So what will appear in game my real name or account name my account name I hope because im not posting anything on their forums
Basically if you post on the official forums after the launch of Starcraft II they will Display your RealID including your first and last name.
You don't need to give your real name. I can read what you post on topics and add up the info you do provide. And that info is way more valuable than just a name. For example if you post in a thread about how hot outside it is and give the temperature and state only, then I know what state you live in . If you post in a thread about a game being sold at a specific store chain I can eliminate areas where that store chain doesn't exist. People reveal more information than they realize.
And you don't think someone who wanted to could not find you anyway ? All they need to do is follow your posts. You will eventually give away enough info in different topics to provide much more useful information than a simple name.
That's just ridicilous. I agree I do reveal information and I'm pretty sure you could find out in which country I live by looking at my posts here. But so? Still Millions of people I could be. I could guess about the age I am and reduce it a bit but still you would have no chance to get my real name from this info.
I could even post the city where I live and it would not help you much. It would only help if you already new me. And that's the point. I don't want people that know me see all the stuff I do like posting here or on other forums and I'm not trolling. i just prefer to keep certain parts of my life private.
Gaming, forum posting,... are at least here not very socially accepted. You are instantly a weirdo and nerd for most people (bad image). As said i don't want possible employers to know such stuff because it might influence them in a negative way.
The thing is if I was called John Smith I would care shit about because there would be too many information to filter. But I have a very unique Name and google is quite efficient. With my real name it takes you about 2 min to find out where I live (=full address). Not so if you are John Smith.
Then the thing about showing a clerk your credit card. Real-life stuff is not the same thing because no single person can easly track down your real-life steps. He has no means to search what you do. He will never know from where you came from and he has no means to figure it out without directly asking you. Then you are completely free to choose what to answer.
I mean I could be harassing certain groups people in real-life all day long and no one of them will ever know my name. Internet is only more anonmyous as real-life as long as you don't have to reaveal your name. But if you have to it is much, much worse than RL.
Also stuff you do on the internet is permanent. Nothign you did will ever be forgiven (forgotten).
Cliff: our real-life actions are forgotten over time and are not searchable!
You would be surprised at what you reveal over time. A friend at Duke did his thesis on what people reveal about themselves without knowing it online. And none of it contained things like a person posting their name and address or google searches.
It would just be another piece of the puzzle. If you prefer to keep your name private you have the choice of not using Real ID.
Then work on your self esteem. If someone calling you a nerd bothers you , I would ask yourself why it bothers you ? As I said earlier in another post, would you want to work for an employer that thought poorly of you because you played a game ? I wouldn't.
Why ? Just because your name is John Smith does not mean you cannot be found. It is more difficult but still can be done.
Real life is a lot more dangerous. You go into a store and buy a new 60" TV using your credit card. Not only does that clerk know your name they also know you have something of value. They can either use the stores computers to look up an address on file or they can use your name, that city because it is doubtful you bought such a thing and are driving it to another city. They now know a perfect robbery target. He is local to you and it is no effort getting to your home. And this has happened hundreds of times. Probably a lot more that went unsolved.
In real life they do not need to know your real name. Harass a group of people and they can attack you without ever caring what your name is. Muggers rarely ask people for their name.
The internet does archive information but you should have known that from the day you started using it. Actions have consequences and one of those with the internet is that you need to be on your best behavior. You are putting yourself out there with millions of others and I doubt many would behave the same if everyone was in the same room. Yet when they get behind a keyboard they feel they can now do what they like and should not be responsible for it.
If you make a mistake online then learn from it. If someone did find out about you through google they can then see if that was a one time thing or if it is a pattern that you never got out of.
This is not going away. Other countries have already started enforcing real names online. There are too many online issues that it solves that make the pros outweigh the cons.
This would be the dumbass point of view. Besides the fact that what occurs on forums where most users use their actual names being not much different from what occurs on the wow forums, all it takes is for new users already knowing of this to use a false name at account creation.
I live in the real world. The one where your name is everywhere and so is your address. If you went to a psychiatrist and told them that you were afraid of someone in a game learning your real name because they might come and kill you they would start you on anti-psychotic medication .
If people are playing a game that has them fearing for their life then quit playing it.
Maybe someone that looks up websites registered to me and available with a simple online check, doesn't like my site, should I fear registering a web site ?
Except the clerk in the store had to pass a background check, probably a drug check, demonstrates some level of responsibility by showing up to work everyday, has a much higher likelihood of being caught by their own company, and presumably doesn't want to lose their job or go to jail, and I get to see them face to face and judge by their appearance and body language they probably represent the company well. They are tied to an entity that is guaranteeing me some level of security through their employees, and are even further backed by the credit card company guaranteeing me against fraud.Modelworks said:Real life is a lot more dangerous. You go into a store and buy a new 60" TV using your credit card. Not only does that clerk know your name they also know you have something of value. They can either use the stores computers to look up an address on file or they can use your name, that city because it is doubtful you bought such a thing and are driving it to another city. They now know a perfect robbery target. He is local to you and it is no effort getting to your home. And this has happened hundreds of times. Probably a lot more that went unsolved.
This is not going away. Other countries have already started enforcing real names online. There are too many online issues that it solves that make the pros outweigh the cons.
You would be surprised at what you reveal over time. A friend at Duke did his thesis on what people reveal about themselves without knowing it online. And none of it contained things like a person posting their name and address or google searches.
Then work on your self esteem. If someone calling you a nerd bothers you , I would ask yourself why it bothers you ? As I said earlier in another post, would you want to work for an employer that thought poorly of you because you played a game ? I wouldn't.
Why ? Just because your name is John Smith does not mean you cannot be found. It is more difficult but still can be done.
In real life they do not need to know your real name. Harass a group of people and they can attack you without ever caring what your name is. Muggers rarely ask people for their name.
This is not going away. Other countries have already started enforcing real names online. There are too many online issues that it solves that make the pros outweigh the cons.
The WoW player didn't pass a background check, may have no responsibility, be in another country or operate entirely anonymously, and may not have a job to lose. I never see their face and have no real avenue of recourse.
We have moved from stalking to pizzas , suppose that is an improvement. While the law enforcement agency might not want to get involved , the people at the pizza place would.Even if I had their real name, which I likely wouldn't, the process of discovering their true identity and suing them for any minor transgression would be too large a burden to bother with since they are a single individual in an unknown location and I have little evidence and no law enforcement agency is going to bother tracking down the guy that keeps sending pizzas to my door.
Then you have the choice of not using Real ID. I do leave my door unlocked often as do millions of others. Do you lock your door as soon as you enter ? Most people do not. It can be a problem in a high crime area but crime here is low so I'm not paranoid that someone is going to break in.No, it's much easier to protect myself from harassment by simply not providing them with any method of harassing me than to hope the threat of repercussion appeals to their sense of dignity. Do you leave your door unlocked when you aren't home just because it's illegal to break into someone's home, or do you take precautions?
The difference is that in countries where real name is required you have to register with that country . You are assigned a unique number . That number has to be used online in forums, downloads, and games to identify you but cannot be used for financial or other means. Not using it is a crime . Systems like that prevent abuse because anything you do will be tracked back to you. It solves problems with harassment, piracy, child pornography and more.Thankfully I don't live in other countries, but which online issues are these that are able to be solved? Haven't you been saying that a real name alone isn't enough of a unique identifier? So how can it solve any issues if it isn't a unique identifier?
The internet and laws are adapting. The above system where people are assigned unique ID numbers removes the IP requirement and takes the burden off the ISP which has become a major problem. ISP and content providers like blizzard get request from lawyers to provide personal information. That cost them lots of time and money for something that while it occurred on their systems they were not directly responsible for.It would still require law enforcement to trace IP and subpoena ISP's to verify identity even if they had a real name to start. Either the public should have the rest of this information to ensure public accountability or my real name isn't needed by the public because law enforcement can subpoena my information with or without my real name.
Now if this is just a stepping stone to showing your real name in game or something, that's a whole other ballgame.
But who really thinks that's going to happen? Not this guy.
You would be surprised at what you reveal over time. A friend at Duke did his thesis on what people reveal about themselves without knowing it online. And none of it contained things like a person posting their name and address or google searches.
It would just be another piece of the puzzle. If you prefer to keep your name private you have the choice of not using Real ID.
Then work on your self esteem. If someone calling you a nerd bothers you , I would ask yourself why it bothers you ? As I said earlier in another post, would you want to work for an employer that thought poorly of you because you played a game ? I wouldn't.
Why ? Just because your name is John Smith does not mean you cannot be found. It is more difficult but still can be done.
Real life is a lot more dangerous. You go into a store and buy a new 60" TV using your credit card. ... They now know a perfect robbery target.
The internet does archive information but you should have known that from the day you started using it. Actions have consequences and one of those with the internet is that you need to be on your best behavior. You are putting yourself out there with millions of others and I doubt many would behave the same if everyone was in the same room. Yet when they get behind a keyboard they feel they can now do what they like and should not be responsible for it.
This is not going away. Other countries have already started enforcing real names online. There are too many online issues that it solves that make the pros outweigh the cons.
Not really - most people are quite aware of exactly what they reveal in posts. A vague reference to 'a thesis' really doesn't prove anything. I know I've revealed on here my country of residence and a rough measure of my age, for example. [of course one could probably get more info by googling for other stuff - but that's kind of my point]
I'm not going to bring race into it but I have been unemployed, in fact was homeless at one point, and have been discriminated against. Self esteem is about what YOU think of yourself, not what others think. Nobody can make you feel anything unless you let them.Again, you are probably white, male, not a Muslim or other discriminated against minority, nor, I suspect, have you ever experienced unemployment., or you'd realise the problem with this statement.
You compile all the information they do provide. Talk to some online forensics workers. They track down people all the time with nothing more than a single posting on a forum to start with. I have even reported and had prosecuted 3 malware creators who decided to distribute their work anonymously. There was nothing to go on but a server paid for with a debit card that can be purchased at a gas station. Their code didn't have any personal information either. But I managed to find them on 3 separate occasions.Wrong. Without a lot more information, it can't be done. If you think it can, then why not let people describe themselves as 'a human male'? 'John Smith' scarcely narrows it down any further.
People do not need a reason to attack someone in public. Some will do it because they don't like how you look, what you say to someone, or because you bump into them.Hate attacks and harassment largely depend on knowing something about you - gays and racial minorities get bashed, women get attacked, because the attackers _do_ know something about them. That's kind of the point. That's why many women don't list their first names in the phone book, for example.
Requires a lot more than just your name. Social security numbers are not available with just a name and not even with address and phone number. They are protected under the GLB Act.Identity theft is a as common a crime as mugging and that very much depends on knowing your name.
South Korea is the one I cited that uses registration tied to a user number when online. Two example are below. Other countries like China are doing it too but that is no surprise with them.Can you name some of those countries?
AustraliaThe South Korean government had been promoting use of real names on the Internet since 2002, and formally launched a real-name system in October of 2005, following several cases of privacy violation and defamation on the Internet by anonymous users in the year.
The Internet real-name system has evolved constantly in South Korea. At the very beginning, it was only implemented among users of emails and online chatting services. But later, it was expanded to cover online postings, blogs and clips of online videos.
For those who want to apply for an email or online chatting service account in South Korea, they have to fill a form first, providing detailed information including their name, address, identity number, and profession.
Website service providers will only grant their request after confirming the authenticity of the information they have provided.
By virtue of new amendments to the State of Southern Australias electoral law, any comments posted on news sites discussing the local elections to be held on March 20, 2010 must be signed by their authors real name, or the latter may have to pay a fine ranging from AUD 1,250 to 5,000 (USD 1,114 to 4,456). These websites are required to retain, for a period of six months, all information that would permit an Internet user who has written any statement on the site to be identified.
Course not, hell my buddy got $750 charged to his card by a restaurant that was saving CC numbers from customers and the owners used all the numbers then left the country. I understand the risks.Don't think that for a minute stores do thorough checks on employees. People working for stores that have a criminal history interact with the public every day without the store or the customers knowing.
We have moved from stalking to pizzas , suppose that is an improvement. While the law enforcement agency might not want to get involved , the people at the pizza place would.
Then you have the choice of not using Real ID. I do leave my door unlocked often as do millions of others. Do you lock your door as soon as you enter ? Most people do not. It can be a problem in a high crime area but crime here is low so I'm not paranoid that someone is going to break in.
The difference is that in countries where real name is required you have to register with that country . You are assigned a unique number . That number has to be used online in forums, downloads, and games to identify you but cannot be used for financial or other means. Not using it is a crime . Systems like that prevent abuse because anything you do will be tracked back to you. It solves problems with harassment, piracy, child pornography and more.
The internet and laws are adapting. The above system where people are assigned unique ID numbers removes the IP requirement and takes the burden off the ISP which has become a major problem. ISP and content providers like blizzard get request from lawyers to provide personal information. That cost them lots of time and money for something that while it occurred on their systems they were not directly responsible for.
To me, anonymity (or pseudo-anonymity, where you have a consistent ID for a forum or whatever) is a leveller. It enables people to reveal stuff they would not be able to if they were clearly identified (because of fear of real-world repercussions), e.g. say you are a Muslim in a devout Muslim community and you are having doubts about your faith, or you are a gay person working in a homophobic workplace.
Then there are the repercussions that can occur in the on-line forum itself - e.g. a woman who's had bad experiences of sexual harassment when she revealed her gender on a forum will not be keen on posting on a forum that made real names compulsory.
To me it means I can get to hear about experiences and thoughts that I would not otherwise get to hear because the people saying them would otherwise be afraid to speak.
I'm not arguing so much about Blizzard forums, to be honest I'm just continuing an argument I've had on other forums about this topic, but I think the same issues would crop up in a different form.
@Modelworks
Have you been subject to anonymous attacks, that has made you hostile to the whole idea of anonymity? (Serious question, not being snide). Because you just seem to have entirely the opposite instincts on this than I do.
In those situations I can agree anonymous discussion should be allowed, but I do not believe in anonymity for every online site. That would be like saying everyone should walk around with bags on their heads because people will see what they do and they might offend someone.To me, anonymity (or pseudo-anonymity, where you have a consistent ID for a forum or whatever) is a leveller. It enables people to reveal stuff they would not be able to if they were clearly identified
It wouldn't be a deterrent if the threats that these people who claim things like stalkers will find them are involved. Those people are beyond reason and will find a way whether you give them your name or you use a fake one. What using a real name does allow is for someone to realize that what they post is personal and does effect others and is not just part of some imaginary world inside the pc. That there are real people at the other end whose life can be effected by what they post and there are consequences for what they do.And as far as 'John Smith' goes, you didn't really answer my point - OK, perhaps with the aid of other information and a great deal of Sherlock Holmes work you can identify someone - but the fact remains that the work involved is a big deterrent to doing so. And that once you allow that possibility the point of real names is lost - you could just as well argue that you can identify someone with no name at all.
I just don't understand why you feel everyone is entitled to your identity. We walk around generally anonymously. You can't walk into a bar and ask a woman for her first and last name and expect to receive it just because you feel she is obligated to give it to you, but that's what you want online.
Then what I would do is not play the games and let blizzard know. The best way to complain to companies is not through forums or email. Write a letter and send it to them through the mail. Be polite and explain why you think it is wrong. That often has way more weight than anything online.You can say, then just don't play WoW.. well you're right, I'm not going to play WoW, SC2 or Diablo III if this system is in place. But I'm still going to complain about it because I'd *like* to play Diablo III and I definitely don't want other publishers to think this is an appropriate system.
The only way you are anonymous in real life is if you walk around covered completely under a blanket or something , say and do nothing , and then you would really stand out
Yes you definitely have good points in that post, some type of private online ID is not something I'm entirely against for exactly those reasons but it's not something I've given any thought to before. A private ID could be used on say, Facebook to ensure you are creating a legitimate account where your real name is required by the user agreement, or on WoW forums to ensure you aren't creating multiple pseudonyms while still allowing you to use a pseudonym.I don't feel anyone is entitled to know someones identity beyond what is needed to insure that what a person does online is the same person in the real world. Read my last post where I talked about the suicide hotlines. People pull this crap every day where they use chats, IM, forums to push others to suicide and get away with it because of anonymity. You can't prosecute it because the laws are too vague in that area. If someone only had one ID online, don't really care if it is their real name, then those people could be permanently banned from areas they cause trouble.
In real life people may not know your name but they do know what you look like and what you sound like which is much more useful than just a name of a faceless person. The only way you are anonymous in real life is if you walk around covered completely under a blanket or something , say and do nothing , and then you would really stand out