Would you steer away from this post if you had to use your real name to leave a comment here?
Santa Monica, Calif.-based Activision Blizzard just put that question to many of its customers. In a post earlier this week on its Battle.net forums, the game developer informed players of its popular Starcraft and World of Warcraft games, among others, that they would soon have to use their legal monikers when chatting about their in-game exploits on its forums.
Blizzard defended the change as a necessary move to stop spamming and trash-talking:
Removing the veil of anonymity typical to online dialogue will contribute to a more positive forum environment, promote constructive conversations, and connect the Blizzard community in ways they haven’t been connected before.
As of this morning, 74 pages of comments follow that post. The ones I’ve read don’t seem too positive about Blizzard’s move. Typical reply, from “Marine71”: “What an awful idea. Who comes up with this trash? Seriously. What happened to you, Blizzard?”
Hmmmm… would you comment on Dvorak Uncensored if you had to use your real name?
I used to use my real name until another Alex started posting on here. My real name *is* on my website.
I wholly support requiring people to use their real names on the internet.
I do not support a law to require use of someones real name on the Internet…I do support a private company who wants to require it…but I don’t have to like it.
The option to remain anonymous must ALWAYS be kept intact.
Nope. Too many radical conservatives on DV.
Many just a cocaine snort away from shooting up a museum. I think that’s what happened to Alfred1. He’s in a better place now.
I’m still here boys. I’ve just been busy playing center man at all these rebublican bukkake fests we’ve been having lately. If you need me you can reach me at Dick’s Fire Island bungalow.
So the question is: would I comment if I had to use my real name? SURE! My name is George W. Bush!!! And I think everyone knows that I live in Texas too – although I’m not there right now. I think I even have a few email addresses if you need one. Should I go on?
Hey! IDIOTS! WOW should stand for “World of WHACKJOBS”! This is gaming crap we’re talking about here. Who uses their real name when playing games that don’t involve real money? IDIOTS! THAT’S WHO!
The real question is how do you tell the difference from George Smith in PA from George Smith in NV.
Also, with the chances of getting your game account hacked at 100%. How can you protect your reputation?
I would not use my real name. I don’t even use my real name in real life.
Sure, but I wouldn’t blow an elephant if that it what you really want to know.
For most here, blowing an elephant would not be an issue as long as they didn’t have to read a dictionary.
Heh, heh.
>> DA said, on July 8th, 2010 at 10:51 am
>> I do not support a law to require use of someones real name on the Internet…I do support a private company who wants to require it…but I don’t have to like it.
… let me guess: are you a Libertarian?
In the Libertarian world, the government can pass no laws but big business can do whatever the hell they want.
What the Libertarians haven’t noticed is that the threat to our personal liberties now comes from Big Business far more than big government.
Ironically, the Libertarians now enthusiatically with our biggest enemies of privacy!
“The DAMN GOVERNMENT can’t count me in the census but GOOGLE can track all my browsing, and shopping and emailing and reading on the web!”
For games, the original user ID should show at all forum postings. The actual identity of the person who owns that ID is between the game company and the user.
For general internet use, the use of real names would, ideally, improve the quality of postings. But then what does one do when that identity is hacked?
A gradual transition to the use of real names is desirable.
Hard to know. The odd thing is I’ve used the same name from the time I first went on line without trying to fudge my email address and that persona could easily be traced back to me but I might not.
Their always the chance you might run into the same crap the guy that posted the youtube video about the iphone customer ran into at work.
#32–Greg Allen==I assume that is your “real” name unless your god has given you a secret name and instructed you not to utter it until the Rupture said:
“There isn’t a place in the conservative world view for liberal religious people. (There isn’t room in many liberal worlds, either.)” /// Very interesting. As a liberal anti-theist I can also testify there isn’t a place for me in the conservative atheist world or the liberal one either. Amusing how fine tuned our prejudices are?
But to the actual point I’m wading to: liberal in what sense? By my casual observation, the correction of which I am seeking, you believe all the same fundamental crap any religious brain dead person does. You come face to face with the logic trap of Epicurus:
“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?”
and post it is meaningless and only highlights the limitation of man. You can’t get more conservative than that.
I guess because you enjoy making fun of young earth fundies in the same manner than I make fun of you, you think that makes you “liberal?” but that would be consistent with me being to the left of Obama==heh, heh. But you don’t care about consistency, while I do. Logic is all about consistency===not the truth, just consistency.
Anything that violates your core beliefs is deemed irrelevant. That is being conservative.
-or- maybe it is all definitional?
“Closer to Truth” just had a segment on “Is God Human?” and what’s his name was sure that god was human otherwise there was no point to the universe, or whatever gibberish he was pushing. Yep, standing outside space, time, logic, restraints of any kind, and basically he’s just like us.
hahahahahahahahahahaha., Yes, conservative/liberal isn’t the continuum we are really talking about is it!
REally stoopid Hoomans. We’re gonna blow ourselves up over this made up shit, liberal or not.
On the Other Hand==Greg Allen==nice repost to DA. There is a difference: you don’t have to give your name to a private business, you can deal elsewhere. Not the same with the government. But as usual, your spirit is pure. Hmmmm. So is mine. Must be the difference between white and black?
If I had to use my legal name not a chance would I post on any public website regardless of my content.
While I don’t post content I’m ashamed of here. Online, in a game, must be anonymous. It is an MMORPG, Role Playing Game. You can’t be John Smith and DoomLordFartBomber at the same time. People play games like WoW to escape real life for a bit, trust me on this one. Not saying all people do but a large majority of people do.
Trolling and posting incendiary comments is the nature of the young male demographic that these games are targeted at. It’s just something you deal with. Forum moderation being the best choice.
Anonymous discussion ensures that what is being discussed is the content and not the poster of the content and their credentials.
The counter argument to that is some posters provide more valuable content than others. So you up rank their content, follow their posts; all the while neglecting the other 99% of the community that may have valid suggestion. People don’t speak their mind when their name is attached to something. If you want a real honest discussion focused on content you have to have it anonymous. You just have to step up rule enforcement with moderators.
The internet is the great equalizer. And it should remain so.
#43-Greg Allen
Big business is only a threat because of big government…Blizzard can do what it wants as long as it doesn’t commit any fraud…notice how they aren’t going to suddenly show the real names of everyone who’s posted up to this point…why? Because they’d have a massive number of lawsuits filed against them because they’d be breaking their contract with customers. There’s a simple way to prevent companies from doing harm to you, don’t buy there product.
The only way a company can do harm to it’s customers is with the assistance of the government and corrupt courts.
On the other hand their is no escape from government abuse of privacy…it’s forced on you whether you like it or not, you can’t just say “I refuse to buy this crap you’re selling me” because you are buying this crap they are selling you…whether you like it or not.
Well DA–you agree then that because reality informs us there is “Big Government” there is also “Big Business?” Sadly, for some unknown reason, you seem to think it is “ok” for them to “threaten” us?
“I can shop elsewhere.”/// Thats like saying Big Thugs should be allowed to attempt armed robbery because you can defend yourself with mixed martial arts?
Not the same thing, but only a LIEberTARD would quibble on the clear point being made. How many people need to face a certain “threat” before it is correct for society to make laws against it?
Your little self reverential defense of individual idiocy doesn’t recognize the inherent freedom of a group to regulate itself.
Gee, another conservative thinker.
Ha, ha. Yes, another conservative thinker with all the same attributes of denial.
forgot to change my nom de flame:
Imagine if you can, Post #51 written by: bobbo who knows that libertarianism fails when its Dogma blinds them to the rising threat of Corporations that can only be held in check by Government thru the will of the people.
I know the eds will make the appropriate correction.
[Award for longest name ever used on DU. – ed.]
#50 and 43
You keep forgetting that corporations are creations and protectorates of the government. Heck, according to the Supreme Court, they have more rights than people! Get rid of the government shield and see how corporations fare.
But, more on topic, from a Libertarian perspective, those who own the forum can set the rules. If you don’t like it, don’t patronize the forum.
But you don’t have a choice in patronizing the government. The government can incarcerate you if you disobey. That’s where the difference lies.
#53–spsffan==you say: “That’s where the difference lies.” /// Like too many people and most LIEbeTARDS, you make only a half-assed analysis. The other half is “how are the two the same?” then you compare and contrast the pro’s and the con’s of both categories, read a little history and psychology, and then apply some judgment?
I’m sure thats what you do automatically without even thinking about it right?
But thinking about it is exactly what needs to be done: “When is it appropriate and not appropriate to require real names or fake names?” If your dividing line is Government vs Business then you are a retard.
Your choice.
Yes. Of course I’d use my real name, but ONLY after I’d changed it by deed poll to Sloppy McHugecock.
Ignoring the privacy concerns which would apply to people of all ages, Blizzard’s games are all rated for teens or younger. See info for all ages up to 14 (a.k.a a teen): “Insist that your children not share personal information such as their real name…” and “If a site encourages kids to submit their names to personalize the Web content, help your kids create online nicknames that don’t give away personal information.”
When Microsoft says something is a bad practice from a security standpoint, they you should realize this is dumb.
no, id quit posting. employers are assholes and will look for things you post. even if you post something you think has no weight, it can effect your life in a real way if your name and information is available. if someone know i play video games after doing a search for my name might not want to hire me
>> DA said, on July 8th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
>> #43-Greg Allen
>> Big business is only a threat because of big government…
Government is a citizens only really protection from big business.
Who else is going to protect you from a corporation’s abuse of you?
Libertarians like to say, “well you can sue.”
These companies have WHOLE SKYSCRAPERS full of the best lawyers.
You and your little strip-mall lawyer don’t stand a chance in hell against them!
Unless, of course, the GOVERNMENT pro-actively gives us consumer protections.
>> Anon said, on July 8th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
>> The internet is the great equalizer. And it should remain so.
How 1999 of you to believe that. I believed it back then.
But since then, the big corporations now dominate the internet.
But since then, the Bush Administration started massive reading of our emails.
But since then, several countries have very effectively censored the ‘net.
Some smaller newspapers have started this policy to require real ID in order to post in their online editions or be included in their print editions. I think it’s a great idea. If a problem or issue is big enough to warrant anonymity, then take it to your newspaper and get covered as an “anonymous source.”
Freedom of speech is guaranteed. However, you have no right to use of somebody else’s forum and to risk their livelihood.
If a newspaper or a blog or any other publishing entity moderates a public forum even a little bit, if they ever make any judgments about the content and edits it in any way, they then become responsible for all the content of that forum. They can, if fact, be held accountable for libel in a moderated forum.
so does a failed ideology shun confrontation.
Heh, heh.
I predict that Real ID will be dropped by Blizzard before they have an opportunity to release it, and the whole incident will go down in internet history as a bad idea for all other sites considering something similar.
Blizzard employees personal information is being dug up and posted by various players as evidence that all you need is a name to get tons of information on people. While I don’t condone such actions, I bet it is scaring the crap out of employees and their families. The negative publicity that this is drumming up is probably scaring shareholders too.
I bet the Real ID thing gets dropped before the end of the month.
Looks like about 13 out of 60 cementers felt like using a real looking name when they signed up.
The next question would seem to be, how to enforce a requirement for real name use.
Them one wonders, why do they “really” want your true ID.
Probably not.
– – – – –
“Removing the veil of anonymity typical to online dialogue will contribute to a more positive forum environment, promote constructive conversations, and connect the Blizzard community in ways they haven’t been connected before.”
And it will suddenly be a LOT less crowded!