out of the forum cesspits enhance: a) your life; b) your playing of WoW? Do you frequently go to the online forums looking for information only to be disappointed that there is a forty-page thread on whether Sylvanus has sucked Thrall's cock?

[Lantyssa]

If they are pulling the poster's name from billing information, is that even legal?  Can you give out a name gathered from a credit card?

[slog]

If they are pulling the poster's name from billing information, is that even legal?  Can you give out a name gathered from a credit card?

I was kind of wondering the about this.  I would probably just change the name on my Battle.net account to John Smedly  and not worry about the rest.  If it really became an issue, and I still wanted to play, I would probably buy timecards.

[DLRiley]

If they are pulling the poster's name from billing information, is that even legal?  Can you give out a name gathered from a credit card?

I was kind of wondering the about this.  I would probably just change the name on my Battle.net account to John Smedly  and not worry about the rest.  If it really became an issue, and I still wanted to play, I would probably buy timecards.

As oppose to not playing.....

[slog]

If they are pulling the poster's name from billing information, is that even legal?  Can you give out a name gathered from a credit card?

I was kind of wondering the about this.  I would probably just change the name on my Battle.net account to John Smedly  and not worry about the rest.  If it really became an issue, and I still wanted to play, I would probably buy timecards.

As oppose to not playing.....

I've filled in so many fake names over the years, what's one more?

[DLRiley]

If they are pulling the poster's name from billing information, is that even legal?  Can you give out a name gathered from a credit card?

I was kind of wondering the about this.  I would probably just change the name on my Battle.net account to John Smedly  and not worry about the rest.  If it really became an issue, and I still wanted to play, I would probably buy timecards.

As oppose to not playing.....

I've filled in so many fake names over the years, what's one more?

bnet only has my real first name for starcraft and i'm still debating the purchase of it past beta.

[tmp]

All that shit you just mentioned?  It could happen one day.  But it probably won't. 

Um aren't PS3 achievements and whatnot already able to be spammed on facebook if the user enables it?  It's not that inconcievable that Blizzard would do this as well.

the whole part where "it's optional, it's different" is changing pretty quick as the companies realize it's extremely cheap way to advertise their games to people who normally wouldn't think about playing games to begin with.

[sickrubik]

If they are pulling the poster's name from billing information, is that even legal?  Can you give out a name gathered from a credit card?

Yeah, there really isn't anything wrong with it, since you can't store credit card numbers.

Timecards are actually a great thing for people that are worried about such things, as well as a good way to prevent credit card fraud in general.

[slog]

If they are pulling the poster's name from billing information, is that even legal?  Can you give out a name gathered from a credit card?

I was kind of wondering the about this.  I would probably just change the name on my Battle.net account to John Smedly  and not worry about the rest.  If it really became an issue, and I still wanted to play, I would probably buy timecards.

As oppose to not playing.....

I've filled in so many fake names over the years, what's one more?

bnet only has my real first name for starcraft and i'm still debating the purchase of it past beta.

Is there something that prevents you from setting up a new gmail account and a new bnet account? (this is a serious question)

[DLRiley]

no but honestly i do that amount of work to troll forums, not to purchase a video game. removing the impulse buy mechanic from video game purchase is likely result in many people keeping their 50-60 bucks.

[Simond]

Internet does the predictable: http://asnowstormbyanyothername.blogspot.com/

And...here...we...go!  

[Ironwood]

Aye, just saw that myself.  A winner.

Sigh.

[Azazel]

This should be interesting...

[Nevermore]

If they are pulling the poster's name from billing information, is that even legal?  Can you give out a name gathered from a credit card?

I was kind of wondering the about this.  I would probably just change the name on my Battle.net account to John Smedly  and not worry about the rest.  If it really became an issue, and I still wanted to play, I would probably buy timecards.

You can't change the name on an already established B.net account without faxing them your I.D. proving that's your name.

[Lakov_Sanite]

If there's one thing that the internet has taught me it's that it is always a good idea to challenge the depths of peoples trolling ability.  

This is proving to be the most amusing thing blizzard may have ever done.

[DLRiley]

The internet is made for trolling and porn.

[Ingmar]

There's something oddly paternalistic about all this "well we have to protect the women!" business to me. Like "oh they don't know any better and they'll post and put their name out there and get raped, we must protect them by locking them up safely where they can't do damage to themselves by letting men get a look at them!"

I mean I can understand worrying about kids, kids are stupid and not legally entitled to make their own decisions in a lot of contexts, but adults are adults and while they may also be stupid, they are entitled to make their own decisions about whether or not they want to use these particular forums, or facebook, or hop into open vent with people they don't know, no?

I mean yes, I see that can be turned around to "well we're entitled to use this service without posting our real names on their forums, and Blizzard shouldn't make that decision for us", but really that isn't actually true in this country at least, or in South Korea. They may run into trouble in the EU from what I can tell, though.

[Modern Angel]

I'd agree if it weren't primarily women doing the complaining. Generally speaking I defer to women when it comes to things like "what's it like to play a video game and have nerds find out you have a vagina?" I have and it's been pretty universal.

[Simond]

There's something oddly paternalistic about all this "well we have to protect the women!" business to me. Like "oh they don't know any better and they'll post and put their name out there and get raped, we must protect them by locking them up safely where they can't do damage to themselves by letting men get a look at them!"

I mean I can understand worrying about kids, kids are stupid and not legally entitled to make their own decisions in a lot of contexts, but adults are adults and while they may also be stupid, they are entitled to make their own decisions about whether or not they want to use these particular forums, or facebook, or hop into open vent with people they don't know, no?

So you're essentially saying that any female/LGBT/person with a non-WASP name who posts on the Blizzard forums is asking for it?

I mean yes, I see that can be turned around to "well we're entitled to use this service without posting our real names on their forums, and Blizzard shouldn't make that decision for us", but really that isn't actually true in this country at least, or in South Korea. They may run into trouble in the EU from what I can tell, though.

"May be in trouble" in the context of "This is all very fucking illegal and actually criminal offences, not civil ones", you mean. Announcing that you want to be "Like Facebook but with less privacy" in the same week as when the German Govt. says that it's going to bend Facebook over a table takes a special sort of genius.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Every single raiding guild I was in always had the same reaction when a new female recruit spoke up on vent. It was fucking embarassing to be a part of each time and that was even on the tamer side of things.  To say women need to be protected isn't accurate but to say women will be targetted and harassed? That's pretty spot on.

[Malakili]

There's something oddly paternalistic about all this "well we have to protect the women!" business to me. Like "oh they don't know any better and they'll post and put their name out there and get raped, we must protect them by locking them up safely where they can't do damage to themselves by letting men get a look at them!"

*shrugs* I only know a few women who play WoW, but each of them that has talked about this has said they oppose it.  In addition to their normal apprehension of even doing something like talking on Ventrilo with people they don't know.

[Ingmar]

So you're essentially saying that any female/LGBT/person with a non-WASP name who posts on the Blizzard forums is asking for it?

Yes, clearly that is what I mean.  

[Mrbloodworth]

When this hits, will i be able to find out how many of my coworkers are in this shot? 

Also, when you see it.... 

[slog]

If they are pulling the poster's name from billing information, is that even legal?  Can you give out a name gathered from a credit card?

I was kind of wondering the about this.  I would probably just change the name on my Battle.net account to John Smedly  and not worry about the rest.  If it really became an issue, and I still wanted to play, I would probably buy timecards.

You can't change the name on an already established B.net account without faxing them your I.D. proving that's your name.

This is true.  It wouldn't work for existing WoW accounts. I was thinking that ongoing, I would create a new BNET account for D3, another for SC2, etc.

[Outlawedprod]

There's something oddly paternalistic about all this "well we have to protect the women!" business to me. Like "oh they don't know any better and they'll post and put their name out there and get raped, we must protect them by locking them up safely where they can't do damage to themselves by letting men get a look at them!"

Now on a more serious note.  The problem isn't REALID comes to WoW.  The problem is REALID comes to Gamers on the Internet. They aren't ready for this let alone the fact that the Internet isn't ready for REAL ID.  I have despised stuff like Facebook.  People don't realize the potential consequences when you are using your real name.  You aren't making a comment in a local newspaper's voice of the people column or something.  It's like you are being broadcast simultaneously on every TV signal on the planet but you don't know if anyone is watching or not.  Your every move will be scrutinized and it will be vigilante justice time once you make a mistake and say something that sends people off whether you really meant how they took it or not.  Or in the case of WoW maybe embarrassingly pwn someone badly who just can't accept that.  There are plenty of bigshot executives, entertainers, and athletes who have expensive PR machines behind them.  And guess what they aren't ALL stupid but many of them have been dragged straight down into PR hell due to some offhand remark they said.

E-mail is easy enough for someone to screw up let alone all these other online services
http://abovethelaw.com/2010/04/hls-3ls-racist-email-goes-national/

[Ingmar]

There's something oddly paternalistic about all this "well we have to protect the women!" business to me. Like "oh they don't know any better and they'll post and put their name out there and get raped, we must protect them by locking them up safely where they can't do damage to themselves by letting men get a look at them!"

*shrugs* I only know a few women who play WoW, but each of them that has talked about this has said they oppose it.  In addition to their normal apprehension of even doing something like talking on Ventrilo with people they don't know.

I don't think I know anyone of any gender who especially likes it, but my point is the sort of scary talk about this sounds pretty similar to the scary talk that has been used over the years to keep women from doing all sorts of 'unsafe' things over the years, like getting a job, or being alone with a man they're not related to, or going out dancing, etc.

I mean yes I know it doesn't map perfectly to this exact situation, but I feel like there's a strong undercurrent here of "we shouldn't let these crazy women put their pictures on Facebook, don't they know it isn't safe!" that I find kind of disturbing.

[Paelos]

This is one of those cases where someone has to get murdered, or Blizzard loses 30% of their customer base before anything will be done about it. If neither of those happens, the plan will flourish and we privacy beholden folks will crawl away to our cabins in the woods to polish our guns for the coming New World Order.

However, I know which one of the two is a lot more likely. I can assure you there's more than one psychopath in every 12,000,000 people. Better yet, I want to be the first plaintiff's lawyer to use it as a quick way to some deep pockets.

[Righ]

I just find the practices unacceptable, whether I can work around them or not. I cancelled, uninstalled and told them why.

[Ingmar]

I just find the practices unacceptable, whether I can work around them or not. I cancelled, uninstalled and told them why.

This does seem to be the sensible course of action for anyone who is concerned that the slippery slope will take them any farther.

[Malakili]

There's something oddly paternalistic about all this "well we have to protect the women!" business to me. Like "oh they don't know any better and they'll post and put their name out there and get raped, we must protect them by locking them up safely where they can't do damage to themselves by letting men get a look at them!"

*shrugs* I only know a few women who play WoW, but each of them that has talked about this has said they oppose it.  In addition to their normal apprehension of even doing something like talking on Ventrilo with people they don't know.

I don't think I know anyone of any gender who especially likes it, but my point is the sort of scary talk about this sounds pretty similar to the scary talk that has been used over the years to keep women from doing all sorts of 'unsafe' things over the years, like getting a job, or being alone with a man they're not related to, or going out dancing, etc.

I mean yes I know it doesn't map perfectly to this exact situation, but I feel like there's a strong undercurrent here of "we shouldn't let these crazy women put their pictures on Facebook, don't they know it isn't safe!" that I find kind of disturbing.

I'm really not getting that vibe from this, I dunno.  It seems more like "Hey, your identity being available easily in WoW seems like a bad idea."  "Yeah, here are some examples where it has already been a problem when its happened" *queue stories which seem to disproportionally involve women getting harassed*

[Ingmar]

I could be reading more into it than is there, certainly.

On the other hand the very existence of the above blatantly racist 'scare' image sort of makes me feel like maybe I'm not.

[Ironwood]

I just find the practices unacceptable, whether I can work around them or not. I cancelled, uninstalled and told them why.

Should everything proceed as planned, the wife and I will be doing the same.

I still reckon there's a little time for them to be talked out of it though.

[Arthur_Parker]

blatantly racist 'scare' image

Oh come on, I'd suggest a couple of people need to chill out a little bit.  This is a really stupid move on Blizzard's part but there's still time for them to back down and if not, there's always the option of not posting on their new forums or even cancelling.