ONOS! You were able to find out information about a Blizzard employee! That is like sooo hard! Ahmaga! Oh my gulay!

Wait, Blizz was going to use real people's info on WoW message boards?  That's...stupid.  I mean, whatever happened to "this is a role-playing game"? 
 
I don't know.  Whatever.

They may have relented for now but I'm sure this will crop up again in the future. They'll just find a way to ease everyone into it once the community is accustomed to the new Battle.net.

" Great. Now dicks can hide behind their usernames again. "

" From what I gather..."
 
Then you gather poorly, Other Brad: 
http://www.wow.com/2010/07/06/blizzards-responses-on-the-real-id-situation/#comments

" It's sad to see that Megan Meier lost again. This is why I was in agreement with Real ID:  http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/686259/the_girl_who_will_change_the_internet.html  It's unfortunate that the harassment can continue and people won't have to answer for for their terrible actions and attitudes.  "

" Saying something comes from a "vocal minority" is a very poor debate tactic.  It's right up there with using "some people say" to make an outlandish claim while ducking personal responsibility, and the "slippery slope" fallacy.  Any complaint can be said to be coming from a "vocal minority" and suddenly the burden of proof is on your opponent to prove otherwise?  No, screw you, that's not how it works.  Let's try an example we should all be able to get behind.  A "vocal minority" of GameSpot users feel that Jeff Gerstmann shouldn't have been fired from GameSpot.  This would be "technically" true, because most people who use GameSpot don't even have forum accounts and never gave their opinion on the matter.  Does that suddenly mean Jeff Gerstmann SHOULD have been fired from GameSpot?  After all, everyone who complained about it was just a vocal minority. "

it is a real problem.. just face it. just because you don't understand the problem doesn't make it a smaller one. open your eyes BRAD! 
 
This means that there is still some hope for blizz's future. A very wise move.

Well, two things:
 
Real ID is still around in the actual games themselves and anyone who supports it is either a blizzard fanatic or unaware of how the internet is full of crazy people and how giving just your name exposes you to harassment, racism, trolling and even worse (if rare) situations. It is an unnecessary measure that adds nothing to the game by itself and instead limits your ability to use features you can find in any other game without them requiring you to expose yourself.

In the second topic, this article is fucking terrible. I don't want the writer being a little dipshit and dismissing people's opinion as silly, much less making fun of them and claiming they are "a vocal minority" when this has been talked around so much in a ton of places.
 
This reads like something you'd find in a newspaper written by someone who has no clue about videogames and should have NO place in giantbomb.

" Well, two things:
 
Real ID is still around in the actual games themselves and anyone who supports it is either a blizzard fanatic or unaware of how the internet is full of crazy people and how giving just your name exposes you to harassment, racism, trolling and even worse (if rare) situations. It is an unnecessary measure that adds nothing to the game by itself and instead limits your ability to use features you can find in any other game without them requiring you to expose yourself. In the second topic, this article is fucking terrible. I don't want the writer being a little dipshit and dismissing people's opinion as silly, much less making fun of them and claiming they are "a vocal minority" when this has been talked around so much in a ton of places.  This reads like something you'd find in a newspaper written by someone who has no clue about videogames and should have NO place in giantbomb. "

People have to be able to back up their words.
 
If you're some weirdo teenager, going onine with weird-ass innuendo, saying stuff you would never say in real life, then you are fucked in the head.
 
Real ID is only the beginning. The days of the "anonymous" internet are numbered.
 
Get used to it, freaks.

" @SpaceInsomniac said:

" Saying something comes from a "vocal minority" is a very poor debate tactic.  It's right up there with using "some people say" to make an outlandish claim while ducking personal responsibility, and the "slippery slope" fallacy.  Any complaint can be said to be coming from a "vocal minority" and suddenly the burden of proof is on your opponent to prove otherwise?  No, screw you, that's not how it works.  Let's try an example we should all be able to get behind.  A "vocal minority" of GameSpot users feel that Jeff Gerstmann shouldn't have been fired from GameSpot.  This would be "technically" true, because most people who use GameSpot don't even have forum accounts and never gave their opinion on the matter.  Does that suddenly mean Jeff Gerstmann SHOULD have been fired from GameSpot?  After all, everyone who complained about it was just a vocal minority. "

Quoted for Justice "

" @Detrian said:

" Well, two things:
 
Real ID is still around in the actual games themselves and anyone who supports it is either a blizzard fanatic or unaware of how the internet is full of crazy people and how giving just your name exposes you to harassment, racism, trolling and even worse (if rare) situations. It is an unnecessary measure that adds nothing to the game by itself and instead limits your ability to use features you can find in any other game without them requiring you to expose yourself. In the second topic, this article is fucking terrible. I don't want the writer being a little dipshit and dismissing people's opinion as silly, much less making fun of them and claiming they are "a vocal minority" when this has been talked around so much in a ton of places.  This reads like something you'd find in a newspaper written by someone who has no clue about videogames and should have NO place in giantbomb. "

1. Real ID inside the game is a grand idea if given the option to turn it off/Opt In Opt out. Sure, it's just like Facebook, but at least they aren't forcing you to reveal your full name in an indexed, public place.  2. This website is full of editorials, Brad didn't even make his true opinion known. Also, calling him a little dipshit makes you look base and ignorable. "

Man, I am really disappointed that Blizzard buckled. I think having to put up your real name on the forums would've been great. Most trolls don't have the balls to back shit up, so having to put up your real identity would've been great to combat that. Kind of wish the Whiskey Media sites would do that.

I was among the small group of people somewhat excited for this change. I can see and understand the objections, but accountability is something the internet truly lacks. What is needed is a way to be held to account, on record, without compromising privacy. Anything put in a public place should be public property.
 
But, I guess I get this mindset coming from a very, very small town in a very small province. There aren't even six degrees of seperation here, and my attitude is I don't say anything I don't want on the front page of the local paper.

As proven by their actions, the only people that would have to worry about having their real name listed next to their forum posts are the kind of people who are big enough dirt bags to be the ones hunting down peoples personal information.
 
Kyle Thomas Churchill, motherfuckers.

" Man, I am really disappointed that Blizzard buckled. I think having to put up your real name on the forums would've been great. Most trolls don't have the balls to back shit up, so having to put up your real identity would've been great to combat that. Kind of wish the Whiskey Media sites would do that. "

" As proven by their actions, the only people that would have to worry about having their real name listed next to their forum posts are the kind of people who are big enough dirt bags to be the ones hunting down peoples personal information.  Kyle Thomas Churchill, motherfuckers. "

I can't even begin to say how offputting the way you wrote this article is, Brad.

I feel I have to address something here, because some people are just plain crazy/angry at Brad Nicholson. Ever since he's been associated with Giant Bomb I read 10+ times in every single article he writes. "wow, what an awful article", "Man, Giantbombs getting shittier", or "wow, way to steal images from another site". Stupid shit like this really irks me.  
 
Let's face the facts. Brad Nicholson haters all have hard-ons for Jeff, Ryan, Vinny, Brad Shoemaker, Dave and Drew. Just because Brad Nicholson doesn't appear in the videos on the site, people don't know his personality, his figures of speech, the way he forms expressions, etc.. and for some odd reason he gets bashed with every article he writes because of it. Now, I might be in the minority in defending him, but I have to point this out because I know I'm not wrong here.
 
Brad Nicholson is a video game journalist and his name gets published with everything he writes. You don't understand what that's like because you hide behind your user name. When ever he writes something people know exactly who he is. Well... except for Giant Bomb's apparent majority. (I'm not literally implying that a majority of Giant Bomb's users hate Brad, just making a point.)
 
TRY to understand HIS point of view on this. He probably doesn't have the sense of insecurity that we all have when it comes to our name being publicly broadcast to everyone else. Therefore, he doesn't see the amount of people getting angry with the whole thing as a majority. Maybe because he is of a different mind set than us. 
 
The only reason I don't see Matt getting bashed when he writes is because he was a user on Giant Bomb before he became an intern, and he appears in some videos.  I don't know if you all understand how much harder it is to reply to a thread in which you've been successively bashed in, without letting it affect your emotions. 
 
I've seen it hundreds of times, nay thousands. 
Threads usually start off peaceful and eventually turn into a rage filled page of ridiculousness. It's fucking stupid. Everyone's a culprit for this is the awful ways of the internet. There are times I say something and get insulted and I will probably be insulted for writing this. 
 
All I'm really getting at is, why Brad Nicholson? NOBODY EVER TALKS SHIT ABOUT THE REST OF THE STAFF. Get a grip folks, he works here too.
 
tl;dr: Don't come on forums if you're not going to read. Also don't bash Brad because he's doing a good job.

Trolls where still gonna be trolls unless you started listing home addresses which obviously isn't happening.

Is it just me, or did this change seem awesome? People could use some accountability, and maybe it would keep trolls from repeatedly coming back after being banned.

Shane from today's episode of Invisible Walls gave a convincing pro-Real ID argument.

" People have to be able to back up their words.  If you're some weirdo teenager, going onine with weird-ass innuendo, saying stuff you would never say in real life, then you are fucked in the head.  Real ID is only the beginning. The days of the "anonymous" internet are numbered.  Get used to it, freaks. "

" People have to be able to back up their words.  If you're some weirdo teenager, going onine with weird-ass innuendo, saying stuff you would never say in real life, then you are fucked in the head.  Real ID is only the beginning. The days of the "anonymous" internet are numbered.  Get used to it, freaks. "

" I was waiting for a chance to post this  

 

"

" here are some points for people who think that this real ID was a good idea...   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBwTpHNZDpQ         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJq1Al37N5A&feature=channel "

Personally, I don't think that the service was enough. I would've liked to see everybody's family tree's too. What blood types they have and what diseases they've been carrying in their filthy blood. Oh, I'm sorry, that was totally a Harry Potter-mudblood-Malfoy-moment.

" A vocal minority didn't like it? That means a silent majority liked it? Thats one of the stupidest thing I've ever heard. "

I think Penny-Arcade summed it up pretty well along with the link in the news post.  Yes in some cases it would increase accountability, but in others people would see themselves as the hammer of justice and go way too far.  On top of that what if they do harass the wrong person?  That does not prove that there is no danger in this policy it is just another scary problem.  
 
Can' Blizzard use those real names behind the scenes to enforce accountability.  Have better moderation tied to in game penalties.  Seeing as you use your account to post.  Be a big enough jerk loose a few days.  How about all of your characters show up when you post so you can't hide behind a mule?  See the internet itself has a privacy problem and when you combine how poorly Facebook handles your privacy (pretty much open to the world until you dial it down) with a reason for people to google your name(you pissed them off in a forum) you get a dangerous situation.
 
Also to all of you posting personal information to prove a point: Two things:
 
1. Posting your own in this situation is asking for trouble I suggest you don't.
2. You would not advocate for better gun control by shooting people don't breach peoples PI to prove it can happen.

Anonymity is the root cause of everything that is bad about the internet.  Ashamed about doing something online to the point where you don't want people to know it was you?  Maybe you should not fucking do it anymore.
 
That's my two cents.

all the people that would have these REAL id's also have facebook right? what's the big deal? I think real id should be implemented in every MMO. It would cut down a ton on gold sellers, bot programs, and account fraud. Oh wait, no it wouldn't. But it would be funny hearing about the first time someone bought a plane ticket to attack a dude that scammed him in a game.

" A vocal minority didn't like it? That means a silent majority liked it? Thats one of the stupidest thing I've ever heard. "

" @MichaelScott said:

" @atomic_dumpling said:

" There was an uglier side to the rabble, as documented by VG247 and Kotaku. Some users began throwing out personal details of Blizzard employees, phone numbers and the like, in a sorry attempt to prove a point.    

 I strongly disagree with the implication that this was some sort of sorry perverted vendetta. You know, I could just as easily check up on a certain Brad Nicholson. I bet you would be thrilled to read every detail of your private life. "

Seriously. Also, the "vocal minority" part smells like bullshit. I have a hard time believing that anyone thought RealID was truly a great idea.  "

I have a sneaking suspicion that of the 12 million subscribers a relatively small portion has seen the forums, a smaller portion has posted on the forums, and a smaller portion has an opinion on that. "

I thought it was a good idea.  I already use my real name as a display name for everything, except GB, they don't let you change a username here unfortunately.  I don't see what the big deal was about displaying our proper names on the forum.  Then you wouldn't get all the trolls posting crap under anonymous names. 

and nice to see some of you still whining about Brad Nicholson as usual.  Every article he writes sux, o noes.  The GB staff hired him for a reason, and he's just doing his job.  Stop being babies whining about some freaking video game news articles.