Not sure if this is this is the wrong place for my questions, but figured to start here.
First time I noticed this happening was before around Christmas I believe, but I didn’t think much about it then. Occasionally when you whisper someone in-game it sends the whisper as a battle.net whisper EVEN when you don’t have the person as a battle.net friend. I wasn’t too bothered about it, until I noticed the other day that people that I don’t have on my friends list appear on the chats and groups and I can see their online status and if they are in wow or any other bnet game. I know it probably doesn’t make much sense for a lot of people, but I am the kind of person that only add VERY few people to battle.net friend list as I don’t feel like playing the game of toggling on and off offline mode. I know, its virtual people… but I am just one of those anxiety riddled people who occasionally just like to go quest on an alt no one knows about, not because I have something to hide, but just don’t feel like dealing with people at that moment.
I assume that people I can see in my chat and group thing on the battle.net screen can see me?
If I use appear offline mode do I appear offline there? Or will I appear offline and be betrayed by having “World of Warcraft” pop up under my name?
If I am in guild with someone that now has me on their chat list since what was an in-game whisper to their in-game character instead went to battle.net when we’re not battle.net friends do I dissapear from their list if I block their battle.net? And follow-up, if I block their battle.net and we’re in the same guild do they not see me in guild anymore? (ie, would it be discovered that I blocked them?)
I’m guessing its a bug that sometimes whispers sent in-game to in-game character not on your battle.net friends send as bnet whisper? (asking so I can go fill a bug report)
Not entirely accurate, but replies are very rare. They’ll only post if they need more information in that forum. It would also be the correct forum to have this addressed by the appropriate teams.
You could potentially go one step further by posting in the Desktop App Bug Report forum.
Full stop, this shouldn’t be happening. No exceptions, no extenuating circumstances. Not even occasionally. Personally I have never experienced this. If you’re certain you don’t have them included on your socials list through mutual connection, there should not be anything connecting you two in any way.
As you’re describing an unintended scenario, it’s difficult to say what the other parties can see-- you could very well be the only person experiencing this at this time. Blizzard may also not be able to divulge this information as it involves third parties and is one of their core tenets surrounding privacy concerns.
You will appear virtually offline everywhere. World of Warcraft is the exception in that your character name will be displayed in guild/community listings or on someone’s character-based social list.
See above.
My first guess is you wouldn’t be on their list in the first place. Are they adding as Battle.Net contacts on your end or simply being logged as chat transcriptions?
While ignored, the player cannot whisper you, and you will not receive their friend requests or group invites.
Bear in mind this is only relevant to account-based activities. Blue Battle.Net chats, other games such as Overwatch or HoTS where you connect on the account-level. You will still need to block them in-game on your characters to stymie all private contact.
I should note that if you’re able to message them in the first place without being connected at the account-level, then blocking them may similarly be ineffective at the present time.
Ok good to know. Does this include the different versions of wow?
Say if I am set to offline, and the person that now appears on the chat is on anniversary classic and I am on retail, I would/should just appear as offline right? Although as you said
I get that we might not know that.
I figured pictures might be easier? So this person does not show up on my friend list, only my actual bnet friends show there. https://postimg.cc/8jnyRkdY
However, if I click on chat and groups they do show up on that page. I even tested and sent them a message from this page when I was not logged into wow and it sent to them. They first appeared here after an “inv” in-game for raid inv popped their chat bnet blue instead of whisper pink. https://postimg.cc/9rf8ww9T
Yes, I only have 7 bnet friends as I only have my spouse and people I know irl. I know that’s probably a weird thing? I just don’t like to forever sit in offline mode and I’d end up not playing some days where I both really wanted to and frankly needed the escape wow or D3 gives me. I live with anxiety, but you never get rid of it. I have it manageable enough that I go out, I shop, I’m going back to school - just sharing to point out that it might appear that I let anxiety win over me in this silly quest for only appearing for people I add to my battle.net list, but that’s only because this is my escape and safespace I push myself and my anxiety daily.
Anyway… enough rambling! Thanks for your detailed response Ekon <3
Correct, they are separate. You’ll only know if someone is playing a different version of the game at the same time you are if you’re connected via battletag.
Ok! Thanks again for clarifying that! Although I prefer to not just stick in offline modus, I guess I will do that for a bit for my anxiety! (Also, I am making bug report post now)
Thanks Ekon!
And for what it’s worth, this is not a weird thing at all. To an extent even I do it, though my circles do branch out a little. Social anxiety is a very valid reason for keeping your number small and manageable.
But for all intents and purposes you should absolutely report this in the appropriate forums. You can also delete that chat from your launcher if it causes too much stress. It may still be on their end but they may not know who you are.
And really, maybe you have no need, in which case why would you add people? Just to add them? I have 1 IRL friend who still plays and maybe 3 IRL acquaintances, and a few people that I think were acquaintances but I’ve forgotten them, and maybe a couple that I added one time after we ran some dungeons, but really those first 4 are the only ones that need to be there. Guildies I connect to through guild interface. I don’t do a lot of group content these days though, and when I do it’s through group finder - I’m just not at a place in my life where I’m going to regularly track down specific people to play with.
It’s not a competition. You’re not an Instagram influencer who needs all the followers. It’s a tool - use it in the way that works for you and don’t worry if other people are using it a different way.
In fact, though I would like to be battle.net friends with that one IRL friend, we’re not, and I suspect their reasons are similar to yours - as much as we like playing together, sometimes they want to log on and chill without feeling any pressure to do stuff with me, and I respect that! Not that I would pressure them, but they would know I know they’re in game, and I guess they don’t want to have to fiddle with the online setting.
