Ok I cant agree with the living in a cave but hunting deer isnt all that bad and they taste soooo good. Also there are other things to do in the world aside from the internet. Seeing I have been working for an internet help-desk for the past 8 years nothing disenhearts me more than when someone calls acting as if it is the end of the world. There are other things out in the real world to do like reading a book or something. But then also I can understand the level of frustration on this issue and only time will tell how it all pans out.
I totally agree with you. Ultimately, the internet is only a tool for us to communicate with eachother better. I believe it will be the tool that brings us humans closer together globally, as it knows no boundaries. I also believe it's essential that we shed our "we against them" mentality. People here are talking about stalkers and other criminal acts, but neglect to realize that internet privacy is just a band aid for those problems. It will never solve those problems. Never in a million years. You must solve problems at their roots. But this is a deeper and much more complicated discussion.
I'm now completely unsure on the problem.. if you don't like it, don't turn it on. It's not really a big deal is it? Unless people think it will be forced on them one day?
They intend to introduce more features that involve social networking. Their first foray eliminates anonimity, so it's clear they have no commitment to privacy. Even if it there is always be an anonymous option, it will be an increasingly degraded version of the game over time and preserving privacy will be a new variable that has to be checked in every decision to use a feature of the game. They have made a deal with Facebook (and Massive) and the stated philsophy of Facebook's CEO is that privacy is dead; the entire business model of that company revolves around selling databases of personal information. So if you disagree, if privacy is an issue that matters to you, then forum access is the logical place to draw the line in the sand because once you loose access access to the official forums, it will be much harder to provide feedback (short of quitting) to any future changes to privacy.
Everything comes down to personal decisions, but if you believe there is a conflict of interest between where the company's leadership wants to go and where you want to go, acting as a herd is more effective than acting as individuals - it's the reason policial parties, unions and even companies themselves exist.
Wrong at every statement. First, about your name revealed. You also have a “portrait” too. And it’s visible you are a white man, I can even add WASP (may be “P” is an extra here but you get my point). All of this reduces any potential thread by much. Now, writing columns and posting on forums – are very different things too. But this is just a note since you are talking about consumers rights.
Your advice “take it or leave it”... It is good for people who simply jump from one game to another. But Blizzard did everything to make WoW a common family entertainment, to actually already establish a social network which they shape now. So your advice is like “you do not like what a government’s doing with your country – then leave it, what’s the big deal?”
I think from one point consumers do have to have rights to demand attention to their wishes.
From the other hands, even if Blizzard planed it ahead it could not be a better promotion for upcoming titles, like GW2, not to mention SW:ToR...
Great article and as far as Blizzard and Real ID I think it's a good move it will at the very least give folks something to think about before trolling and hate mongering on forums, ironically this is the only forum I post in under something other than my real name and this name I actually use for my main toon in any mmo I play so it's not too difficult to find me. But I think it's a good practice to have when dealing with the internet because far too long people have been allowed to act any way they want simply because they are anonomous.
but yeah, to call this game Fantastic is like calling Twilight the Godfather of vampire movies....
I think the feedback on this thread is very illuminatng.
Two things are obvious in this thread:
1. People that post here predominantly are against the change.
2. People that post here and are against the change, were already not giving Blizzard their money.
From the looks of this, it appears that Blizzard is doing the right thing, as it will have a strong impact on those that dont pay their bills, and a much lesser impact on those that do.
It's probably more of a move to squelch any communication and to lessen the need for forum moderators (save $$). "Fighting Forum Trolls" is just some stupid PR reason A-B is giving. Look up Bobby Kotick and the corporate culture he fosters -- he's the empitomy of the "evil CEO who sucks the life out of everything he touches."
Proof that this is a big deal to a lot of peoples. 2k pages. Is just a game, why should everyone know who you are. And why all this, to prevent trolling? Cmon, nobody ever died from troll posts. Kinda stupid the reason to implement this real id thing.
Weak justification for continued hollow bitching. This article used about 20x the number of words actually necessary to simply convey the idea that the consumer, whether it seems so or not, has complete control, but only if they are willing to actually stick to their principles. If everyone had the balls to do that, then Blizzard would have little choice but to be more consistent with the views of the masses. The trouble is, as with most MMORPG's, there aren't enough balls in the Blizzard community to effect change. People like rant and rave and talk big, but the numbers clearly show that either, a) their opinion is not in the majority, or b) they don't feel strongly enough about the issue to actually do anything about it, so they're wasting their collective breath.
When you are a sheep, making a bunch of noise only tells the wolf where you are.
I think option A is the right. Many people will bitch and scream, but when push comes to shove they will not quit if they are having fun with the game.
Those that do not play already, bitch and vote in the polls really have no say in the state of the game. From what I know of this forum the vocal majority here are opposed to WoW anything. They could shit real life gold bars for all the player and people would still complain that the gold is not shiny enough.
It's probably more of a move to squelch any communication and to lessen the need for forum moderators (save $$). "Fighting Forum Trolls" is just some stupid PR reason A-B is giving. Look up Bobby Kotick and the corporate culture he fosters -- he's the empitomy of the "evil CEO who sucks the life out of everything he touches."
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.
And nowhere close to enough people willing to take their money elsewhere.
I kind of like the idea. It *will* make the forums a more reasonable and mature place.
I have voted with my wallet already. Like the author stated, it is the only way to truly voice your opinion. Unfortunately, I suspect that the gamble Blizzard is taking is correct. People will howl and complain and then log back on to their characters. They will lose a few like myself, for sure, but in the long run, people have shown time and time again that they will complain and complain, but not be willing to take any action that inconveniences them. While there were well over a thousand pages of complaints the last time I looked at their forums, the number of those people who will actually cancel their subscriptions and stick to it are probably negligible. Blizzard won't care that you don't like it, because you will keep paying.
Currently playing: Rift Played: SWToR, Aion,EQ, Dark Age of Camelot World of Warcraft, AoC
I have not played world of warcraft for 5 years but at a gamer and a fourm user.
I can say I have gotten so mad before where if I had there name and the where in a 6 hour drive reach I would beat the fuck out of them 12 year old punk kid or not. I would only hit a 12 year old to 16 1 time tho after that is fare game but im abit unstable with anger issue's when pushed . But that there just go to show you never know who your dealing with.
Well, so far (and I haven't read any of the changes they plan on applying in the future) all real ID is for is connecting with friends in game. You can send and receive invites to become real ID friends, and if accepted then you can connect with that friend no matter what server, character, or even battle.net game they are playing. You know, this isn't...required. You can always deny, and the only way players can send requests is by using your email, so if they don't know your email then you're fine. They use your real name to communicate between you and your real ID friends, because a.) They assume you are either really good friends in-game or friends in the dreaded "rl." I really don't care, I personally like the Real ID friend feature. If one of my friends wants to play on an alt on a different server, then I can still chat with them.
Of course, that is just my opinion I guess. I don't really care if people know my real name, Garrok and Jeremy Callaway are one and the same people. For those who don't want people in game to know their real name, then don't have real ID friends...and don't have your friends in real life play the game, that way you will only be known as "Gerbalpanties of Gnomergan"
I have not played world of warcraft for 5 years but at a gamer and a fourm user.
I can say I have gotten so mad before where if I had there name and the where in a 6 hour drive reach I would beat the fuck out of them 12 year old punk kid or not. I would only hit a 12 year old to 16 1 time tho after that is fare game but im abit unstable with anger issue's when pushed . But that there just go to show you never know who your dealing with.
Well, that sounds like something you need to work on. :P If a twelve to 16 year old boy on the internet can push you over the edge, then you have serious mental issues that need to be worked out with a therapist. BUT, with the Real ID system, all you get is a name and an email. If you got the name and the where, you probably couldn't do anything with it unless they have a very strange name. With me, my name is (as I said in my last post) Jeremy Callaway. There are more than one Jeremy's in Birmingham, AL.
I left WOW over 4 years ago, so not much I can do to voice my displeasure about this move.
I am a long time fan of the Starcraft and Diablo franchises and this move will ensure that I won't be purchasing either title, but they'll never know it unfortunately.
So raging on forums is about the only recourse, though I am seriously considering actually sending them a snail mail just so they get an appreciation of my disagreement on their policy.
Unlike John, my name is very unqiue and its far too easy for people to locate me therefore while he might not care, it matters a great deal to me.
ok....so your not a blizzard customer, yet you feel the need to tell them how unhappy you are with thier decision. If you feel like wasting your time feel free. If I had someone send a letter to, or call my company and tell them how much something we did displeased them, only to find out they were not even an active paying client. I would very kindly send them or provide a canned response that pretty much said thanks for your input but we really dont care.
The only people that have any kind of power to sway blizzards decision in this matter are paying subscribers to world of warcraft, not diablo customers, not starcraft customers, nor any future "potential" customers. If you dont like it strongly enough than quit.
You're a moron. This change will eventually affect ALL Blizzard games including StarCraft II and Diablo III. If Blizzard understands how making money works at all (obviously the company does) then its looking for where its next potential dollar is coming from, not where it is currently getting its dollars. Blizz already has the money of the current subscribers; it needs/wants the money of people who are going to buy Cata, SC2, D3, etc. Basic economics would tell you that in order to increase your income, you have to acquire new sources of income--L2Math.
My sentiments as always, "put up or shut up". Nothing more ridiculous than people ranting over an over on a board that shows they're still paying to play the game.
"You can spit in my eye only 16 more times, and THEN I'm leaving!"
Quit the game, and post in your exit survey why you're quitting. Enough people quit, they'll learn. Posting how much you hate the decision while still paying for the game makes your words empty and pointless, literally. You might as well be saying how much you hate a restaurant's food with a mouth full of it while ordering the second course and leaving a huge tip.
Credibility, it's not just for breakfast anymore.
Re: SnarlingWolf, nothing gets accomplish by ranting and paying, either. If you don't like it, quit. If enough people quit, it will change. If you are the only one that quits, then it's just you that doesn't like it. It's called capitalism, and it really is that simple.
What you want is to eat your cake and have it to, you want Blizz to value you as a person and your input, but to Blizz you are .00000000001% of their game population. Keep in mind, they deliberately and with forethought of the consequences alienated 1% of their gaming population by making the upper tiers of the game easier and more available. They intentionally decided "we have 30% of the game being seen by 1% of the population, and if we change it, that top 1% will very likely leave the game, but the other 99% will enjoy it more....very well, sacrifice that 1%".
As a consumer of a 12 million player game, your words could not be more empty, because they're not heard in the cacaphony. If you quit, and you are alone, then it's just you, go play something else. If enough people quit, Blizz will have to change to save the cash cow. Not rocket science.
This ^
This right here should be the ONLY post on the 3000 threads spanning 100's of sites on this topic right now.
It is 100% truth and worthy of a stevo-o thumbs up award.
Sad but true reality of it is, you are all complaining, and very and I mean VERY few of you are going to quit this game. Not even a spec on the radar for blizzard which will make them fix nothing.
You all have the numbers on your side, there are enough of you that if you all unsubbed would make blizzard rethink this policy, but you will not, you will blow up forums across the world, and STILL dish out that 14.99 without skipping a beat.
This is why it seems Blizzard runs over it's paying customer, wrong, Blizzard doesn't run over you, you run over yourselves.
EDIT - It should be noted that money talks and bullshit walks, and Blizzard is about to take all of your money and walk it straight to the bank, dragging a briefcase with your real names inside it right behind them. Shrugs, who cares right.
Well, it helps my decision for no more wait to play Diablo 3. Blizzard is burying the renown owned along the yeras with good games and the high quality with bullshits. I bet tons of players will levae WoW after this decision by Blizzard.
Well, it helps my decision for no more wait to play Diablo 3. Blizzard is burying the renown owned along the yeras with good games and the high quality with bullshits. I bet tons of players will levae WoW after this decision by Blizzard.
I bet the opposite, I bet hardly any of them leave. Reinforcing the fact that gaming companies can get away with doing this, which will set up and open a doorway for all gaming companies to do it from now on.
This isn't the first controversial change Blizzard has ever made. How many people did they lose over the Sparkly horse cash shop shit? Not many at all, but if you watched the forums during that timeframe would have thought the sky was falling chicken little.
Nope, this isn't going to change anything, it will go into affect, and the mindless addicted masses will soak it up like hot rays on a white beach.
Comments
I totally agree with you. Ultimately, the internet is only a tool for us to communicate with eachother better. I believe it will be the tool that brings us humans closer together globally, as it knows no boundaries. I also believe it's essential that we shed our "we against them" mentality. People here are talking about stalkers and other criminal acts, but neglect to realize that internet privacy is just a band aid for those problems. It will never solve those problems. Never in a million years. You must solve problems at their roots. But this is a deeper and much more complicated discussion.
good review-I don't have a problem with what Blizzard is planning.
They intend to introduce more features that involve social networking. Their first foray eliminates anonimity, so it's clear they have no commitment to privacy. Even if it there is always be an anonymous option, it will be an increasingly degraded version of the game over time and preserving privacy will be a new variable that has to be checked in every decision to use a feature of the game. They have made a deal with Facebook (and Massive) and the stated philsophy of Facebook's CEO is that privacy is dead; the entire business model of that company revolves around selling databases of personal information. So if you disagree, if privacy is an issue that matters to you, then forum access is the logical place to draw the line in the sand because once you loose access access to the official forums, it will be much harder to provide feedback (short of quitting) to any future changes to privacy.
Everything comes down to personal decisions, but if you believe there is a conflict of interest between where the company's leadership wants to go and where you want to go, acting as a herd is more effective than acting as individuals - it's the reason policial parties, unions and even companies themselves exist.
Wrong at every statement. First, about your name revealed. You also have a “portrait” too. And it’s visible you are a white man, I can even add WASP (may be “P” is an extra here but you get my point). All of this reduces any potential thread by much. Now, writing columns and posting on forums – are very different things too. But this is just a note since you are talking about consumers rights.
Your advice “take it or leave it”... It is good for people who simply jump from one game to another. But Blizzard did everything to make WoW a common family entertainment, to actually already establish a social network which they shape now. So your advice is like “you do not like what a government’s doing with your country – then leave it, what’s the big deal?”
I think from one point consumers do have to have rights to demand attention to their wishes.
From the other hands, even if Blizzard planed it ahead it could not be a better promotion for upcoming titles, like GW2, not to mention SW:ToR...
Then why bother posting at all.
Great article and as far as Blizzard and Real ID I think it's a good move it will at the very least give folks something to think about before trolling and hate mongering on forums, ironically this is the only forum I post in under something other than my real name and this name I actually use for my main toon in any mmo I play so it's not too difficult to find me. But I think it's a good practice to have when dealing with the internet because far too long people have been allowed to act any way they want simply because they are anonomous.
but yeah, to call this game Fantastic is like calling Twilight the Godfather of vampire movies....
I think the feedback on this thread is very illuminatng.
Two things are obvious in this thread:
1. People that post here predominantly are against the change.
2. People that post here and are against the change, were already not giving Blizzard their money.
From the looks of this, it appears that Blizzard is doing the right thing, as it will have a strong impact on those that dont pay their bills, and a much lesser impact on those that do.
I agree with the Article
If you dont like something then quit subbing for the game and move on.
I agree with the commentary; no one is forced to post.
Weak justification for continued hollow bitching. This article used about 20x the number of words actually necessary to simply convey the idea that the consumer, whether it seems so or not, has complete control, but only if they are willing to actually stick to their principles. If everyone had the balls to do that, then Blizzard would have little choice but to be more consistent with the views of the masses. The trouble is, as with most MMORPG's, there aren't enough balls in the Blizzard community to effect change. People like rant and rave and talk big, but the numbers clearly show that either, a) their opinion is not in the majority, or b) they don't feel strongly enough about the issue to actually do anything about it, so they're wasting their collective breath.
When you are a sheep, making a bunch of noise only tells the wolf where you are.
I think option A is the right. Many people will bitch and scream, but when push comes to shove they will not quit if they are having fun with the game.
Those that do not play already, bitch and vote in the polls really have no say in the state of the game. From what I know of this forum the vocal majority here are opposed to WoW anything. They could shit real life gold bars for all the player and people would still complain that the gold is not shiny enough.
And nowhere close to enough people willing to take their money elsewhere.
I kind of like the idea. It *will* make the forums a more reasonable and mature place.
I have voted with my wallet already. Like the author stated, it is the only way to truly voice your opinion. Unfortunately, I suspect that the gamble Blizzard is taking is correct. People will howl and complain and then log back on to their characters. They will lose a few like myself, for sure, but in the long run, people have shown time and time again that they will complain and complain, but not be willing to take any action that inconveniences them. While there were well over a thousand pages of complaints the last time I looked at their forums, the number of those people who will actually cancel their subscriptions and stick to it are probably negligible. Blizzard won't care that you don't like it, because you will keep paying.
Currently playing:
Rift
Played:
SWToR, Aion,EQ, Dark Age of Camelot
World of Warcraft, AoC
I have not played world of warcraft for 5 years but at a gamer and a fourm user.
I can say I have gotten so mad before where if I had there name and the where in a 6 hour drive reach I would beat the fuck out of them 12 year old punk kid or not. I would only hit a 12 year old to 16 1 time tho after that is fare game but im abit unstable with anger issue's when pushed . But that there just go to show you never know who your dealing with.
Well, so far (and I haven't read any of the changes they plan on applying in the future) all real ID is for is connecting with friends in game. You can send and receive invites to become real ID friends, and if accepted then you can connect with that friend no matter what server, character, or even battle.net game they are playing. You know, this isn't...required. You can always deny, and the only way players can send requests is by using your email, so if they don't know your email then you're fine. They use your real name to communicate between you and your real ID friends, because a.) They assume you are either really good friends in-game or friends in the dreaded "rl." I really don't care, I personally like the Real ID friend feature. If one of my friends wants to play on an alt on a different server, then I can still chat with them.
Of course, that is just my opinion I guess. I don't really care if people know my real name, Garrok and Jeremy Callaway are one and the same people. For those who don't want people in game to know their real name, then don't have real ID friends...and don't have your friends in real life play the game, that way you will only be known as "Gerbalpanties of Gnomergan"
Argh
Well, that sounds like something you need to work on. :P If a twelve to 16 year old boy on the internet can push you over the edge, then you have serious mental issues that need to be worked out with a therapist. BUT, with the Real ID system, all you get is a name and an email. If you got the name and the where, you probably couldn't do anything with it unless they have a very strange name. With me, my name is (as I said in my last post) Jeremy Callaway. There are more than one Jeremy's in Birmingham, AL.
Argh
You're a moron. This change will eventually affect ALL Blizzard games including StarCraft II and Diablo III. If Blizzard understands how making money works at all (obviously the company does) then its looking for where its next potential dollar is coming from, not where it is currently getting its dollars. Blizz already has the money of the current subscribers; it needs/wants the money of people who are going to buy Cata, SC2, D3, etc. Basic economics would tell you that in order to increase your income, you have to acquire new sources of income--L2Math.
This is only the beginning...
This ^
This right here should be the ONLY post on the 3000 threads spanning 100's of sites on this topic right now.
It is 100% truth and worthy of a stevo-o thumbs up award.
Sad but true reality of it is, you are all complaining, and very and I mean VERY few of you are going to quit this game. Not even a spec on the radar for blizzard which will make them fix nothing.
You all have the numbers on your side, there are enough of you that if you all unsubbed would make blizzard rethink this policy, but you will not, you will blow up forums across the world, and STILL dish out that 14.99 without skipping a beat.
This is why it seems Blizzard runs over it's paying customer, wrong, Blizzard doesn't run over you, you run over yourselves.
EDIT - It should be noted that money talks and bullshit walks, and Blizzard is about to take all of your money and walk it straight to the bank, dragging a briefcase with your real names inside it right behind them. Shrugs, who cares right.
This is an attempt to recreate a phenomenon like Facebook. Atleast that's how i see it.
Well, it helps my decision for no more wait to play Diablo 3. Blizzard is burying the renown owned along the yeras with good games and the high quality with bullshits. I bet tons of players will levae WoW after this decision by Blizzard.
Go to hell!
I wouldn't mind giving my first name, but not my full name
Or at least just the initials of the surname
I find it a bit overboard
I bet the opposite, I bet hardly any of them leave. Reinforcing the fact that gaming companies can get away with doing this, which will set up and open a doorway for all gaming companies to do it from now on.
This isn't the first controversial change Blizzard has ever made. How many people did they lose over the Sparkly horse cash shop shit? Not many at all, but if you watched the forums during that timeframe would have thought the sky was falling chicken little.
Nope, this isn't going to change anything, it will go into affect, and the mindless addicted masses will soak it up like hot rays on a white beach.
Watch and see.
on further notice ... apparently you can disable Real ID through parental control nehow so no biggy really ...
Congratulations naysayers, you have been defeated.
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=25968987278&sid=1
Banding together, rising up, and shouting our displeasure worked, as it should. Perhaps there is hope left for humanity after all.
This is only the beginning...