Checking in

[cleolinda]

So, a few things--mostly Twilight-related, now that I think about it. Sorry in advance for that.

I'm still working on the Eclipse thing (eh, we can speak of it. We've all known for months, if not since November 2008, that I would be doing it). For some reason, I pretty much had a mild nervous breakdown trying to do the New Moon one, and for some

Comments

[khaman]

I don't know how much nerd!fail you're interested in following, but ontd_political and wow_ladies, along with, oh, the WSJ and MSNBC are following an implosion of common sense in the online gaming world.

I mean, even fandom_wank is against this. Fandom_wank!

Even if someone's not a gamer, it's interesting to follow this as it evolves, as it may be a part of the fall of anonymity on the internet in general.

[merrymiddlegirl]

I feel your pain. Googling my name immediately brings up a news article from a local paper that has my picture, age, and location in it. On the howmanyofme website, it tells me there are only three people in America with my name.

My boyfriend? According to Google and several name search website, there's no one else with his name. Anywhere. Unique names are unfortunate sometimes :(

[crowsilike]

I don't get any hits thankfully (I get a horse trainer whose name differs by one letter), but still.

A year or two ago I was considering changing my last name to something even rarer - so rare, in fact, that I can count the people who have it on one hand. I would've had to ask them for permission first!

[eregyrn]

It's not just that. It's like they willfully choose not to pay attention when the other places go through this and go THROUGH it again

[deepbluemermaid]

Perhaps Blizzard assumes that WoW is so completely addictive that people won't be able to tear themselves away, even over valid privacy/safety concerns?

(note: I have never played WoW or any MMORPG)

[eregyrn]

I guess it turns out that it's Activision who's made the decision, and Blizzard has to implement it? So maybe Activision doesn't understand the WoW base, while Blizzard does know it's a bad idea... still doesn't explain why Activision thinks it's more special than, say, Google.

[cmdr_zoom]

Because the corporate culture at the company that bought the name of a classic game developer (and have nothing to do with Activision of old) are all about turning their customers into profit generators, in ways that go far beyond actually buying their games. This goes beyond typical gaming industry behavior, IMO, into the realm of the truly sleazy and scary.

[evilstorm]

If there's going to be a war over anonymity, I'm going to end up shoulder-to-shoulder with /b/tards. Now that's a scary thought.