Blizzard Backs Down On Real Names For Forums 432
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.
Facebook slippery slope (Score:5, Interesting)
we've decided at this time that real names will not be required
It only means that Facebook brainwashing has not fully worked yet. Expect them to try this again in an year, along with many other websites, when people have got more used to it ("well these other websites already do the same so what's the big deal")
Re:It all comes down to $ (Score:5, Interesting)
We're not retreating.... (Score:5, Interesting)
We're rapidly advancing in a different direction.
The pros and cons on both sides of this debate are compelling. Blizzard's time, money, and "quality of product (the forums)" versus people's privacy.
Not sure why it had to be "either/or". I think they should have rolled out Real-ID-only forums in parallel and let people choose for themselves.
In the end I think Blizzard waited too long. "Serious" WoW-related discourse doesn't happen on Blizzard's forums anymore. Most serious players know to start at elitistjerks.com. Not that their forums are perfect, but if I want good info on class mechanics, gear, talents, rotations... that's where I go.
They could make it really easy to track trolls... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:They learned why it's a bard idea the hard way. (Score:4, Interesting)
Do you know what makes you rather pathetic? That you haven't bothered to find out that info was not actually the right Micah Whipple lives in the opposite side of California.
That utter failure of a copy pasted investigation is probably the least of the reasons they decided to change policy.
Re:We're not retreating.... (Score:5, Interesting)
It's pretty clear that Blizzard either doesn't think they can or is not willing to do the level of moderating that is required to get forums of the quality found at Elitist Jerks. It's also clear that this proposed change had nothing to do with reducing forum trolling.
Re:Pretty Obvious Reasoning (Score:4, Interesting)
This is what annoys me. Blizzard *already* is not providing an adequate level of customer service IMO - you gotta love waiting 3 days to have a ticket answered in WoW, only to be given the same "disable your add-ons, and clear your Cache, Interface, and WTF folders" canned response. They've got bugs in the game that have been there for *years*, and often don't appear to put any kind of real QA effort into their releases (witness the fiasco a few months ago for the "Love is in the Air" event that had their servers down for *days*). They're pulling in roughly $150 million *per month* from the damn game, and they're still trying to reduce the level of service even further.
Re:Pretty Obvious Reasoning (Score:2, Interesting)
People have the right to be complete assholes as long as they do not harm me.
Re:Pretty Obvious Reasoning (Score:3, Interesting)
Removing My Posts (Score:4, Interesting)
The End of GLBT (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:The End of GLBT (Score:1, Interesting)
Why are you discussing your realworld GLBT status in the forums for an online fantasy game? Go find a GLBT forum for that.