Forced name change of inactive toon!!!

#0 - May 30, 2009, 3:27 a.m.

I'm seriously beyond anything Ticked off right now.

I was told that when you save a name it's yours. Forever. That blizzard cannot and willnot give it to another person.

I was proven wrong today.

"Greetings,

This notice is to inform you that your character Aura on the Dath'Remar realm has been given a temporary name in order to allow another player to have access to that name due to yours being inactive. We understand that you may have grown attached to this name, however we thank you for your understanding in this situation."

That is wrong. Completely Wrong.

I have 2 accounts... that name is on my second account. I checked EVERY SINGLE DAY to see if that name was available to me because I love that name.
My druid is Aurami.... and I wanted to name her Aura.

I finally get the name.... right when I get laid off from my job 2 months earlier than I was leaving (due to moving) and so I didn't think it wise to pay for the name change then.

I've been hanging onto that name waiting until i got a job so that I could change Aurami's name to Aura.... and here they go and steal the name from me WITHOUT ANY WARNING....

This is completely not fair.

If someone else wants the name that at least ASK first!!!
Don't just TAKE it.

>.<
~~ Fuming mad right now.

Reythur

#10 - May 30, 2009, 4:04 a.m.

You have my apologies, Hummingbird, however it would appear that this decision was made based on a significant number of factors. First, and foremost is that the character in question was never logged into and was created sometime ago; it is certain that this character is and was inactive for a very long time.

Additionally, the other characters on the realm had not been logged into for a significant period of time either; this makes it obvious that you're simply holding the names, and not utilizing them for active characters. Additionally, you mentioned that you had planned to change your Druid's name however, the character in question was originally created several months ago and your Druid hasn't been logged into for over two months.

While it is an extremely rare situation — and requires circumstances like those I mentioned above — we may acquiesce to a request to have a name made available for use. Such requests are not usually granted, however it would appear that due to the situation surrounding the name in question, it was.

Should you have an issue with this, please feel free to email WoWGMFeedback-US@Blizzard.com. Again, you have my apologies for any inconveniences that this may have caused.

Reythur

#13 - May 30, 2009, 4:08 a.m.

It's a very case-by-case basis and isn't likely to occur.

As I mentioned, the character was never even logged into over a period of several months; it's very unlikely that such a thing would happen with a character that's at least been logged into and played a bit. ^_^

Reythur

#28 - May 30, 2009, 4:41 a.m.

I'm going to try to make this as clear as possible for all of you as it would appear that the key point of this entire situation has been missed.

A character was created approximately 6 months ago. This character 1) was never logged into (not even once) 2) was on an account with other character on the same realm that had not been logged into for a very long time.

While it is the generally accepted understanding that names are first come, first serve there comes a point where it's quite obvious that a character isn't being used and therefore the name isn't actively being used.

Are we going to free up the name on a character that is level 30 something and hasn't been logged into for a while? That's even more unlikely that this situation (which is rare). Are we going to change the name of an even lower level character that you use as a "bank alt"? Not likely. Are we going to change the name of a character that you've never logged into after you created it 6 months ago? Maybe.

There really is nothing to worry about unless you happen to like to make names unusable on random realms you never play on and someone happens to ask us about it. It's unlikely, rare, and only in extraordinary circumstances does it ever occur.

Reythur

#38 - May 30, 2009, 4:49 a.m.

Q u o t e:
While the reasons for this specific case are very valid, this sets a precedent in which many people will now know and petition a GM to make certain names available.

And it's still likely to result in the same response of "no".

Our stance really hasn't changed at all regarding the matter.

The reasons you never hear about situations like this is because they are that rare; I think I've only heard of less than five times that this has occurred, ever. =/

And as I mentioned previously, Hummingbird, you're more than welcome to email our feedback address if you would like to leave comment regarding the matter.

Reythur

#48 - May 30, 2009, 5:01 a.m.

Q u o t e:
pointing out the fact that this entire thing is very much contra Blizzard's previously stated stance on toon names.

While I understand your point of view, it's really not contradictory to our policies.

As much as I usually hate analogies, I'm going to use one here.

You want to buy something at the store. You call the store and realize that they only have one of them. So you ask them to put it on hold and they agree to do so.

You never go and pick it up; however, the store continues to hold it for you. Then someone comes along and asks if they have one of that item and they decide that it's been quite sometime since you called and put it on hold so they give it to the new person to buy.

Is that the same thing as if you buy something from a store and take it home and play with it for awhile and someone goes to the same store and tries to buy it? No, it isn't.

There are rare situations with extenuating circumstances that situations can occur.

Reythur

#81 - May 30, 2009, 5:32 a.m.

Folks, the constant reworking of the analogy is why I loathe using them. This really isn't adding the discussion in a constructive fashion. =/

Cyclical arguments are cyclical.

Should anyone believe that our policies should be adjusted in any fashion, please feel free to post on our Suggestions forum. I understand all of your concerns regarding the matter, and I still encourage you to email the aforementioned address, Hummingbird.

Unfortunately, I really don't see this thread continuing in a productive fashion and as such I'm going to lock it.