Got two issues, and hoping someone on the CS has an answer or knows something I don’t that would prove a solution. Someone just returned to the game who I have been actively avoiding for years.
Apparently because we once shared a guild they are able to now see whatever server / name I move this Druid to by looking up my old posts I made when we shared guild… Evidently the guild chat updates to my new server / avatar name even if I swap servers or faction change.
If I really want people / friends to know what server I move a character to, I can and would tell them. Secondarily, is there any way I can block / purge pet numbers / pet battler choices from being viewed on the armory? Like my collections, my pets names, everything. Because that has been used in the past as a means to stalk as well.
The biggest issue I have right now is this.
Is there any way by using Battle-Net / or the Forum tools that I can ensure that if I leave a guild I can purge my posts in chat so a vindictive ex-GM cannot follow me? Right now simply because the individual was once the GM of our guild, all they have to do is open G-Chat and it shows them my new server and my new name.
I feel that this is PRIVATE INFO that is being leaked to others without my permission.
Really getting tired of this individual. I can’t join guilds because of them, as they just send a couple of their friends to play attack-dog on their behalf and whisper anyone I am associated with (they never whisper me directly because they know that would be reported). I also can’t enjoy pet-battles because of them using armory to sniff for my presence. So if there is a way I can block it I would appreciate learning.
Just to touch on this: private information is related to your real Id, where you live, address and the like. Anything in the game related to toons belong to Blizzard.
Be aware - there are other 3rd party sites and such that someone that is dedicated can usually do the same thing. Most of those you can opt out of - but you have to deal directly with the websites in question and request that.
Zenjy already addressed the point about private info, so I won’t belabor that point.
There are some other ways to protect your privacy though. Or at least shore up, in a sense. Go check out this older post of mine (rather than me wall-o-text-ing stuff here more than I already have.)
Also, I don’t think I knew that they did that, with the guild chat. I wonder if it could be an add-on? I’ve bopped around between Moon Guard and Wyrmrest over the years, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen or even known that was a thing. I’m going to have to check that out now.
I am not. I did however test it out on one of my alts in a private guild to be sure. It does in fact do an update when you change servers, causing G-Chat to update your name and server to reflect the new name / new server. This probably is an unintended consequence of being able to recruit members from different servers and factions now, as this used to not be the case.
Regardless, it is an issue for people who leave a guild now, as now people that remain in the guild they left can track them to the new server, as well as know their new avatar name. This creates an issue if you left a guild due to issues and are seeking privacy or a fresh start. It seems a little bit too much to be honest, but I realize there’s likely not much you can do, so either way thank you for all of the info Orlyia and others.
Just because I didn’t see it mentioned above - have you opened a case of on-going harassment about this person who is going to such lengths to bother you? It doesn’t solve your immediate issues, but getting it on the record and all of that, it at least sets the stage so that if/when they cross an actionable line so that Blizzard can handle them.
Get the initial report of it in, and then either reopen that original ticket if you can, or create a new ticket, making sure to reference any and all previous ticket #s to keep it logged properly.
Make sure to put that primary person on ignore for each character of yours they may reach out to. Any guild masters they go to to stir up things, make sure they right-click and report the ones, citing on-going harassment.
On that part - I know our RP realms tend to be clique-ish and the rumor mills can be a nuisance. I would just be upfront with your current/future guild masters that there is an issue so they’re not taken off-guard and can be aware of things.
I’ve been an officer in several guilds over the years (one being one of the more larger and longer-lived guilds on MG - trust me when I say I’ve seen some mess). All of those guilds - so long as we were warned and knew to be on our guard for such things, we handled it. Obviously, I can’t speak for everyone, but it’s been my experience that being honest and up front will save everyone a lot of headache.
I’m sorry you’re having such a hard time of it with this person and their flackies, but good luck to you. Hopefully there will be a resolution for you out of all of this.
…Lets just say I’ve written numerous reports about this person since we had our falling out.
Edit: I shot you some more specific info about the situation in the mail also. It’ll provide a lot of context that I don’t really want to go into here as it could likely be read by specific parties. Of course I didn’t name names etc., but it should explain a lot of the issue and why a Guild Chat updating a person to reveal their new server / name is such a bad thing, especially in the wrong hands.
It makes a case where your choice is to either delete your old characters and reroll, or to deal with the fact that people you do not wish to associate with can track you no matter where you go. But the fact that the armory allows them to view your battle pets means that they can still find you, even if you choose to ignore them. It’s honestly a double whammy.
If you haven’t already, I would urge you to make a suggestion on changing the way guild chat works, to not update if the user has left. You could post in general but that might be unwise. You could however submit an in-game suggestion to have it sent straight to blizzard.
You are unlikely to hear any feedback from your suggestion submitted but I know that at least they will see the idea.
Posting it here will not get it passed on to developers and they do not check this specific forum.
I shall check it out when I get logged in later. ^^
And while I get it would be a nuisance (especially having to do it for each affected character and the weekly cooldown hardcoded into the system), I wonder if you did delete your character, maybe give it a day and then undelete them. I wonder if that would be enough to break that connection where they could trace you from your guild chat after the character restoration.
There was, but it does not work anymore. It just removes you from the guild and auto-updates the character with your new server and new name if you chose one. I tested this extensively when I moved several of my characters from my old server to Moon Guard, because it frankly speaking flabbergasted me.
So I tested manually deleteing messages which I created in guild. It deletes the message:
[characterName]: This message has been deleted by characterNameOfCharacterWhoDeleted. The text is all in grey, but the user name, which is the variable that updates, remains.
It has to be done manually for each, which is blerg.
Personally, I kinda wish I could delete all the past guild chats, say set a 90 day (or whatever) purge or something. There is no reason for more than that, it just becomes extra (possibly personal) information sitting around. This is a common tech company problem. It always makes me scratch my head from a protection stance…if you don’t save the information forever, you don’t have to protect it forever. Mind blown!
Anyway, I don’t see how you can get it so that your current characterName-Server info is not updated in the old guild. I agree with the making a suggestion. You can make that ingame: Game Menu::Options::Support::Submit Feedback
I will say this, though. If you go into the account options and opt to not share any of your info (the forum is different, but also has some privacy options), 3rd party actors that want to continue having access will delete your old information and not be able to update any new info (as Blizz API will not allow from that point forward). I cannot find my character on any of the sites I have tried: wowhead, some pvp stuff. I didn’t look very hard though as I am not much concerned. So there is that. Of course, the armory still exists and that is what it is.
Sorry to hear about this stuff. Creepy behavior always makes me sad.
Edit: I tested this because my thoughts were, well maybe if one deleted all their messages before they left…but alas! no love there. And that would be some heavy forethought, anyway.
