Image borrowed from http://blogs.elsitech.com/?tag=/encryption
I fear I smell sleight of hand.
However, the resub is as clear a sign as the cancel, so yes, I will resubscribe, but as many, many people have pointed out, there is more to this change that simply a forum ID change.
So the backdown is announced here (thank you to all of you that sent it to me while I slept and dreamed of Internet Dragons):
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=25968987278&sid=1
The sleight of hand I speak of, comes from the fact that over the last few days we have learned that Blizzard didn’t/doesn’t intend to stop with the forums, however there no real admission of this yet.
Image borrowed from http://climateprogress.org/2009/07/26/fallows-part-2-boiling-brainless-frogs-and-the-ooda-loop/
Definite:
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.
Not so definite:
I want to make sure it’s clear that our plans for the forums are completely separate from our plans for the optional in-game Real ID system now live with World of Warcraft and launching soon with StarCraft II. 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. 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.
This is still where my issue lies.
If you want to participate fully in our games in the future, you will have to hand your balls to the wall on a plate
Ohh yeah, that’s my interpretation…
Why can’t they just pull their finger out at let us have a single sign on “Handle”, then all the problems in the world will go away.
As Achtung Panzercow puts it:
But rest assured that I will never take anything they say at simple face value ever again, and nor should you. With their claim that “this is just to de-troll the forums!”, they insulted my intelligence. I don’t like that.
Make the optional part:
I can choose to use my real name, or my handle.
You see one of the things that has pissed me off about this whole debate is, that it will be easier for Blizzard to shut down the trolls… why, because they have our real name? The already know what account the trolls have posted from – CLOSE THE TROLL’S ACCOUNT! They don’t need real names anywhere to shut down a players account, THEY are BLIZZARD, THEY have the account details.
The Carrot and the Stick
I used the biggest sticks I possess over the last few days, I know many of you did so too.
The thing about sticks, is they lose their effectiveness unless balanced with carrots, so I am resubscribing, and I encourage those of you that joined me in a /ragequit to do the same – because just as the account cancellation was the clearest signal of your displeasure, so will the resubscription be the clearest indication of your approval of the change in policy.
I can assure you I will not be reactivating 6 month subscription – I don’t trust them that much, I don’t trust them any longer. I refuse to be the frog in the pot.
Thanks
- Thanks to all of you that said your farewells. I’d love to go back and reply to you all.. but do you really want a series of “Thank you & bye for nows”
- Thanks to all of you that sent me invitations to join them in other games (or build new communities to enable ex-WoW players to remain together, without Blizzards assistance).
- Thanks to all of that supported me in my rage, whether by comment, blog linkage, or blog post unrelated to mine, that added perspective and kept the fire alive.
- Thanks to all of you that disagreed with me, that made me review my stance. I still don’t agree with you, but I did listen and think.
- Thanks to Grimmtooth for expressing my /ragequit best…
- 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.
Maintain the rage
As I went to bed last night, I expressed my fear about this weekend to the folk on Twitter. I was concerned that after a weekend of raiding, after Cataclysm annoucements and Beta announcements, the rage would have subsided.
Gnomeaggedon Unlike other bloggers, I am not sick of RealID posts. Actizzard are waiting for 21st century apathy to step up and claim our rage.
SuicidalZebra @Gnomeaggedon Expect to see a new Beta Build push today simply to get the WoW news sites and blogs to change the subject.
Gnomeaggedon http://bit.ly/aiBBXX and http://bit.ly/cGJILH Maybe I should go PvP to calm down
Gnomeaggedon @antikris77 1st I must take my Battleground rage out on Blizzard.. they trained me in it, time to turn it on my master
Copra @Gnomeaggedon btw. you should be calm to make any real PvP. angry… you just mess around and get frustrated.
Gnomeaggedon @Copra I am a Fire Mage… my PvP is chaos… think Berserker, shrunk to 3 foot then add FIRE!
I am happy that Blizzard have chosen to back down at the beginning of the weekend. I think if they waited another few days they could have pushed.
Hello for now
So, it’s not goodbye, it’s hello for now. Until the next time, and there will be a next time.
It’s just a shame I didn’t get to share my flower arranging post with you… maybe I still can… let that be a post for another day.
In other great backdown news
Senator (I’m a fuckstick just wont admit it) Conroy has backed down on the Australian internet filter – for now.
Once again, don’t let the rage subside… they just want to win the election.. then as usual will claim an “Mandate”
Gnomer and Out!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
http://gnomeaggedon.net/2010/07/10/as-a-dodgy-old-magician-with-more-illusion-than-power/
I have disabled RealID using parental controls. I think it’s perhaps the most constructive way to demonstrate to Blizzard that I want to play their games, but without RealID.
While this has occurred to me, I ma not a child and don’t need parental controls, I need no RealID.
What other game limitations are implicit in choosing parental controls?
Apparently, you’d be locked out of participating in the beta if you aren’t already in it (though that’s not confirmed)…even if you are in it, you *may* not be able to post in the beta forums with RealID locked out because it can flag you as a minor.
I haven’t used the Parental Control settings yet, so I can’t confirm it first-hand–just passing on what I’ve heard.
Welcome back, and thanks for the link!
I *like* the concept of Real ID. They just need to stop focusing on money and swing some focus back to what their customers want – let us use aliases, let us opt-out of friends lists, and let us appear offline.
A lot more people would use it, and probably really enjoy it.
Like Gnome, I’m not a child, I won’t turn on parental controls – it’s the principle.
I still don’t like the current implementation of RealID. Give me a ChosenID. If my long term friends don’t know my real name, why would I share it with online friends I have never met in person.
I use it, pointlessly, to connect with 3 RL friends, who I communicate with in a variety of ways anyway.
It shocked Ari the 1st time he logged on with his secret “I need space from guild leadership & everyone toon” to have me say
“Aha! Sprung – no hiding now buddy”
Until then we had our own private channel, which each of us opted into with public toons.
I play (and blog) with some lovely people, but I’m not ready to go to the next step and share the intimate details with them (of the friends of friends)
i am glad to see you will be back. blizz heard you, tiny green-haired mighty one!
Ha, I love that Senator’s handle, nicely done.
There’s another topic that we know is going to keep cropping up over and over and over because idiots in charge have no clue about the end users.
[...] Psssst: welcome back, Gnome! [...]
I was sadly reading your cancellation post and was preparing to reply, but then saw the last response saying Blizz made an announcement about not doing it after all (at this time, to be precise).
I wanted to say, I admire your balls… of fire. =D
It should come as no surprise that I am in agreement with your sentiments in this case. I am happy they (apparently) blinked in the face of it all, but until I see the goods, I am still suspicious of their every move.
Miss Medicina posted that her faith was restored. Mine, alas, is not, and cannot be, restored without many, many actions in good faith by Blizzard.
For now, I’m playing it by ear. If they don’t modify RealID to use unified handles, and then extend the thing again, I’ll be less likely to be patient with them.
Oh, and glad to see you back
While I’m happy they backed down on the forum issue, it’s not like they have discontinued RealID. It still is available and can be obtained for your account through addons.
And yes, I think there is more up their sleeve. I noticed the same wording as you did, that more would be available for those who opt into the program. So if they can’t force you into it, they will buy you into with pretty in-game items, mounts, whatnot or though peer pressure from guildies and other players.
I just don’t see how getting tells in-game from friends who don’t play at all will be a good thing (because that is what they want, to make it so you can chat with your facebook friends in WoW). Can you see being in a raid and having a friend who knows nothing of them writing to you? Wondering why you are ignoring them? And are you supposed to say, “I’m in a raid”? Because they will likely have no clue what the hell you are talking about or they will think that this is a game and it shouldn’t be so intensive that you can’t just write a line to someone.
And still there is the supposed in-game advertising. I will not pay a subscription fee for someone to advertise to me.
So yes, the trust is broken. They are just another corporation to me now. Just another corp trying to find a way to make the most money as possible. If they lose their current fan base? As long as the next one is bigger, then they don’t care.
It’s funny.. I never liked the concept of RealID in game, but my RL mates got me into it anyway. I am thankful that they heeded my warnings and it is only RL friends (thye got a bit of a shock when their RL names came up).
The shame of it… I really, like REALLY want to connect with the people that have supported me through this… but RealID, the only channel currently, prevents this.
I don’t want people to know more about me, and more importantly, I don’t want a ring of strangers knowing about each other… no one signs up for that
Glad you resub’d gnome. I will not be following suit, my accounts will stay closed. Real ID is still unacceptable in it’s current state. There is no reason – NONE – for my real name to be displayed to anyone at any time without my consent. Those who I would use Real ID with already know my personal info. With the “friend of friends” issue and the add-on issue, it’s still a garbage feature, and still a security risk.
The bigger issue is that I am no longer just a subscriber, I’m a marketing and advertising tool for actiblizzbook, or soon will be. That is something I will not pay to be used as.
And you’re completely right, there is another shoe that will drop. It’s just a question of when.
I can understand… I don’t blame you in the least.
TBH, I know there is another shoe to drop. what we have isn’t really god enough (see above) and it is just an open door.
I hope, no as godforsaken as I maybe, I pray, that they convert to a handle.
But… I am prepared for when they don’t. The question is whether I and the many other vocal people can be bothered fighting… or whether we will just step back and search for another gaming company = which will probably demand the same thing on sign up.
I love the game, but I feel like a frog and the temp is still rising, the problem is all the cool ponds nearby are sitting on hotplates waiting for their owners to ignite the burners.
Enjoy the Real Life… cause there can be no doubt it is better than the RealID
I most likely won’t be back. Blizzard betrayed my trust and for that I am slow to forgive.
Plus I am enjoying my time in Lord of the Rings Online. Found a nice kinship to do some RP with. Oh yes LOTRO has kin and player housing.
Doesn’t mean I won’t be back at Cataclysm because well…
But I think that gives Blizz 6 months or so to FUBAR another idea.
I think the trust issue is big for a lot of people. I didn’t realise just how big it was for me until I read your posts and some of the posts and comments you linked to, Gnome. It has been said before, but QFT: I used to trust Blizzard in its implementation of Wow to put the game and gamers first, but that trust has been thoroughly eroded after this RealID issue. I’m down to about 50%, and trying to read between the lines of everything they say. I don’t like how that makes me feel.
Somehow it makes the game less magical for me.
@Jayd – “Somehow it makes the game less magical for me.”
Oh, well said. Well said, indeed!
Trust is major for me, if I don’t have that with a person or a company if I have a choice in the matter I won’t associate with them. I won’t be resubscribing.
I love social media, I use it with my business but it’s separate from my gaming time. We engage in social media within MMORPG’s too, and I love that. It’s just different from the way I normally use it, and I’m fine with that. In fact, I love that! However, Blizzard is bent on merging the two and seemingly fixed on using your real name to do this.
I really don’t look at this as a major victory, if it were Blizz, would stated something like, “We’ll never force you to share your personal information with others that play WoW.” To me, it smacks of them taking their customer base for granted. Whatever we do they’ll always be around and I don’t like that.
I didn’t like Real ID from the first time I heard about it, initially I thought we would see something similar to this. I have my suspicions of what Blizz will unveil in the near future too, so I’ll be watching it closely but from afar.