Real ID
There seems to be a lot of fuss and misinformation about the Real ID thing. Here are some things to keep in mind.
- This is optional. Blizzard is offering the service, not requiring it.
- Friending must be mutual. In order to friend someone, you must know their battle.net email address. When you add them, it will send a request to them (sort of like Myspace or Facebook). If you don't wish for someone to know your information, simply don't give them the email address used on your battle.net account.
- There IS a "Friend of Friend" list. Taken directly from the battle.net Real ID FAQ: "Similar to other social-networking platforms, when you click on one of your Real ID friends, you will be able to see the names of his or her other Real ID friends, even if you are not Real ID friends with those players yourself. If you happen to know someone on that list, you will be able to quickly send a Real ID friend request to that player. This feature is designed to make it easy to populate your Real ID friends list with people you might enjoy playing with."
- Here's a quick summary of what information will be made available with Real ID, also taken directly from the FAQ: "If you are using Real ID, your mutual Real ID friends, as well as their Real ID friends, will be able to see your first and last name (the name registered to the Battle.net account). You will also be able to see the first and last name of your Real ID friends and their Real ID friends. Your Battle.net account name (your email address) is not displayed to other players through the Real ID friends list. In addition, players with Real ID relationships will be able to view each other's online status, Rich Presence information, and Broadcast messages, and will be able to see which character and game their Real ID friends are playing across supported Blizzard games."
- Real ID will have parental controls, though they have not given any information on that yet.