I feel the reason its offensive is that it was someone related to the company who leaked the info, and more importantly uploaded the alpha client to bittorrent. Past that I don't find it offensive for people not connected to blizzard wanting to post info about the expansion

I know what your saying, and it's quite frankly, annoying that Blizzard is yelling so much. However, look at it this way. They release a skill for hunters in Alpha, say, heat seeker. By the time it hits live, Heat Seeker is no longer called Heat Seeker, it's called Blind Shot. And it's no longer a skill, it's a talent that allows one shot to ricochet off of something, hitting someone that you had targetted but moved out of LOS. Imagine the uproar when it comes out on Live, and you can't have a Heat seeking shot anymore. This way, Blizzard feels that they can't experiment. Find new ways to make new skills which we will want, but don't want to make us overpowered. *Yes, I used a Hunter Example, because I love my Hunter and his pet.* But not only that, Blizzard can want to release only certain information. I hate having to run to find a guide because I can't figure out how to do something.

@ Tim

Good point and all man but when it comes down to it blizzards gonna do what they're gonna do. They might feel pressured by the community here and there but they've always struck me as the developers that do their own thing.

The harm is that these things were simply not meant to be shown, and for good reason. To one side you already have people screaming about ugly death knights or their class being ruined, on the other you have people who may be disappointed once they realize that what looked very good in the alpha notes have been changed or removed for the final release.

Looking at an alpha version only makes people create false assumptions, and this hurts Blizzard in the long run.

in the midst of nastiness like patch bugs, mass bannings, and players leaving for new games, there's nothing better for blizz than to have some of this info leak out.

i was *this* close to switching to AoC before i read some of these speculative wrath details... now i'm hooked again.

I agree half my guild doesnt know anything about this when we try to talk about it. And I thought my fellow raiders were at least as geeky as I. Anyway, the point is the people involved are the fans looking for it. Blizzard isn't going to lose them.

I suppose there is the competition aspect involved, but I dont think thats that big of a deal either.

I cannot believe that you guys are criticizing Blizzard for wanting to protect their asset and their product. What if you were working on a school/work project and your teacher/boss gave you a grade before it was finished?

I use this analogy because each of you that criticize blizzard will be the main ones, QQ'ing on the forums that the "ALPHA" changes are unfair. Shut up....grow up, respect the process.

However, in relation to where responsibility lie in a site displaying alpha content. Even if you did not sign an NDA, I think there is an ethical responsibility of the blog/hosting site (that endorses the game) to not post information that:

1. Could be inaccurate or misleading (the information is speculation) I doubt that the individual who leaked it, would confirm their submission.

2. Could cause Blizzard to create policies or practices that reduce the already controlled flow of information provided to the public. The PTR experience can always be closed completely and patches could be tested by a private third party.

I think the game will be a greater experience when the entire concept can be observed. Posting any alpha leaks is risky in my opinion, it seems that what the media prints, makes it fact. I would choose to preserve my journalistic integrity and post facts, not something that could change overnight.

I said my peace....

Whats the harm?

Have you read the WoW forums lately?

Don't be simple. Any criticism that blizzard gets now will hinder their creative flow. Allow them to get the mechanics of the new features down first. If you have a suggestion, post it on their forums. For now, its not time for you to see it. They dont want your feedback, if they did, it would have been an open alpha.