Real Talk
(Read this article for more context on the rest of this.)
When I first heard of Blizzard's RealID I was for it. I like the idea of people not being able to throw stones at others anonymously over the internet. This goes especially for a community like WoW where the forums have become this weird pass time for people who have nothing better to do that troll the internet and complain about minutia. I thought people were just being paranoid when the initial response hit. Gamers are very protective of their online handles and for some reason I thought that this, with a little paranoia, was driving the backlash. Then I saw Friday's Penny-Arcade and read this article linked to by Tycho.
I was dumb for not seeing the obvious. I've been playing WoW on and off for almost the full 5 plus year run of the game at this point. I've also played other MMOs like Everquest and Asheron's Call so I know how these communities work. It is hard to describe how creepy some of these people can be. A few years ago in the pages of Computer Gaming World Jeff Green wrote a column detailing an experiment he did. Jeff had always played a male character in Everquest up to that point, but he had begun to notice how female characters in game got different treatment from other players. Jeff then created a new female character just to see if he was right. Within minutes of entering the world he was hit by whispers from other players offering gear, advice, even asking him if he (she in their minds) wanted them to do quests for him. As Jeff continued to play the character he found some of the guys he encountered were keeping up with him. As soon as he'd log on they'd message his character, asking him what he was doing, if he needed something etc.. Now this can be interpreted as innocent bullshit, but we all know better. The Internet Male is a lonely guy, and lonely guy can become a scary thing.
There are other examples of this type of stalkerish behavior out there, most far worse than this. The point though really is what keeps the dam from breaking and this stuff turning really nasty often is the wall of anonymity that these games provide. It is more common these days for guys to just assume that a female character in game is a guy (often this is correct) but when evidence is presented to the contrary things change fast and people get treated differently. RealID would provide the worst part the community (a small part, but they don't have to be large to present a threat) with information that could lead down a dangerous path. I don't think that's hyperbole either.
Blizzard was right to reverse its decision. Sad as it is WoW players were right to stand up and say that they didn't trust the WoW community. I just realized this may be the most damning thing about MMOs today.
When I first heard of Blizzard's RealID I was for it. I like the idea of people not being able to throw stones at others anonymously over the internet. This goes especially for a community like WoW where the forums have become this weird pass time for people who have nothing better to do that troll the internet and complain about minutia. I thought people were just being paranoid when the initial response hit. Gamers are very protective of their online handles and for some reason I thought that this, with a little paranoia, was driving the backlash. Then I saw Friday's Penny-Arcade and read this article linked to by Tycho.
I was dumb for not seeing the obvious. I've been playing WoW on and off for almost the full 5 plus year run of the game at this point. I've also played other MMOs like Everquest and Asheron's Call so I know how these communities work. It is hard to describe how creepy some of these people can be. A few years ago in the pages of Computer Gaming World Jeff Green wrote a column detailing an experiment he did. Jeff had always played a male character in Everquest up to that point, but he had begun to notice how female characters in game got different treatment from other players. Jeff then created a new female character just to see if he was right. Within minutes of entering the world he was hit by whispers from other players offering gear, advice, even asking him if he (she in their minds) wanted them to do quests for him. As Jeff continued to play the character he found some of the guys he encountered were keeping up with him. As soon as he'd log on they'd message his character, asking him what he was doing, if he needed something etc.. Now this can be interpreted as innocent bullshit, but we all know better. The Internet Male is a lonely guy, and lonely guy can become a scary thing.
There are other examples of this type of stalkerish behavior out there, most far worse than this. The point though really is what keeps the dam from breaking and this stuff turning really nasty often is the wall of anonymity that these games provide. It is more common these days for guys to just assume that a female character in game is a guy (often this is correct) but when evidence is presented to the contrary things change fast and people get treated differently. RealID would provide the worst part the community (a small part, but they don't have to be large to present a threat) with information that could lead down a dangerous path. I don't think that's hyperbole either.
Blizzard was right to reverse its decision. Sad as it is WoW players were right to stand up and say that they didn't trust the WoW community. I just realized this may be the most damning thing about MMOs today.