[hypoconsequence_blog]

“I'd like to take some time to speak with all of you regarding our desire to make the Blizzard forums a better place for players to discuss our games. 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. 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.” And just like that, Mike Morhaime, CEO & Cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment pulled the plug on Real ID’s mandatory implementation and anonymity remains king throughout the land. Yes, yes, I know I am trivializing this announcement a bit for the sake of an introductory paragraph. As indicated in his forum post, this decision came after serious internal discussion and gathering of feedback from the extensive and apparently quite vocal Blizzard community. On one hand, it’s great to see a company so in tune with its community, but I have a number of gripes with the vocal minority on this one, some more soapbox-y than others.

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