When Blizzard announced plans to require participation in the Real ID program, thus exposing users' real-names, in order to continue posting on the Blizzard message boards, many responded in an loud uproar. A number of gamers sent a complaint to the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, who recently sent out a response, updating users on Blizzard's decision to drop the policy. Unfortunately, according to WoW.com, they exposed everyone's e-mail in the process.

In essence, the ESRB hit "reply all" and forgot to knock everyone down to BCC status, which would have kept all of the recipients hidden. Instead, their privacy concerns became reality.

The irony, of course, comes from this paragraph in the ESRB's response:

"ESRB, through its Privacy Online program, helps companies develop practices to safeguard users' personal information online while still providing a safe and enjoyable video game experience for all. We appreciate your taking the time to contact us with your concerns, and please feel free to direct any future inquiries you may have regarding online privacy to our attention."

The ESRB released an apology to Joystiq today, emphasizing they took the mistake "seriously" and the organization is doing everything "to ensure it does not happen again in the future."

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