RealID – you will not share my personal information, including my name, with others without my direct approval.
The optional ingame RealID is unacceptable, even if optional.
Your proposal to integrate with Facebook and reveal my identity in forums or anywhere else is completely unacceptable, and as such you leave me with no choice but to stop playing a game I have enjoyed for years and would have otherwise continued to enjoyed.
As I posted in a comment over at Pink Pigtail Inn (though I did it anonymously.. so I think it is awaiting moderation), I am already in a position where I work in a WoW-unfriendly workplace.
It was friendly at 1st, but as time has gone on, assumptions are made about people that play WoW.
Now when I am sick I either need to go to work, or provide a doctors certificate (even though that is not the company policy), because as a known WoW player it is assumed that I at at home playing WoW.
When I work from home (as my role permits) I am required to provide an detailed timeline of my activities (unlike other non-WoW (or declared WoW) players.
When I take my allotted holidays, I get asked whether I am taking the time to sit in front of the PC – “Are you really flying interstate.. show me the tickets”
It is illegal in Australia to ask for personal details in job applications or interviews. Race, gender, sexual orientation, age – anything that is not job related is taboo. However, my (unusual) name revealed to all for the sake of a game and a social networking site (Facebook – which I hate and only subscribed to facilitate long distance family and close friends relationships), would potentially spell the end of any career ambitions, as a quick search would reveal all.
Two words Blizzard…
FUCK YOU!
Gnomer (You no take privacy!) and Out!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
http://gnomeaggedon.net/2010/07/07/realid-account-cancelled/
Great! Now get back to work, you lazy git!
–
Sad to see you go, but I kind of feel the same about this. Let us know where you will be spending your virtual time from now on and maybe we’ll hook up.
- Antikris
Looks like that place may still (for the time being) be WoW… Alright.. back to work!
Very sorry to see you hang up the fireballs Gnomer. Your work specifics are a perfect example of why these new changes are a terrible idea. Obviously the WoW community will be talking about this for awhile, but more importantly, I hope you give us some life updates now and then! You’re one of the warmest, friendliest bloggers out there and it’s a damn shame Blizz has forced your hand in this way.
Gnomer and out!
Life update #1, I never got around to showing you all my amazing floral abilities…
GNOMER!! OMG! Really!?
Man, that truly sucks.
I admit I’m glad to see you are sticking to your principles and voted with your wallet.
Too many don’t and just decide to howl, barking and growl as loudly as possible (We all know that Gnomes don’t really talk, they just bark alot, right?)
I hope you will continue writing something, somewhere as you’re one of the few short, bald headed, ornery, Lock loving, Gnomes I can actually tolerate.
Take care lil guy! Hope to see you around.
/attention
/salute
/salute
Looks like I’m hanging around a little longer now that Mike got the wakeup call.
Still, it was worth canceling, sending the message and watching as so many others voted with their wallets
Welcome to the world of ex-WoW-playing RealID-objecters. (I’ve un-subbed as well – thank heavens for the recent Steam sale, so I have distractions while I decide on what else to play…)
Steam is such a great example of having a visual presence in a variety of games without being asked to forsake your privacy, security or life
Gnomer!
On one hand, I’m very sad both to see you stop playing and to see you essentially being forced to stop playing by this horrible feature/
On the other hand, I applaud how seriously you’re taking this. If everyone who hated this awful idea cancelled their accounts you can be damn sure they’d remove it (I’m a complete hypocrit, I haven’t cancelled yet).
I wonder if it was the cancelations, the long threads, the world media coverage, the combination of these, or…
whether it was always expected that there would be this outcry, so now we will settle for the same thing, introduced slowly (or as a requirement to play a new game like their Next Gen MMO).
I still have issues with the current implementation of RealID – I will not share my name with “virtual friends” (no matter how much I might love them), or the friends of my friends.
Give me a ChosenID, and this would change (for now).
Sad to see you go Gnomer
I love your writing. I’ve enjoyed reading you for some time now.
But bravo to you for sticking two fingers up at Blizzard for this horrible bloody feature.
I’m waiting to see if they reverse this. I don’t do Facebook, my account is dead and has been for a very long time, because it’s your real name on there. I never post on the den of scum that is the official forums so that’s not a personal worry for myself either. If they force the use of RealID in game – removing the option to ignore it, and basically forcing you to show your real name to everyone – I’ll follow your example and quit the game.
Wow and real life are separate – I don’t wish to have the two merge any more than it does at the moment.
Roll on Guild Wars 2 – I’ll be jumping ship to that as soon as it’s out I think. Looks like it’ll be a good laugh. And no subscription fees – winner.
Oh.. how could I forget my two fingered salute?
http://gnomeaggedon.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/i-aint-gnome-angel.png
I’m really sorry to hear this Gnome, but I understand you completely.
I’m not sure why the comment hasn’t showed up. I have no moderation whatsoever. Bloggers commenting functions seem to have been a bit messed up the last couple of days.
All good Larisa… I said it all here anyway.. Blogger has been a bit funny lately, so I haven’t been posting with realise ID as it just seems to disappear.. maybe the same thing happened again.
I feel very much the same way about this. I am contemplating the same thing. Sad that star wars old republic isn’t being released this year
Meh Star wars.. it’s that the one with those little hairy guys… I don’t like little hairy guys
Gnome, you may like to review the Blizzard Entertainment: Privacy Policy (EU or US) and look for the paragraph that describes how to revoke all of your personal information from Blizzard’s database after account cancellation.
Brigwun had a couple of great posts on this a while back.
Something everyone should consider when they do close their account.
http://brigwyn.com/2010/04/15/an-update-on-your-privacy-and-blizzard/
Dude, no matter what else… I love ya, and I’ll miss you. For what it’s worth, I’ve always admired and respected you, and you’ve never left my feedreader for fear I’d miss just one delectable gnome post. Fortune favor the brave, Gnomer.
I better not leave your feedreader in the future either… you never know… I might come back..
Ohhh, what’s this…
I’m back?
Tough break, any clue what you might be playing next? I doubt you’re interested, but I can send you a buddy invite for Eve if you like. I’m also playing Champions, and they have a nice unlimited free trial of the first few levels.
Hey Jesse, I think if it had come to quitting (and it may still come to that.. who knows), I would take some time out from gaming.
Well, maybe I would finally get around to playing Dragon Age Origins… I’ve only had it for 8 months without leaving the starting area.
Thanks for the RealID Refugee support group invite… looks like we don’t need it just yet, but it was inspiring to think that when WoW does end, our WoW relationships don’t have to. We can turn to Facebook (err joke), to maintain the friendships we have held in-game, in-blog and in-forum
I read your blog every day at work. and when they announced the forum changes… i got VERY upset. I think they need a few fireballs up the ol wazoo coupled with a Pally faceroll from yours truly.
I understand the in game feature. And I have my wife, bro in law, and one rl friend on it. thats it. no more. But now that i can never post on the forums again ? Thats too much.
and it wasn’t (and still isn’t) just the forums. I think they made the mistake of thinking this would be one minor step on the road.
They made a big mistake and didn’t judge the outrage. They probably didn’t expect the investigative journalism which now appears to have revealed their long term game plan.
They made a mistake, not to see whether they learned from it.
I have to say, that’s one damned hostile work environment you got there, Gnome. I’m not even sure they could get away with that in the USA.
That said, I’d advise to at least stay tuned a while longer. I think Blizzard this morning is just coming to grips with how seriously they’ve blundered here.
Where I work unions don’t really get a look in, as everyone believes they can do better on their own. In many ways it is a great workplace, but once people think they know you, it can be a pain.
It only takes a few hungover days to get the same image, but for different reasons.
One slip up at a Xmas party and you are scared for life.
WoW is just the latest breeder of serial killers and all night raiders to join the employers watch list.
I wasn’t actually talking about unionized working environments (which I’ve never experienced firsthand), just the general workplace harassment laws we have here, which were originally devised to combat sexual harassment, but have broadened a bit in terms of their interpretation.
There may not be a direct precedent over harassment of this kind, but it certainly seems like there’d have to be some sort of case, if two people could ask to go home sick at the same time and one would be believed and the other suspected just because the latter is known to play video games.
Oh there are definitely laws here in Oz to cover such things, but as a general rule, you use then when they boot you out the door.
To use them beforehand risks years of unofficial misery.
Still, as I have mentioned elsewhere, it’s a trade off… My workplace, in fact the same manager has been very accommodating with other personal issues (ie. marriage breakup), however, I hadn’t been shy about my enjoyment of WoW. Where others might mention it in passing, I have left no doubt that it is my primary form of outside activity.
Ultimately, jobs in my sector are screened before they reach people like my manager, but recruitment companies that want as high an uptake % as possible. In many ways, they are the ones I fear. If I choose to move on, and my real name has the slightest blemish… they wont pass my CV on.
You know, I’m all for the ingame RealID feature, it’s completely optional and you can share with whoever you trust. That’s great.
But I don’t like the implementation on the forums.. they’re game forums for crying out loud. Yeah, sure, it’s entirely optional whether you post or not, but it’s nice to have the option to post on the forums if you want to without sharing your RL details with any random person who passes by. I don’t plan to quit, I’m taking a break at the moment anyway, and I sure as hell hope Blizzard come to their senses. Rather people be able to find all of my characters than my full real name, surely that’d combat trolling just as well.
agreed.. you can take my characters, but not my RealID
*applaud* i’m hovering over the same decision… I think many people are.
It seems many people came to the same decision… I wonder how many will now waver on the return
Gnomie! You can’t go!
I understand, but am a sad tree.
Please be a happy tree again!
NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
i am speechless. sad beyond belief. i am one who didn’t understand why people were so upset about this change, but you have laid it out plainly. i am sorry, i didn’t see.
you can’t leave… who will i look to for magey, fiery inspiration? i enjoy your posts (and tweets) so much… i am keeping your blog on my RSS, and will continue to follow your tweets… please check in once in awhile, ok? : (
/salute
/cry
checking in rather than checking out!
Sad to see you go.
Happy to see me back?
A sad day, Gnomer, but totally understandable. I’m hoping beyond hope that Blizzard will reverse this decision rather than weather it out until it becomes the norm.
Let us know what you end up playing.
I think I will end up playing a Fire Mage… well at least I will continue to play a fire mage
kudos for sticking to your guns! Please post up if you start a new blog as I’ve very much enjoyed reading here!
If I ever do, I will… until then, this is still the Home of the Gnome
[...] what Gnomer h [...]
Oh noes! Gnot Gnomer!
Actually I completely understand where you’re coming from on this and Chas and I are havering in that direction ourselves – but it is still deeply deeply unspeakably sad.
But the return of the prodigal son is always unspeakably happy.. no?
I’m sorry to see you go, Gnomer
Would you consider playing without using the forums? As far as I know, that’s the only place they’ll insist on real names.
Today the forums, tomorrow…
I wouldn’t have considered playing if they hadn’t removed the stupid policy. I could have played without ever using the forums again, but sometimes an issue is bigger than someone’s individual needs (wants.. this is a game, it’s not a need).
I’m in the know, surrounded by aware folk like yourself.. but there are at least 10,000,000 people that wouldn’t have appreciated the implications
Really sad to see you go, but I so get it.
Luckily Blzzard got it too
The sky is falling, the sky is falling! Overreact much? This isn’t happening today and with all the uproar there are bound to be changes. I think wait and see would have been the better course of action.
Overreaction or passion… I guess it’s in the eyes of the reader.
We know now this wasn’t the 1st step.
Maybe my cancellation played some part in this, maybe I didn’t.
What I didn’t do though, was wait until the sky had fallen, then blamed someone else for not doing enough
I’ve only recently discovered your blog and have enjoyed it. I don’t want to see you go, but I completely understand.
To those that might see this as an over-reaction, canceling your account is the only way that your displeasure can be registered with Blizz in a way that might matter. If you complain, but continue your subscription, they don’t seem likely to care. They want to continue to collect their money.
There are a great many people out there, who for any number of reasons, would like to keep as much of their information as private as possible. Blizz making this decision directly impacts the ability to keep part of your life private.
Hopefully, they change course and you will consider coming back.
They did and I have!
You sure it isn’t secretly BECAUSE of my Mage-ness, rather than despite?
My adventures have been, and will continue to be Fire-tastic.
Remember next time I take a shot at a Lock… #IBlameSaresa
I’ve also voted w/ my wallet. My account is now cancelled for the same reason.
I think today we can feel warm and fuzzy. Did we make an impact.. maybe.. but we did what we felt was right.
[...] a business… the concerns of the little people aren’t relevant), KIASA, Lum, Chastity, Gnomeaggedon, Melfina (yay for a rational feminist perspective) and Tobold. Bonus points to Stabs for finding [...]
[...] http://community.livejournal.com/wow_ladies/13550071.html http://gnomeaggedon.net/2010/07/07/realid-account-cancelled/ http://twistedfaith.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/the-big-realid-debate-goes-on/ [...]
[...] Gnomer flat-out quit the game. [...]
[...] player base has been torn asunder, with fissures and vents forming everywhere. Some have simply left the game, while others are unsure of their future with our favorite MMO, while even others feel that the [...]
As much as I’m sad (and I mean really, really sad) to see you do this you are entirely right in doing so.
We’ve all rolled our eyes at the boys crying “slippery slope”, but this feels like “to hell with the slope, the mountain just got kicked out from under us.” Even WoW.com and its comments section, known to be more on board with things like this, is throwing around an overwhelmingly bad response to this.
Luv u long tiem Gnomer, thanks for being an awesome blogger
Hopefully we all get to continue to play in a (relatively) safe anonymous environment.
Thanks for your constant support.
As a fellow gnomish mage and a long-time subscriber to this blog, I am incredibly sad.
However, I have to ask one question: What if Blizz actually listens to the (huge number of) people that are protesting? Will you be coming back? I do hope so.
A sad mage
I’ll come back..
I came back!
Keep in touch and if you post something elsewhere, let me know. I agree totally, but won’t take it this far for now. Time will tell just how married to the move they are.
Yeah, it would be ironic if I lost touch with the WoW blogger physically closest to me.. we could walk past each other on Brunswick street one day and never know.
Fow we can continue to be “pen pals”, but one day, I will turn up on your doorstep.. in a nice way of course!
Well this is major suckage. I have already (a month ago) deleted my Facebook account because I was not permitted to restrict my personal information in a manner satisfactory to me.
I refuse to sign up for RealID in game; you can damn sure bet I won’t be posting on the official forums, either.
Sure, my full name is out there (check my Twitter name!). But I put it there for other reasons. And I did it on my own. (It certainly helps that I’m retired, believe me.)
But I’m dismayed that you quit (although that’s still a distinct possibility for me as well—still in a “wait and see” mode); I just hope that the only person who ever guest-posted on my blog will keep on blogging, because to lose that would be horrible.
I’m your only-ever guest poster?
The Gnome with the worstest grammer in the whole world?
I am very, very honored.. but I’m not going anywhere yet (well now that they have changed their tune). If I ever did, I would let people know where I was… if nothing else, many of you know how to contact me anyway.
Hear fucking hear!
In-game RealID was fine, you’d share your real name with people who already knew your real name. Big whoop.
But this? This is completely insane on every level imaginable.
I will continue to play as long as my privacy isn’t invaded, which as of now means never going to the forum.
That whole “slippery slope” argument may be a logical fallacy, but as of now it is damn terrifying.
Careful Blizzard. You’re going to lose me to TOR if you keep at this.
On another note, why are you working for an employer that intrudes that much into your personal life?
Advantages of not having a family, I guess. If an employer did any of the things you described to me? I would tell them to go fuck themselves and quit immediately.
You don’t know how proud I am to know that I had one of the meanest, trolling mages by my side over the last few days.
You honor me as always!
We will dearly miss you my Fire flinging Friend.
I truely hope that Blizzard sees the error of their ways before more follow your chosen path.
<3 Your Friendly Neighborhood Fuubaar
They didn’t, not before others followed, but luckily before it was too late for them and us.
Holy craptastically sad day, Gnomer! I will miss you and your blog.
I understand and support your decision, though.
For the folks that say “well don’t use the forums”?
It’s the only place you can ask (and possibly get answers) direct from the horse’s mouth. Tech problems, any stuff like that.
Even if the situation isn’t as nasty as Gnome’s, MANY people like to have “professional” and “private” lives that are distinct and separate. Even though I’m not realy in jeopardy of losing my job over WoW, I am very well aware that a couple VP and “C” level people are not fond of gaming in general, and that WoW seems to be the epitome of what “normal” folks dislike. I might keep my job, but lose “points” or respect.
And sorry, like many folks, I don’t have a lot of options for a different job.
Again, kudos for sticking to your principals, though the game just lost something special.
don’t worry, that “special” Gnome is back. I think I should be flattered by a “special” label…
“Would you consider playing without using the forums?”
^^^ this
Don’t quit Gnome!
No, but I might consider playing WITH the forums:
http://gnomeaggedon.net/2010/07/09/realid-raiding-the-future-of-wow/
You got more guts than I do, that’s for sure. I’m still hoping that with enough social pressure they will retract their decisions regarding the forums. There are plenty of other, proven ways to limit trolling, and displaying real and personal information is just a cloak to their true goals.
I totally uderstand and support you. Will miss you and hope you pop up somewhere else on the web. Maybe if we can get them to stop what they’re about to do you’ll come back? Still, I know it’s up to you and I hope you enjoy life as it comes to you.
Thanks for your support and yes, with great sticks come great carrots, so I am back and:
The account has been activated, and
I have left a personal note of thanks for Mike (on the forums, not on his front doorstep!)
Everyone should do the same.. leave your carrots on the forums:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=25968987278&sid=1
Don’t quit Gnome!!!!
Well I am angry as anyone else, heck I lickened it to Nazi Germany. I know just me going to the extreme.
But I wouldn’t suggest quiting yet,
A. It’s not live yet.
B. I hope Blizzard takes notice.
C. It is only forums, and I can’t remember whens the last time I actually posted there.
I quit.
A. Before it was live – that’s the time to make a statement.
B. Blizzard did take notice
C. It wasn’t going to (and probably still wont) stop at the forums.
I’m back now though.. until they call me a sweet little Gnome again…
[...] what I’m sad about is Gnomey is calling it quits, I’d put up with 100 Annas just to keep Gnomey [...]
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking something similar myself. I hope Blizzard decide to moderate their position – I’ve never seen the community so up in arms.
And you’ll be very missed.
I didn’t give anyone a chance to miss me
I’ve posted more in the last few days than the last couple of weeks.
But.. did you miss me?
Wow, so because you get harassed at work, you’re going to blame Real ID for canceling your account? Sounds like you just needed a scapegoat to quit and Real ID is the easy way out. It’s completely optional in-game and if you don’t like it on the forums, don’t post on the forums.
Sad to see you go, but blaming Real ID is just a cop out.
RealID isn’t the cause of my work problems. Volunteering to share my pastimes was.
RealID takes my choice away, now and forever. I wouldn’t share this pastime with an employer again and I don’t want Blizzard or Facebook doing it on my behalf.
Actually I am really happy in game. I’m raiding, BGing, Arena’ing and spending time with RL and WoW friends.
This isn’t about the forums, it’s about what RealID will become. Ribs will wait until Blizzard makes their final decision before canceling, which is a statement of acceptance before the implementation.
I have chosen to cancel, as their accounts/finance department & ultimately shareholders need to know my opinion before they implement this change.
If they are prepared to break their alliance with Facebook and leave my RL in my RL and my fantasy in my fantasy, then I may resubscribe.
Of course every day that goes by where I explore alternatives, whether gaming or RL, will make the tug of WoW decrease.
Certainly as things stand now where staff identities will be protected but customers won’t you can already see how stupid this is.
I dare say that Blizzard folk have their finger on the “destroy code” button, but activison are waving the contract with Facebook around saying “we can’t go back now guys, we are entering the new age of FarmWoW”
“I have chosen to cancel, as their accounts/finance department & ultimately shareholders need to know my opinion before they implement this change.”
A critical distinction. I applaud your actions, sir.
It really is interesting how non-game actions of a company can mess with in-game enjoyment… so it’s good to see you’re at least still having fun with the game.
One thing I have to ask is if they took everything back and asked offered make-up sex, would you take Blizzard back?
Excuse my oopsie in the English language up there. Sometimes I edit my comment so much that it becomes a big pile of dung in the end (which sticks since I tried so hard, editing and all).
*******which STINKS. OMG DISCONNECTING KEYBOARD NOW
Make up sex… Tell me more (just don’t tell me it’s sex with makeup, not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just not my thing).
Funny how we went from virtual make up sex to sticky keyboards!
Back on topic… My account is closed, not my eyes, ears or mind. If Blizzard opens theirs and stops this stupid policy, I will probably continue to neglect my RL so I can fondle my fireballs.
Here’s to hoping that Blizzard isn’t too proud to admit that this was a terribad idea.
I haven’t received the make up sex yet… maybe I came back too quick?
don’t they have a pill for that gnome?
Glad you didn’t have to go far, or for long.
the speedy response of blizzard (in corporate terms) reminds me of one of my favorite BOFH stories.
http://bofh.ch/newbofh/bofh22may.html
“In the international unit of operator success, Backpedals Per Second, the head of personnel is dangerously near redlining.”
Gnomer, I’m going to really miss you. You’ve been a huge inspiration to me, and someone who inspires me to keep on blogging.
I can completely understand why you’re quitting. The outright discrimination that employers and recruiters have against people who play videogames is getting ridiculous. That Blizzard want to openly interfere with that seems ill thought out at best.
I’m hoping that Blizzard see the outcry and relent. Otherwise I fear that you’ll only be the first of many.
You know, for every “I’ll miss you Gnomer” post, I think I had 2-3 others that I was going to miss too.. giving you guys up would have been the hardest part.
BTW, you are doing great things for the Mage (and general WoW) community Gaz.
Are you going to get a few priests together to resurrect Magecraft?
I thought they might back down but the more I read, I think not. As usual BBB has written the words better than I ever could. Why? Is anyone clamering for this? yes? no? I think not.
Sure people want to out the trolls. good. BUT let’s be honest there are other ways. Assign one forum name to each account, problem solved. Hell have it link to all their characters, that would even be better in some ways. So you could go harass them in game.
I am more afraid of what else Blizz will do. I am probably joining Gnomer in canceling too. Lucky for me, I have until 8/20 to make the call.
Why wait?
Do it now.
Let’s examine this.
Don’t cancel now.
You can play until 20/8 until resubscribing.
The change goes live
In an after the fact act of disgust you let your account expire without Blizzard and Activision knowing how you feel.
You cancel now.
You can play until 20/8 before reactivating your account if you so desire.
The change goes live – whatever, you have already made your statement to blizzard and it’s shareholders.
The change doesn’t go live – blizzard and the shareholders know you were serious and won’t accept this in the future AND you reinforce their positive behavior by resubbing.
Your opinion is heard now in the accounts/finance department, in the management reports, in the shareholder reports, or you accept the change by not acting.
If it takes then until cataclysm to change their mind and your account has been inactive, what have you lost?
Nothing!
You are $15 per month better off – go to the movies, play another game, whatever.
Your characters, achievements etc are all there, just waiting for the day that Blizzard wakes up from this nightmare.
Gnome, whatever happens with WoW, don’t stop writing. You make me smile with every post
Also, I am fairly sure employers can’t tell you what to do with your non-work time. If they fired you for it, you would have a strong case of wrongful dismissal. Unless you are actually doing WoW stuff during work time, of course.
I’m with Euripedes, if an employer tried to control my life like that, I’d be outta there :-/
This RealID stuff is interesting, I can’t wait to see what bs they pull out next…
You and Rip are both right and tbh it is the way I feel too, but life is never simple.
While I have highlighted bad unofficial policies, the official policies and support I have received over a few rough years weigh out perceptions.
Then of course there are the risks. Single Dad of a toddler, with a mortgage and other debts in a period of instability in the workforce.
Currently my preference is to supply certificates while I search for other employment – but that of course comes full circle to RealID.
A prospective employer is far more likely to do detective work on the net than a (relatively) satisfied one. Blizzard doesn’t have the right to influence my future employers over a game.
I’m cool if people are cool with RealID, but then some people are happy to put naked pot smoking photos of themselves on the net without concern for their futures.
I’m not cool with that so I have a choice and at this pint I have chosen not to support RealID
[...] Posted by Adam under Uncategorized Leave a Comment Last night I saw that Gnomeaggedon had cancelled his account over RealID. While an extreme reaction, and something that I am not prepared to do as I think that [...]
By sheer coincidence my prepaid 6-months expired yesterday and my account went dormant (I don’t have it on automatic renewal). Even though I prefer to save $2/month and buy 6-month blocks, because my Mum is coming to visit next month I decided to resub for just 1 month then let my account remain dormant until the end of August.
I also enabled Parental Controls and would have deactivated RealID but as soon as I logged into Account Maintenance (while pretending to be my own parent) I found RealID was already unchecked/inactive.
I still need to cancel the recurring monthly sub because I don’t want to be charged $15 for August, in fact I don’t intend to pay or play during August at all. So when I cancel the current recurring sub, if given the opportunity to explain why I’m canceling, I shall list RealID as the reason (it’s not, but Blizzard don’t have to know that).
5000+ angry posts on their Forum is nothing to Blizzard. It’s been said that to find out why they want to incorporate RealID we should “follow the money”. That’s also a good way to get their attention, and far more effective than one more drop in the angry forum thread.
If you have a recurring Sub, cancel it. Put your game and your money where your mouth is and cancel your account, even if it’s just for one month, and be sure to let Blizzard know the reason you’re canceling is RealID.
Your wallet speaks far louder than any post you can make on the Forum.
I expect the combination of forum posts, walking wallets and world media attention has helped to shelve this for now.
The battle is won… but the war?
We shall see
[...] when I started seeing it pop up in blogs I just skipped over it. Then I read this, and thought I might add my small voice to the [...]
Sad to see you go Gnome, but I applaud your decision. I am also somewhat concerned about what this will mean for me in the future – I already am subjected to regular taunts from my boss ‘You look tired – stop staying up all night playing WoW!’ (I don’t remember the last time I was up all night GAMING, usually my all-nighters are work related). It’s ridiculous the amount of garbage gamers have to suffer through (especially in a gamer-hostile place like Australia).
Hopefully Blizzard grow a brain some time soon.
Best wishes.
<3 Sar
P.S. – does this mean the Warlocks win? Just askin'…
Let’s pray to all that is pure in this world (Mages) that Blizzard reverses their RealID decision so I can reverse my cancellation decision so I can teach Warlocks a few more lessons in respect.
Of course I am replying to the boomerang blogging queen herself… There is a good chance this Gnomeregan Boomerang will come back, under the right conditions.
Meanwhile I might turn my hand to flower arranging… Tho the world knows I have a Warlock’s touch with flowers… Dot, dot, dead
I think this now means Warlocks lose…
This Gnome is on his Gnomeregan Boomerang, so watch out behind you!
Sorry to hear how unfairly you’re treated at work. That has to be annoying. it’s unfortuante that you had to make the cancellation but you made the righ decision.
I’ve become increasingly dissatisfied with Activision/Blizzard. Initially, Battlenet.com wasn’t required. Although many Mac users had to switch early in order to play. I was one of them. Then it was the same with Real ID, first it was optional and it would only be revealed to friends, then we found out friends of friends would have that information too. To be honest, when they first mentioned Real ID I wasn’t skeptical when they said it was ‘optional’. I had a feeling that eventually, it would be a requirement. Currently it will only apply to the forums, however, how long will it take before it works its way in-game too?
I did the only thing I could do, I spoke with my wallet and cancelled my subscription. I think Activision/Blizzard is taking their subscribers for granted. It seems they feel that while some will complain, many will take whatever they give them and keep playing. Sorry Blizzard, I’m not one of those people.
We are not those people and it will be interesting to see what things they sneak in amongst the Catalysm “loot” announcements.
We may yet see a few wolves in sheepskin jackets.
[...] Some have already quit, and that makes me sad. [...]
[...] RealID = Account Cancelled RealID – you will not share my personal information, including my name, with others without my direct approval. [...]
[...] Tobold, Spinks, Gnomeageddon, Shades of Grey – the list of very articulate, eloquent and popular blogs is endless, I [...]
that sucks. I wish you the best with whatever you do after the dust settles.
I’m not quitting the game, but I have made it very clear that I’m not going to continue maintaining my druid stickies on their forums, so now the new druids won’t have my helpful guides greeting them on the Blizzard forums anymore. It’s obvious that Activision doesn’t care about us, and that Blizzard doesn’t have a choice.
I hope for WoW’s sake that you now feel you can return to the forums. The lose of a legend such as yourself would have hurt the game more than 100,000 trolls.
[...] given us what we asked for, we can start focusing on the good parts of the announcement. And resubscribing, right Gnomer? [...]
[...] great many popular gaming bloggers continue to leave the game in protest (or at least cancel their subscriptions for the time being), while [...]
lol, biatch. they changed there minds.
Ari.
So come back and play.
Ari.
Who let that sneaky rogue in here?
Someone leave the back door unlocked?
Don’t worry… there is still time for me to convince you that the 6 next to my name on the damage meters is greater than the 1 next to yours…
Even Odin knows 6 is more than 1!
That said, it’s pretty windy here today… and those 2 minutes of power between blackouts isn’t conducive to gaming.
You can bet the whole forum-real-ID thing was a bait-switch tactic.
People were pissed about real ID in game, so like any company saavy about PR/media, they decided to create a diversion. It would be so convenient to simply announce that now they’d be forcing real ID in the forums (the majority of players rarely use forums, they just play the game.)… and …
when people raged about the forum real-id thing, they magically changed their minds, and now all the fools think they’ve ‘won’ just because actibuzzard was ‘generous’ enough to supposedly change their minds.
- this kind of thing is an obvious and COMMON media smokescreen tactic!!! They do it in the news all the time.
sorry but LOLOL
Real ID is still in the game. People are still going to pay the price. We have NOT ‘won.’
I’m amazed at how many suckers there are eating this up faster than they can buy sparkle ponies.
Phew for a second there I thought you said
“I’m amazed at how many suckers there are eating this up faster than they can buy sparkle GNOMES.”
At which point I was going to hand over my house and my soul (err.. really too many Warlock plugs today)…
Yes, now that the dust has settled, it is silly that we have been so upset about the forums… who uses them anyway?
What were really should have been angry about (and maybe were, but couldn’t see past the forum troll smokescreen), was that we had already given our souls to Blizzard.
The couldn’t see any opposition to this, not because we weren’t smart, or maybe didn’t want our names on the forums… but because WE ALREADY HAD IT, without complaint, with open arms.
of course we weren’t going to complain, we already had it for 2 weeks!
[...] Gnomageddon /ragequits. We’re almost there ourselves. Someone asked me if I was surprised; after thinking of it, I realized that Gnome’s passionate spirit made this move fall right into his idiom. Our first RealID casualty, and a bitter one it is. [...]
[...] much the simple game of Warcraft means to people. It’s also shown me just how much people are prepared to give up to take a stand or prove a point. Finally it’s shown me firsthand that the power of fans is [...]
[...] worded the pros and cons far better than I ever could. The most interesting find I managed was this one. My first thought on this is one less gnome in WoW can only be classed as progress and hopefully [...]
[...] A few days back the ultimate mistress of evil, the Boomerang Blogger herself (Saresa for those of you that hadn’t picked t yet) forced me to think about what I would be doing in my life after WoW. [...]
[...] Gnomeaggedon says Real ID = Account Cancelled. [...]
My main was a little gnome! Played casual, since start of wow. Real ID = quit, and deleted all toons.
This is an attack on REAL THINGS like…oh, FREEDOM??!!!
I’m astounded so many people still just don’t get it. Real ID EVEN IN GAME is NOT OK.
Just because they make it optional NOW doesn’t mean they won’t change it later. Just because you think it can’t be hacked or bugged doesn’t mean it can’t!!!
Just the fact that a company would even THINK of doing this, means that company has gone absolutely corrupt.
The only reason they are getting away with it is because sadly a lot of the wow player base are weak-willed, spineless, and hopelessly addicted. No resolve. Absolutely blind and live in dream worlds where nothing happens to them (i.e. self centered).
Hopefully they wake up before its too late, because I think this is just the beginning. (Ever hear of ‘real ID’ that the REAL government has tried to impose on us????)
Freedom, people. You’re losing it, all for an illusion…
losing it all for a game.
I know it’s only a game, but if a group of basement dwellers are prepared to stand up and overturn such a stupid idea, what hope does a government have?
… or are you guys still at code red terror alert?
In which case, the govt can do anything they want.
(just like here in Oz with the Illegal Immigrants that are overrunning the country… or maybe not… but hell, it makes for good PR)
Since they cancelled it… are you still playing? ID free?
Yep, still playing as time allows. I know there are a raft of new RealID settings which I need to look into, until then I am realID free.