Oh I will in due course have that refund, assuming I don’t keep it for other ventures. But first…
I’ll have it on record from Vrak or Orlyia first that this is acceptable behavior and that they won’t assist.
Edit: This was a very poorly written post, and it came off as overly hostile which honestly, wasn't my intention at all irregardless of what the peanut gallery here may think. The words "They" were never meant to be directed at Vrak and Orlyia, and were more directed at what I thought was overarching Blizzard policy. So if they came off in any other way, I am sorry. It was not my intent.
The forums will also note that rather than 'hide' from my post, like some people on social media love to do when they start deleting their posts due to 'heat', I don't believe in that. I prefer to leave the original words up, because I don't mind owning my screw ups when I make them. This post was very poorly written, and at a time when I was tired and stressed. My mindset at the time was that something was enriching and rewarding people who engage in harassment, while harming the people being harassed.
I'd bought a race change under the impression that after years of not having a specific name, which I lost around WoD or just before it (as I had some serious issues at the tale end of MoP); I thought maybe I had finally recovered the name and closed an old wound.. only to have it seemingly ninja snatched by someone while I was in the middle of a race change. Having seen many friends driven off over the years because of mobs of psychology, it's made me pretty indifferent and pitiless towards people who do petty or spiteful things simply to harm their fellow players. Intent matters. Motive always matters. Context is important. You may think it doesn't but it's the fundamental difference between accident, error of judgment, and malice and afore thought.
While ultimately this wound up being something I later learned from Vrakthris was simply not the case, it was something I missed at the time, because the new Warband doesn't make you formally switch servers now as it did in the past. I've used one system for 20 something years and now we're on a new one. As it turned out the name I scored had actually wound up being on a different server, though I thought I was on my primary server when I got the name. I think if anyone is going to be honest with themselves, they could easily of made the same error in my place
Still. Hindsight is 20/20. Because since others have since tried to spin it various ways I'll clarify here and now to put the matter to bed. It was not intended to be a 'gatcha' moment, or a slight toward either of them. While I concede it did come off spicier than I intended, I can only argue that people should consider the context of the statement. At the time I was being dog-piled by countless people many of whom were insinuating there was 'more to the story' or that I had ill-intentions. As you've seen now, there were not. I don't roll that way. There was an error, but it was not admittedly the one I thought it was. I legitimately thought at the time that the same person who had screwed with me in the past was back at it again and getting away with it. Since I'd also bought a race change, I did at the time feel like I'd been burned to a degree.
But instead of accepting that, look how quick to judge so many of you were. So eager to scream "We're right, your wrong". Well it turned out both of our views and premises were wrong. I'll admit to as much. Can you? While Internet communication is not always my strong suite, people need to remember there's a human being behind every post, and one can only stack so much fire-resistance on these forums. So think about that before you dog-pile someone. Or don't. I really don't expect much from the forums at large. The way some people now absent from this thread have posted supply the 'why'. The only people on the forums I put stock in the words of, tends to be the CMs, who I often refer to as the MiB, or 'moderators in blue.'
However I do believe in making sure my statements are interpreted the right way. So I'll reword this and add some clarification. At the time I wrote this, I was operating under a mindset that later proved to be quite incorrect. What I **meant** in that initially short statement, was to say was "For everyone else's bluster and effort to attack me, and impeach my character; I'd like to have Vrakthris and Orlyia weigh in on whether or not Blizzard as a company deems it acceptable for a scenario to arise where 'when a person is in the process of a race change, another player tries and undermine that process by stealing the name in the time that the player is on the screen performing the race change.'
Why did I ask them that? Because in all of my dealings with them, they've always laid it out straight, even when it's not what you want to hear. Knowledge is king, and if it spared someone else from being in a similar situation to myself; I deemed it worth asking. Fact is, the CMs in my eyes are basically the Supreme Court of Blizzard. If they say or rule that it's a duck, you can safely conclude that it is most likely a duck.
The mindset I had at the time that I wrote it came from a place of concern and frustration. It seemed to me that 'if' such a thing had happened (and it turned out to be something totally different), it surely would quantify as a form of gameplay sabotage, and so I felt at the time, and with the facts as I understood them; that in such a scenario a person doing so during such a tight window had to know exactly what they are doing, and why. Randomness would be very unlikely.
While ultimately it was neither that which the forums thought, nor what I thought; that's the there in the there. My primary concern was, that I didn't want someone else to get into a similar situation, such as the one that I had perceived befallen me.
But I'll restate it again. There was never any intention to disparage or attack Orlyia or Vrakthris, and I don't want it being insinuated by an MVP or any others. As I said before, I trust both Vrakthris and Orlyia. They've always been professionals. They always give a straight answer and I respect that about them. Stress can make a person's words come out wrong. The above was extremely short and bad wording. I've tried to correct it to the best of my abilities.
To everyone working in Blizzard CS, thank you for all you do. If in any way any of you felt slighted by anything I said in this thread, consider this a heartfelt apology. I respect and appreciate everything you guys do tremendously. Both the hard work you do; and the amount of things you put up with. I know it is not an easy job sometimes. I am sorry if I added to the burden. I hope you have a great weekend and holiday season.
Because from my perspective such knowledge will protect others on WRA from falling victim to the same predators.
It’s not a name change issue though (why GMs keep missing that I don’t know…) It’s a race change issue.