Can we have more privacy in forums to feel more safe?

Community General Discussion
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Moderation Note: There have been several similar topics, this is the third created by you. While the discussion overall is fine, the majority of these devolve into arguments, constantly stating the same thing over and over again and overall just unproductive.

The folks who like this idea disagree with those who are firmly in the camp of those who dislike it. Arguing your individual unmovable points through hundreds of posts isn’t really a discussion. You are welcome to it, but it seems rather silly.

Please stick to a single thread, before we have to start merging them into one.

Moderation Note Part 2:

Reopening thread for civil discussion. Accusations of Trolling or X is Y’s alt, which the ones I’ve been have been entirely false so far, will likely be removed. Additional penalties possible, but I’d rather not.

Moderation Note Part 3:

Sorry, folks, but this thread cannot seem to stay on track. Accusing each other of reporting posts, mass reporting, false reporting, etc… who may be alts or switching characters to report or otherwise sock-puppet, etc… If I tried to clean that up it would nuke so many posts it wouldn’t be worth it.

I will allow another thread to be created if Nelfas wishes, but any such call outs, accusations of trolling, sock-puppeting, that a post has been reported and restored, etc… well… please avoid it, this is getting old.

Ongoing trend in forums: People check players’ profiles, armory and link other characters before “validating” a player’s opinion. If these players do not meet their requirements, they start ridiculing people, trashing topics, and derailing them without any consequences.

Is not the purpose of discussion in forums is to exchange ideas, share experiences and engage in meaningful conversations? Unfortunately, some individuals misuse these forums by trolling, posting nonsense gifs, and derailing topics into 404.

It’s disheartening when discussions devolve into chaos due to such behavior. Ideally, discussions should foster understanding, encourage diverse viewpoints and lead to constructive outcomes.

Here are my two suggestions:

  1. Anonymous posting

The absence of an option to post anonymously can be frustrating for users. Anonymity allows people to express themselves freely without fear of judgment or retaliation. It can also protect vulnerable individuals who might hesitate to share personal experiences and thoughts openly. Implementing an anonymous posting feature could encourage more genuine participation and reduce the impact of trolls.

  1. Fully hide your armory

Having the ability to fully hide one’s armory from repeat stalkers would enhance user privacy and security. Armory information reveals a player’s gear, achievements, playstyle etc. While some players appreciate the transparency, others may prefer to keep certain details PRIVATE Implementing an option to hide the armory from the public would empower players to control their own information.

Thoughts?

Thank You. :four_leaf_clover:

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I also want 15 more character slots! And buff holy paladins
If I get 15 more character slots and hpal buffs and the option to hide armory, I am going to make 15 more hpals and nobody can say a thing about it because they won’t know

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I don’t think I have ever had a reason to look at someone’s character/profile to find validation in what they are saying.

I know they’ve done it to me but I also don’t care, the fact they had to means they didn’t have a strong case to begin with.

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Checking profiles is how you find sock puppet (you know who you are). Other then that, some people here have some really nice transmogs. :slight_smile:

Complete anonymous posting does not reduce the impact of trolls, it exacerbates it. Anonymity brings out the worst in people. See: 4Chan.

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if they make claims about their in-game achievements to get a 1 up on others ill check to validate/disprove it.

if another toon starts talking as if they aren’t the other toon, but sound exactly the same, ill check

probably wont say anything in the thread but it amuses me

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#1 way to have privacy on forums: Don’t post.

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You can create a classic character with no armory at all or I think there’s the option to unlink a character from your account wide achievements etc. but like with logs if you don’t have anything to show for, people will just expect that you had nothing to show for, so it’s all the same.

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I wanted to read what you said because the word “safe” was used. I didn’t really see anything about safety. However i will say that you can maintain anonymity by just putting folks on ignore. Personally i don’t do that as i like to laugh at others getting so incredibly upset in a video game forum but it is a tool that is available if someone is stalking you or bothering you.

Not sure that anonymity will provide for fewer trolls, if anything i would think it would get worse, people already troll all over the place on GD.

Anyone should already be able to participate however they feel on GD and the other WoW forums, not really sure what character anonymity matters much. However maybe as a half measure they could have a separate portion of the WoW forums where they implement what you are asking for and see how it goes, not sure how it would work but that’s up to Blizzard to figure out.

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No.

For full discussion, see the thread YOU ALREADY MADE ON THIS SUBJECT and was locked 15 days ago: New forum function - posting anonymously, as Anonymous

Ignore and mute.

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This is the 3rd post he’s made on this topic.

The 2nd also got locked.

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As opposed to obvious sock puppets manipulating people or mass flagging?

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I have a hot take that some people are only mean to others (worst case: new players) about their performance because that’s the only way anyone will notice or care what they are doing :jigsaw: some people just crave attention so much they will do anything to get it

Edit to clarify, I don’t mean you here, I mean the people you would be checking bc they were meanies

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Makes me wonder what they are so desperate to hide.

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lukewarm take to add to your hot take

if you feel the need to put down another player’s performance/in-game achievements whether it be raid, m+, or pvp, you probably aren’t very confident in your own. classic case of bullying being fed by insecurity

it almost always backfires anyway
seen plenty of cases along the lines of someone ~2800 io being rude to someone <2k, then the 3500 player comes in and puts them in their place lmao

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Can’t agree. In any public forum, opinions…and those that make them…should be open to scrutiny.

However, it behooves the scrutinizer(s) to be fair about it. Fortunately, other forum goers can…well…scrutinize them in return. There’s balance in that.

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Anonimity also gives the user a place to hide behind and troll. Could go either way and I see it being abused more than the other option.

I thought we were able to hide the armory, did they remove that option or something when I wasn’t around?

All in all, I know people are like you said they are on the forums, not all but some. Someone told me the other day my opinion was invalid because of a certain pvp rank i didn’t have. I thought that was funny because man that person must be such a lonely angry individual to place value on World of Warcraft pvp ranks lol.

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People that look at your armory aren’t stalkers I don’t think that means what you want it to mean. I get people can make you feel uncomfortable especially on the forums filled with certain individuals that need validation and a feeling of importance with their own accomplishments in WoW. These people want to shut you down cause they feel like you’re threatening their cherished gameplay.

Also you can hide your armory I believe. But I mean even if you had a btag they’d still act this way. And being anonymous or private or what not to a point would make trolling pretty pervasive imo.

If we all had to use our real names on here and use personal pictures in the end it also wouldn’t change much other than make certain bad behavior from a select few even worse.

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just post on a classic character

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How many times are you going to ask for this?

No one wants anonymity but trolls.

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This is the person who wants a completely anonymous account, but doesn’t want to use BattleTag as the solution because this is an MMORPG forum and characters are an important part of that.

No, it doesn’t make any sense.

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