I do see why they think it's a good idea. I was actually just reading an article somewhere on steps people have taken to combat trolls, and among those steps are forcing people to post with their real name, charging them a one-time fee for a forums account (like the Something Awful forums- most 13 year olds won't pay $10 just to call someone a nublet), draining the vowels out of trollish posts so that they attain the visibility the troll desires while obfuscating their message, and even forcing them to have their comment read aloud before they post it (I think YouTube has an optional version of this).
Trolling, especially once it crosses to real life and has real life consequences, really squicks and bothers me, so I support strong endeavors to control it. That said, this seems like such a bad idea. The best way to control trolling is a mixture of strong human moderators, technology, and a forums culture that is united against trolling and all its expressions.
I don't go around by my real name online because I like to separate my real life and my online life as much as possible. This policy of Blizzard removes your ability to act upon your preference and exposes you to the danger of other people knowing too damn much about you. I can't get behind that even as much as I support what they're trying to do. They have to find another way.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2010-07-07 06:53 pm (UTC)Trolling, especially once it crosses to real life and has real life consequences, really squicks and bothers me, so I support strong endeavors to control it. That said, this seems like such a bad idea. The best way to control trolling is a mixture of strong human moderators, technology, and a forums culture that is united against trolling and all its expressions.
I don't go around by my real name online because I like to separate my real life and my online life as much as possible. This policy of Blizzard removes your ability to act upon your preference and exposes you to the danger of other people knowing too damn much about you. I can't get behind that even as much as I support what they're trying to do. They have to find another way.