Yahoo!7 Answers Blog Australia

World of Warcraft… Derided by some yet enjoyed by millions worldwide.

When Activision Blizzard launched their groundbreaking MMOG (massively multiplayer online game) World of Warcraft, a sequel to the already successful PC gaming Warcraft franchise back in late 2004, they were an overnight sensation. At last there was a game that appealed to gamers and non-gamers alike, bringing them all together in the world of Azeroth.

Also famous for such franchises as Starcraft and Diablo, Acitivision Blizzard is no stranger to being in the spotlight, this week being no exception.

Blizzard announced on Tuesday that it would begin introducing the “Real ID” feature to its official bulletin boards and the move to require real first and last names has drawn hundreds of comments, most of them negative.

Blizzard said in a blog post that the change was intended to “help improve the quality of conversations and make the forums an even more enjoyable place for players to visit.”

“The official forums have always been a great place to discuss the latest info on our games, offer ideas and suggestions, and share experiences with other players,” it said.

“However, the forums have also earned a reputation as a place where flame wars, trolling, and other unpleasantness run wild,” Blizzard said.

“Removing the veil of anonymity typical to online dialogue will contribute to a more positive forum environment, promote constructive conversations, and connect the Blizzard community in ways they haven’t been connected before.”

Source: Yahoo!7 News

This has sparked uproar amongst players across the globe, concerned about privacy and protecting their real life identities. Threads on the subject on various game forums maintained by Activision Blizzard are in the thousands, posted by players either for or against the upcoming changes. Opinions are divided, but the majority of the issues raised by players appear to be centred on the safety of children and the sharing of personal and identifiable information, whilst others call for people to quit their respective games. Activision Blizzard have responded to the concerns, pointing out that all accounts come with parental controls and ultimately, if one does not wish personal information shared, do not post on the forums.

This brings us to the following question:

• Would issues about Activision Blizzard’s changes to their forums make you cancel your Warcraft account & why?

What do you think; will all these issues make you quit Warcraft? Why? Share your views with the community now on the question above or by leaving a comment below!

Kate
Community Manager

Today sees the passing of another rock legend, Ronnie James Dio, at the age of 67.

With a career spanning over 50 years, including several stints as the lead singer for Black Sabbath after the departure of Ozzy Osbourne in 1979, he was a key part of the success of their famous Heaven and Hell album. He returned to Black Sabbath in 1991 and again in 2006, as well as forging his own successful solo career with his own bands – The Vegas Kings, Ronnie & The Ramblers, Ronnie and the Red Caps, Ronnie Dio and the Prophets, The Electric Elves, The Elves, Dio and Rainbow. In 2006, he became part of Heaven and Hell along with former Black Sabbath alumni, Tommy Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice.

Ronnie’s wife Wendy posted the following statement on his official website:

Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.

- Wendy Dio

I’m sure that many of you, like myself, remember the late 80’s and early 90’s with Black Sabbath all over the radio. What is your favourite memory of Ronnie James Dio? Were you ever fortunate enough to experience one of his concerts?

• What is your favourite song performed by Ronnie James Dio?

Answer via the question above or leave a comment below!

Kate
Community Manager

This coming weekend will see the most prestigious event on the Australian television calendar – the 2010 TV Week Logie Awards!

If you’re an international reader of this blog, you may be a tad confused, think of the Logie Awards as Australia’s Emmy Awards. They are our national awards for television as voted by the public.

From the fashions and the speeches to the winners and the music, there’s never a dull moment and the leadup to the event is just as intense. It truly is television’s night of nights!

What do you think of the Logies? Do you have a favourite memory? Leave a comment below!

Kate
Community Manager

You may have noticed we’ve had a few Home and Away stars asking questions on Answers. The most recent is Samara Weaving, whose plays Indigo and is part of a new family in town, the Walkers.

Samara is 17 years old and you may have seen her on BBC’s Australian soap opera Out of the Blue playing Kirsten Mulroney. Although she’s Hugo Weaving’s niece, she hasn’t grown up around the entertainment industry and actually spent many years living overseas because of her father’s job. She lived in Singapore, Fiji and Indonesia as well as Australia and she particularly loved Singapore because it’s so clean (gum is illegal there) and there is no winter.

There are heaps of questions about Home and Away on Yahoo!7 Answers. From questions about upcoming storylines to favourite couple discussions and queries about the music in the show. Well instead of you asking questions about Home and Away, Samara wants to ask you a question. She wants to know:  If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

To see Samara in her role as Indigo, check out the Yahoo!7 TV Home and Away site where you can catch up with all the episodes online and get behind the scenes footage and interviews.

We’d also like to know, which Home and Away star would you like us to feature on Answers?

Caitlin
Community Manager

You either love him or hate him – it seems everyone has an opinion about Kyle Sandilands. This shock jock co-host of the Kyle & Jackie O Breakfast show has been getting press for all the wrong reasons recently for a segment on his show about a 14 year old rape victim.

It’s definitely stirred up some controversy. We featured this question on the Yahoo!7 Homepage last week and incredibly, over 700 people have offered their opinion. Do you think Kyle Sandilands should be sacked?

Many agreed, saying they never liked the show or Kyle:

That entire show should be axed! Kyle is an absolute moron! Of course he should be sacked. At any time during the show, they could have stopped what was happening, but they kept on going. – Hart

Others agreed that Kyle is insensitive however didn’t think he was at fault in this particular instance:

I don’t like Kyle, and believe he should have been sacked long ago, but I don’t see him as the main problem this time, the mother should be ashamed of herself for publicly humiliating her daughter in this way. - Lucy G

Others were supportive of the show:

I honestly think that everyone should give Kyle & Jackie O a break, as it clearly states that they did not know that the answer they were going to get was that the 14 year old girl saying she got raped when she was 12. – Privacy

Although his future with 2Day FM remains in jeopardy, Channel 10 has taken the next step and has fired Sandilands as a judge on Australian Idol, saying their show is a family program that doesn’t fit with his increasingly controversial persona.

The thing is, shows like Kyle & Jackie O exist because of their shock value. They like to take things a step too far, their core audience loves the crazy stunts they get up to and everyone else votes with their feet and refuse to listen.

They’ve now officially gone too far and have been pulled off air, however it may not be for long. 2Day FM are reviewing their practices and may indeed launch a new version of the Kyle and Jackie O show with better measures in place to ensure such a mistake doesn’t happen again.

If they do return to our airwaves again, will you listen to Kyle and Jackie O or do you think what happened was unforgivable?

Caitlin
Community Manager

Reading all the comments from our recent Harry Potter vs Twilight post made me think of other book to movie adaptations and how they compare. Judging by the highest grossing films of the past 10 years, we certainly love a good adaptation or remake. Even looking at the current list of films in cinemas gives you a sense of déjà vu: Angels and Demons, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Hannah Montana, Ice Age 3, Night at the Museum 2, Star Trek 11, Terminator Salvation, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. What do they all have in common? Each one is a sequel or remake of an old movie, book or TV show.

One adaptation coming out soon is My Sister’s Keeper, a movie based on the best selling Jodi Picoult novel. Like all of her books, it’s a family based drama with a  legal predicament, this time a daughter who wants to claim medical emancipation from her parents. Only problem is, she was created using genetic engineering with the intention of saving her critically ill sister and without her kidney, her sister might die.

It’s a fascinating topic and the book was definitely a tear jerker however I’m fearful: will the movie live up to the book? In my opinion, a lot of movie adaptations aren’t anywhere near as good as the book. Think about The Da Vinci Code, Hitchiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, even the old favourite Harry Potter. None of those movies managed the capture the magic of the books. Fairly unsurprising considering they’re condensing 300 odd pages into a 2 hour flick.

Of course not all book to film adaptations are flops. Personally I loved the original 1971 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder. Even though I read the book first, with its chocolate river and lick-able wallpaper, the movie brought a whole new dimension to the story. However, although I enjoyed the altered version, the original author didn’t. According to Peach, the reason why the film was called Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is because “Roald Dahl didn’t like the direction they were taking with the movie and he refused to allow them to call it Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

I also really enjoy Jane Austen books on screen. I’ve always found the books to be incredibly slow and boring however when they’re condensed into film format, they’re actually quite entertaining. And let’s face it, although they may not be historically accurate, the pretty dresses and eye candy of Colin Firth doesn’t hurt either.

How about you? Are there any book to movie adaptations that make you cringe? Or are there any films that improve the experience of the book?

Caitlin
Community Manager

Last week, the sixth “Harry Potter” film hit theatres. Anyone who read J.K. Rowling’s books knows how the story ends. However, that absence of suspense hasn’t stopped the overwhelming excitement. But Harry isn’t the undisputed king of teen lit anymore. Twilight is big and only getting bigger. Over the past several weeks, I’ve noticed a surge in questions on “Harry Potter” vs. “Twilight.”

By my count, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of questions asking which franchise is “better.” Of course, there is no right answer, but that hasn’t stopped many in the Yahoo!7 Answers community from giving passionate responses.

Alex, a Top Contributor to Yahoo!7 Answers writes that Twilight is the “worst book” he or she has ever read and compares the novel’s hunky vampire Edward to a “creepy stalker.” Ouch. Additionally, Alex argues that the characters in Harry Potter have a backstory and a unique personality in contrast to the stars of Twilight, who are “one dimensional.”

Of course, not everyone agrees with Alex’s assessment. For example, Yahoo!7 Answers member “Doctor Orange!” feels that Twilight is “more realistic” (presumably, that’s a good thing). Another responder writes that while it may be true that many readers enjoy the Twilight books because Edward is an amazingly handsome fella, the real reason for Twilight’s popularity has to do with the way the author lets readers into the mind of the narrator, a conflicted young woman.

Most literature experts, including Stephen King, argue that J.K. Rowling is far and away the superior writer. What do you guys think? Do you prefer one franchise to the other? Or is the whole debate like comparing apples and bowling balls (i.e, totally pointless)? Leave a comment below.

Mike

As we mentioned earlier this week, recently the Yahoo!7 Answers team got the opportunity to meet Robert Knepper, the villainous T-Bag in Prison Break. He was in Australia promoting season 4 of Prison Break which includes all 22 episodes of the final series as well as a unseen footage and the final 2 hour movie length special that concludes the story.

While Robert wanted to ask the community a question (answer his question: Who is your favourite TV or film villain of all time and what makes him or her fearful?), we also asked him some questions on your behalf. You might remember a few weeks ago we asked you what you would like to ask Robert Knepper. We chose some of the best questions and have it all on video!

Ever wanted to know what it was like filming Prison Break or what the funniest thing that happened on set was? Or perhaps you’re more interested how Robert became an actor and what advice he has for young children with stars in their eyes. Perhaps you’d like to know how people react to his scary character when he goes out in public?

The question that I particularly wanted to know is what it was like wearing the fake hand? Was it uncomfortable or did it become like a glove that he could forget he was wearing. Here is Robert’s particularly amusing answer:

So to see all the answers to his questions, check out our official video page. Don’t know about you but hearing all about the behind the scenes info of Prison Break makes me even more excited about watching that last episode! How do you think it will end?

Caitlin
Community Manager

Last week, the Yahoo!7 Answers team had the pleasure of meeting Robert Knepper, the actor who plays the villainous Theodore ‘T-Bag’ Bagwell on Prison Break. He was lovely, nothing like his character and was a real pleasure to interview.

To celebrate the DVD release of season 4 of Prison Break, (out July 15th from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment), Robert Knepper wants to ask you, the Answers community, a question.

He wants to know: Who is your favourite TV or film villain of all time and what makes him or her fearful?

Check out Robert asking the question below.

Also you may remember, we asked you what you wanted to ask Robert in the interview. Stay tuned later in the week for the full interview!

Caitlin
Community Manager

We’d all agree. there has been such an outpouring of grief over Michael Jackson’s death. In fact, the coverage almost hasn’t stopped. From the moment we got news that he’d died of a heart attack, we’ve been bombarded.

What really killed him: Cardiac arrest, Painkillers, his doctor or the media? Are his kids biologically related to him? Who will look after them – his mother Katherine Jackson, Janet Jackson or Debbie Rowe? Where can you get tickets to his memorial? What were some quotes from the memorial?

All these questions and thousands more have been debated on Answers and it’s not looking like it’s ending. Where will he be buried? Do you think the press will honour his wishes by keeping his children out of the spotlight?

However like his life, Michael Jackson’s death hasn’t been without controversy. Mostly people seem to have adored this icon and truly appreciated the impact he’s made on this world. Others are focused on his accusations of sexual impropriety and still feel Michael was a paedophile who was allowed to walk free. Regardless of what you think of him, you have to admit we’ve all got an opinion about Michael Jackson and we’ve all given our two cents worth over the last few weeks.

The other question that I have been pondering is the media coverage surrounding his death. It’s been the most dramatic coverage since Princess Diana died but did he make the biggest impact on the world? Do you think it was a little extreme or do you think it was justified for such a star? I’m interested to hear your thoughts.

Caitlin
Community Manager