It scary how close the nature of Blizzard's Real ID scheme is with the Federal ID legislation. Just as the Federal ID system would be, the disclosure of identity is a
one-way street, where the consumer is forced to relinquish their
expectation of privacy, while the monitors and "administrators" are not.
With Blizzard's active MMO community, World of Warcraft, most accounts are tied directly to credit cards, which are the basis for proving one's "Real ID" information. Under the "Real ID" regime, it would be nearly impossible to maintain any semblance of anonymity as a customer. Imagine being forced to register your driver's license with the city counsel to attend a town hall meeting, and wearing a large copy of it around your neck when you speak your mind, simply because too many "jerks" were yelling about the condition of the roads in the city.
Real ID has not disappeared. Blizzard has taken steps to assuage its furious customer base by reversing their stance on the most controversial aspect of it, but the system remains in operation throughout Blizzard systems and games. The integration of Facebook is often cited as the cause of all this, and
marks a sickening trend whereby our fantasy realms demand integration with reality. I have a daughter, age 6, who maintains a better grasp on the separation of fantasy and reality than Blizzard does at this point.
In many ways, we have brought this upon ourselves, but in others, I suspect something more sinister occurring in the background where the dollars are exchanged. Is Blizzard's push to wrangle a large share of the "Internet" demographic merely a stepping stone for government legitimization of such tactics? It's curious how the timing coincides.
In any case, I am emboldened to find that the general bulk of Blizzard's customers, which represent a vast swath of Internet users, have rejected this program to a sufficient degree as to cause Blizzard to reverse their controversial policy within mere *days*. While Blizzard customers are not "out of the woods" on the matter of terrible privacy practices, we can
effect change with a resolute voice and determination. I hope we are more successful against the government.
-David Berry