Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Blizzard to force forum users to use their real name.

HeartsOfFire · 07-08-2010, 10:55 AM

I used to play WoW. I used to peruse their forums when I played. I naturally used an anonymous handle.

When I first heard that Blizzard was going to do this, I was against it. I'm the kind of person that believes that the only ways to tell the complete truth are Anonymously and Posthumously (to quote Thomas Sowell), and on those grounds I did not approve of Blizzard's move.

But after some time I had an epiphany: World of Warcraft, and all the facets therein, are a private service. Utilizing a private service can mean giving up certain priviledges we're used to. For instance, the right to speak your opinion anonymously.

When it's a slow day at work, if I'm not on Calgarypuck, I'm on the Xbox Live forums, entertaining myself by reading the complaints about account suspensions, forced gamertag changes, or console bannings. Failure to abide by the terms of service as laid out by Microsoft results in forfeiture of the priviledge of the service, as is well within Microsoft's right.

The same principle applies now to Blizzard, I believe. World of Warcraft is a service provided to its subscribers by Blizzard, a private company. If Blizzard decides that forum posters will now be forced to use their real names to voice their opinions, that's their right as the service provider. As a subscriber, you have a choice: You can abide by the rules, or you can take your ball and go home.

I only see Blizzard backtracking on this idea if a significant portion of their subscribers cancel as a way of protest... but seriously, that will NEVER happen.

07-08-2010, 10:55 AM	#43
HeartsOfFire Lifetime Suspension Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bitter, jaded, cursing the fates. Exp:	I used to play WoW. I used to peruse their forums when I played. I naturally used an anonymous handle. When I first heard that Blizzard was going to do this, I was against it. I'm the kind of person that believes that the only ways to tell the complete truth are Anonymously and Posthumously (to quote Thomas Sowell), and on those grounds I did not approve of Blizzard's move. But after some time I had an epiphany: World of Warcraft, and all the facets therein, are a private service. Utilizing a private service can mean giving up certain priviledges we're used to. For instance, the right to speak your opinion anonymously. When it's a slow day at work, if I'm not on Calgarypuck, I'm on the Xbox Live forums, entertaining myself by reading the complaints about account suspensions, forced gamertag changes, or console bannings. Failure to abide by the terms of service as laid out by Microsoft results in forfeiture of the priviledge of the service, as is well within Microsoft's right. The same principle applies now to Blizzard, I believe. World of Warcraft is a service provided to its subscribers by Blizzard, a private company. If Blizzard decides that forum posters will now be forced to use their real names to voice their opinions, that's their right as the service provider. As a subscriber, you have a choice: You can abide by the rules, or you can take your ball and go home. I only see Blizzard backtracking on this idea if a significant portion of their subscribers cancel as a way of protest... but seriously, that will NEVER happen.