Blizzard To Shut Down Current Forums

Blizzard is going to make the current forums read only and then eventually take them down, which makes sense as most of the information is now outdated.  A new forum system will be set up.
http://www.wowhead.com/blog=172441

More information.
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/10/27/new-blizzard-community-website-forums-begin-testing-in-november/

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Real ID and Battle.net Privacy Expanded

Blizzard has changed the privacy options for Real ID and Battle.net so that you can opt out of Friends of Friends, remove the ability to be seen in Starcraft 2's Facebook area, and can turn off Real ID altogether.  "To change your Battle.net privacy options, log in to your account's Battle.net management page and select Settings, then Communication Preferences. "
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/09/30/real-id-and-battle-net-get-expanded-privacy-settings/

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Blizzard's Q&A About Real ID

The meat of the posting is that the ability to remove your real name from Real ID will hit about the time Starcraft II comes out, they are trying to come up with some sort of unique ID for the forums but there won't be a way to add a game name to Real ID inside the game.
http://kotaku.com/5589238/questions-and-answers-about-blizzards-real-id-plans

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Do Your Addons Reveal Your Real ID?

Part of the problem with the Real ID system is that many addons will be able to pull your real name from the Real ID.  Inside this article on this new site (www.MMO Melting Pot.com --bookmark it now) I found a link to a script that apparently tells whether your addons will reveal your identity.
http://www.mmomeltingpot.com/2010/07/a-brief-realid-roundup/

Here's the script itself, pulled from an MMO Champion forum posting apparently.
http://www.threadmeters.com/rYhyCm/Addons_can_show_you_someones_RealID/

By the way, there are rumors that both British and French government entities are investigating Blizzard's privacy breach.  I have been wondering myself how European governments would take this policy, whether Blizzard's reversing the policy will back them off, or whether this will open an investigation into Blizzard's lax security policies in other areas.

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Timing is Everything (Real ID, Real Names, Quarterly Reports)

Gronthe believes the Real ID/real names policy change was released at the end of Quarter 2 by Blizzard to keep Quarter 3's numbers up.  He explains why at the top of this article.
http://deuwowlity.blogspot.com/2010/07/conspiracy-theory-current-tank-state.html

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Real ID Off, No Beta

I've read comments on various blogs that say if you have turned off Real ID, you can't get into the Cataclysm beta.  You probably have to talk to Blizzard's Customer Service Hell to get Real ID turned on again.

Why isn't turning Real ID on/off easier?  Because they've put it in Parental Controls and don't want Little Johnnie having a work-around?

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Real ID Firestorm's Aftermath UPDATED AGAIN

Echoes of Blizzard's decision to expose players' real names on the forums are reverberating still.

Gordon summaries the most interesting posts on this issue.
http://blog.weflyspitfires.com/2010/07/11/the-best-of-the-rest-real-id-forum-fiasco-edition/

Gazimoff's looking at Blizzard with a changed perspective now and starting to look for alternative MMOs that have casters such as those he likes to play.  If you want to see what's in the near future, check out his list of possibilities.
http://www.manaobscura.com/?p=949

Finally, Gnomeaggedon has made plans for life after WOW.   He has come to some hilarious conclusions about Blizzard, what he might like to do in Real Life, and what gamers can look forward to in WOW.
http://gnomeaggedon.net/2010/07/12/my-life-after-wow/

July 6, 2010 is the date the Real ID on the forums policy was announced.  It was rescinded (for now) on July 9.  During this time, many serious players' views of Blizzard and its parent companies changed forever.

UPDATE:  Some folks about Blizzard's privacy breech complained to the ESRB which has something called a Privacy Online policy.  When the ESRB emailed these folks all back with one email pointing out Blizzard had rescinded the policy, they used Reply All, which exposed all the complainers' email addresses to each other.  Sigh.
http://www.wow.com/2010/07/12/esrb-unintentionally-exposes-email-addresses-of-people-who-filed/#continued

UPDATE:  The ESRB has apologized.
http://www.wow.com/2010/07/13/esrb-issues-apology-over-email-leak/

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Why Blizzard is Likely To Win Any Privacy Lawsuit

Cleric's opinion is that because players sign the Terms of Service and the End User License Agreement, any suit due to damages from privacy violations have to go to arbitration and the cap on damages is $90.  He also points out the corporate responsibility Blizzard and its parent corporations have and how any such lawsuit is likely to damage these corporations heavily in terms of their reputation.
http://ferarro.blogspot.com/2010/07/nope-some-changes-gotta-be-made-because.html

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Real ID Firestorm and The Internet Dragon

Shade spells out his objection to Real ID in this phrase--"I want to kill Internet dragons."  A instant classic.
http://greyshades.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/an-open-letter-to-blizzard/

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HOW TO CUSTOMIZE OR DISABLE REAL ID

WOW Insider has posted the 8 steps you need to take to opt out of Real ID in an article that also recommends ways to customize Real ID if you plan to use it.  I've mentioned this before but since this is the clearest explanation of how to turn off Real ID and also throws in ways to customize it if you plan to use Real ID, this deserves a separate posting.
http://www.wow.com/2010/07/08/customizing-and-opting-out-of-real-id/

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Real ID Firestorm Continues

The outrage about Blizzard's plans to force forum posters to use Real ID (and thus reveal their actual names) continues.  Here's are a few typical postings.
http://panzercow.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/realidiocy/

http://www.manaobscura.com/?p=942

http://stabbedup.blogspot.com/2010/07/wow-realid.html

http://spinksville.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/realid-around-the-web-the-future-will-be-written-in-chicken/

Some folks say this is just Blizzard trying to emulate and integrate with Facebook, whose CEO is very publicly against personal privacy, and we can expect more of this sort of thing.  Here is a posting from May that explains some of Blizzard's plans.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2010/05/blizzard-and-facebooks-friendly-social-networking-deal-launches-with-starcraft-ii-/1

Other folks say that Blizzard is just complying with Korean law.  Does anyone play Korean games who can speak to how well using one's real name works in cutting down on trolls in forums?
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/zeroday/2010/07/07/is-korean-law-driving-policy-at-blizzard/

Blizzard's response is to announce changes to talents, specializations and mastery when Cataclysm hits, hoping to distract players.
http://www.wowhead.com/blog=162553

I failed to realize that tech support forums will require real names to ask for help on technical issues.  Most folks say this is a better way to get help than calling Blizzard's Customer Support.

Two folks have detailed how to turn off Real ID using the parental control options.  Apparently this is not straightforward and easy to find.  As the Greedy Goblin says, stop whining and start acting if you hate the Real ID system.
http://greedygoblin.blogspot.com/2010/07/would-you-stop-whining-about-realid.html

http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/07/how-to-opt-out-of-realid.html

UPDATE:  WOW Insider lists the eight steps to opting out of Real ID and also tells you how to customize Real ID if you decide to risk using it.
http://www.wow.com/2010/07/08/customizing-and-opting-out-of-real-id/

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Real ID Firestorm UPDATED

Blizzard's announcement that they will force anyone using WOW Forums to post using their Real ID (which will reveal their real name) starting with Starcraft II and the WOW Cataclysm expansion has set off a firestorm of comments.  I counted 14 blog posts about Real ID signatures in the forums this morning, 13 of which viewed this extremely negatively. i have not seen any positive postings supporting Blizzard.   Only WOW Head was neutral on the topic.   I list their message here so you can read the details and blue posting announcement to make up your own mind.
http://www.wowhead.com/blog=162433

If you are intrested in Starcraft players' opinions on this topic, Lume the Mad clued me into a poll. I don't know if it is still open, but when I copied the link, 78% of Starcraft players responding to the poll said they would not post in the forums under this new system, 14% said they would sign forum postings with their real names, and 8% said they would create a new Battle.net account with a fake name so they could post in forums.  2,873 folks had voted.
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=134327

UPDATE:  WOW Insider is polling WOW players.  You have to vote to see the current results but when I found the posting, 81.5% thought using real names in the forums was a bad idea.  18.5% thought it was a good idea.  2,412 people had voted.
http://www.wow.com/2010/07/07/breakfast-topic-real-id-or-real-bad-idea/#continued

You can find the negative postings yourself without any trouble.  Given Blizzard's record with security and privacy so far, the Solo MMO Player views this change in an extremely negative light.  There are crazy stalkers in this world, there are angry ex-significant others, there are employers who will view employee gamers in a negative light, there are students risking future careers by letting it be known they play WOW, there are folks who will enjoy harassing women who used to be able to use anonymity to avoid these cretins, there are parents who don't want their name associated with WOW just because their child uses their credit card to pay the monthly fees, there are folks looking to steal your identity, addons can be programmed to reveal your Real ID and thus your name....

The list goes on.  Let me quote Tobold here--"Blizzard is heading for their first privacy PR disaster."

UPDATE #2:  Blizzard has posted three updates to their original announcement.  First, the use of real names in forum posts won't be retroactive.  Only Starcraft 2 and Cataclysm forums will use real names.  If you use the Real ID opt out (part of the parental controls) the account can't post on the forums.  And Blizzard says they've given a lot of thought to the issue. They want to "create a great social gaming service" by giving away your privacy.
http://www.wow.com/2010/07/06/blizzards-responses-on-the-real-id-situation/

The Solo MMO Player will not use the Real ID system.

UPDATE:  WOW Insider is reporting the rumor that Blizzard has changed its mind about blue postings having real names of their employees.  To date it is unclear what Blizzard will have its employees do.
http://www.wow.com/2010/07/07/rumor-blizzard-employees-real-life-names-will-not-appear-on-th/

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Real ID Security Problems

Because of a security flaw in Real ID, addons can now expose your real name.  Details here.
http://www.wow.com/2010/07/06/security-flaw-allows-addons-to-expose-full-real-life-names-witho/

By the way, Blizzard is going to use the Real ID system in their forums to cut down on trolls as real names will now be exposed.
http://www.wow.com/2010/07/06/official-forum-changes-real-life-names-to-be-displayed/

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Real ID and Privacy UPDATED

The new Read ID part of Battle.net is in effect but many folks are wary of using it for privacy and security reasons.  Here's what Too Many Annas says about the situation, with additional emphasis on role playing gamers using cross-faction and cross-server chat.
http://toomanyannas.com/feature/on-privacy-real-ids-and-roleplay/

Lissanna has the same concerns but phrases them in another way.
http://www.restokin.com/2010/06/real-id-do-you-trust-the-friends-of-your-friends/

Lume is starting an online petition asking Blizzard to improve Read ID privacy.
http://www.lumethemad.com/2010/06/22/petition-to-increase-privacy-options-for-battle-nets-real-id-feature/

UPDATE:  The Stoppable Force tries to bring sanity to the debate by reading the FAQ and summarizing it.
http://thestoppableforce.net/2010/06/22/real-id-heres-some-info-now-stop-with-the-righteous-indignation/

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Patch 3.3.5 Today for U.S. UPDATED

Details about what is included in the Patch are here.  It'll drop next week for European servers.
http://www.wow.com/2010/06/22/world-of-warcraft-patch-3-3-5-patch-notes/

UPDATE:  WOW Insider has provided a mirror download site.  Choose Mac or PC and click on the link.
http://www.wow.com/2010/06/22/world-of-warcraft-patch-3-3-5-download-mirror/

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Battle.net Problems

WOW Head pointed this morning to an article at Zam about the upcoming changes to Battle.net that will add the Real ID system.  The problems aren't what you expect--they relate to Starcraft II beta players who discovered they can't play with friends in another region without buying and registering a second game and the fact that there are no chat rooms.  Whether this will impact WOW players or not is another issue, but I suspect at least a few folks won't like this among the WOW player base.
http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=22533

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Real ID a Security Loophole?

WOW Insider believes that the new Real ID system that will be introduced in Patch 3.3.5 as a way of connecting with friends isn't a security worry.  They are wrong.  Using a real email address as a login is always a security concern, especially given that the Solo MMO Player's email address (used only for logging into the game) is constantly bombarded with gold seller spam and pshishing emails.  How else does that happen except Blizzard's Battle.net system has been hacked?  Do you think things will be any different with Real ID?  I don't.  Set up a free account that you never use for anything except logging into WOW and urge your friends to do the same.
http://www.wow.com/2010/05/28/real-id-security-concerns/

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Real ID Discussion (Patch 3.3.5) UPDATED WITH SECURITY CONCERNS

The next big patch (3.3.5) will include a new instance (Assault on Ruby Sanctum) and also something called Real ID will appear in Battle.net.  Here's a bit about Real ID, how it is supposed to work and what Mana Obscura thinks about how successful it will be.
http://www.manaobscura.com/?p=651

UPDATE:  WOW Insider writes briefly about how Real ID will work.  The best part of the article are screen shots from the Public Test Realm.
http://www.wow.com/2010/05/13/patch-3-3-5-ptr-battle-net-real-id-system/

UPDATE #2:  Lissanna has some concerns about Read ID and the Friends of Friends feature you might want to read.
http://www.restokin.com/2010/05/getting-personal-or-not/

UPDATE #3:  WOW Insider thinks any security concerns are overblown.  Given that the Solo MMO Player believes that his email address used for logging into the game (which has never been used for anything else so where do all the phishing emails and gold seller spam come from?) has been hacked, they are wrong.
http://www.wow.com/2010/05/28/real-id-security-concerns/

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