04-04-2003, 05:54 AM
But that doesn't mean I don't feel they did the right thing here. Is it possible legits got banned? Yes. Do I think many, if any got banned? No. At most, I'd say a handful of legits possibly got banned. But then, I can't say. Nor do I care to. I have no interest in speculating on such things.
I do not and will not ever trust Blizzard blindly, nor any other entity for that matter (the fact that it goes double for Blizzard is irrelevant). But that's how I am: I don't blindly trust anything. Blizzard has lost ALOT of ground in my eyes, but almost all of that is surrounding D2. For all the griping about Warcraft III, I think it's a wonderful game (and the expansion pack only multiplies this by 10), and I think they've done a WONDERFUL job with it. But, then, they're two different teams. One has to take that into consideration, as I do.
I'll hold my tongue from Blizzard bashing, as it has no place here, and I'm sick of saying it as much as everyone else is sick of hearing it. I hold a great deal of discontent for Blizzard; leave it at that. I think the recent bannings were due not only to hackers, but to legits as well who were promised "hack free Realms, and swift, severe punishment for any violations". Heh. Right... They really held the ball on that one. *rolls eyes* They're either trying to save face, or trying to save money, at this point. Personally, I think it's the latter. And, I think they're mostly banning D2 accounts because they're ALSO banning Warcraft III, their new pride & joy. It would look awful from a PR perspective if they banned War3 accounts for hacking, but not D2. And, the only reason they're banning War3 accounts, of course, is in preparation for its expansion. Right? ;) I don't pretend to know Blizzard, but the above scenario isn't far-fetched by any means. And I don't think it's wrong, in any way. But, like I said, I'm not here to trash Blizzard. So I won't. ;)
I'm glad Blizzard is finally taking some action. SERIOUS action. I still hold a great deal of skepticism over their motives, and what else may be in store, but regardless, I'm proud of them FINALLY taking a stance. I hope they CONTINUE to ban all cheaters, and hopefully wipe them out forever (but that's even more of a pipe-dream than 1.10 :P). Whether they do or not remains to be seen. We'll see. In any case, what's done is done. We can complain about it, question it, study it all we want. That's what we do here at the Lounge. But one thing is for certain: there ain't no changing it.
Personally, I don't give a flying rat's arse about D2 or the Realms. I'm set for life, so to speak, with my own private little sect of friends / community members, my mod, etc. I have Warcraft III, and all the rest of the old Blizzard games. D2 is a trashbin, as far as I'm concerned. They screwed it up big time, and no patch is going to change the stain left in my mouth on that one. But, like I said, it's in the past. I have the War3 expansion, and World of Warcraft to look forward to, and I'm MUCH more interested in the development of both of those than a few (thousand) account bannings in D2. I'm happy that they've done something, but it doesn't affect me one way or the other. Not now, anyway. Maybe it will if I ever return to D2 Realms, but until then, it don't affect me one bit. Besides, I like War3 expansion too much. :D It's just too good to put down. ;) And that's WITHOUT the great storyline I'm expecting from the retail version (as opposed to the beta). Oh... I'm getting all excited again. Off I go to play! :D
I do not and will not ever trust Blizzard blindly, nor any other entity for that matter (the fact that it goes double for Blizzard is irrelevant). But that's how I am: I don't blindly trust anything. Blizzard has lost ALOT of ground in my eyes, but almost all of that is surrounding D2. For all the griping about Warcraft III, I think it's a wonderful game (and the expansion pack only multiplies this by 10), and I think they've done a WONDERFUL job with it. But, then, they're two different teams. One has to take that into consideration, as I do.
I'll hold my tongue from Blizzard bashing, as it has no place here, and I'm sick of saying it as much as everyone else is sick of hearing it. I hold a great deal of discontent for Blizzard; leave it at that. I think the recent bannings were due not only to hackers, but to legits as well who were promised "hack free Realms, and swift, severe punishment for any violations". Heh. Right... They really held the ball on that one. *rolls eyes* They're either trying to save face, or trying to save money, at this point. Personally, I think it's the latter. And, I think they're mostly banning D2 accounts because they're ALSO banning Warcraft III, their new pride & joy. It would look awful from a PR perspective if they banned War3 accounts for hacking, but not D2. And, the only reason they're banning War3 accounts, of course, is in preparation for its expansion. Right? ;) I don't pretend to know Blizzard, but the above scenario isn't far-fetched by any means. And I don't think it's wrong, in any way. But, like I said, I'm not here to trash Blizzard. So I won't. ;)
I'm glad Blizzard is finally taking some action. SERIOUS action. I still hold a great deal of skepticism over their motives, and what else may be in store, but regardless, I'm proud of them FINALLY taking a stance. I hope they CONTINUE to ban all cheaters, and hopefully wipe them out forever (but that's even more of a pipe-dream than 1.10 :P). Whether they do or not remains to be seen. We'll see. In any case, what's done is done. We can complain about it, question it, study it all we want. That's what we do here at the Lounge. But one thing is for certain: there ain't no changing it.
Personally, I don't give a flying rat's arse about D2 or the Realms. I'm set for life, so to speak, with my own private little sect of friends / community members, my mod, etc. I have Warcraft III, and all the rest of the old Blizzard games. D2 is a trashbin, as far as I'm concerned. They screwed it up big time, and no patch is going to change the stain left in my mouth on that one. But, like I said, it's in the past. I have the War3 expansion, and World of Warcraft to look forward to, and I'm MUCH more interested in the development of both of those than a few (thousand) account bannings in D2. I'm happy that they've done something, but it doesn't affect me one way or the other. Not now, anyway. Maybe it will if I ever return to D2 Realms, but until then, it don't affect me one bit. Besides, I like War3 expansion too much. :D It's just too good to put down. ;) And that's WITHOUT the great storyline I'm expecting from the retail version (as opposed to the beta). Oh... I'm getting all excited again. Off I go to play! :D
Roland *The Gunslinger*