# New WoW General Discussion Thread 6/8/10 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 9, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480 "2010-06-09T00:30:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 48
**Author:** ![martu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@martu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martu)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/941 "2010-07-07T15:50:12Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Except for when I encounter a technical problem and I have to go to the forums. > > As a corollary issue, I run WoW on Linux. There are sometimes weird issues that occur with new patches, where it takes people smarter than me to figure out the solution. And where do those people post the solutions? On the forums! Or maybe not, if they’re also opposed to having their name there. Et voila, I lose my knowledge base. > > It’s so stupid. “Just don’t post if you don’t want your name out.” “Change your name, duh.” I didn’t have to do either of those things before, and now they’re screwing players over because of some misguided need to be social media. **DUH**. > > All cars will now be outfitted with LED signs that display the driver’s name. “Just don’t drive if you don’t want people knowing your name. :rolleyes:” It’s a stupid, nonproductive answer. Are forums the only way to get technical issues answered? If so that’s very poor and I’ll get my pitchfork and join in. ---
**Author:** ![martu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@martu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martu)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/942 "2010-07-07T15:53:31Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Yes, it is. But you’re probably a white cisgendered man with a relatively common name who is never planning to apply for a job where the company might care that he plays MMORPGs. I get some of your concerns but really why would you work for a company that cared about such a thing? You are moaning about Blizzard acting poorly but willing to work for a company that’s just as bad all be it in a different manner? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/943 "2010-07-07T15:58:47Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > IEdit: Normally I’m not a fan of the “slippery slope” arguments but Blizzard has shown every sign that they are plunging headlong down a slope, so I have to believe that at some point in the future, it’ll be more than the forums. The RealID system already shows that they want to develop gamer “social network” features. Are they going to expand the Armory into that, since it has an online interface and app? Maybe slap your RealID info on the Armory and tie your other gamer info into it? They’ve already started down that slope. The first sign was the Armory, but it was useful, so people welcomed it. The next was putting the activity feed into the Armory that detailed your achievements, your loot, your boss kills, etc. People were a little more wary about that, but shrugged it off. Then they introduced RealID as an alternative to the friends list, which raised some real concern, but it _was_ an easy system to ignore, so despite the grumblings it didn’t really make any waves. And now this. There is a real progression of lack of privacy happening, and it’s happening despite player objections. > [@martu](#): > > You are allowed to contribute you are choosing not to. > > I’m not sure I think it is a good idea so I wont use the forums. I have not used the forums once since I started playing so I’m missing nothing. Again, this totally misses the point that I and many, many others do not want to support a company who thinks this is a good idea. > [@martu](#): > > Are forums the only way to get technical issues answered? If so that’s very poor and I’ll get my pitchfork and join in. It’s the only way to get them in a timely, accessible fashion. Even if you could get through the phone line to a tech support representative, are you going to read them a 5-page error report generated by your crash, as well as technical data about your system? Because that’s what the tech support forum requires as a way to conclusively solve issues. > [@martu](#): > > I get some of your concerns but really why would you work for a company that cared about such a thing? You are moaning about Blizzard acting poorly but willing to work for a company that’s just as bad all be it in a different manner? Are you serious? Keeping a job and a good name in this bad economy is way, way, _way_ the fuck more important than a fucking game. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/944 "2010-07-07T16:07:57Z")
> [@martu](#): > > I get some of your concerns but really why would you work for a company that cared about such a thing? You are moaning about Blizzard acting poorly but willing to work for a company that’s just as bad all be it in a different manner? The people who do the hiring are not necessarily representative of the company as a whole. For example, right now, everyone in my office knows that I play WoW, and that I’m a hardcore raider. They also know, from experience, that it doesn’t affect my work at all. But it’s absolutely 100% something I will never advertise at a job interview unless it’s directly related to what I’m applying for. Because _a lot of people_ right now still have a conception in their head of gamers as _socially maladjusted addicts_. And doing background checks on prospective employees is nowhere near comparable to \*a game \*releasing my personal information online without my consent, as a necessary condition of gaining access to an important part of that game’s community, one that I may have a real need to access as a customer. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/945 "2010-07-07T16:14:47Z")
There’s also some massive hypocrisy happening here. When Blizzard introduced RealID as a friend list alternative, the idea was that you would only share your ID with RL friends. People had concerns about the feature that would show you the names of your friend’s friends, and the response was, “Well, just be sure you only share your RealID with people who you know won’t friend creeps.” It’s annoying, and it limits the utility of the feature, but fine. It’s standard practice in maintaining privacy online: be careful about who you share your info with. Now? Even that level of opt-in will be stripped away. Don’t share your RealID with your guildmates, because you don’t want them seeing your name. But on the forums, when the guilds want to recruit? The recruiter’s name will be visible. Any guildmate that wants to testify will be visible. Just by posting, you share your info that was previously thought to be purely opt-in. At least with the friends list feature, you could still _talk_ to someone you had no intention of sharing your name with. ---
**Author:** ![martu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@martu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martu)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/946 "2010-07-07T16:17:04Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Are you serious? Keeping a job and a good name in this bad economy is way, way, _way_ the fuck more important than a fucking game. Yes absolutely I would not work for a company that does such a thing. What’s would be next monitoring your keystrokes? Bugging your phone? No thank you, I’ll find a grown up company to work for who trusts their employees. ---
**Author:** ![martu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@martu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martu)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/947 "2010-07-07T16:23:04Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > The people who do the hiring are not necessarily representative of the company as a whole. For example, right now, everyone in my office knows that I play WoW, and that I’m a hardcore raider. They also know, from experience, that it doesn’t affect my work at all. But it’s absolutely 100% something I will never advertise at a job interview unless it’s directly related to what I’m applying for. Because _a lot of people_ right now still have a conception in their head of gamers as _socially maladjusted addicts_. > > And doing background checks on prospective employees is nowhere near comparable to \*a game \*releasing my personal information online without my consent, as a necessary condition of gaining access to an important part of that game’s community, one that I may have a real need to access as a customer. I have no idea how one could protect themselves from all the prejudices of potential interviewers but if you think it’s a big problem then I see your point. Ok well maybe this is what I’m missing because to me this isn’t an important part at all to me. Big old community isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/948 "2010-07-07T16:32:38Z")
> [@martu](#): > > Ok well maybe this is what I’m missing because to me this isn’t an important part at all to me. Big old community isn’t it? So let’s make it personal. What would you think if the Dope decided that everyone had to post via their real names? Eliminated free posting but not free viewing, and your screen name was tied to the billing information you provided, unchangeable. ---
**Author:** ![martu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@martu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martu)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/949 "2010-07-07T16:34:36Z")
Thinking about this after your posts I would be 100% against Blizzard displaying real names in game with our characters. I guess this is the only part of the game I consider important, actually playing it, and as I’m not a raider the offline discussions and guild organisation not an issue. The forums are as important for some therefore this is wrong. So I can see the fuss now and support the mob. Pitchfork sharpened this evening. ---
**Author:** ![martu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@martu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martu)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/950 "2010-07-07T16:35:45Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > So let’s make it personal. What would you think if the Dope decided that everyone had to post via their real names? Eliminated free posting but not free viewing, and your screen name was tied to the billing information you provided, unchangeable. See my post above but I’d stop posting here. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/951 "2010-07-07T16:41:26Z")
> [@martu](#): > > Yes absolutely I would not work for a company that does such a thing. What’s would be next monitoring your keystrokes? Bugging your phone? No thank you, I’ll find a grown up company to work for who trusts their employees. If you don’t want to work for a company that might monitor what you do on your computer or say on the phone, congratulations: you will never, ever, \*ever \*work for a large company. _Ever_. They \*all \*monitor your emails, your instant messages, your browser histories–or at least have the ability to do so at any time. > [@martu](#): > > So I can see the fuss now and support the mob. Pitchfork sharpened this evening. We’re gonna tailgate before the riot. Bring some brats to throw on the grill; I’ll have some beer in a cooler. ---
**Author:** ![martu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@martu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martu)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/952 "2010-07-07T16:44:40Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > If you don’t want to work for a company that might monitor what you do on your computer or say on the phone, congratulations: you will never, ever, \*ever \*work for a large company. _Ever_. They \*all \*monitor your emails, your instant messages, your browser histories–or at least have the ability to do so at any time. I work in finance I am well aware my emails are kept and stored for 7 years. As a programmer I know exactly what this firm does with technology to monitor us. As someone who hires others I know we do not do random web searches for people’s names. > [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > We’re gonna tailgate before the riot. Bring some brats to throw on the grill; I’ll have some beer in a cooler. European beer please. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/953 "2010-07-07T16:45:13Z")
Real names attached to characters would definitely be the end of WoW. It might not die totally, but it would no longer be the giant that it is. The problem with “It’s only the forums. If you don’t like it, don’t post,” is that it’s short-sighted. Even if you set aside the fact that the forums are important for inter-server communication and tech support, this is a change in a series of changes I’ve outlined above. Each time, they’ve modified features of the game community that are less and less obscure, attempting to hammer in a Facebook-style social network. It is not inconceivable that they _could_ eventually permit real names to be taken from a /whois style command in-game. It’s a clear progression that doesn’t sit well with me, and in the meantime it’s taking out large chunks of the community. It’s very much a “then they came for the forum posters, and I said nothing” situation. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/954 "2010-07-07T16:53:18Z")
And I realize I might be sounding overly dramatic, but I do want to clarify that I’m not worried about Blizzard taking over the world or anything. I’m just pointing out the reasons I’m considering taking my business elsewhere and letting Blizzard do whatever the hell they want. I’d _like_ to keep playing the game, and so I’m doing what I can to convince Blizzard otherwise as well as try to convince other customers that this is a bad idea, but in the end, it’s just going to come down to whether or not I want to maintain a business relationship with them. If not, I’ll cancel, go back to City of Heroes, and get on with my life. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/955 "2010-07-07T17:43:00Z")
> [@martu](#): > > I get some of your concerns but really why would you work for a company that cared about such a thing? You are moaning about Blizzard acting poorly but willing to work for a company that’s just as bad all be it in a different manner? > [@martu](#): > > Yes absolutely I would not work for a company that does such a thing. What’s would be next monitoring your keystrokes? Bugging your phone? No thank you, I’ll find a grown up company to work for who trusts their employees. Not so much _working_ for such a company, but getting hired _in the first place_. You give a company your application/resume. The hiring person Googles your name and discovers your posts on the WoW forums, and is not inclined to hire somebody who’s so into a video game. They simply don’t call you in for an interview. They don’t have to call you and say, “Sorry, we don’t hire WoW players” - you’ll just never know why they didn’t call you. This isn’t so much of problem with my current job - I had more than 2-1/2 years of perfect attendance _before_ I started playing the game (a stretch that included two Employee of the Month awards), and my attendance has been perfect in the year and half _since_ I started playing. Everybody in my department knows I play, and it clearly hasn’t affected my work. But there’s one quirky thing about my current job: I don’t have a regular, fixed schedule. I work in conventions/catering, so I work _when there is work_. And since I play the game and post on the forums when I’m _not_ working, this could show up as me playing/talking about the game online at all hours of the day and night, any day of the week, especially to a potential employer who hasn’t actually interviewed me yet and given me a chance to explain how my current schedule works. I could appear to them that I’m sneaking off to play/discuss the game when I should be working. Now, I do have a Facebook account and a personal Web site, and I already had a pretty public Internet presence before I started playing WoW. And if you Google my name — “Rik _Lastname_”, I come up at or near the top of the list. But if you Google “Richard _Lastname_”, I’m nowhere to be found, at least in the first 20 pages of results that I looked at. But since “Richard _Lastname_” is the name on my WoW account, that’s what would be shown on the forums. Wouldn’t that be great if a potential employer Googled me and the only thing connected to that name was WoW? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/956 "2010-07-07T17:55:51Z")
> [@martu](#): > > As someone who hires others I know we do not do random web searches for people’s names. Then I’m guessing you work for a small company or you’re hiring for relatively low-profile positions. It’s becoming reasonably common, if not industry-standard, to at least check out people’s Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. For example, the only people I’ve known to have Facebook access from work at both this company and the last one I worked for are people in HR who’re involved with hiring. > [@](#): > > European beer please. You’ll get Abita Turbodog and Magic Hat #9 and _like it_. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/957 "2010-07-07T18:10:33Z")
[Hitler really hates this idea](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiauaGbxipA). ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/958 "2010-07-07T18:25:40Z")
Oh man, I have \*a really good idea \*of what that video’s going to be like, and that makes me really mad that I can’t get to YouTube from work. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/959 "2010-07-07T19:13:52Z")
Here’s why I love using a plain-text e-mail client (as opposed to an HTML client): > [@](#): > > Hello, > > This is an automated notification regarding your World of Warcraft account. Your account options was recently modified through the Account Management website. > > If you made this change to your subscription type, please disregard this automatic notification. > > \*\*\* If you did NOT make any changes to your account or subscription, we recommend you login to Account Management at the following link to review your account settings: > [http://www](http://www) .worldofwarcraft.com/billing/ > > If you cannot sign into Account Management using the link above, or if unauthorized changes continue to happen, please contact Blizzard Billing & Account Services for advanced assistance. > > Billing & Account Services can be reached at 1-800-59-BLIZZARD (1-800-592-5499 Mon-Fri, 8Am-8PM Pacific Time) or at billing@ [blizzard.com](http://blizzard.com). > > Account security is solely the responsibility of the accountholder. Please be advised that in the event of a compromised account, Blizzard representatives will typically lock the account. In these cases the Account Administration team will require faxed receipt of ID materials before releasing the account for play. > > Regards, > > The World of Warcraft Support Team > Blizzard Entertainment > [http://www](http://www) .blizzard.com/support/wowindex Apart from my breaking the links here, this is exactly how the e-mail looked in my mail client. Good grammar (except for “Your account options **was** recently modified” bit, which I didn’t notice until later), legitimate domain names in the links. Additionally, I had, coincidentally, visited my account management page on the official site less than an hour before receiving the e-mail, though I hadn’t actually made any changes. Thanks to this being displayed in “plain text”, the links only work by double-clicking or Command-clicking on them, and either method activates the link that is actually displayed in the text, not any hidden HTML-coded link. So clicking on “[http://www](http://www) .worldofwarcraft.com/billing/” took me to the legitimate site, where I was served up a “404: page not found” error. That was my first clue something was up. So told my mail client to display the mail’s full headers, and sure enough there was a Hotmail address in there. Then I clicked the button to display the mail in my Web browser, and hovering over the links revealed that they actually go to a phony site. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480/960 "2010-07-07T19:18:25Z")
Ayep. That’s pretty devious. Generally what I do in such situations is not click on any links in the email at all, but instead manually type in [worldofwarcraft.com](http://worldofwarcraft.com) and navigate to the Account Management page that way to doublecheck that stuff hasn’t been tampered with. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480.md?page=47) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-wow-general-discussion-thread-6-8-10/542480.md?page=49)