Blizzard's RealID Coming to Official Game Forums
Today, Blizzard announced on their World of Warcraft forums that soon, posts on the official game forums will contain the poster's "real" first name and "real" last name. Blizzard employee Vaneras posted:
"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."
This means that everyone who posts on the StarCraft II forums and later the World of Warcraft forums, will have their real names displayed. Vaneras explained that the reason for this is, not only are the forums a great place to connect with other players, but are also a place that has turned into a black hole of internet douchebaggery. The bottom line: No more internet anonymity to hide behind. This should help cut down on the occurrences proving John Gabriel's Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory.
Being a nerdy nerd dork geek neckbeard nerdface, I've spent some time reading the WoW forums and I welcome the change. Those who would seek to do harm will now have to face the fact that others will know their names and, I assume, can find them in the game as well.
I'm sure we'll see people rail against this by citing some unwritten "identity protection" clause of a non-existent legal document. They will then proceed to proclaim their hatred for Blizzard and will refuse to post on the forums. Yet, will continue to play the game and play terrible characters whose only contribution to team efforts is being the first one dead, thus helping people realize what the difference between a good player and a bad one is. These are - exactly - the kind of people Blizzard hopes to rid their forums of...and I'm glad.
I'm tired of hearing about your ludicrous theory crafting, or explanations as to why fishing in the game equates to the loss of a flying mount. I'm glad you're basically being forced to shut up and not participate in internet dickdouchery. And for all of you who wish to tell me how stupid I am — come find me.
- Sergeant Major Knikon
Character: 80 Gnome Warlock
Guild: Excessus
Realm: The Scryers
realID: skram (dot) redmond (at) gmail (dot) com
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