WASHINGTON (AFP) – Activision Blizzard, maker of World of Warcraft and other popular videogames, is drawing fire over its plan to require users of its discussion forums to start posting their real names.

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."

Most of the feedback from fans of Blizzard's online role-playing games denounced the real names requirement.

"I can't even begin to fathom why you would do this," wrote "Tophia."

"Even as someone who hates the fact that these forums are a joke and overrun with trolls and morons... I can't stress enough how terrible a solution this is," said "Whiplashr." "I don't want my real name out there."

"With this decision, you are going to alienate so many people from these forums. Myself included," said "Pyrogx." "I will never post in a gaming forum where my real name is displayed. Ever."

"Tacotruck" supported the move. "I look forward to this change. The trolling has always been terribly annoying on Blizz forums."

Blizzard is not the only online operation grappling with the question of anonymity on the Web.

US newspapers have also been debating the practice of allowing anonymous comments and The Buffalo News announced last month it will begin requiring real names from people who want to leave comments on its website.

World of Warcraft, which was launched in 2004, is the most popular multiplayer online role-playing game with more than 11 million monthly subscribers.

People always say that marriage is about sacrifice, but being forced to give away your 6-foot-tall Orc? That's asking a little much, don't you think?

This is the moral quandary Robert Cushnie found himself stuck in when his wife, Dee, told him she would move from their home in Aberdeen, Scotland, back to her native Canada if he didn't get rid of his gigantic Orc statue. The lifelike model, which is based on the savage characters in "World of Warcraft," towered nearly a foot over her and led her to deem it "quite creepy."

On the one hand, the Scotsman had been with his Orc for six years, five more than he'd been married to Dee. Also, his gigantic Orc was freaking sweet-looking. On the other hand, he loved his wife, who presumably provides him with more (ahem) companionship than a 6-foot figure made of metal and plastic ever could (hopefully). What's a guy to do?

Cushnie ended up doing what any man with a shred of decency and a reasonable grasp on reality would do -- he found a home for the Orc, with people who love him, kids who will play with him, and a farmer with lots of open land for him to run around on. He was a good Orc.

That's an unofficial title, though I think it's pretty safe to say that "Little Gray" has played more Warcraft than you. A lot more.

Courtesy of Gamepro comes word of the Taiwanese player's absolutely insane Warcraft accomplishments. In addition to having nabbed every single one of the game's achievements (minus a brand new one that cropped up in the game's latest patch), he's the first player to complete all 986 tasks listed in the game's Armory. Considering that over 11.5 million people play the game worldwide, that's one heck of an honor.

And that's just the tip of this online gaming iceberg. Playing as a Tauren Druid, Little Gray has racked up some staggering numbers: he's completed nearly 6,000 quests at the rate of about 14.5 per day and killed nearly 500,000 enemies while dying only 8,543 times himself.

How? By doling out an awe-inspiring 7,255,538,878 points of damage...but before you label him some sort of mindless brute, know that he at least had the heart to heal 1,377,435,762 points of that back. Unsurprisingly, he's also a bit of a loner, having "waved" at other players only once.

If it's tough to put these massive numbers into a real-world context, consider this: a member of our Yahoo! Games team (who will remain unnamed) once logged an average of six hours a day playing the game over the course of a year -- and never came close to achieving so much with his character.

We could hazard a few guesses, though. At 14.5 quests per day, it would take about 414 days to reach Little Gray's 6,000 quest mark. Speaking conservatively, a veteran Warcarft player can pretty handily knock out three quests in an hour, which would mean about five hours a day for Little Gray.

But that's just for quests. You do a LOT more than that in Warcraft, such as going on raids, engaging in player vs. player combat, and tinkering with your abilities and gear. It wouldn't be even remotely surprising to find out that Little Gray has spent in upwards of ten hours a day playing the game.

Unimpressed with that kind of dedication? Then "WoW" us with tales of your greatest gaming sprees in the