Archive for July 7th, 2010
Code Name : Hunter
At a recent science fiction convention I found a treasure. The creators of
Code Name: Hunter – A Political Spell
The main characters are two special agents in an agency that seems loosely based on fictional accounts of MI5. “Max” Hunter is the lead agent with his partner Ruby. Though they are not the most refined of agents, they are sent on a diplomatic mission to bring back a much needed mage to help with wild magics that seem to be cropping up.
Astoria, the feudal society, is divided and there is a lot of internal intrigue between different magical factions. Some wish to bring their state into a more modern frame of mind, while others consider the small changes that have already occurred due to contact with Great Britain to be a threat to the survival of their nation. A very talented young mage is sent to be both an asset to the British issues with magic and a spy. Culture shock does ensue on all sides.
This graphic novel is filled with storylines for Ruby as well. All is not as it seems with her - or why she is being sent to Astoria in the first place. Of course, everyone starts focusing on Hunter as a key to the story since he is the chief in the duo. I, for one, am anxious for the next graphic novel to get more answers. (I’m trying to control my comic pull list!)
Code Name: Hunter – A Political Spell
Stupidity, Thy Name Is Blizzard
Some of you may be aware of the fact that Blizzard.net has decided the way to get rid of internet trolls is to use RealID to rip away the veil of anonymity.
This doesn’t work. People who are idiots online are also idiots offline. (I know I can be an idiot at times. I try to temper it as much as possible, but, sometimes, even I, a grown woman, lose my courtesy controls.)
Today’s CTRL+ALT+DEL is a good summary of how well that works.
Now, not only is this not going to do what they claim they want it to do, it is going to cause actual harm to some people.
How many people want everyone they know to know all of their hobbies? There are people who would not understand about reading comic books, romance or science fiction novels, playing video games, knitting, or cooking. People have some of the most amazing prejudices that others would never even blink an eye at.
What about those unfortunate few who are being stalked? Yes, they want to escape to a game world to get away from their worries, but, well, Blizzard says, “Nope, you can’t stay safe and play our game.”
There are a lot of under-18s who play these games as well. It seems to me that there may actually be some privacy issues I am unaware of that affect the younger set. Yes, parental controls can turn off RealID, but most teens know how to get into their parents’ accounts and do things that the parents would rather they didn’t. (This is a truism of technology.)
I have heard some internet savvy folks claim that since IP addresses can be linked to individuals this makes no difference. I beg to disagree as there are ways to fake IP addresses, etc. Also, most stalkers don’t have the internet savvy to do this type of tracking.
My guess, as someone with many, many years in the software development profession, is that marketing came to the development team saying “we have to be a social media company!” The developers groaned in private and did the bare minimum to make the deadline as they had more important updates to get fixed with limited resources. I wouldn’t even be surprised that they are hoping the community outcry caused by this idiocy – and that is what it is – will make the powers-that-be at Blizzard roll back this change – or severely alter it.
Of course, I could be wrong and this could all be part of the plan to take over the Internet as the more paranoid websites have been claiming. But, well, after years in IT, I can’t really see it as that nefarious.
