Eliyes

WHEN I AM CROSSING THE ROAD ON THE FUCKING CROSSWALK AND THE FUCKING CROSSWALK LIGHTS ARE FLASHING -- WHICH EVEN I COULD SEE FROM HALFWAY UP THE BRIDGE, LOOKING DOWN THE LENGTH OF A PACKED FUCKING BUS -- YOU MIGHT WANNA SLOW THE FUCK DOWN, DOUCHEBAG. SCREECHING YOUR FUCKING BRAKES AND TRYING TO FISHTAIL INTO THE NEXT LANE WHEN THERE ISN'T EVEN ANY FUCKING ICE ON THE ROAD JUST SHOWS THAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE THAT LITTLE RED TOY SPORTS CAR WRAPPED AROUND A POLE PRETTY FUCKING SOON UNLESS YOU START TO PAY SOME FUCKING ATTENTION.

*hyperventilates*

Fuck a bunch of this shit! I am spending the fucking money to cab to and from the grocery store rather than risk becoming street pizza.

So, I don't play World of Warcraft, but here's a little info that anyone who DOES play it, or indeed plays or intends to play any kind of similar MMORPG, should be aware of:

Blizzard, the company behind WoW, have a new rule about to be instituted, where anyone using their forums will have to post using their REAL first AND last names, where everyone can see. Their stated motive is to cut down on trolling. They are ignoring user protests and safety concerns -- but of course, Blizzard employees won't have to use their real names, because that's a company security concern.

wow_ladies have up an excellent post with links to reactions from the gaming community, statistics about stalking, and what mainstream news coverage there's been so far. I expect they will keep updating.

World of Warcraft is huge in the online gaming industry, and if they put this through successfully, others will follow their lead -- and not just games. As someone who has been stalked by someone I met on the internet -- someone who called my house and sent me a package in the mail -- any move to make my personal information MORE accessible to the internet at large strikes me as a BAD IDEA.

And if you think it's not likely to be a big deal, two things: read this screencap of a post on this subject on 4chan's /v/ board, especially noting the underlined bit and responses thereto, and then check out this blog entry detailing what happened when someone posted their name on the forums and found out just how easy it is to be found.

Penny Arcade's commentary.

Important ETA: WIN! \o/ They've backed off, finally.

Saw an issue of The New Mutants #1 (the new one, obviously) at the FLCS today. Picked it up and after four pages put it down again with a firm decision that Marvel can go fuck itself. Sam and Roberto were bullying the students.

SAM AND ROBERTO. BULLYING.

I THINK FUCKING NOT.

Roberto can be an ass sometimes, but he has major issues with bullying, and Sam -- is Sam. Come on now, people! Cheese and crust, what an appalling mass of OOC writing. *angry facepalm*

Precipitated by this unpleasantness, therefore, walking home saw Tai and myself talking about a happier version of the DCU we started poking at a handful of years ago, and really developed after Graduation Day ticked us off. Anyway, we decided that Spoiler in that 'verse is alive and is the guardian of Blüdhaven.

I feel good about that decision.