What about privacy on forums?

[silverwmoon]

Saw THIS article about Blizzard requiring frequenters of the WoW forums to use their real names. I'm currently taking a class that deals a lot with the issue of privacy and what companies have a right to ask and I was wondering what you guys, as forum goers, think.

[MojoMunkeez]

I personally wouldn't mind. And I don't think most of us would mind either, since we have all our pictures and stuff in the pictures thread and each other's MSN or facebook or whatever

[kazenohirameki]

Sorry, I would mind. I'm a bit phobia about giving my real name and picture in a forum. Unless it its really require, then I will relent but the forum must not reveal my identity to a third party without my knowing.

I'm okay with sharing picture, if it doesn't show me in it. And if there is any picture of me out there, it definitely didn't come from me.

[Stuyvesant]

Mr Brand said that one Blizzard employee posted his real name on the forums, saying that there was no risk to users, and the experiment went drastically wrong.

"Within five minutes, users had got hold of his telephone number, home address, photographs of him and a ton of other information," said Mr Brand

Haha. That'll learn them. I wouldn't register somewhere with my real name. No way do I want future employees searching me and finding my posts on some board.

[Digital_Eon]

Sorry, I would mind. I'm a bit phobia about giving my real name and picture in a forum.

This. I've posted my first name and an old picture a few times, but that's generally after being part of a community for quite a long time. I would never dream of posting Facebook information, though. I'm really the exact same person online and offline, but I keep my online identity and real life identity separate. Though I've occasionally had real-life friends join online communities or I join theirs, it's rare, and it's never gone the other way for me. And I don't know if I want it to. A lot of people are happy with that but that's not for me.

So yeah, I'd be pretty uncomfortable with that.

I actually used this username for a "real-life" forum once - it was a university community, and I couldn't really be anonymous since they showed my userID with every post I made (last name and first initial, woot) - though I don't know any of those people anyway, since it's such a big school, so blah, doesn't really matter. But I do kind of worry someone who knows me online/has seen me post online will find out? =/ That makes me squirm. I don't know what the chances are of anyone who has seen me post online being part of that exclusive community for ner.....er, science students, but what if, you know? Like, my *name* is there. It's not even that I'm afraid of shit happening, I just don't want those two things to come together at any point, not in the direction of online --> real life.

Well, it's nothing compared to Facebook, I guess.

TL;DR YAAAAAAAY.

[98abaile]

I don't mind people knowing my real name if I've know them for quite a while, but I don't want giving out that kind of personal information to be mandatory. I like the fact that I can keep a certain level of disconection between my persistent (I always go by the handle 98abaile) online persona and my real identity. Despite having the same kind of personality, the kind of anonnymity afforded by an online persona allows me to express myself openly infront of my peers without the risk that those that I interact with in real life will judge me based on biased or misguided opinions.

Also, I tend to actually be a bit slow witted at times, being on a persistent forum affords me time to get my thoughts organised and to type them down in structured fashion that acurately conveys my opinions. The upshot of this is that a seperate online persona allows me to cultivate a much better and more accurate representation of my personality. It allows me to be judged for who I really am and not just for my social ability (or inability). This allows me to be far more confident about myself and as a result I am much happier.

[kazenohirameki]

No way do I want future employees searching me and finding my posts on some board.

Well, if you have a facebook account and you add your employees, I don't think you can hide anyway.

[nroejb]

Haha. That'll learn them. I wouldn't register somewhere with my real name. No way do I want future employees searching me and finding my posts on some board.

That's one good point, there are people that lost their jobs thanks to that stuff.

But aside from that, I wouldn't give that kind of private info anyway. I like my privacy, and I am not interested in floods of comercials either.
Usually it's no prob to give fake data, but if it's not, than I just don't join/stay it's as simple as that.

[Digital_Eon]

That's one good point, there are people that lost their jobs thanks to that stuff.

Usually for being idiots, though.

[vphamv]

Nah, there's just too many risks involved like the whole job thing others have pointed out. I mean, I don't have anything to hide, though ya know the whole dl mangos and animus and stuff isn't exactly ok, but I just wouldn't want it to come back and bite me in the but one day. Though those who I regularly talk to already know me well enough so that's all I really care about. Don't need someone I've never met to know so much about me.