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When Blizzard stated that they were laying down the law hard on WoW violations like 3rd-party programs, real-money transactions and mod hacks, they weren't kidding. Just a few days ago, we've touched on the story of the recent Wow Glider incident, and we're happy to report that we've picked up some details on just what went on when Blizzard made their move on Michael Donnelly, aka Mercury, the dude who built WoW Glider.
According to Markee Dragon's narration over at his site, Blizzard had apparently gone with the "Shock and Awe" tactic, and sent three people - A Blizzard Lawyer, a Blizzard representative, and a private eye - to Mercury's Arizona home on October 25, at 8:30 a.m. to discuss WoW Glider, and how it violated two specific agreements: the WoW terms of agreement (that long agreement you see when you install), and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. As for Blizzard's specific demands to Mercury, Markee says that Michael can't say anything as of the moment, as he only saw a glimpse of the demands set by Blizzard.
As for the Michael's side of the story, he contacted his own lawyer, who then tried to settle on an agreement with Blizzard, which in turn fizzled. Mercury felt the safest thing to do at this point was to beat Blizzard to the legal punch, and filed his own case against them - it's the document in our previous article, which was filed on the same day that Blizzard visited Mercury.
For those still a little sketchy about what WoW Glider is, it's a 3rd-party program that automates certain aspects of your characters, such as their movements and actions - MMO gamers refer to them as "bots." In most MMO's, bots are often frowned upon as a cheap shot way of levelling up, leaving the computer to most of the grueling work - it's like buffing up without the troublesome hassles of actually training for your muscles. While most MMO's have very stringent laws regarding bots, it's still a recurring problems in most MMO's, especially for those as large-scale as WoW.
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