Last week Blizzard declared that it was planning on making World of Warcraft forum users post under their real names. The idea caused a worldwide online hissy fit big enough to give the Modern Warfare 2 dedicated server palaver a run for its money.
Unlike Activision Blizzard however, Blizzard Blizzard has decided to listen to its customers, and has trashed the idea altogether.
“We’ve been constantly monitoring the feedback you’ve given us, as well as internally discussing your concerns about the use of real names on our forums,” said Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime. “As a result of those discussions, we’ve decided at this time that real names will not be required for posting on official Blizzard forums.”
The Real ID feature was meant to “Remove the veil of anonymity typical to online dialogue in an effort to encourage “a more positive forum environment, promote constructive conversations, and connect the Blizzard community in ways they haven’t been connected before,” Blizzard said earlier this week.
In layman’s terms, they were hoping it would hinder forum trolls. While you have to respect their aim, there are many angles to the argument, and in the end it seems that Blizzard may have made the announcement without properly thinking it through.
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