Blizzard forums to require real names

[CrossEyed7]

Link

Also this

My opinion: Despite what Google and the government want you to believe, anonymity isn't just for bad people. It's also for people who don't want to get stabbed in the chest. I don't even know where to begin on how ill-advised a requirement like this is. And how is it even going to help? The people who troll forums aren't the responsible people who would be deterred by this, they're the 13-year-old idiots (no offense to the many non-idiotic 13-year-olds in here, of course) that can't begin to grasp the consequences of putting their name on the internet. 13-year-olds who will now be much easier for pedophiles to track down, I might add.

[PaperLuigi]

Well, at least people will stop playing World of Warcraft now.

[Chupperson Weird]

[nensondubois]

I support the people's right to be anonymous. Goolge and the government can kiss my ruby red ass. I still don't play WoW.

[Black Mage]

I have no problem with this.

[Weegee]

Update: Blizzard has backed down.

It was a bad idea, but it woudn't have been disastrous. Would-be predators can't get far on names alone, and nothing could keep everyone from registering under the name of "John Smith" or something.

[Kimimaru]

I honestly don't think that this would be a bad idea. The reduction of individuality is what's killing the internet, which was originally thought to increase opportunities for expressing oneself. However, security becomes an issue, but simply posting your real name wouldn't do much, especially since there are a bunch of John Smiths in the world.

[Glorb]

Or hilarious names like Michael Hunt.

[SolidShroom]

Contrary to popular belief, not every minor on the internet has a big "rape me" sign attached to his back.

[Glorb]

Yeah, only on this board.

[SolidShroom]

Actually, it's only Weegee. Hey sweet thang ;)

[Weegee]

I knew that somebody was peering into my bedroom window last night.

[ShadowBrain]

My big "rape you" sign attracts considerably more attention, actually.

Yeah, from the outset, it's a tough call. I mean, if you really want privacy, your first mistake was setting up an internet connection in the first place--but, of course, that's not as feasible these days. On the other hand, I think people have kind of gotten used to not being forced to say who they really are on message boards, not to mention all the rights that go along with that.

[CrossEyed7]

I still don't see how this was supposed to deter trolls in the slightest. Any troll worth his salt would sign up with a fake name (it's not as though they can make you prove it) if they hadn't done so already (decent, upstanding, non-trolls would be the most likely people to use their real names, and therefore the most likely to be affected by whatever the heck the effect was even supposed to be). The trolls have nothing to lose, and revealing what may or may not be their names, along with the names of the other 99% of the board, wouldn't hurt them in the slightest. The trolls are also usually the ones who are tech-savvy enough to be able to do something with a name. And between Facebook and public domain information that you don't even know exists about you, there's quite a bit that can be done with a name for most people.

It would be casting a ridiculously wide net in an attempt to catch a species of fish that can eat through the net. And I'm convinced they never even intended to go through with it.

[Glorb]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=surPojf8Dj4&feature=related