Re: June 28th Forum Update concern.
As found here.
Quote:
We would like to announce a new function enabling players to link character data to their forum profiles. This feature will go live as part of the FINAL FANTASY XI Forum maintenance scheduled for June 28, 2011.
At present, players are required to use a Square Enix ID when logging into the forums. Characters on the PlayOnline ID associated with this Square Enix ID will now be displayed in forum profiles. Players with more than one character registered to their account may select which character to link.
After logging into the forums following the maintenance, players will be taken to the Profile Settings screen and asked to choose an active character. Forum posts cannot be made until a character has been selected.
Forum profiles will now display the following:
- Character name
- World name
- Up to three jobs and levels of a player's choosing
* The above information cannot be hidden.
Players will retain forum handles.
While some may appreciate this feature, I'm not sure the potential ramifications have been duly considered. The lacking ability to keep this information hidden, in my concern, is that it creates a bullseye for those who go above and beyond to harass other posters they happen to disagree with. As is, said people are often using throwaway accounts to both preserve their own identity and avoid possible punishments to their primary account.
While not as extreme, this situation reminds me of the RealID system Blizzard was contemplating in the past and how the real names of users would have been displayed with their contact information. Some were able to take this info, find specifically where players lived, and dig up pretty much anything related to them that was out there on the net.
As a series of persisting worlds, FFXI players have garnered their own reputations, for better or worse. Polarized opinions tend to be a fuel for drama bait, while some just act to get a rise out of others. The subtlety of this announcement and sudden implementation of it, come the 28th, may very well leave some users wondering if they'll continue posting knowing that some will go above and beyond to make their fellow players miserable, often with no deterring from GM calls in-game or post reports here. Many players probably won't even know about this change until it happens, and by then they won't be able to voice any concerns without agreeing to it.
While I'm okay with the character selection process being mandatory for further forum use, please consider allowing the user to keep that information hidden from others.