RealID to come to the Official Blizzard Forums

[Bigfish]

Yeah, I'm done with WoW over this. First they give you the option to connect your real info to your game persona. Then they forcibly do it to post on the forums. How long before your name gets tacked on to your armory? Mark my words, it is going to hit the fan over this. Maybe not on day 1, maybe not for a year, but at some point, some kid is going to get raped, some raider is going to get the crap kicked out of him, or something equally or more terrible is going to happen.

What annoys me the most though is that I have to recreate a battle.net account with bogus info for SC2/D3, because Blizz just proved they can't behave responsibly with my info. 10 warcraft accounts I will never sign on again because Bobby Kotick wanted to turn a buck.

You know, I wanted to believe the Activision deal wouldn't mean anything. I really did. And while they haven't really done too much to the in-game world, the meta-game is collapsing, and I only see it getting worse.

[Fat Tire]

LF Tank for heroic Deadmines Must have 10k gearscore and no criminal record

[F9thRet]

LF Tank for heroic Deadmines Must have 10k gearscore and no criminal record

LOL.

I agree with Bigfish above. Time to cancel my accounts.

It is horrible to think, that If I need tech support, and want to sign in on on the forums to ask, I put myself at risk for identity theft. Time to find another game to multibox.

[Velassra]

Honestly, I think I will earn my purple protos at Brewfest this year.....just have to kill Direbrew to get them.......line them up on the fp in Dalaran, screenshot, log off and cancel WoW.

I don't think I trust Blizzard anymore.

[Souca]

But is canceling enough? Not trying to be paranoid here, but they can still give your info away if it makes them a buck. Wonder how hard it would be to sue them into removing my info from their records. Is there any other way to get the info back from them?

And honestly, I'm surprised they aren't adding zip code or city to your forum avatar. I mean, if you are going for that whole social thing, why not add that info. I think facebook and all those other social networks do that. Why not single or looking for sex? Highschool? Favorite movie? Shoe size? All of this info is more useful in creating a social community and yet less dangerous than a persons full name. So are they just failing at privacy and actually creating a social community?

- Souca -

[Fat Tire]

But is canceling enough? Not trying to be paranoid here, but they can still give your info away if it makes them a buck. Wonder how hard it would be to sue them into removing my info from their records. Is there any other way to get the info back from them?

And honestly, I'm surprised they aren't adding zip code or city to your forum avatar. I mean, if you are going for that whole social thing, why not add that info. I think facebook and all those other social networks do that. Why not single or looking for sex? Highschool? Favorite movie? Shoe size? All of this info is more useful in creating a social community and yet less dangerous than a persons full name. So are they just failing at privacy and actually creating a social community?

- Souca -

Its social networking and its huge money!

If you read the new tos/eula this past tuesday it gives you a heads up on the future.

1. DISCLOSURES; THIRD PARTY FEATURES.
   
   1. Massive.
      
      Blizzard's Games and the Service may incorporate technology of Massive Incorporated ("Massive"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation ("Microsoft"), that enables in-game advertising, and the display of other similar in-game objects, which are downloaded temporarily to your personal computer and replaced during online game play. As part of this process, Massive may collect some information about the game and the advertisements delivered to you, as well as standard information that is sent when your personal computer or game console connects to the Internet including your Internet protocol (IP) address. Massive will use this information to transmit and measure in-game advertising, as well as to improve the products and services of Massive and its affiliates. None of the information collected by Massive will be used to identify you. For additional details regarding Massive's in-game advertising practices, please see Massive's In-Game Advertising privacy statement at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?Link...85&clcid=0x409. The trademarks and copyrighted material contained in all in-game advertising are the property of the respective owners. Portions of the Service are © 2008 Massive Incorporated. All rights reserved.
   2. Facebook.
      
      If you are a registered user of Facebook you may use your Facebook data to enable you to find your Facebook friends on the Service. Your Facebook account is subject to separate terms and conditions provided by Facebook. Note that if you have a Facebook account, your Facebook friends will be able to associate your screen name with your real name on the Service when they use the Facebook friends feature. You hereby acknowledge that Facebook is not responsible for any liability as a result of your use of the Service.
   
   

[Velassra]

Its social networking and its huge money!

If you read the new tos/eula this past tuesday it gives you a heads up on the future.

1. DISCLOSURES; THIRD PARTY FEATURES.
   1. Massive.
      
      Blizzard's Games and the Service may incorporate technology of Massive Incorporated ("Massive"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation ("Microsoft"), that enables in-game advertising, and the display of other similar in-game objects, which are downloaded temporarily to your personal computer and replaced during online game play. As part of this process, Massive may collect some information about the game and the advertisements delivered to you, as well as standard information that is sent when your personal computer or game console connects to the Internet including your Internet protocol (IP) address. Massive will use this information to transmit and measure in-game advertising, as well as to improve the products and services of Massive and its affiliates. None of the information collected by Massive will be used to identify you. For additional details regarding Massive's in-game advertising practices, please see Massive's In-Game Advertising privacy statement at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?Link...85&clcid=0x409. The trademarks and copyrighted material contained in all in-game advertising are the property of the respective owners. Portions of the Service are © 2008 Massive Incorporated. All rights reserved.
   2. Facebook.
      
      If you are a registered user of Facebook you may use your Facebook data to enable you to find your Facebook friends on the Service. Your Facebook account is subject to separate terms and conditions provided by Facebook. Note that if you have a Facebook account, your Facebook friends will be able to associate your screen name with your real name on the Service when they use the Facebook friends feature. You hereby acknowledge that Facebook is not responsible for any liability as a result of your use of the Service.

So this means they going to deliver me high quality porn in game....like the shit I'm surfing waiting for my LFD random queue to pop?

[Bigfish]

But is canceling enough? Not trying to be paranoid here, but they can still give your info away if it makes them a buck. Wonder how hard it would be to sue them into removing my info from their records. Is there any other way to get the info back from them?

Cancelling probably isn't enough. Knowing the corporate mindset, falling revenue just means they would tighten their grip. Grand Moff Tarkin would be proud.

As for legal ramifications, I imagine someone is going to have to demonstrate acual harm from Blizzard releasing their information. You could always send a demand letter to them stating you do not give consent for your information to be published. If they don't agree or respond, you could probably find something under the consumer protection act, since I doubt anyone gave their information to blizzard under the understanding that they were going to turn around and make that information public. Probably have a bit better of a case if they ever printed something along the lines of saying they don't share information.

But I'm no lawyer, and could be talking out my ass for all I know.