Blizzard message board new rules

[Demon_Skeith]

Blizzard Entertainment is about to undergo a pretty interesting social experiment with its rabid users. The acclaimed developer is going to force message board users to list their real names alongside their pseudonyms, starting with StarCraft II and Blizzard's classic games. On the forums, at least, anonymity is no longer going to be an option.

It's worth reading Blizzard's lengthy explanation behind their decision, which is tied to their Real ID system. Real ID is an optional feature in the newly updated Battle.net that introduces additional social features, such as cross-game chat. It's also going to become a requirement for forum posting.

Here's the crux of Blizzard's argument:

"The official forums have always been a great place to discuss the latest info on our games, offer ideas and suggestions, and share experiences with other players -- however, the forums have also earned a reputation as a place where flame wars, trolling, and other unpleasantness run wild. 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. With this change, you’ll see blue posters (i.e. Blizzard employees) posting by their real first and last names on our forums as well."

more here

G4 users are not happy with it

in no way should they be allowed to show a person's full name if the person don't want it shown.

 

[Black Angel]

Are you kidding me? How on Earth is posting your real info going to deter a bunch of idiots from starting trouble on the forum? I think that this is a bad idea, and will end up causing more harm than good.

 

[Marc]

Are you kidding me? How on Earth is posting your real info going to deter a bunch of idiots from starting trouble on the forum? I think that this is a bad idea, and will end up causing more harm than good.

Agreed!

Everyone should have a right to hide their real names from the world.

 

[froggyboy604]

It might prevent some people from posting random troll messages on forums like most people on Facebook or Blogs who use their real names tend to be less trolly in my experience compared to Myspace and Youtube.

But, I think people should be given choices on if they want to share their real name or not.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

and Blizzard has backed down-

After listening to fan feedback, Blizzard has decided it will not require Battle.net members to display his or her real names while posting on the forums.

"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," CEO Mike Morhaime said in a statement. "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."

Earlier this week, Blizzard announced it would be changing its forum policy by requiring forum posters to display the full, real name associated with their Real ID accounts. This is no longer happening.

"When we launch the new StarCraft II forums that include these new features, you will be posting by your StarCraft II Battle.net character name + character code, not your real name," he added. "The upgraded World of Warcraft forums with these new features will launch close to the release of Cataclysm, and also will not require your real name."

Morhaime added that Blizzard's forum plans remain separate from the current, optional Real ID system now being used in World of Warcraft.

"We believe that the powerful communications functionality enabled by Real ID, such as cross-game and cross-realm chat, make Battle.net a great place for players to stay connected to real-life friends and family while playing Blizzard games," he explained. "And of course, you'll still be able to keep your relationships at the anonymous, character level if you so choose when you communicate with other players in game."

"Over time, we will continue to evolve Real ID on Battle.net to add new and exciting functionality within our games for players who decide to use the feature."

source

now the question here is, did they mean to go through with this or was this some public stunt?

 

[froggyboy604]

This news certainly gave them a lot of free publicity since there are tons of websites, blogs, and social groups related to Warcraft, and Starcraft 2 which is also a game from Blizzard is almost coming out soon.

It would be cool if Forum companies like phpBB, Invision, vB, etc just make a spam mod where if enough people click on a message it hides the comment like Youbtube. If enough people thumbs down, or mark a comment as spam it becomes hidden unless you click the "show message" link.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

This news certainly gave them a lot of free publicity since there are tons of websites, blogs, and social groups related to Warcraft, and Starcraft 2 which is also a game from Blizzard is almost coming out soon.

It would be cool if Forum companies like phpBB, Invision, vB, etc just make a spam mod where if enough people click on a message it hides the comment like Youbtube. If enough people thumbs down, or mark a comment as spam it becomes hidden unless you click the "show message" link.

I'm surprised they haven't come out with something like that. hmmmm, someone must have made a mod for this for some type of forum software.

 

[froggyboy604]

I bet it already exist or will exist soon since Youtube hide spam feature is great, so I won't be surprise if someone copied Youtubes idea and make a MOD similar to the Youtube "hide spam" feature.