Blizzard to Force Forum Members to Post with their Real First & Last Names

Did you hear that? The sound of thousands of angry gamers crying out in unison? Blizzard Entertainment better batten down the hatches, because they have a virtual mob armed with pixel pitchforks headed their way.

Why? It’s all because of a “blue” (i.e., developer) post over on the official Blizzard forums about a key change about to take place. Blizzard is pushing through a significant upgrade to their account system called “Real ID” that will allow their customers to connect to each other across game factions, realms, etc. That doesn’t sound so bad, does it? Except that your Real ID will soon be your username on the Blizzard forums. And thus the angry mob was formed.

More after the jump!

To quote the official forum post:

The first and most significant change is that in the near future, anyone posting or replying to a post on official Blizzard forums will be doing so using their Real ID — that is, their real-life first and last name — with the option to also display the name of their primary in-game character alongside it. These changes will go into effect on all StarCraft II forums with the launch of the new community site prior to the July 27 release of the game, with the World of Warcraft site and forums following suit near the launch of Cataclysm. Certain classic forums, including the classic Battle.net forums, will remain unchanged.

The short version: no anonymity on the Blizzard forums anymore.

The upside? A potential decrease in trolling and more accountability. The downside? Well, a gigantic list is already forming in the replies, which includes everything from stalking concerns, to losing out on a job after a potential boss Googles you and determines you spend too much time on Starcraft II strategies.

Speaking of the replies, Blizzard is doing some heavy handed moderation on the post. You’ll notice missing post numbers, and you’ll sometimes see only a handful of replies per page. Considering what is staying, it makes you wonder just how bad some of the deleted posts were.

Of course, nothing is set in stone. Some have speculated that the immediate and harsh pushback from the community will prevent this from going forward as planned. Perhaps there will be an option to hide last names as a compromise. Or, they may do away with the idea entirely. Other forum members are suggesting people log into their Real ID accounts and change their names pronto.

But for now, the internets continue to rage in protest.

Update: Blizzard has issued several “blue” post responses to the outcry that was unleashed by their customers. A summary is below:

1. Real names will not be applied to posts retroactively
2. You will be able to set up Parental Controls to disallow a minor from posting
3. The switch to showing Real ID on the forums will only happen with the new forum systems they are launching for StarCraft II shortly before its release, and a new forum system for World of Warcraft launching shortly before the release of Cataclysm. All posts on the current World of Warcraft forums, or any of the classic Battle.net forums, will remain as-is.

(Source)