Blizzard ignited a huge debate in their forums with an announcement on the official forums. Around the time of Cataclysm’s launch all posts made on the forums will use Real ID names which are also of course the real names of the posters. At the time of this writing there are multiple threads on the US and EU forums, some with over 1400 pages and counting. Some of you may know as listeners of The Instance, Scott and Randy are not known for their fondness of the official Blizzard forums but what does this mean for future of the forums?
I see several good and bad points that may come from this. Just like most things in life the outcome will not be black and white and will fall somewhere in between but one thing is for sure; Blizzard is moving forward with this change. Let’s discuss both sides of the arguments for and against.
The Good:
- Trolls will be forced to do their trolling in the light of day – while many people on the forums are posting with their main characters names displayed, many posts (and especially the negative ones) can be found with a level one alt listed as the author. People love to say the nastiest things imaginable when they can hide behind the internet’s veil of anonymity and this may clean up the Blizz forums quite a bit.
- Spammers and gold sellers will have a tougher time harassing people via the forums – It’s not the most used vehicle for gold sellers and spammers but it is out there and this change will probably curb that significantly.
That’s really all the good I can find. Please let me know if I missed anything. Now, some of the bad.
- People will become much more exposed to other players that they may not want to be exposed to – Let’s be honest about this. In a world of Facebook and Twitter most people are relatively exposed already, but some people (like myself) have segmented their online persona and have different circles of friends in the many social networks available. Now if someone were to google my real name they may find out that I am a heavy WoW forum poster (I’m not actually) and while someone like myself certainly doesn’t mind that, there are people who will.
- The children – I hope that parents aren’t allowing their kids to run around on the net unsupervised but I’m sure that some are. These kids will become a bit more susceptible to creepy people. If you are a parent, just don’t let your kids use the internet in dangerous ways.
- Mistaken identity – There are a lot of people with common names in the world. Even with a way to differentiate these people, unobservant folk will mistake people for others quite a bit. Some sticky situations will arise from this surely.
There are much more repercussions to discuss but I’d love to know what you think. Does the good outweigh the bad or vice-versa? Does it affect you? Do you give a crap?
It’s just an idiotic idea, they are trying to sell it to us as a way to get rid of trolls…something it most certainly wont do.
I’ve been polity vocal about this on the forum as I have a very unusual name and by very I mean it identifies me and no one else in the world.
It’s just beyond me how they think this is something anyone wants or is a good idea.
It almost certainly is also a breach of the UK Data protection Act, one of it’s main stipulations is that data can only be used for the purpose it was collected.
So for this to furfill that requirement they will have to ask us to re-enter all our details after accepting the new EULA.
I think this is a brilliant move on Blizzard’s part.
The official forums at the moment are an epic waste dump. 99.9% of the posts made every day are pointless at best, offensive at worst. And I wish that was hyperbole.
What Blizzard really wanted was to create a place for people to communicate respectfully with the developers and with each other. What they got is a forum full of trolls and pointless whining. And it’s only going to get worse when SCII hits the market.
The 0.1% of worthwhile posts do not merit the situation as it stands now. The forums are a waste of money, energy, time and server space. It’s a huge liability, and Blizzard has no financial incentive to keep it going.
This move will push away most of the posters. They’ll find another home to complain about every little thing that they believe Blizzard owes them and be douchebags to each other. Meanwhile, those who stay will think twice before they post, and the official forums might actually resemble what Blizzard was hoping they would be.
Basically, Blizzard is taking a huge dump truck with all of their unwanted trash and spilling it into the internet, where it is no longer their problem.
I am divided on this thing. My biggest fear is that this will take doucheness to a whole new level on the internet. I played 6 games of warcraft 3 this week in which I was called a mother#@# in two without any provocation whatsoever. A few years back when my wife played WoW she was stalked by some weirdo in game. I don’t want people like these finding my personal info like my name.
I am for it i have nothing against it for myself however in regards to my girlfriend she and I have already discussed she won’t post at least not on her account we will have 4 accounts total when cataclysm hits and she will post on an Alt account with a phony name if she needs to post.
One of the worst ideas ever, I won’t list the reasons because there are (at the time of my posting this) over 31000posts listing why this is fubar.
I hope they rethink this move, otherwise they have really fallen from grace.
This is a terrible idea on many, many levels.
Yes, trolling and inappropriate behavior on the official forums can reach really horrible levels for those trying to use the forums for constructive reasons. But this is like hitting an anthill with a nuclear bomb. There will be significant collateral damage.
We’ve already seen what can happen to someone posting on the forums with their first and last names. One of the blues, Bashiok, innocently posted his real name in support of the RealID change and within minutes personal details were plastered all over the forums for people to see. It was a horrible thing to have occur.
Now imagine this happening to an ordinary WoW player who posts a question in the Tech Support forum or comments on a class change. Or what happens to a female player who can now be exposed to in-game harrassment because her real life name appeared next to her character’s name on the forums?
This policy will only drive away people from using the forums. There are additional issues with RealID has it currently stands and this change only compounds on them. Blizzard has made a serious misstep here.
I have nothing to hide as my info has been on the webs since the days of dial-up. I seriously hope this thins out the asshats and jacktards.
4chan
’nuff said
I had to cancel my account. Most people who are unemployed are Googled by HR managers. If I want a job, I can’t be showing up as my real name discussing a game. That’s unprofessional for someone in my field.
This is such a pointless debate, much like the stupid Apple bashing stuff. Blizzard has forums for gaming, specifically their games. They run the forums, they host them, so guess what it’s their rules. And just like the pointless bitching about Apple, Steve Jobs said it best: If you don’t like it don’t buy it, so with the Blizzard forums, if you don’t like the them, don’t use them.
this is easily the best thing that could happen!
it will cut down on spam and turn the fourm into a more friendly place which is what blizz has been after for years.
@Shaftius, yer a moron. First I don’t believe you, second this is not in effect yer and is not retoactive, thus if you STFU and stay off the forums no one would know anyway, and third any prospective employee does not Google a name that is BS, they might look at Twitter and maybe Facebook but seriously your paranoia has the best of you.
I am completely against this. I don’t post on their forums, but this ensures that I never will (unless this gets removed or becomes opt-in).
But what’s next? If they can so casually do this, then what stops them from displaying your name in a public profile? I now consider my Battlenet account a security risk. Good job Blizzard.
Would Spooky have posted that flame above if his or her real name was on display? Maybe not.
I’m all for it. I don’t use the forums, I never will, and even if I did- I don’t care if people know my name.
I personally have no problem with my real name appearing on the forums, but I understand why many people would prefer to keep such things hidden. Personally, I think that instead of using their full names, perhaps just their first name and last initial. While it may still not be private enough for some, I think that would be more widely accepted at least.
Many players choose not to make their names known for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is because it can impact our jobs.
All of the “green posters” have come out against this, as well as most of the really intelligent, great posters, who have contributed a lot to the community over the years.
We can all joke about how few civilized posters there were on the WoW forums – but those people are going away, and the trolls are going to stay.
I can’t help but hope they decide against this before it goes live.
So let me get this straight, they’re putting your social security number, address, and phone number next to every post? No, they’re putting your name out there. We live in the information age, so guess what: Your name is already out there. Get over it. Or get back under your rock so we don’t have to deal with your needless paranoia.
The good listed in the article is no good at all. Trolls can take five minutes of their time to create a separate account where they can continue to post under an alias, and very few gold sellers ever use the forums at all.
I’ll take good point number two and add it to the bad list, though: anyone who gets their account hacked can end up having posts with keyloggers and gold selling links plastered all over the forums, with their names front and center.
Meanwhile, posters who make positive contributions (and there are WAY more of them than anyone gives credit for) will move to third-party websites. What are some of these positive contributions? Look at people on the tech support forums, every day, regular players like you and I, diagnosing and repairing each other’s problems without Blizzard’s help. Look at the class forums, the stickies at the top where you can find everything you need to know to get started. Look at the guild relations forum, where the whole thing is based on the idea that people can anonymously post about problems they’re having in their guild, and get real, experienced guild officers and leaders giving them the lowdown on how to handle it.
These will all go away- that’s not speculation, that’s fact. Do some research and look on those forums if you don’t believe it.
A while ago, the Twisting Nether moderators went on a massive banning spree and got rid of almost every troll on the server’s forum page. These people went and set up their own forum site which is now a cesspool of bigotry and immaturaty. Sure, there’s a few cool people there, but for the most part, it’s disgusting. And that’s what the Blizzard forums will be. The positive contributors are being dumped out in one fell swoop while the trolls cackle behind their secondary accounts going “haha, missed me again!”
Don’t think having your name posted on the forums is dangerous? Ask Bashiok what he thinks about this after a poster, using only the BLizz rep’s name, posted a Google map of his house with the comment, “Nice pool.”
In the immortal words of Scott(who probably took it from someone else) “Just walk away!”
I never use the forums, and probably never will, but to be honest it wouldn’t bother me that much.
lost in amongst the announcement was this…
With the launch of the new Battle.net, it’s important to us to create a new and different kind of online gaming environment — one that’s highly social, and which provides an ideal place for gamers to form long-lasting, meaningful relationships. All of our design decisions surrounding Real ID — including these forum changes — have been made with this goal in mind.
It depends how you feel about that to be honest, I don’t want to feel compelled to make in-game long lasting meaningful relationships. In my experience the real ones are rare and to be treasured.
Because I suffer from Social-phobia (due to Asperger’s) I now have no choice but to walk away. Wow worked for me because it allowed me to be a little bit sociable on my own terms. I was able to discuss my condition with those I came to trust.
From the statment made on a Blue Post I know that WoW will no longer be that place for me. So come Cataclysm I’ll be outta WoW.
Fortunately I have the Beta to explore before then.
This is a horrible idea. Thankfully, the epic player response shows the vast majority of players do value their privacy. I am amazed that this was ever even floated as a serious idea by blizzard, much less making it this far into being implemented. The excuse that it is meant to stop trolls is embarrassingly bad.
There needs to be a list of companies that are actively working to destroy the privacy of their users like facebook, blizzard/actvision, etc.
Watching the apologists come out of the woodwork go defend such draconian measures is slightly amusing though. It is doubtful that this will have any real effect in stopping those who really want to troll, yet they would still willingly forfeit their own privacy protections.
Firstly, the troll argument is a rationalization. This is not motivated by a desire to “clean up” the forums, but by a multi-million dollar deal with Facebook. Battle.net IDs morphed into Real ID because Facebook uses real names, instead of abstractions. Perhaps this “accountability” nonsense is what they use to justify this change to themselves. Lack of anonymity will not deter disruptive posters, if they care very little for their anonymity, or if their anonymity remains de facto intact due to the fact that their name is, say, Scott Johnson, which narrows their identity down to merely tens of thousands of Scott Johnsons.
I think the Facebook integration is an ill-conceived idea born from the reality-divorced avarice of Robert Kotick, forced down the throats of both the old guard at Blizzard (as opposed to ATVI). But it, on its own, and the targeted advertising, and all that follows, is not that big of a deal at the end of the day.
What is a really big deal is the forced use of real names, and Blizzard’s official response to worries. It is such a great big deal that both my wife and I have cancelled our subscriptions, written letters to Blizzard and the ESRB, and will refuse to purchase any Blizzard or Activision products ever again, if this “feature” goes live.
Because in the adolescent male dominated, xenophobic gaming community (and I am merely noting trends, not painting everyone with the same broad brush), some animals are more equal than others. It is all well and good for a middle-class, white, straight male with a reasonably common name to not be worried.
It is entirely reasonable, however, for any female with a common female name to have reservations. It is entirely reasonable for a transgendered person whose legal name is still distinctively male to have reservations. It is entirely reasonable for a person with an Islamic name such as Muhammad or Abdul to have reservations.
Because it is guaranteed that women and girls “outed” in front of the gaming community in such a manner will be asked to show their titties. It is guaranteed that transgendered players “outed” in front of the gaming community will be called freaks and perverts. It is guaranteed that persons with Islamic names will be labeled as terrorists and called “sand ni**ers”.
It is the furthest thing from acceptable that Blizzard’s response to this is “the forums are optional”. Because this is tantamount to “we don’t care about you”. The emotional wellbeing and right to participate of people who would be targeted on a very personal level by ignorant, malicious bigots is not optional. It’s outrageous of Blizzard to imply this.
And it’s equally outrageous of Blizzard to refer to consent. “Your name won’t be public record without your consent”. This is a video game developer pushing the entire responsibility for the safety of the millions of young, inexperienced, naive people on those people themselves, through the copout of a scrolling EULA and an Accept button.
“You can turn it off via parental controls” either assumes that all parents are responsible and informed, or else implies that children whose parents are not responsible and informed can be harassed, stalked, abused, or worse.
I love this game. I love the “true” Blizzard, the men and women who create these wonderful games with the love they obviously have for the game and their players. Having to leave breaks my heart. But I can’t possibly stay, and give money to the evil, ignorant greed that has no respect or sense of responsibility for their customers. My subscription is cancelled, and although I have a week of playtime left, I won’t be logging in.
They will have me back as a customer when they reverse this horrible decision.
Looks like acti-blizz by wanting to make ANOTHER social network is making life easier for a lot of people, especially the bad ones.
Take a look at that blog and tell me it’s a good idea. Don’t forget to read the comments.
http://wowriot.gameriot.com/blogs/Americans-are-bad-at-games/Real-Names-on-the-Official-Forums-New-REAL-ID-function?gr_i_ni
To quote the end of the post.
“I think we can all see what a great idea this is going to be.”
I’m so glad I left WoW 3 months ago.
Well, well…If Blizzard is serious about this, all I can say is I’m glad I stopped paying those dumbasses a long time ago. What a way to make internet predators more powerful…
I’m a minister in the Bible belt. You can be sure that a Google search of my name that yielded ties to a fantasy game could cost me future (or even current) jobs. Regardless of whether or not that is right or fair, it is still true. (Exhibit A: warlocks & demons.)
I’m certainly not going to post on the forums after the changes. Real ID was advertized as a way for me to maintain closer contact with a small group of friends that I knew personally & trusted. Wryxian’s comments on the EU forums seem to indicate that it was always intended to be more than cross-server and cross-game interaction. I should have realized that it wouldn’t end there, but I’ve never had any reason to be wary of blizzard in the past.
Maybe I’m just blowing this out of proportion, but (after 15 plus years of gaming with blizzard) I’m shocked that I’m considering walking away over privacy concerns. If you had told me this on Sunday, I would have said you were crazy. I think this is a lousy precedent for online gaming and I am really saddened that it’s coming from blizzard.
I guess I’ll find out just how concerned I am on July 27!
Also, 96% of all statistics are made up. (Joke.) The unprecedented forum response is still a very small (albeit vocal) percentage of the player base. I put in my $.02 over there, but I suspect that these new policies are here to stay. I would guess that most players would be unaffected by this. Pro-IDers are exactly right in at least one respect: blizzard’s house, blizzard’s rules. Play along, lurk, or vote with your wallet.
Blizzard could just suspend all accounts until people decide they want to post knowing their names will be published. They should not make all old posts have the names visible. Their business their rules and people will vote with their virtual feet. It’s a shame but let’s remember “people” made Blizzard feel they had to make this decision…but if 99% of the posts are rubbish, then perhaps it’s needs a cleanup.
I don’t think there are ANY good points to this tbh. The “people will be more responsible how they post” argument has been done to death and it just doesn’t hold up. EVERYONE that posts on the forums now is not “unaccountable”. They are logged in with their Battle.net password. Blizzard knows who they are already. They know their address and phone number (usually) and hold their credit card details etc. Just because Joe Bloggs will suddenly know someone’s name, doesn’t mean that suddenly people will be responsible with their posts.
This will not cut down on spam because people have always been risking account closure or at least forum banning for activities like this – nothing changes here.
And here’s some “rumors and scuttlebutt” from the general forums, obviously hearsay:
Got in touch with my ex-flatmate, whose sister works as a GM for Blizzard, to see what the internal buzz on this was. Apparently, at the moment the employees are largely as pissed as the players, and she stated that despite attempts to keep it hushed, it has become known that the big creative players within Blizzard are pretty much as unhappy about this as we are. Everybody has been told they are not free to comment on this situation outside of specially prepared statements.
It’s still going ahead, however (and here’s where in-house rumours and hearsay really start coming into play): from what they’ve picked up, the Blizzard leads have been told in no uncertain terms that the non-gameplay-related direction of the game is working to a different blueprint now. GC and company are free to play with shiny new talent trees all they like, for example, but for the first time the decisions regarding Battle.net implementation, Real ID, and plans for the general acquisition of new players for the business are no longer in Blizzard’s own hands, and that’s not going down too well.
@kim A lot of people wont have a problem with this for themselves. The question is can this hurt SOME people. The answer is a resounding yes. Some people have real reasons for not wanting people to associate their real name with their game toons. The “im allright jake” attitude is somewhat weak and selfish tbh. Personally I dont post on the forums much, but do occasionally. I will probably continue to post when I feel the need – but out of principle I hate this move. I feel really sorry for those minority groups that are basically being excluded from the forums on the basis that they cannot risk it. If I was a transitional transgendered person for example, would I want to post on the forums under the name of “Mike Smith” when I have been telling everyone in my guild (and others) that my name was Julia Smith? (names made up btw lol). The answer is no – I definately would not want to post on the forum under a name that I no longer associated myself with. People are not understanding and I would likely suffer some harassment for it. Saying I have the option of not posting is no option. That would be like saying this school wont take Black kids. Black kids have the option of not going (of course), but that is still extremly predudicial and plain wrong even if it doesnt affect me!
@Shaftius Actually MANY employers google applicants. Its one of the methods that is sometimes used to narrow down applicants. I know this from experience.
Also, check the Battle.net EULAs you all accepted.
The reason they want real names on your Bnet accounts is because it’s the easiest way to tie them to Facebook. At which point they can start offering all sorts of in-game incentives for linking to FB.
Blizzard will hold your attention.
Facebook will target the ads.
Massive will serve the ads.
Bobby Kotick will exploit away, while the blues we love are forced to lie to us about the real motivations behind this Actiblizzard garbage.
This is so damn sad
I expect there are a number of sad people at Blizzard saying to themsemves “OMG what have we done” (about selling to activision). Its a sad day for these blues
Oh noes my name is out there. Oh no please god. It’s the end of the world for me. I’m so glad a lot of you who have problems with such a little thing have left or plan to leave because of this. Don’t let the door hit you on your ass on the way out. Losers.
Person who supports Real ID, the magic bullet that will ensure civility on forums:
“Oh noes my name is out there. Oh no please god. It’s the end of the world for me. I’m so glad a lot of you who have problems with such a little thing have left or plan to leave because of this. Don’t let the door hit you on your ass on the way out. Losers.”
GUYS LISTEN,
This is much much worse than we could ever imagine. This is bigger than wow and gaming. This is an attempt to force people to use Real Names for any official interaction on the internet. This deal with Facebook is at the epicentre of this mental shift they are trying to make us take.
They want wow to become the farmville of facebook, facebook has 500 million users, they DO NOT care about us. They will turn their back on us and hit the young new crowd on facebook. Mark my words the plan is 100x deeper and more sinister. They have already chosen the new path.
Facebook has a big problem, they need people to stop caring so much about privacy, this is the number one issue that stops them taking full control of our personal data and making the absolute maximum profit they can. Facebook must be pressuring Blizzard into this, and if this happens and people accept it, it will be a monumental shift in mental attitudes towards privacy. Facebook is betting big on this working out. This could be the end of the internet as we know it.
China also has a big role in this, they are freaking scared of the internet (and most western governments), they DO NOT WANT people to have the power to hide on the internet.
We must fight, do not accept this act of treason. Do not let 1984 happen.
You are not worshipper Scott ?
To alleviate people’s concerns, Blizzard employee Bashiok decided to say his real name on the forums, his real name is Micah Whipple
Micah Wipple, I hope other staff there are not Satan worshiper like this f**k.
Check his picture with one eye closed and beast hand sign http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/1694/n1057015183458502435437.jpg
then another one with triple 6 hand sign
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3505/3850730069_ff5092c0bc.jpg
and my favorite one, after getting nailed by his master in trans
http://img249.imageshack.us/i/micahwhipple.jpg/
p.s. does Iblis http://www.wowhead.com/item=23014 sill drops in game
btw. Iblis in arabic means The Devil
This is not about trolls. I am feeling pretty disillusioned about Blizzard atm.
I’m a store owner, I have a unique name. I like to gank, pvp, sneak into places folks least suspect and lay down a can of whoop ass, laugh and go about my merry way. Last thing I need is for some snot nosed kid to rage, google me, and start rating down my business with bad reviews. OR getting my email address from my work website and signing me up for a bunch of porn sites etc…. or worse, knocking on my front door.
I applaud Blizzard’s effort to rid the forums of trolls. Just find a different way. Maybe hire some more mods and try out this rating system they’ve been discussing.
If this new policy is unacceptable to you, SIMPLY stop playing and move on to something else. We can all vote with the wallet… plain and simple. It is not goblin-rocket science.
Read my post. Already done.
Now tell my why I’m supposed to be happy about being forced to leave a game I love? Why am I supposed to shut up and not demand that Blizzard rethink this needless, unethical service that is forcing me to stop being their paying customer?
Also tell me what your response is to a woman or an ethnic minority or a transgendered person who is being told by Blizzard in no uncertain terms – you have the option not to post; we don’t give a crap that you will attract the unwanted attention of nasty, sociopathic people who don’t care about the supposed lack of anonymity Blizzard is promising, as long as they can get under someone’s skin for the “lulz”.
I really wish that people would get it through their heads that this has nothing to do with troll control. There are too many other ways to handle forum moderation without exposing the posters to very real, very dangerous consequences, ranging from identity theft to physical assault.(and to all you guys out there that don’t believe giving your personal info to someone in WoW could be dangerous, check this out http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=25626461398&sid=1 All this has to do with is Activision, Facebook, Massive, and Kotic lining his pockets. Also, in reference to the comment made in the article about how this will deter goldsellers… um no. If anything its just going to make it easier. Once you have a name, how hard is it really to come up with and email? Not to mention, there’s already news about how some in game addons cause your real id to be revealed not just to friends, but to everyone. And say that’s not even true, how hard would it be for someone to write one? Hmmm, let me think… you add real id friends with your email address. This email address is also half your log in to the game… I can’t be the only one that sees where that could lead us.
p.s. Sub is already canceled and will boycott anything related to Activision and encourage others to do the same.
Posted the wrong link above, this one
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime_and_courts/article_683959a0-8a02-591d-a32b-0071ea3d1d92.html
@NeuroMan42: Right… So I am going to not play Diablo III and StarCraft II (both are games I am very excited about) just because Blizzard is an idiot with my personal information? They are the ones who should change, not me.
You’re absolutely right! They should be the ones that change. Do you really think they’re going to? Do you really think that they’re going to turn around and say, “Let’s see… I can make a ton of money by doing one thing that has the potential to do irreparable harm to some people, or I can do the responsible thing and possibly make less money.” If that were the case, we wouldn’t be having this discussion right now, because they would have never decided to implement this system in the first place. The only thing they will base these decisions on is how much money there is to be gained or lost. So, I’m throwing my lot in with money lost. They can’t have mine. That’s my decision. Whether or not you choose to financially support a company that so blatantly disregards you as a customer and a human being is yours. I hate it to be honest, I love playing WoW. I’ve been playing for years and have never once canceled my account or threatened to do so. I don’t even post on the forums, I just read through them from time to time. But this is just too much.
I know I’m not going to buy Cataclysm AND Starcraft 2 because of this (among other things). I’m still on the fence about Diablo 3 because I really like that franchise. I hope that by that time B.Net 2.0 will have changed its policy.
But know that if you pay acti-blizz (monthly fee or buying a game) you’re telling them you accept the way they manage your privacy and all the strange money grubbing decision they made lately.
The only way we have to tell a game developer/publisher that we are not agreeing with they are doing is by voting with our wallet.
Petitions and boycott group are a joke and don’t work. Look at the last examples, L4D2 and Modern Warfare 2 (2 games I still don’t own). We all know how well that went.
All of you people need to leave Micah alone… Knowing someones real name is fine but you as a fking human being should keep personal information to yourself, you don’t go around posting your girlfriends information do you? Just because he was man enough to post his real name you fktards are spamming his information all over the place soooo fking rude….
-Drew Thompson.
http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/ATVI
@Drew I think that was kind of the point. He gave his real name to prove that people knowing your real name on the internet was harmless. He was sadly proven wrong.
People need more than a name to steal your identity and there are better places to get it online than computer game forums.
People don’t need to know you’re female/black/gay/whatever to call you horrible nasty things now. If the assholes don’t stop with the change, don’t post, or realize their opinions are meaningless.
People you gank ingame won’t be able to get your name unless you post bragging about it and draw attention to yourself.
It’s a computer game forum, for goodness sake, not the center of the universe. Pedophiles and crazies are not chomping at the bit for it to start spewing random names at them.