REALly IDiotic
July 7th, 2010 by Samodean
The title has a double meaning.
First, the upcoming changes to the official WoW forums are stupid and pointless.
Second, the way the vast majority of people in the community are reacting is equally useless.
So, before I get into some details, where do I stand?
When it comes to the forum change, I couldn’t care less. I don’t post there, so it doesn’t affect me. For RealID in general, I support the idea, but I’m not happy with the execution, personally. If I want to “friend” someone I just give them my email address. No big deal right? I hand out my email address all the time. Problem: The email address associated with my Battle.Net account is the same address I use for other games, banking, online shopping, basically any service online that has sensitive personal information. This address is extremely private. There is only one person in the WORLD that I have given this address to. It’s a personal security decision, and one that I’m sticking to.
Back to my first point. Here’s the problems I see with the forum change:
Many people want their real name kept private for a legitimate reason.
Women in online games are treated differently, and many of them hide behind a male character because of it. It’s an unfortunate truth, and the exact extent of the difference is debatable and likely varies on a situational basis, but it does happen.
Like it or not, our society treats people of various nationalities differently. If you think “Sayid Menijad” is treated the same as “Scott Parker” then I’d like to live in your world. I’m not saying it WILL happen on the forums, but it is a valid concern.
Though not necessarily an issue I feel is common, Gnomer sure has a good reason.
The forum change is supposed to cut down on trolling, especially in this manner, by making people more accountable for their actions. Really? HOW? So, if I know “Johnny Walker” is a complete scumbag, how does this information help me? Am I then supposed to track him down and send him a strongly-worded letter? The trolls won’t stop. Sure, they may be reduced, but they won’t stop. We LIKE to think that people are generally decent, and a small, but vocal, portion ruins the perception. As someone who deals with the general public on a daily basis, I can tell you one thing for sure: In this day and age, the average person is a fucking asshole. Posting under their real name instead of a screen name won’t make a damn bit of difference.
It’s a potential safety and security issue, no doubt. I don’t think I need to go into too much detail on this one. People are messed up.
So, what’s GOOD about the change?
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Yeah, that’s the same point BBB made. In the end, I definitely feel this change will do more harm than good.
Of course, the popular response to all this is “Don’t use the forums.” Honestly, it’s the best solution. There’s far better communities and sources of information out there. One issue I see with that is the vast majority of STUPID people out there. That constant stream of ‘tards you come across in the Dungeon Finder? Do you REALLY think they keep track of WoWHead or MMO Champion? There is a staggering amount of people out there that Just. Don’t. Know. And they’re stuck with the change.
So, what if/when all those unhappy with the change migrate elsewhere? When a large chunk of the community is gone? If nobody’s there to USE the forums, what’s the freaking point?
It’s time for a bit of truth: There is no such thing as privacy on the internet. It just doesn’t exist, sorry. You can try all you want to block your life off from the rest of the world, but some resource somewhere exists. With the increasing popularity of FaceBook and other popular social networking outlets, people’s lives are becoming more and more public. So, yes, some people will LOVE this change.
Honestly, I don’t care if my name is associated with my gaming. I go by “Vince” over on For the Lore without a problem. My last name and quite a bit of other personal information is available if you know where to look. There’s nothing I can do to stop it, but then again, I have chosen to live certain aspects of my life publicly. It’s the same point Lodur makes over at World of Matticus. That said, I choose to separate my public life and my private life through the use of a screen name. Sure “Vince” and “Samodean” are known to be the same person, and it’s a topic I’ve explored previously.
My issue with this is the misperception of it optionality. When RealID was first introduced a few weeks back, it truly was optional. And yes, you can avoid the forums right now if you choose to, but I wouldn’t consider that OPTIONAL. Choosing to exclude a feature is an option. Being forced to use said feature as a REQUIREMENT to participate in a significant portion of WoW‘s community and experience is not what I would consider “optional.”
So, in a few short weeks, RealID has changed from truly optional to “optional only if you want to miss out on features.” How long before it’s not really optional at all? We know about the partnership between Activision Blizzard and Facebook. I truly fear that this is the direction we’re moving in.
So now, to touch on my second point way back at the beginning. To the vast majority of those commenting, criticizing and altogether bitching about this issue: You’re not helping.
First of all, flat-out rage-bitching will be ignored by just about everyone. There have been some frightening statements on the issue, ones that make me embarrassed to be part of the community. PLEASE STOP!
Those that have written very eloquent and well-thought-out articles on their blogs and websites are, unfortunately, preaching to the choir. Anybody reading your arguments are the types that abandoned the official forums long ago. I’m not saying your opinions are invalid, I’ve read plenty of well-written articles on the subject. What I AM saying is you’re reaching the wrong audience. Yes, I realize I fall into this category as well, but sometimes things just gotta be said, even if they have no real impact.
Those that are speaking with their wallets and cancelling their accounts? I salute your conviction, but I have yet to see a boycott of any kind have any lasting effect. I realize many are cancelling because they just DON’T want to be involved with the game any longer, and not out of protest, and I just want to be sure that everyone knows it won’t actually accomplish anything.
In fact, I doubt there’s anything ANYONE can do.
Why not? Bobby Kotick. Sadly, while Blizzard is still TECHNICALLY autonomous, the effects of the merger with Activision are obvious to anyone who’s been paying attention. Activision doesn’t care how YOU want to play your games. Activision will TELL YOU what you want.
If subscriptions drop significantly from this event, here’s what will happen: Kotick will simply FIRE members of Blizzard management and replace them with more of his Activision people. OBVIOUSLY the Blizzard side of the company is doing something wrong, even if they’re just doing what upper management (all Activision people) wants them to do. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was his goal in this whole disaster. Just ask the guys from Infinity Ward how Activision does business.
And THAT’S the reason I think there’s so much anger at this change. Privacy issues aside, fans of World of Warcraft and Blizzard in general have seen one questionable business decision after another in recent years. This may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
There are plenty of perfectly valid arguments people are making over this issue. Seriously, though, all I ask is that they attempt to stay constructive. This has likely gone too far to turn back now, and I doubt that was ever an option to begin with.
