Blizzard has caused quite the ruckus by requiring Real ID in its official forums. In practical terms, this means users will have to use their real names. Here’s a clip from the forum announcement:
The first and most significant change is that in the near future, anyone posting or replying to a post on official Blizzard forums will be doing so using their Real ID — that is, their real-life first and last name — with the option to also display the name of their primary in-game character alongside it. These changes will go into effect on all StarCraft II forums with the launch of the new community site prior to the July 27 release of the game, with the World of Warcraft site and forums following suit near the launch of Cataclysm. The classic Battle.net forums, including those for Diablo II and Warcraft III, will be moving to a new legacy forum section with the release of the StarCraft II community site and at that time will also transition to using Real ID for posting.
Some users are applauding the move since troublemakers and flamers will no longer be able to hide behind anonymous handles. Some hate it, preferring the anonymity and/or role-playing that’s common in forums. Others think the move is shocking and claim that it brings all Blizzard fans one step closer to identity theft.
How do you feel about Blizzard’s use of Real ID? Is it a non-issue? Are you concerned about identity theft? Do you think other publishers will follow Blizzard’s move and require you to use your real name to talk about their games?
I foresee more account hacks since RealId is your login name.
I don't care though. I don't use those forums. More trolls in a WoW forum than anywhere else on the net.
Q: Is (item1) or (item2) better for a paladin tank doing ICC?
A1: noob
A2: L2P
A3: you should cloth you dumbass noob loser
A4: if you can't clearly see what is better you need to delete your toon and eat shit loser
A5: lolz you are teh stupidzorz queer ass
Etc…
I don't play any Blizzard games, but I would imagine this is just with the good comes the bad. I wouldn't like the loss of anonymity. But if it cut back on people flaming and trolling, then that would be a little nice I would imagine.
@ Smartguy;
Oh, man. I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was you who was asking that dumbass question. To make it up to you, I'll tell you that item 1 is much better than item 2 when you are doing ICC as a paladin tank.
-M
@iceman
lol, you we're alley ooped that joke.
I don't really like it. I foresee people seeing your name and jumping of Facebook or Myspace and searching your name and then letting fly the personal attacks.
When people don't know my real name I am a multi-millionaire business mogul and model with 17 PhDs in computer engineering and general knowledge. I don't want people to actually know I am more of A shape than I am IN shape weighing in at 500lbs and living in my mom's basement with 38 dogs.
@bsu
You are missin out dude. I think Blizz is the best there is.
@iceman
Thankyou. Lol
I think it is a bad idea AND not necessary I.t is fine If they want your real world name for mod purposes, but they should not force people use their real names if they don't want to. I don't like it when people I know IRL say my real name over Live, why would I want someone I've never met before using my name?
(You can see my first name on my Live account, but most people won't bother looking. Kind of like preferring someone on Live.)
It's all about FB integration sadly.
@Smartguy
I just don't play many PC games anymore. If I did I would probably play RTS's like AoE, I just don't feel like I have a good enough computer to run those kinds of programs on at this point. I might try to find an old copy of Half-Life just because I want to play the original game sometime to see what all the fuss is about. That should run on my laptop now since it is an old enough game.
@bsu
Blizz games just need a good processor and not a new graphics card. Easy to run. But if that isn't your platform then it's cool either way.
@Smartguy
Yeah Age of Empires was more the style of PC game I was in to when I did game on PC. I am sure I probably would love a lot of Blizzard's games, but that is one reason that I have avoided them. If I could average about 1000 hours a year on AoE, then I am sure it would be much worse for me with Diablo, Warcraft, or Starcraft. It's the same reason I usually stay away from a game like Assassin's Creed or Oblivion IV. I'm sure I would love the game, but I know I would probably play way too much after I started, and I already game enough on my 360 as it is. Maybe one day I will give them a try again though.