One of the developers running the World of Warcraft: Forever beta has no patience for the people who think they can get away with naming their characters something inappropriate.

I was surprised at how many awful player names I've seen while playing the beta over the last week. WoW usually has a pretty strict filter that covers a lot of racist or disgusting names and all their permutations. But in the beta, I saw more than usual that felt like they should've been blocked at the character creation screen.

It turns out, this was a mistake on Blizzard's part, according to senior game producer Tom Ellis on X: "Our naming filter wasn’t ready to rock for dual names but we naively thought after twenty years folks knew what was and wasn’t OK and we’d be fine for a few weeks of beta till it came online."

Things were not fine from day one of the beta, which required Blizzard to manually run every name through their filter system and then double check them just in case, Ellis said.

A wave of bans went out alongside the beta's first major patch yesterday to revoke access for the worst names and force the iffy ones to be changed. This prompted some of those players to go on social media and Reddit to complain that they were wrongfully punished.

"A couple of us spent the evening reading through everything again and checked every Reddit post and Twitter and so far every one of them who's posted their three cheeky or just inappropriate names has had a 4th character they have accidentally omitted," he says.

Ellis says there isn't a new policy for WoW: Forever and that anyone with names like that "would have not been allowed in any variation of WoW at any time in its history and would have earned you a suspension."

"If you're genuinely confused, remember that it's our database, we can see every character you've created, not just the one you're playing," he says. "I read the list. No sympathy. Be a better human next time."

It was very brave of Blizzard to launch what was inevitably going to be a massive beta without a working name filter. I don't envy the poor developers who have to manually go through them all as a result, but I do appreciate that there's zero tolerance for players who are abusing it. For every "Jack MeHoff" or "Ligma Bowlz" sparking delight and joy from us all, there are far nastier malefactors who should know better.

If WoW: Forever's devs want to bring back old-school social interactions in the MMO, this is the moderation approach it needs. The best moments in the beta have been the times where I've grouped up with strangers for a quick quest or saved a fellow adventurer from being mauled by several enemies at once. The last thing I want is for WoW: Forever to be ruined for anyone hoping to experience the kind of social interactions that make MMOs feel alive.

Scottish grandmother Cath Bowie's hunger for bloodshed is celebrated by thousands.

Recently named the world's oldest female Fortnite steamer by Guinness World Records, Bowie began playing the battle royale behemoth under the nom de guerre grumpygran1948 in 2017. Now streaming for an audience of over 24,000 followers, she was introduced to the game by her grandson, who—unwisely—doubted his grandmother's prospects as a conqueror.

"As a young guy he just couldn't believe that his grandma would do such a thing and suggested that nobody would join me or watch me," Bowie told Guinness World Records. "Saying that was like a red rag to a bull to me. I would show him that I could do it. 24,000+ followers later and he doesn't mention it. I wonder why?"

Given Bowie's self-professed singleminded pursuit of glorious slaughter, I can't blame her grandson for his reticence. Bowie says that during her daily Fortnite sessions, she's not playing for Victory Royales. Instead, she has a simpler, purer aim:

"The one thing I do like, you see—this is me and my challenging nature—is to go in and eliminate folk," Bowie said in a video interview with the BBC.

According to Bowie, her delight over the thunder of gunfire and the lamenting choir of her countless shattered foemen has never waned, even after nine years.

"The most important thing of all is that in all these years I have continued to enjoy every day, every week, every month and every year that I have played and streamed," she said. "I’m incredibly thankful to my wonderful family, who have encouraged me throughout the last nine years of playing, and to the many friends I’ve played with along the way."

For any others who have yearned in their later years to drink deep the red wine of battle, Bowie said you're never too old to start.

"Never let age stop you," she said, presumably flanked by heaped war-riches and the piled skulls of her slain competitors. "If I can do it, so can you."