This will never fly.

[Ethax]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38134494/ns ... nce-games/

[Masex]

I saw that a few days ago. Ridiculous.

[Hitshade]

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread...7278&sid=1

Hello everyone,

I'd like to take some time to speak with all of you regarding our desire to make the Blizzard forums a better place for players to discuss our games. We've been constantly monitoring the feedback you've given us, as well as internally discussing your concerns about the use of real names on our forums. 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.

It's important to note that we still remain committed to improving our forums. Our efforts are driven 100% by the desire to find ways to make our community areas more welcoming for players and encourage more constructive conversations about our games. We will still move forward with new forum features such as conversation threading, the ability to rate posts up or down, improved search functionality, and more. However, when we launch the new StarCraft II forums that include these new features, you will be posting by your StarCraft II Battle.net character name + character code, not your real name. The upgraded World of Warcraft forums with these new features will launch close to the release of Cataclysm, and also will not require your real name.

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.

In closing, I want to point out that our connection with our community has always been and will always be extremely important to us. We strongly believe that Every Voice Matters, ( http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/about/mission.html ) and we feel fortunate to have a community that cares so passionately about our games. We will always appreciate the feedback and support of our players, which has been a key to Blizzard's success from the beginning.

Mike Morhaime
CEO & Cofounder
Blizzard Entertainment

[Crazy Diana]

they were on fox news the other night so all the teenage moms got pissed and they changed it

[Keylogger]

Its pretty mind boggling that the idea even made it far enough to be brought up on the forums.

[Firecrest]

Its pretty mind boggling that the idea even made it far enough to be brought up on the forums.

I dunno. The stated goal was admirable enough. The WoW forums are a simmering cesspool of worthlessness and real name tagging could have had a major impact on cleaning it up (theoretically).

Really though, it would just have been a band aid. I'm not sure that the real solution (significant, heavy-handed and constant moderation) is something that Blizzard would find worthwhile. The cost of properly monitoring a forums with millions of users has to be pretty significant while the actual benefits of doing so are pretty small.

[lawlerbation the hardcore squatter]

I TROLL ON MY MAINS ANYWAYS

YOU AINT GOT SHIT ON ME

[Riinuka]

Maybe if they make an option to view all toons that player owns? I dunno. That'd be pretty bad, too. Though as long as no one names them anything that links to their personal life with certainty that it can only be that person.. I guess it wouldn't be too intrusive in terms of your real identity's privacy..

[lawlerbation the hardcore squatter]

the thing i like the best is that people actually worry about IRL consequences

OH NO PEOPLE WILL KNOW I AM A NO LIFE ANTI SOCIAL FUCK WHO POSTS LONG WINDED REPLIES ABOUT THE SUBTLETIES OF DODGING SPELLS AS A ROGUE

and not about the fact that i am going to be spamming every email address i find receive with gay porn

[Hitshade]