They are exactly the same on their own. A text name that is not unique with an identifier after it that is unique, but shows when you hover over it.
Further, nobody is asking for the character-server avatar and info to go away either. So BOTH would be displayed. That makes it very easy to see that the character and Btag don’t match. No need to go searching for info to compare two people.
This feels like some attempt to create an issue or diversion. There are MANY reasons Btags being the core of our forum ID and having them displayed with the char avatar is better. They have been listed many times, and in my case sockpuppets are the least of it, although still important. One more rabbit hole to dive down.
I think that was because several thread were made on CS, which is not the place to report forum issues - BUT it did get attention and I suspect pushed the issue over to the Mods. Mods were likely asked to check into it and fix it. So yeah, that did stop from that person/persons. Until it got dealt with though only people who took the time to look into each impersonation char and compare to the original realized what was going on. It was frustrating.
Yes. It happened once on the D3 forums, was done maliciously, and resulted in significant penalties after it got pushed up for investigation. It cost the person real money to do though, and is very very rare.
The impersonation argument is not one I have been involved in to speak of and I don’t have it on my list of reasons for Btags. I am pretty lucky though, even if someone tried to impersonate me, they can’t get green text. I get why others really were bothered when it was easy to do. I can see why they would want it harder to do which having the Btag under the char data would do. Not impossible, but much harder to accomplish.
I am just going to quote the OP here - and why I brought this issue back up to discuss:
And then back to my point:
My question to you then is, how is adding one more identifier on top of the number of identifiers we already have going to stop people from impersonating? If they do so now knowing that it is pretty easy for anyone who is looking to realize they are an impostor, what does adding a publically displayed btag to that information accomplish?
Question: if someone deletes/renames a character, the name gets released, and someone else picks that name, what happens to that characters forum history?
Ah, the point they were making I think, is that it is NOT easy to tell that someone is an imposter without pulling up the two side by side and comparing the details like post count, achievements, etc. Those are not things most people naturally remember about other posters. We remember the name, transmog, and posting style usually. Some of the imposters go so far as to imitate the transmog, guild name, etc.
Anything that helps, like adding a Btag which costs money to change after the first change, reduces the ease of impersonation. Even casual forum users are likely to realize that two people are not the same. Seriously, only the really regular posters take the time to look up the numeric details. Most go with what just shows “in your face”. This is what I would like to see. So we keep the ability to use a char/transmog, but have the info bound to one core ID which shows even if we choose to post with other alts.
It belongs to the “new” Charname-server I think. I don’t think there is any Bnet or licence check linked to it which is why making a replacement charname-server after a transfer gives them back their history, trust level, etc. I have not tested that though. I don’t have another Bnet or even license.
That is my thought as well. I have not seen anyone try it, because you would have to know someone was name changing or transferring AND know when the lock on that name expired + want to be waiting to grab it and exploit it.
It can be done I THINK, but it is a bit tricky to pull off.
That said, Btags would solve that because the trust level, post count, post history, would all belong to the Btag, not the individual chars. Further, behind our Btags is an account number that we never see. Everything it bound to it which lets us change email address, Btag, account name, etc. That core account number is the ID that will never change.
Assuming the person you are trying to impersonate deletes/renames their character, that name is reserved and nobody can use that name for 90 days after you change your name, for 30 days if your character was level 30 or higher and that character was deleted.
*I stand corrected, realm transfers do reserve the name to the Battle.net account
If the character is level 30+ and it is deleted or otherwise removed from the realm (i.e. character transfer), the name will be reserved by your Battle.net account for 30 days.
Or maybe the behavior isn’t being defended and the poster is simply posing a question and getting gaslit and accused of supporting behavior because they are questioning the validity of the reasons being given, again.
