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Blizzard Backs Down On Real Names For Forums
Ashe Tyrael writes "Earlier this week, Blizzard announced that they were going to be implementing changes in their official forums (for StarCraft II when it launched, and for WoW prior to Cataclysm) that would require users to post under their real names, as part of the Real
ID system. After perusing nearly 14,000 European and 50,000 US forum posts, the majority of which decried this move with various levels of vehemence, it looks like Blizzard has given in to the pressure. From the official statement: 'We've been constantly monitoring the feedback you've given us, as well as internally discussing your concerns about the use of real names on our forums. As a result of those discussions, we've decided at this time that real names will not be required for posting on official Blizzard forums.' Not that this doesn't leave room for them to re-implement this at a later date, but that's a pretty definite 'no.' It was clear they were going to take criticism, but the size of the backlash was impressive. It seems likely Blizzard simply wasn't expecting that level of antipathy toward their new policy.
So Blizzard probably estimated that 90% of those jerks would stop being jerks if their name appeared by their asshole posts. So what if 1% of the population complains about RealID? But in doing so, Blizzard totally ignored the other 98% of the populations enjoyment of privacy. And in doing so once they decided this would be mandatory for the betterment of the community, the rest of the community interjected and seemed to prefer the assholes and their privacy to the converse where the assholes now know who you are. To many of us, this isn't really a surprise.
Not that this doesn't leave room for them to re-implement this at a later date, but that's a pretty definite 'no.'
I disagree. I see Blizzard still chasing this dream of moderation through identity and drastically reducing their moderation. I would bet we shortly see a scheme where RealID is opt in with the catch being that if you aren't using RealID then each of your posts has to be read by a moderator before it is approved as viewable by anyone else. Community regulation can be a difficult and touchy subject with gamers and I suspect this is only the beginning of a very long trial run where Blizzard tries to find the happy medium between anonymity and self regulation.
My work here is dung.
Don't think that this had anything to do with privacy, or "feedback", it was simply that when the accounting department saw just how many hits they were going to lose and the kneecapping their advertising income was about to take, the called the higer ups and put a dollar figure to this kind of bone-head move and it was called off.
the preceding post was not spell checked... suck it.
I haven't played WoW in a LONG time, but for a while I was a devout player (closed beta, open beta, from launch until two years later), and if there is one thing I saw during my time, it was Blizzard listening to the masses.
Living With a Nerd
Hmm... The company with some of the most popular computer games in the world listen to customer feedback and reconsider their decisions based on it. You don't suppose there could be some sort of correlation, do you?
When someone says, "Any fool can see
People can already be traced. In cased of extreme abuse the IP can lead to a subpoena which can lead to the ISP having to reveal the real location of who had that IP at that time. Why would Blizzard want real name to be mandatory for playing?
"Maybe this world is another planet's hell"
Aldous Huxley
Can they seriously not notice the weekly Facebook privacy dramas and not connect the dots as to how this scheme would blow back on them?
I haven't seen the issue addressed, but I can't see that this measure wouldn't violate EU privacy regulations in some way
When all of your wishes have been granted, many of your dreams will be destroyed - Marilyn Manson
Actually, that's part of the problem. What if someone who is completely unconnected to WoW but happens to have the same name as someone who does play? And THEY are the one who gets griefed IRL by some maniac who takes a game too damn seriously?
My blog. Good stuff (when I remember to update it). Read it.
That's true, the WoW forums are really nothing but a cesspit. Throw in the fact that they've banned some of the best posters for trivial reasons like speculating about unreleased content and there's really no reason to read or post on the official forums. It's ridiculous that they think a handful of moderators can handle tens or possibly hundreds of thousands of posters on a daily basis.
The real solution to the WoW forum problem is to hire more moderators, require a unique account id that's not necessarily your real name and not your login id, and to be much more public about when people have sanctions imposed on them and why. That won't clear everything up, but those three steps will go a long ways towards improving the situation. The perception that there is little to no effective moderation on the forums only encourages bad behavior.
Fanatically anti-fanatical
Are you familiar with the saying, "Never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity"? If you read their post announcing the turn-around, they say very clearly, "We did this because we thought it would improve the quality of the forums, and having heard your reaction, we're not going to do it." They thought they were acting in the best of their customers. Yeah, it was an appallingly stupid idea, but one with good intentions.
You can call me naive if you want, but ask yourself: what the hell does Blizzard gain from you posting your real name on their forums? They already know it from your subscription info, it's not like you're giving them new data. It makes no difference to them whatsoever. That's the problem with conspiracy theories: people come up with them before realizing that the conspiracy would not provide any benefit to the alleged conspirators if true
This was just a lousy call by well-meaning individuals, and the fact that they did such a complete turnarond is a positive sign that Blizzard does care about their customers.
Dislike the Electoral College? Lobby your state to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
Blizzard should simply tie forum names to accounts in an opaque manner. You can only create a forum name if you have an account, and you can only create one per account and only if you have a game key activated on that account. The forum name can't be the same as the account username (to prevent disclosure), and once created you can't change it (CS can change it for you, but you have to give them a good reason to). That solves most of the problem without requiring real names anywhere.
Basically for the purposes Blizzard claims to need to address, real identities aren't needed. What's needed is only two things:
Neither of those requires disclosing real identities.
Why does everyone dismiss the choice of NOT participating in Blizzard's forums as a way to protect your privacy and security. Plenty of people have made that same choice with regards to Facebook.
So many people seem to think that free speech means being free to walk into someone else's living room and call them a cocksucker without having to fear getting punched in the face.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
"You can call me naive if you want, but ask yourself: what the hell does Blizzard gain from you posting your real name on their forums? They already know it from your subscription info, it's not like you're giving them new data. It makes no difference to them whatsoever. That's the problem with conspiracy theories: people come up with them before realizing that the conspiracy would not provide any benefit to the alleged conspirators if true"
Naive if you know about the facebook integretion deal and believe that, just uninformed if you don't know about
Activision want to create THE social gaming network. Cannot do that if everyone is publiclly hidden behind alias. That is what the whole Real ID thing is about
Look, if I apply for a job, the last thing I want them to know is personal data about me. If I played WoW, I would want to keep that private, because people are petty and opinionated, and the less they know about you, the less they don't like. That's my reason for freaking out about it. The long term record-keeping quality of the internet means that anonymity keeps my opinions, my hobbies, and my interests separate from the database containing my real name. It's not that I'm ashamed of it, it's that I refuse to submit to the whims and prejudices of others.
So had he been a stalker, he would have killed the wrong person.
How is that better?
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
And people don't publish their real-life names in wide circulation, and still get people figuring out their real-life name and harassing them. I've been a Wikipedia admin for five years, and in that time:
* I've been sued twice.
* I've been the recipient of numerous death threats
* I was the intended target of a real-life harassment campaign. The person leading it figured out my real-life name, and then connected it to the wrong address and telephone number. Some random person in Michigan suffered a few weeks of attacks before the perpetrators figured out they had the wrong target.
They just have to turn it into a game. The rating system is a start but can obviously be gamed. Definitely don't want to include tech support forums though.
Level 1 forum user: Can post only once every 15 minutes for a total of 6 per day. Can create topics only once an hour for a total of 2 per day. Cannot rate posts yet.
2-4 lowers post cooldown by 1 minute per level. Levels 3 and 5 grants 1 additional post each. Level 5 grants 1 more topic.
And, you know, go from there. If your posts are reported or downrated enough, a mod will swing by and check them out. If you posted stuff you shouldn't have, you might only be bumped down a level or two (or however much seems fitting). If you're just a complete asshole, forum and game ban.