Should there be a hide option for RealID?
by Dan Desmond 
Feb 7th 2012 at 8:00PM
Personally, I'm a bit torn on the issue. On the one hand, I can identify with this situation, as I have been there many times before. My own friends would always want to level alts together, but our goals for those characters never quite lined up. I'd find myself creating secret alts on another faction, sometimes on another server -- not only to experience more of the story and lore than I had before, but to just be alone. Of course, this was all before the RealID system was implemented, because after its debut, I was not able to start a new draenei paladin or blood elf rogue without being flooded with questions and, admittedly, a little guilt.
On the other hand, there is a very simple solution to all of this: Put your foot down. If someone asks why you're on Area 52 rolling a worgen warlock (or why you're even rolling a warlock in the first place, yuck), I think we all can agree that the best solution would be to honestly and delicately state that you need some time off, away from all of your in-game obligations -- including those inquiring minds. But is confronting your pursuers really that easy? For some, this type of thing comes naturally, and I for one am extremely envious of these people. For others, confrontation of this sort is not something we want to deal with, and the option to hide from RealID becomes a safe, albeit passive-aggressive, option.
What do you think? Is this a feature that Blizzard should be working on, or should these players find other means of enjoying the game in solitary peace?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
bethontheharbor Feb 7th 2012 8:07PM
Yes a hide fature would be nice as well as cloaking your last login. There are just times you want to be left alone, and people can't seem to get that.
Xantenise Feb 7th 2012 8:54PM
This. As much as Dan says that it's only a matter of confrontation, it's really not that easy. I used to put up my DND flag, and I'd get swarmed with whispers that completely ignored it until I pointed it out.
And then they'd go, "Oh, sorry."
Then ten minutes later they'd TALK TO ME AGAIN. *Headdesk*
Also, nine times out of ten, the person who whispers me somehow thinks they're an exception to my DND because they're my friend, and they act hurt and injured and upset until *I* end up having to apologise just to make them feel better because they can't deal with the fact that I don't want to talk all the time.
AltairAntares Feb 8th 2012 12:26AM
The lack of a hide option is the single reason I don't use it. I want to be able to choose when I have to talk to people, and want to be able to just do what I want when I want to be alone.
Nathanyel Feb 8th 2012 1:21AM
Do BNet friends even see your afk/dnd tag?
Bapo Feb 7th 2012 8:08PM
Its not vital to my gaming experience, but it would be nice to have.
On the random occasion where I want to be left alone, I pop the busy flag, and put my comment as DND and then I'm fine.
ayanamilily Feb 7th 2012 8:18PM
This. If people don't understand or respect a DND flag, perhaps they should not be on your RealID friends list. Or friends in real life either.
sandfleaz Feb 7th 2012 8:09PM
Yes, alone time is important after a hectic day. Just telling the guilders that are on at the time you start doesnt do it, everyone who logs on later also has to be told. I've got too s on different servers without a guild when I just want to decompress
Noyou Feb 7th 2012 8:10PM
Should there be a hide option from your RL friends? Yeah. Probably. The other option is be an adult and be able to communicate to them you need some "me time". But not everyone is capable of doing that, so yeah, unfortunately there should be.
raingod Feb 7th 2012 8:25PM
And not everyone understands "leave me alone" when you tell them unfortunately.
Tondef Feb 7th 2012 8:13PM
Yes.
Thanks, that is all.
J G Feb 7th 2012 8:18PM
I don't think it would be that easy for me to explain my friends the reason i am leveling a worgen warlock in Moon Guard. Jk! But yeah, this is something i would like to have.
Skyrei Feb 7th 2012 8:18PM
It would be a nice addition to Real ID.
It would probably get more people using it. Many of the people i know wont use real ID without such a feature.
Sharlatan Feb 8th 2012 7:25PM
I wont use it until you can hide your logon.
Yes you can explain to people you want to jsut go solo for a while, but if you are wanting to go solo, you probably dont want to spend 10mins explaining why... and there is ALWAYS some drama queen who gets all hurt because of it.
no, I dont walk round in RL with a tracer so all my friends know where I am 24/7, why should I ingame?
dazziq Feb 7th 2012 8:18PM
Yes. I'm hoping they at least add this with the new Battle.net BattleTag coming in the future, if not for Real ID.
Drakkenfyre Feb 7th 2012 8:52PM
I don't see that happening.
Battletags aren't even private. When you are in a Diablo 3 game, and someone joins, their Battletag goes up in the lefthand corner. Not their character name, their Battletag. If you hover over their name, you get their character name.
It's sort of like the name system in STO. You have your character name and account name put together in chat. So if you say something, it's Charactername@Accountname.
And the Battletag system is being ported to WoW and StarCraft 2. Imagine seeing a Battletag in chat instead of a character name.
cosmicape Feb 7th 2012 8:39PM
I like my privacy. The reason I have real ID is so I can be contacted by my guild leader when they need me to tank something. But sometimes I just want to cruise around under the radar without having to tell people not to bother me.
StClair Feb 7th 2012 8:54PM
Yes, full stop.
Rolly Feb 7th 2012 8:56PM
You shouldn't even need to ask.
Of course there should be a hide option.
Arrohon Feb 7th 2012 9:12PM
"or why you're even rolling a warlock in the first place, yuck"
Dan, you just won a fan.
Anyways, I am a major supporter of this for... non-typical reasons. My father really enjoyed Starcraft when it was relevant, but he believes (and I quote) that World of Warcraft is "demonic". However, my mom plays and as such, obviously disagrees. While he currently doesn't own Starcraft 2, if he were, and I were to get it as well, NOT adding him as a Real ID friend wouldn't go over well (and just be rude). If that happens, (and it very well might) I'll need a hide function, to create another battle.net account (not likely as I have the Cata CE... I want my worgen skin), or never play WoW anywhere away from my mom again (and likely deal with shit when I do play where I'm allowed).
That's my very personal reason why I'm supporting this. My dad's an ignorant ass (can you tell I'm a teenager ;).
Zanathos Feb 8th 2012 4:04PM
Yikes. If he's not too good with computers, you could try telling him you don't use realID because it slows down the system or opens you to exploits or something scary sounding, if it comes up.