I was most amused to see just now that I have been banned from Spouse Aggro. Beau has been resolutely defending RealID all week on the grounds that anyone who thinks they might get stalked is being paranoid about something that will never happen. He and Leila even podcasted about it where Beau argued that if you take "sensible" security precautions like never opening your front door until you've seen who it is, keeping a gun handy and owning dogs you don't need to worry about internet stalkers showing up.
I pointed politely out that the pot might be calling the kettle black. And got banned. I guess some people don't like losing arguments.
Beau and Leila are morons. I pointed out Leila's hypocrisy half a year ago (I can't even remember the issue now) and the pair went mental on me in the comments.
ReplyDeleteI deleted my bookmark to their site, unsubscribed from their podcast, and nuked my blogroll link to their hole.
People are best to ignore what they have to say, in my opinion.
How convenient that my city recently lost a gun ban fight. But maybe I'd have been able to get an exemption on the grounds of "I play WoW and RealID is creeping in."
ReplyDeleteIt would seem to be that Internet security should be almost entirely unrelated to physical security. While there is the dumb stuff like writing down a password and losing it, for the most part I don't think I should be worried that the Internet will jump out of a dark alley and kick my ass.
Well, maybe if I was a Scientologist.
What really makes me wonder is that you really read this blog. Batshit insane.
ReplyDeleteWell I'd like to think that owning a gun would protect me against someone I ganked phoning my boss to tell her I'm a douchebag.
ReplyDeleteProblem is I'm not quite sure how.
Maybe Beau will explain.
Hmm... I haven't been over to their place for a while. As good a time as any to go ahead and edit the blogroll.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I'm concerned, RealID is indefensible. Forum cleaning is good, but RealID, absolutely not.
I don't think it's indefensible as long as it's optional. It's actually quite an improvement for people who really don't mind being rather transparent. People on your list can call you in from other games to raid and so on. Even the marketing side of it is defensible. Better demographic intelligence needn't mean you see more ads, it could mean you see more relevant ads.
ReplyDeleteIt becomes indefensible when they try to push it on people who don't want it.
I think Stabs has the right of it. While some players would enjoy it, and I see no reason not to let them set their privacy on fire if they want to, the idea of forcing RealID on all forum posters was utterly assinine.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Andrew, I wouldn't even worry about it Stabs. I have pretty much disagreed with everything Beau says, and he says a lot.
ReplyDeleteSurely the issue isn't where you stand on this but rather that anyone who disagrees with where *they* stand gets censored?
ReplyDeleteI'm all for nuking the stuff that deserves it on my blog (advert links, pron, that sort of stuff) but I'm damned if I'll shut someone up -- or even virtually slam the door in their face -- just because they're arguing with me.
Overreact much?
Yes it was a rather extreme reaction. It doesn't seem to be the first time they've done it. Nor is it the first time I've been booted off someone's site for debating politely.
ReplyDeleteTheir site, their rules. But I won't be going back.
To be honest, my favorite commenters are the ones that frequently disagree with me, and challenge me to back up my articles.
ReplyDeleteOh hi, Stabs. =P
"It becomes indefensible when they try to push it on people who don't want it."
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's what I meant. Optional stuff doesn't bother me. Thanks for clarifying. ;)
Oh, and seconding Andrew.
Hmm. I might have to reassess whether I want to continue reading his blog. I disagree with nearly everything he says but I like to read contrary opinions.
ReplyDeleteUnderstanding the foundation of someone else's argument lets you know which weak points to strike in order to bring the whole building down. And if there are no weak points -- well perhaps they sway my opinion and that in itself is worth the read.
But generally the only reason I can stand reading his insanity is because I've always thought he's been pretty fair with comments.
Going around banning readers from your site for no good reason is a fast way to get on my do-not-read (ever) list.
They are control freaks who are delicate flowers over at MMO Voices. This does not surprise me as they delete blog comments I made. Check out the entire story where on my site at http://www.yak.mmosmacktalk.com/?p=1114
ReplyDeleteOh my word they even commented on your podcast with:
ReplyDelete"But it’s always someone elses fault, right Yak? It’s ALWAYS someone else and never a character train you might possess."
Pot, kettle.
Great rant, Yak!