Blizzard Response Requested

Q u o t e:
Will Blizzard enforce account actions, such as closing accounts, suspending access, and any blizzard punishment actions across all or some registered products no matter the offending product?

At present, Rauny, each account's penalties, even if merged with the same account, would be treated separately. They would not overlap or affect one's ability to access the other. This applies to both in-game and forum penalties.

Please note that our policies are always subject to change, though.

Q u o t e:
In other words, is blizzard using battle.net accounts to increase control on gameplay behavior, using battle.net accounts to masquerade as an "upgrade" when "new features" could be accomplished without account merging?

Our Battle.net system is not masquerading as anything. Its goal and purpose is to provide additional features, easier account management , and a platform that can be used across all Blizzard services (including the Blizzard Store). You may want to read up on the following panel discussion hosted at BlizzCon regarding Battle.net. While the discussion is structured in terms of SC2, WoW players will of course benefit, as well: http://us.blizzard.com/blizzcon/recaps/battlenet-panel.xml?rhtml=y

In terms of World of Warcraft accounts, think of a Battle.net account like a keyring and your merged WoW accounts like keys around it. Each key is still unique and treated individually; however, by placing them on the ring, they're easier to access and manage. :)

The Game Master Department is not over this, Rauny.

If you have comments you'd like to present to our Policy Makers or Developers, please do leave them in the forum that they monitor such things for. That would be the Suggestion Forum.

Thanks!

Q u o t e:


Actually it is, this thread was placed here By another Blizzard Moderator. Please be serious with your responses. Thank you.

I'm very serious - and you are on the verge of trolling.

Please don't.

Thanks.

This thread has unfortunately veered into non-constructive waters.

Rauny, as noted earlier, our Battle.net system was not introduced so that Blizzard Entertainment can control its player base like some sort of cynical Overlord. In fact, its goal is to both enhance and simplify your gaming experience. We're not trying to dictate how you should play any of our games—excepting, of course, the in-game policies we've had in place for years that help contribute to a better a gaming environment for all players—but we are switching over to this platform so that accessing our games, communicating with your friends, and interacting with our various paid services will be easier.

A few additional points:

• As noted earlier, each account's penalties, even if merged with the same account, would be treated separately. They would not overlap or affect one's ability to access the other. This applies to both in-game and forum penalties. While policies our always subject to change, we've no current plans to amend this particular one.
  
• Battle.net accounts are not less secure than our current login system. For further discussion on this topic, I'd encourage you to review the following post: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=21038224583&pageNo=2&sid=1#20

If you believe that our Battle.net system should be amended, though, or if you've like to formally express your concerns, then the best avenue to pursue is our Suggestions Forum. I wish you luck. :)

(Please note that those restrictions you've quoted regarding Character Transfers and Battle.net accounts have been implemented to prevent against exploitation of the service.)