Gaderath

You two *really* aren't going to TF together at all for like 2 weeks? :O

I've /always/ said that about you Mac

Wanted to add, though I've never had to do it, I *believe* these are things you can and should petition mods for.

Also, be careful who you trust with knowing things like age/gender/sexual preference/ethnicity/politics and so on, and if people trust *you* with these details, be careful how you spread them around. Someone may be comfortable sharing these details with you because they trust you and know you won't do anything crazy, but generally keep them to yourself. For some of these details, it's obvious, but others it is less so. For example, I've told very few people I'm female, and I *cringe* every time I see a total stranger/unknown correct *another* stranger unknown in chat somewhere "Oh, you mean she."

I didn't read all the original quote, but from the quoted part, it is very possible to want to hide something for reasons other than shame. Others just not needing to know or it not being others' business are perfectly valid reasons to not share something, and there are *many* other reasons.

If they do the alias thing, then it won't be Real ID anymore It'd be the type of global system that many MMOs have had for years. The problem I have now with Blizzard isn't just that they have this system in place, it's their mindset, for the lack of a better word.

Nooo.....
>.>
<.<

Ditto. I've been under the assumption that there is/was a complete info blackout during the beta, and everyone is hard at work. News out of nowhere, claiming to have been announced already makes me go huh? Looking at facebook there are frequent updates, links, stories, and articles on the game? What? Facebook... well, to be nice, sucks. I hope some of this stuff starts making it back to where it belongs, and where people interested in the game would be looking...

I can't speak for everyone, but I think you are misunderstanding what has happened. I don't think anyone is bashing them for listening, and I don't think the display of real names was the only problem. That they put it ingame, with pathetic security is horrific (never mind the concept by itself, there is no reason not to have cross server chat/friends with screen names instead). That they would try this at all is horrific. That they /still/ plan to push it is horrific. That there is no apology, or acknowledgment of any of this is disgusting. Read some of the links in this thread. Bobby Kotick of Activision is in charge of Blizzard now, and he wants to see this through. This is /not/ the last we've heard. And what we're mostly STILL upset with Blizzard about is that while they won't show real ID on the forums, THEY HAVE NOT REVERSED THEIR POLICIES OR MINDSET THAT TOOK THEM HERE.

Facebook is a really bad way to do game updates and what not...

There is a slash command you can use ingame to obtain the real ID of any player. Many mods/addons have incorporated it already to make it even easier to use.

There are so many problems with ALL their Real ID, FB and policy change baloney, their stepping back on just 1 aspect of it, especially after such an uproar is not what I would prefer at all. That their "listening" comes off as completely arrogant and not understanding, and ignoring many of the issues this raised, while promising to push these issues again in the future really makes this *not* a win.

And especially if you have plans to return and rob the bank again...

Fix'd!

He/she knows. I think I would be too if I had a WoW account.

I think the original intent has yet to be realized, and it is something they will continue to push towards.

I'm not very familiar with the Xbox Live system, but I believe people use screen names, and retain their anonymity outside of direct dealings with Microsoft, yes? Forcing any cross game, cross server, or forum usage to reveal your real first and last names is a different beast.

They /can/ still sell your information to them, and carry on with *all* the practices that motivated their forum change in the first place. None of that has changed...

Do not like the sound of this.

It's a smart move, but is it in time, and will it make people believe they won't still be continuing with Real ID, and pushing similar unpopular Kotick driven changes in the future? I know a lot of people already canceled their accounts, and more than a few deleted their characters as well (I assume retrievable by GMs within a certain amount of time?)... Will they go back or has the trust been broken and the exposure eye opening?

I know I still have my doubts about wanting anything to do with them, even if it means playing SC2. But I'm stubborn.
EDIT: And possibly paranoid.

EDIT: The fine print:
Yeah, still not interested.

And why can't that be accomplished with a screenname like here? It is better and safer in *every* way. There still seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding of what the problem is, and I fully expect to see more things like this from them that I don't like.

Yes? And then what?

Opt out, receive no forums, receive no tech support, AND people ingame can still use a simple slash command to find your Real ID! Win win!... er.. wait... that's... omg, what were they thinking?

You misunderstand what I meant by "its a start". People leave, upset over this, and before they go, they tell their friends and guildmates and so on why. Then those people, who probably don't read the forums, and don't know about this, know, and they see a rational friend of theirs being upset over it, and they start to look into why and whats going on too. And you don't even need the original person to actually quit for this to spread. Say most of them stay, now at least their aware and have really been hearing these disconcerting things. A few months down the line, their push their agenda further, make it more pervasive, more invasive, less optional. Now they're even more likely to leave with this push. I really don't expect Activision to stop this, or the mindset behind it, and its that mindset that is the real danger to their business.