Blizzard Responds to Concerns Over Real ID

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I really cant believe blizzard legal team is going to allow this. What happens when someone goes on a ganking spree, then posts on the forums about how fun that world pvp was.(or trash talk) little does he know he angered a psycho that uses his real name to track him down(maybe earlier in the week that player commented on something that would narrow down where he lives) and gank him in RL. I know i would try to sue blizzard for their involvement.

I don't think everyone is aware that in the US if you have ever paid taxes your name and address along with other info is posted online for everyone to see.

A blue poster trying to defend the realID system posted his real name, within 45 mins the players tracked him down got his address and the names of everyone that he lives with.

This just might be the worst idea blizzard has come up with, and that is really saying something if you follow blizzard and or Wow.
 
[citation][nom]freename[/nom]Through a bug they've introduced in the latest patch (I assume it's a bug) people are reporting that installed mods have access to peoples RealID information if the person hasn't enabled parental controls.Now.As in, already live.So a mouseover of a character in game will tell you their real name.So who want's to take the blame for taking the WoW cash-cow out back and shooting it?[/citation]

It's ridiculous comments like the one at the end of your post that really make it hard to even want to discuss the matter. The typical forum post response to any company's actions is always that they must not realize the risks or that the poster knows better...and always ends with how it's going to result in the company going bankrupt and their buildings catching on fire.

But anyway, if you ran around WoW with your actual name instead of a screen name, not even trying to hide it. Exactly what would you fear? I don't care if you're Tom Smith or whatever...it's no different than leaving your house and going outside, there are other people there and we all have names.
 
[citation][nom]proxy711[/nom]I really cant believe blizzard legal team is going to allow this. What happens when someone goes on a ganking spree, then posts on the forums about how fun that world pvp was.(or trash talk) little does he know he angered a psycho that uses his real name to track him down(maybe earlier in the week that player commented on something that would narrow down where he lives) and gank him in RL. I know i would try to sue blizzard for their involvement. I don't think everyone is aware that in the US if you have ever paid taxes your name and address along with other info is posted online for everyone to see.A blue poster trying to defend the realID system posted his real name, within 45 mins the players tracked him down got his address and the names of everyone that he lives with.This just might be the worst idea blizzard has come up with, and that is really saying something if you follow blizzard and or Wow.[/citation]

Are you serious? Your tax information is not posted online...working in Government Security, I can tell you that this is the most confidential non-military information we protect. Judging from that massive blunder, I can't imagine you really thought about how easy it is to find someone who works for Blizzard, considering their high profile. You do not even have to use your real name, is that clear?

And to top that off, isn't that the point? Accountability....
 
[citation][nom]Godfail[/nom]Are you serious? Your tax information is not posted online...working in Government Security, I can tell you that this is the most confidential non-military information we protect. Judging from that massive blunder, I can't imagine you really thought about how easy it is to find someone who works for Blizzard, considering their high profile. You do not even have to use your real name, is that clear?And to top that off, isn't that the point? Accountability....[/citation]
Ok first i never said anything about your tax information being posted online, is that clear? (feel free to read that as many times as needed)

But yes i did misspeak, i said taxes i really meant property taxes. if you pay property taxes your name and address are posted online along with other information like you're behind on them etc.(not tax information) As for proof, although this kind of gives away the area i live in i feel its needed to prove my point. The website is www.accesskent.com. mouse over online services > property parcel look up. then enter a range of addresses and the city/township. I put in a range of addresses near by and i got peoples names, their addresses, how large their property is, the estimated value and taxable amount their property is, if they are delinquent on payments, the property's history on sales, and much more information.

Ya sure you can make a fake name for your Bnet account, but guess what you already have a bnet account if you are playing wow. this account is tied into your wow account so not only would you need to make a new bnet account, but also you would need to call blizzard have them untie the wow account to that bnet account to have a fake name. sounds like a lot of work, so instead most users will just not post on the wow forums which really overall hurts the community. Not as much theorycrafting will take place and trolls will still be everywhere. Not to mention id you use a false name and get hacked it slows their response time to help you since they have to figure out who you really are.

As far as the blue post goes i don't remember who the blue was who told everyone his name. but i assume it wasn't Michael Morhaime or Chris Metzen, it wasn't one of the famous blizzard employees that would be easily findable and in the spotlight. Sure finding the average joe would be harder for sure, but if you really wanted to find that person it wouldn't be impossible.
 
So. I beat someone in a game of starcraft. From that game they can find my IP, and they have my character name.
With my character name, they can potentially find my real name if I post on the forums.
With my IP, they can find out what city I live in.
Now it's quite possible to locate me physically.

If you don't think someone would go to these lengths over a game, go play xbox live for a few days. I've been DDoSed for 10 hours because I beat someone on Halo. I'm not a trash talker by any means - in the post game lobby, the kid just declared he had my IP and once his friend got online he'd put me offline. Lo and behold, about an hour later, thousands of packets start flooding my network, continuing for 10 hours. Over a game of Halo with no provocation other than the fact I beat him.

So now, if you want to be safe, you can't post on the forums. That means no bug reports, no help with quests, no clan recruitment, nothing.
 
[citation][nom]Godfail[/nom]It's ridiculous comments like the one at the end of your post that really make it hard to even want to discuss the matter. The typical forum post response to any company's actions is always that they must not realize the risks or that the poster knows better...and always ends with how it's going to result in the company going bankrupt and their buildings catching on fire.But anyway, if you ran around WoW with your actual name instead of a screen name, not even trying to hide it. Exactly what would you fear? I don't care if you're Tom Smith or whatever...it's no different than leaving your house and going outside, there are other people there and we all have names.[/citation]

If you're a woman or a child, going outside and walking around indeed is a bad idea, it has nothing to do with having a name, they simply don't have that choice that adult men do. You see, there are women and children who play WoW, and some people think that it's a good idea that these people are protected, and can enjoy a refuge of sorts from the real world, which, by the way, is filled with rape and molestation of all sorts. Keeping their identities concealed online protects them from this. It is a very real concern, and the way you're nonchalantly addressing this issue is fairly inappropriate.
 
supertrek32:

Well, now you have a fighting chance. You can look up who this guy is, phone his mother, and get him grounded.

It works both ways.
 
Most amusing thing about this is that responses to this news are making the comments section actually look like a thread in the WoW forums. All the hyperbole being thrown out there with little fact backing it up, people trying to top one another with more and more ridiculously statements, and of course it wouldn't be complete without the random trolls throwing in worthless one-liner posts.
 
I don't like this idea. I value my privacy online and giving my real name, while no huge deal in and of itself, is still something I don't agree to in the context of gaming. I'm not a basement dweller, fyi; I'm an engineering student with a part-time job. I'm not afraid of putting my real name out there, I just don't want it to come into my gaming life. Maybe I'm a defect, though, but I like my privacy when indulging my vice. That being said, it's their game and they can do what they want.

Also, while I'm sure women are perfectly capable of fighting their own battles, I can just imagine what effect this will have when women have to reveal their true names online. Now while I'll admit most people here are too mature to see women as anything else than regular people, it strikes me how much harassment a women receives as soon as people find out their sex.
 
Yes this comments section looks like any internet forum, showing real names isn't going to change that. This is all about Activision trying to turn Battle.net into a social club, except that it's actually a Fight Club where you're more likely to generate enemies than friends. There's no reason for anyone to be able to associate who I am in a ROLE PLAYING GAME with real life because I participated in a forum. This is also just a first step in trying to bring the Facebook masses to the realms of Blizzard. Legit users value their anonymity just as much as the trolls, Blizzard could easily clean up the forums if they bothered to moderate them a little. Obvious Activision is obvious.
 
OMG Guys guys guys!!!!!!!!!

Are you all missing the point or maybe I can't read?

Quote from article: Strangely enough, players can use whatever name they want when signing up for Real ID, however the account associated with the name must be linked to a unique game CD key.

Translation: You dont need to use your REAL NAME. You just need to pick a name and stick to it, so they can ban your ass if you become a troll or spammer and you cant just change your name to something else.

100 posts of flame and no one accurately as read the article.
 
[citation][nom]crus_russ[/nom]OMG Guys guys guys!!!!!!!!!Are you all missing the point or maybe I can't read?Quote from article: Strangely enough, players can use whatever name they want when signing up for Real ID, however the account associated with the name must be linked to a unique game CD key.Translation: You dont need to use your REAL NAME. You just need to pick a name and stick to it, so they can ban your ass if you become a troll or spammer and you cant just change your name to something else.100 posts of flame and no one accurately as read the article.[/citation]

Right, so you're saying that the 10 million plus World of Warcraft users need to pay Blizzard for a new CD key, just so they can lie to them to preserve some amount of anonymity. There are serious repercussions to this, and if I was a member of the subscribing player base, I would not pay Blizzard because they wanted to make my information public to ease Facebook integration, etc.
 
[citation][nom]Flamango[/nom]Right, so you're saying that the 10 million plus World of Warcraft users need to pay Blizzard for a new CD key, just so they can lie to them to preserve some amount of anonymity. [/citation]

Why do you need to pay blizzard for a new CD key? When you sign up for Real ID you pick whatever name you want and link it to your CD key. If you already own a CD key then you are set.

Still confused? Or am I missing something.

Everyone on here is talking about repercussions of using their real name when you dont have to.
 
I dont understand whats the big deal of my name showing in the game to the friends I have in game. Flaming blizzard for letting me keep in touch with friends of mine playing different servers is pointless. If this thing bothers you, then what about Facebook?
 
Blizzard can stop the trolls if they wanted to by increasing moderation and suspending accounts; however, instead they point at and ridicule the forum community for misbehaving. So they are going to publish every user's full legal name, but for what purpose?

Does Blizzard actually want oddballs looking up people and harassing them in real life? Instead of punishing the trolls properly with the Ban Hammer, they are going to leave it up to anyone and everyone to dole out whatever they feel is justified? Legit users aren't going to care what some troll's name is. Only truly dangerous people would do something with that information and is that what Blizzard is encouraging?

You never know who you might accidentally offend so I will not bother endangering my real life for a virtual one. Yes a lot of information is already public, but there's no reason to make the information even easier to obtain and track down.
 
[citation][nom]emmeric21[/nom]I dont understand whats the big deal of my name showing in the game to the friends I have in game. Flaming blizzard for letting me keep in touch with friends of mine playing different servers is pointless. If this thing bothers you, then what about Facebook?[/citation]

well see its not your friends seeing your name thats the problem (unless your friends suck). people cant look on facebook for "meatballz" from al'akir (made that up, sorry if you exist), but they can look for your real name, your real name that will be available to everyone in the world if you post in the forums.

If your character names are unique then dont piss anyone off and you'll be fine to post on the forums. if you've got "generic unfunny cow related name #5" as a character then if you post on the forums you better hope that "generic unfunny cow related name #5" on another server doesnt piss off anyone thats too stupid to realise theres more than one "generic unfunny cow related name #5".
 
Like I said yesterday, why don't they just use user ids and cd keys? Names can easily be faked, and from a privacy standpoint, showing your real name online is always a bad idea. I really don't see the point at all.
 
Worst. Idea. Ever, Blizzard. At least you chose the appropriate name though, "RealID" for the government was equally a badly implemented idea. Way to go Blizz, you went from the one gaming company I counted on to being just as bad as the government in one move.
 
Even though I think some people will be legitimately concerned by the privacy issues involved, I think the majority of the negative noise is being generated by the trolls themselves.

They have lost anonymity on zee internets forums.

 
[citation][nom]Godfail[/nom]My picture of the type of person afraid to have his name associated with what he says on the internet is about the same as someone who is afraid to use iTunes because you need to give them your credit card information. I usually picture a guy living in a shack on a mountainside somewhere in Arizona. Let me just say this: If you say things on the internet that you don't want associated with your person, don't post on Blizzard's forums.[/citation]

Yet I noticed on this forum, you don't use your real name. So is that guy you picture, you?
 
[citation][nom]midnightgun[/nom]Even though I think some people will be legitimately concerned by the privacy issues involved, I think the majority of the negative noise is being generated by the trolls themselves.They have lost anonymity on zee internets forums.[/citation]

A 2000 page thread (the actual announcement thread) on the WoW forums with 40,000 posts is not all "trolls".
 
[citation][nom]proxy711[/nom]I really cant believe blizzard legal team is going to allow this. What happens when someone goes on a ganking spree, then posts on the forums about how fun that world pvp was.(or trash talk) little does he know he angered a psycho that uses his real name to track him down(maybe earlier in the week that player commented on something that would narrow down where he lives) and gank him in RL. I know i would try to sue blizzard for their involvement. I don't think everyone is aware that in the US if you have ever paid taxes your name and address along with other info is posted online for everyone to see.A blue poster trying to defend the realID system posted his real name, within 45 mins the players tracked him down got his address and the names of everyone that he lives with.This just might be the worst idea blizzard has come up with, and that is really saying something if you follow blizzard and or Wow.[/citation]

I guess we won't see that many keyboard Rambo's now will we? Don't trash talk, treat people with respect, act like you got some sense and we can all get along. Personally I got an XM-15, Smith and a Glock, along with a CCW. Someone wants to come knocking on my door for trouble? Guess what, you found it.
 
I thought this post made from another user in a different forum would interest some of you:

Their EULA/Terms of Service forbid players from revealing their login information, in whole or in part.

With the switch over to Battle.net accounts for login, your login is the email address connected to the account.

To connect to someone using RealID, you must give them the email address connected to the account.

Therefore, using RealID is a violation of the Terms of Service.
 
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