Support NeoGAF

[Skilotonn]

The problem is, a lot of people who aren't as tech and news savvy might not know about this entire thing, or that they need to turn it off instead of deciding to turn it on.

Privacy is and should be a very important matter. Most sites or social services (at least the ones I've used) have always required the user to ALLOW other people to see these kinds of details, not DENY them.

But how is this invasion of privacy though? You can't even see someone's real name via their GamerTag, and this is basically expanding the the 100 Friends maximum with zero effort...

In fact, this is can even be used effectively better than Clan Support by going through friends of friends...

Imagine if it works with Silver accounts as well: you can make one called Halo GAF Clan, and have everyone add that account - with that one account, every single GAFfer with XBL is linked by only using one slot - think of the possibilities...

If this was invasion of privacy, it would count for adding a group of complete strangers after a good team game as well...

 

[TwoForFlinching]

I'm not crazy about this feature. What if I'm selective about who is on my friends list, but one of the persons on my list has tons of friends. I can imagine I'm now going to have to reject a ton of invites because someone is going to think if I'm someone's friend, I should also be their friend as well. I wish there was a way to save a rejection message template so I don't have to retype the same "fuck off, I don't know who you are" message.

 

[chidrock]

Just curious, but if you block it, does it just make your list private? Will my ID still show up on my friends' lists? (so someone checks out their list and then sends me an unwanted request?)

 

[sprocket]

And NAMBLA celebrates! :lol

 

[watership]

I'm not crazy about this feature. What if I'm selective about who is on my friends list, but one of the persons on my list has tons of friends. I can imagine I'm now going to have to reject a ton of invites because someone is going to think if I'm someone's friend, I should also be their friend as well. I wish there was a way to save a rejection message template so I don't have to retype the same "fuck off, I don't know who you are" message.

You can turn it off. Sheesh. Read the page.

 

[adelante]

GAF = Welcome to the Anti-Social

 

[AZ Greg]

Thanks for the link in the OP. I turned mine off.

For most I don't think this is that big of a deal. But I have some game developers and game journalists on my friends list that I have met and played with over the years. If some of my other friends were able to access my list and see these people, they would bombard them with friend requests and messages to the point of annoyance.

 

[Beer Monkey]

GAF = Welcome to the Anti-Social

:lol :lol :lol

Thanks for the link in the OP. I turned mine off.

For most I don't think this is that big of a deal. But I have some game developers and game journalists on my friends list that I have met and played with over the years. If some of my other friends were able to access my list and see these people, they would bombard them with friend requests and messages to the point of annoyance.

Why wouldn't THOSE people have it turned off?

 

[Freki]

Give us fucking 16:10 ffs!!!

 

[AZ Greg]

Why wouldn't THOSE people have it turned off?

I'm sure those people will turn theirs off. But if I leave mine on then people on my list will have access to those peoples tags.

 

[BrokenSymmetry]

The big problem with this feature is that your friends list will be completely public to everyone when the update goes live. If you want to block it, you have to be on your Xbox the minute it goes live, and immediately block it. And even then you can't be completely sure someone has slipped through...

 

[Stinkles]

The big problem with this feature is that your friends list will be completely public to everyone when the update goes live. If you want to block it, you have to be on your Xbox the minute it goes live, and immediately block it. And even then you can't be completely sure someone has slipped through...

http://live.xbox.com/en-us/accounts/friendsoffriends.aspx

http://live.xbox.com/en-us/accounts/friendsoffriends.aspx

http://live.xbox.com/en-us/accounts/friendsoffriends.aspx

http://live.xbox.com/en-us/accounts/friendsoffriends.aspx

http://live.xbox.com/en-us/accounts/friendsoffriends.aspx

http://live.xbox.com/en-us/accounts/friendsoffriends.aspx

 

[ALeperMessiah]

The big problem with this feature is that your friends list will be completely public to everyone when the update goes live. If you want to block it, you have to be on your Xbox the minute it goes live, and immediately block it. And even then you can't be completely sure someone has slipped through...

umm, what. The link in the op allows you to block it now. And someone 'slipping' through? Seriously, does everyone here wear tin-foil hats?

 

[PjotrStroganov]

You know what I'd like instead of this? The ability to create shortcut names for my growing list of people on my friends list. In other words:

crushkiller09 = Bob
monstaz03667 = Rick

etc. etc.

I have a hard time keeping up with who is actually who sometimes. I sure as hell don't need to see MORE people I don't know on other people's lists.

I mailed the request for this feature to MN and he said he would pass it on to the team. I'm sure more people have done this and that it is a much asked for feature.

 

[SPEA]

Thank you Stinkles. Read the Thread!!

 

[GhaleonEB]

Thank you Stinkles. Read the Thread!!

Reading is hard. Complaining is easy!

 

[Beer Monkey]

I'm sure those people will turn theirs off. But if I leave mine on then people on my list will have access to those peoples tags.

You sure about that? If that's true, I agree that they should allow an additional level of opt-out, one at the leaf level.

 

[Shamrock]

It's amazing how many people still don't understand that this feature can be blocked :lol

 

[mollipen]

The gamertag of the people on your friends list is not private information.

No, but WHO I have on MY friends list sure as hell should be private information. Just the same, a person's phone number can be totally public information, in the phone book and whatnot, but if that person's phone number is on my cell phone or not, distribution of that information should be my choice and my choice only.

 

[Tieno]

http://live.xbox.com/en-us/accounts/friendsoffriends.aspx

http://live.xbox.com/en-us/accounts/friendsoffriends.aspx

http://live.xbox.com/en-us/accounts/friendsoffriends.aspx

http://live.xbox.com/en-us/accounts/friendsoffriends.aspx

http://live.xbox.com/en-us/accounts/friendsoffriends.aspx

http://live.xbox.com/en-us/accounts/friendsoffriends.aspx

Damn it, you have found the secret, now I'll never find out your secret gamertag only available to the females

 

[Aurora]

It's just a gimmick update. Where's the real concrete stuff Microsoft? And when are you fools going to promote my damn Xbox Live account to an adult one?

 

[Shamrock]

The big problem with this feature is that your friends list will be completely public to everyone when the update goes live. If you want to block it, you have to be on your Xbox the minute it goes live, and immediately block it. And even then you can't be completely sure someone has slipped through...

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you telling me that there is a possiblity that someone might actually be able to see my friendlist? How can this be? I have secure finiacial information on my friendlist. If someone where to get access to this sensitive information I could be ruined and my spy status revoked.

 

[neptunes]

This fearure is very reminiscent of facebook

 

[Psychotext]

It's just a gimmick update. Where's the real concrete stuff Microsoft?

Yup, it's a shame that this and the parental controls are all that's in the update. Oh wait, we have no idea of the full list yet.

 

[Suite Pee]

It's like they sat around a table and tried to come up with an update that wouldn't help out anybody's problems.

I guess I'll have to be content with no Windows Live capability and having to be signed in to play my arcade games.

edit: blah blah full list, I'm sure they won't un-gimp my xbox in the update. This is really starting to piss me off.

 

[mollipen]

But how is this invasion of privacy though? You can't even see someone's real name via their GamerTag, and this is basically expanding the the 100 Friends maximum with zero effort...

I'm not a nutcase here - I understand that, in the grand scheme of things, this isn't honestly a huge deal. There absolutely could be the case, though, where people don't want others to know who is on their friends list, and they might not realize that suddenly that information is completely public.

That, right there, is my big problem with all of this: that it's on by default, and it absolutely shouldn't be. Even if it is a small-time privacy issue, I'd still argue that it's bad policy to force a person to do extra work to keep their information private, even if that information is trivial. If you want to share said information, then great, but that sharing shouldn't be the default.

Again, I realize on the "privacy importance" scale, this isn't big, but I think all matters of privacy, no matter how small, should be taken very seriously, so some people making a big joke out of it all worries me a tad.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

...And where is 16:10 support...

I really just don't get the 16:10 bitching.

The HDTV standard is 16:9 and always has been. Blame the fucking PC Monitor manufacturers, if anyone. The 360 is a TV Console first and foremost and supports it fully. The PC monitor support is nice but it is a bonus, not a core feature. I can imagine that 16:10 support could cause problems in several ways, hence why they might not ever implement it. If it bothered me that much I'd buy a proper HDTV and be done with it.

I mean, I understand the desire from cheapskates and those who are space-challenged but I personally don't think it's ever coming due to technical problems, people. Suck it up or stick with PC gaming.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

No, but WHO I have on MY friends list sure as hell should be private information. Just the same, a person's phone number can be totally public information, in the phone book and whatnot, but if that person's phone number is on my cell phone or not, distribution of that information should be my choice and my choice only.

Why exactly should this be private? I mean, getting past the point that you can make it private. Aside from browsing it and then possibly making a friends request to one of your friends, what is the harm here? I'm not actually trying to start an argument, I'm just trying to understand why so many of you are so adamant against others seeing your list.

For the record, I don't expect that I'll get any friends requests because of this feature. I'll be surprised if I do. And I have somewhere between 60 and 70 people on my friends list.

 

[mollipen]

The HDTV standard is 16:9 and always has been.

Of course, the humor in that is that the HDTV industry can't even get things right (with most 720p sets not actually being 720 pixels high).

Why exactly should this be private? I mean, getting past the point that you can make it private. Aside from browsing it and then possibly making a friends request to one of your friends, what is the harm here? I'm not actually trying to start an argument, I'm just trying to understand why so many of you are so adamant against others seeing your list.

Well, okay, I've come up with one example. I work for Play, and let's say I have all of the other staff members on my friends list. Now, I might be perfectly happy with sharing my Gamer Tag, but maybe they don't want to, for whatever reason. (They're selective about who they play with, they don't want to be bothers with a bunch of questions, they don't want to hear "OMG you gave Sonic a 9.5!!", whatever.)

My friends list isn't all that long, so it could be very easy to browse my friend's list, figure out who the Play staffers are, and then start contacting them. Now, it's my fault that a person who typically chooses not to make public their Gamer Tag has had it found.

 

[Beer Monkey]

My 16:10 monitor just has thin black bars if you feed it 16:9. No big deal.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

The problem is, a lot of people who aren't as tech and news savvy might not know about this entire thing, or that they need to turn it off instead of deciding to turn it on.

Privacy is and should be a very important matter. Most sites or social services (at least the ones I've used) have always required the user to ALLOW other people to see these kinds of details, not DENY them.

Oh NOES! The horror!

If you want privacy, play offline.

How is this suddenly a massive hemorrhage of privacy? There is ZERO critical information to be gained from looking at some one else's friend list.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

 

[Beer Monkey]

How is this suddenly a massive hemorrhage of privacy? There is ZERO critical information to be gained from looking at some one else's friend list.

Jeff Bell is on my friends list. Do you understand what would happen if just everybody knew Jeff Bell's gamertag?

 

[mollipen]

Oh NOES! The horror!

If you want privacy, play offline.

That's a moronic response. Playing online isn't just playing with random people, it can be playing with close friends, family, etc.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Jeff Bell is on my friends list. Do you understand what would happen if just everybody knew Jeff Bell's gamertag?

BigDaddy801?

 

[Psychotext]

http://i4.tinypic.com/6x82qvs.gif

I just had a seizure... and I'm not sure if it's epilepsy or my brain protecting me from that image. :lol

 

[BrokenSymmetry]

How is this suddenly a massive hemorrhage of privacy? There is ZERO critical information to be gained from looking at some one else's friend list.

The fact remains that information that previously was 100% private, now suddenly (if you do nothing) becomes 100% public. It may be small, but it is a loss of privacy.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Well, okay, I've come up with one example. I work for Play, and let's say I have all of the other staff members on my friends list. Now, I might be perfectly happy with sharing my Gamer Tag, but maybe they don't want to, for whatever reason. (They're selective about who they play with, they don't want to be bothers with a bunch of questions, they don't want to hear "OMG you gave Sonic a 9.5!!", whatever.)

My friends list isn't all that long, so it could be very easy to browse my friend's list, figure out who the Play staffers are, and then start contacting them. Now, it's my fault that a person who typically chooses not to make public their Gamer Tag has had it found.

Do you publish your Gamertag in Play? If not, then how do people find out that you work for Play? I wouldn't have known if you hadn't just said something, so why would I bother to go poking around in your friends list to look for that? And unless the other staff members have really obvious tags, it wouldn't be that easy to figure them out.

Regardless, the "opt out" feature was designed just for you. Someone who has special needs to opt out. Heck, you don't even need to opt out, you can just switch it to "friends only" and limit greatly who gets access to the list. That way when one of your co-workers says "Hey! KungFuJedi sent me a friends request! Tell him to stop!" you can come punch me in the nose personally.

 

[BobFromPikeCreek]

I really just don't get the 16:10 bitching.

The HDTV standard is 16:9 and always has been. Blame the fucking PC Monitor manufacturers, if anyone. The 360 is a TV Console first and foremost and supports it fully. The PC monitor support is nice but it is a bonus, not a core feature. I can imagine that 16:10 support could cause problems in several ways, hence why they might not ever implement it. If it bothered me that much I'd buy a proper HDTV and be done with it.

I mean, I understand the desire from cheapskates and those who are space-challenged but I personally don't think it's ever coming due to technical problems, people. Suck it up or stick with PC gaming.

Oh no! People are asking for a feature that I have no use for! Better act like a dick about it!

 

[ALeperMessiah]

Well, okay, I've come up with one example. I work for Play, and let's say I have all of the other staff members on my friends list. Now, I might be perfectly happy with sharing my Gamer Tag, but maybe they don't want to, for whatever reason. (They're selective about who they play with, they don't want to be bothers with a bunch of questions, they don't want to hear "OMG you gave Sonic a 9.5!!", whatever.)

My friends list isn't all that long, so it could be very easy to browse my friend's list, figure out who the Play staffers are, and then start contacting them. Now, it's my fault that a person who typically chooses not to make public their Gamer Tag has had it found.

That's a poor example. Someone that knows about this in the game industry is going to know about it and turn it off. If you write about videogames and your ignorant enough not to know the features of what you are working on, the blame is on you. Mr. casual gamer probably won't mind this feature, since he's been exposed to it by using facebook and myspace for years.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

Jeff Bell is on my friends list. Do you understand what would happen if just everybody knew Jeff Bell's gamertag?

Understandable. The you will definitely need to adjust your security settings to protect the man.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

That's a moronic response. Playing online isn't just playing with random people, it can be playing with close friends, family, etc.

Sure it is. Your concern over this simple issue is a wee bit moronic as well.

If it's THAT big a deal that someone needs to keep their friend list private, then they SHOULD be savvy when it comes to understanding what updates are coming out and what options are available.

 

[Teen Ape]

So uhh...what about the rest of the stuff they should have lined up for the fall update? These things only hit twice a year so they're generally pretty hefty, wondering when MS gonna bring me some news on what else they're tossing into the update.

 

[BrokenSymmetry]

If it's THAT big a deal that someone needs to keep their friend list private, then they SHOULD be savvy when it comes to understanding what updates are coming out and what options are available.

No, it's exactly the other way around: those that are least savvy on these issues should be protected the most. How could it hurt to leave this feature blocked by default? What would probably happen then is that most people will leave it blocked, but that then immediately would indicate that there's little interest for this feature.

 

[D3VI0US]

So far this update sucks.

 

[Wario64]

People can also see what games you have played in the past. OH NO INVASION OF PRIVACY

 

[chriskun]

That's a moronic response. Playing online isn't just playing with random people, it can be playing with close friends, family, etc.

I can't wait to browse your friends list.

 

[soco]

i hope there's no 16:10 support just so that i can see a million more complaints :lol

the FoF is a waste of precious space on the 360. if Microsoft is interested in creating more of a community, create a whole set of services on the xbox website. make it all myspace-y and allow people to search of people with similar interests and give them groups they can join, so we can have a gaf group. (not necessarily a clan) and let each of these groups be somewhat customized with either like a clan tag or an icon that could be displayed when they log on and in the friends list. allow people to search by game AND the zone so family gamers can find other family oriented gamers, and then start doing something about the feedback so people don't have to play with the foul mouthed 13 year old kids.

 

[a Master Ninja]

People can also see what games you have played in the past. OH NO INVASION OF PRIVACY

I really hope this update allows me to trim down my "Played Games" list a bit so I can make it relevant to games I still own and will actually accept invites to play. I only played PDZ out of desperation.