WoW Data

[onyourleft]

What is the "non-personal specification data" that WoW is going to start collecting (again, apparently)? This is the first time I've encountered this message since playing WoW.

[Ohio Joe]

1. It is your system specs

Blizzard has done this before with other games and it is really nothing to worry about. Every time it happens, a lot of people freak out and worry about privacy issues and from pretty much any other company I would share that. Blizzard just wants to gather system specs so they can fine tune their games... upcoming patches, expansion packs, things like that.

[onyourleft]

2. Thanks for your reply.

While I'm not freaking about this, I do think it would be nice if they would ask me for my specs instead of just taking the specs. Yes, I know, lots and lots of people would not respond to being asked. However, I do cringe whenever someone says they are going to access my computer for whatever reason.

:)

[Ohio Joe]

3. They tried that

They did just that with both Diablo II and Starcraft. I'm trying to remember... crap, it was a long time ago and I forget exactly how it worked but you were able to refuse the data being sent and they got so little data it did not help them at all.

Well... it actually goes back a little further then that... heh. The first attempt they did at gathering data was done without notice to the players. In one of the patches (and again, I forget if it was Diablo II or Starcraft) they had this little program that just sent the data to them, which was great... till someone noticed data being sent from their PC :D A lot of people were wicked upset and at first there was all kinds of complaints about them taking personnel information. They quickly explained and re-patched to stop it, then went to the voluntary system.

I understand their desire to have this data, it can make things not only easier for them but allow them to deliver better quality. I also understand people's reluctance to allow anything to be taken from their PC's. It is one of the reasons I don't care for the pay-to-play game model, you have to go along with whatever they come up with or you can't play your game of choice... well that and I'm cheap, hahahahaha

[onyourleft]

4. True that...

...about pay-to-play games. I'm cheap, too; however, this is basically the only entertainment in which we indulge. :) We may think about moving all of our sensitive data to my laptop. It is slower but might be safer in the long run. We just didn't realize that they did this until the notice was posted this morning. Live and learn. :)

[Orsino]

5. When collecting good data is vital to your business...

...you ought not to trust it to your customers. It's faster and more accurate to gather this info automatically, and the opt-in nature strikes me as fair.

[onyourleft]

6. Opt in?

Doesn't this mean that the customer agrees to have the data taken from their computer or disagrees, as the case may be? I don't think I've been given a choice here except the one where I unload the game and never play again. As long as I play the game, they will be able to secure the data from my computer.

I can see where what you typed could be sarcasm. I certainly hope so.

:)