Coding change for R and X rated rooms (Update top of page 6)

[Firekeeper]

I guess I'm the only person totally for thus change....and here is why:

1. R is 17+ and X is 18+. There is no reason that a room should have these ratings unless mature content is not a slight possibility but absolutely KNOWN to occur. For example, one of my rooms is R because I know there will be a lot of sexual talk as well as an increased amount of harsh language. My other rooms are PG because harsh language and slight sexual talk MIGHT happen.
2. Legal issues. As was mentioned previously, if a minor is exposed to something incredibly sexually oriented and it is reported UD can be held responsible, fined and/or arrested and the sites can go down, unless he shows he does have the proper precautions in place. This is one of the reasons SI was invite only, to prevent minors being exposed to such talk.

Yes I am completely for this change. ^^^This is the best explanation so far. As far as I'm concerned that's that.

As a parent I will add that I would be disturbed if I knew my young preteen/teenage daughter was frequenting chatrooms where there are possible R or X rated discussions.

I think its a good precaution to take. It won't technically stop that sort of talk even if your room is "Pg-13 friendly." But for those of us that are uncomfortable with having "adult" conversations around minors, this is a nice feature.

[Bacardi]

You'd be restricted. :/ That part sucks, but I guess it makes sense in the broad scheme of things. But yeah, if you're under the age limit for those rooms, you will be locked out of your own room, too.

I think that should be fixed, like maybe a rating for us? I don't want 13 and under year olds coming in and hearing something they don't like and me getting in trouble.

As a parent I will add that I would be disturbed if I knew my young preteen/teenage daughter was frequenting chatrooms where there are possible R or X rated discussions.

I think its a good precaution to take. It won't technically stop that sort of talk even if your room is "Pg-13 friendly." But for those of us that are uncomfortable with having "adult" conversations around minors, this is a nice feature.

I have to agree. If I was a parent I would hate my child coming up to me and asking "What's ______?" because of a site.

[Fellzor]

I....... disagree with this.

Sure, it can be helpful in some ways. But age is just a number. I know several individuals who are under the age of 18 that are far more mature than some people who are of age. I think this is unfair to those people.

Just my two cents I guess.

[Kitrax]

Adding my coins into this piggybank :/
I disagree with this, even if there are true facts and even if this is somewhat helpful.
Yes, adult conversation, which might drive into sexual and harsh/rude/whatever one is not for the young ones, but it ofcourse disappoints you if you have alot of older friends online in one private room, but sadly, you are too young to chat in this location.
It might be against the laws, rules and etc. but still, I strongly disagree with the decision to make it as default. I guess optional would work fine.

[BloodOnTheDancefloor]

Well then what about us with older friends. What are we supposed to do because we "underagged" people cant talk like we wish without getting totally banned... I just dont see the point. Wolfhome was made for talking and chatting to friends... me and my friends use the private rooms because we like to have freedom of speech and fun that others may not wish to be involved in. Im sorry but this doesnt seem fair. And honestly Ive lost all faith in wolfhome...

[Scoutsong]

I'm iffy about this. On one hand, we must follow the law, and anyway, it keeps the younger, nine year old users less exposed to sex conversations and 18+ stuff. Only thing is all my friends are above that age lmaoo.

Another thing, all the WH admins here are over eighteen. It doesn't affect them, but I, personally, am not eighteen yet I am a beta on CPI. I suppose if theres any real trouble in the rooms, it will have to go to an admin older than me, but that is really the only problem I see other than the topic of my conversations with people being a little limited.

Just my two cents.

[Firekeeper]

Although there are people who are more relaxed than others about explicit conversations, I think its wise to err on the side of safety. Its not fool-proof but it does mean that Wolfhome is technically appropriate for a variety of ages. No matter how mature they are its just not right to have a 9-13 year old sitting in a room designated for R or X rated content--or even have the *possibility* of them being allowed to enter those rooms. We can't take the time to judge every single person on their maturity level. There are even some 16 year olds not prepared for those sorts of topics.

[BloodOnTheDancefloor]

But isnt it as simple as not going into the room if you cant handle the content? o/o

[Kojote]

I really do not like this idea at all. But of course our opinions probably don't mean much as it's already been put into effect LMFAO but still. I just don't see the point of it. If some underager comes into my private room I will talk how I please with or without room settings. Just saying.

And agreeing with:

I know this has been talk about and agreed on, so idk what the point of commenting would be lmao, but I don't like this idea.

[12:52pm] Jaxis: the room rating was just to keep people knowledged about what level of talk could happen in the room
[12:52pm] Jaxis: not an age restriction.

Putting an age restriction on the rooms themselves makes it difficult for the more mature under 18yos. A lot of admins have underagers as friends and frequent the private rooms which are set at R/X.

Private rooms are generally set friends only and people who know users that come in who aren't friends get kicked out. It hasn't really been a problem and if it is, there's user bans and room locks. I just.. don't really see the point of setting an age/rating requirement if we have other ways to keep people out.

and

It's a good idea, but it has flaws.
I'm 13, and I like to go to private rooms so I can actually speak without being scared of letting my tounge loose. If I get angry or stressed whatever, I don't want to be in my own private room, and somebody comes in to something that isnt PG-13 and I get told off.
More people are probably going to fake their age now.
Sorry, it's just my opinion. :c

It's been done, and I doubt one annoying 13 year old is going to change anything. ;n;

This. n.n

[Foxgrin]

I'd still appreciate the law being quoted to me. I keep reading about how "it's the law" but please read my earlier post for my questions on that.

Please, administration, refer to my earlier post because I have a few unanswered questions up there.

[Lime]

2. Legal issues. As was mentioned previously, if a minor is exposed to something incredibly sexually oriented and it is reported UD can be held responsible, fined and/or arrested and the sites can go down, unless he shows he does have the proper precautions in place. This is one of the reasons SI was invite only, to prevent minors being exposed to such talk.

^^ Those were the first thing in my mind =)

I know this has been talk about and agreed on, so idk what the point of commenting would be lmao, but I don't like this idea.

[12:52pm] Jaxis: the room rating was just to keep people knowledged about what level of talk could happen in the room
[12:52pm] Jaxis: not an age restriction.

Putting an age restriction on the rooms themselves makes it difficult for the more mature under 18yos. A lot of admins have underagers as friends and frequent the private rooms which are set at R/X.

Private rooms are generally set friends only and people who know users that come in who aren't friends get kicked out. It hasn't really been a problem and if it is, there's user bans and room locks. I just.. don't really see the point of setting an age/rating requirement if we have other ways to keep people out.

^ but i also agree with this =)

[Echelon]

This is good for under aged users who are immature...
Not under aged users who are mature, like myself and many others.
I've already had to ask 4 of my friends if they could change the rating just so I could get into their room, and I even had to change all 6 of my rooms.
It's not that much of a hassle, but it's just kinda annoying in a way because I can handle what gets said, it's nothing worse than what I hear in my own house hold and at school and that goes for many others, some who are even younger than me.

That's all I really have to say on this really. But whats done is done, I doubt it'll be changed.

I understand the legal issues and just about everything opposed to my opinion, so if you are going to quote me, don't mention anything of the sort, because I am fully aware. Thank you.

[ScatteredFL]

As a former chatsite owner of a chat separate from this engine, and as a former alpha on this one, the defense for actions "it's the law and we could get in trouble" is often bandied about but it's not always substantiated. For instance, the administration age limit restriction of 17 is entirely arbitrary since the age of majority in the United States is 18 - and this again brings up the interesting question of how this restriction would affect those admins who are under 18 and their ability to enter private rooms on an as-needed basis.

On Wolfhome, at least - the age limit is 18+ for the administrative team. Perhaps UD will allow administrators to bypass this, just as he allows admin to bypass passwords.

Where and how do users enter their birthdate and how are they able to change it?

When Underdog input the age rule for -13 must have parental consent, it was asked that everyone say whether or not they were born before or after a certain date. He also put in code that now requires all users to sign up with their birth date, if you already had an account before this was put into effect you were required to input your birthday on your next log-in.

That's as much as I can answer - sorry Foxgrin, but the rest are questions I do not have answers to.

[Dobermxn]

That's the thing though, it's the internet. People will/have lied about their ages, it wont be hard to do it again, just because it asks you, were you born before 1997 or after, wont make a difference, there's plenty of children who fake being 18. I know for one, I follow the rules, so when I signed my friend up who is 9, I made sure I put her correct date of birth in so she can avoid this, I look out for her as my own child kind of thing, and I would hate her to walk into a room with content that is way over PG13.

Personally, I still think this idea is not a good one. Like others have said above, there are mature people on this site who are under 18 and it's unfair for themselves to be singled out. Like Rashaya said, I don't mind what room I am in, but when there are children who haven't looked at the rules, don't understand simple necessities it can become really annoying.

Of course, people will probably change there rooms now, but I know some of my friends last night, tried getting into their rooms and was restricted. OK, they can change that quite easily, but that's not the point.

If you don't want people in your room you simply kick them, if they come back you ban them from the room. Surely blocking, mature 'enough' people into rooms wont solve this.

[SGrayWolf]

As FoxGrin said, I want to see the actual laws that apply here. Until that is done, the argument of "he or she will get fined/arrested/whatever" is out the window and moot as far as I'm concerned. Blunt aren't I?

The room ratings used to ONLY be in the individual Dream Isles areas (where private rooms were listed) and not in the Mysts. I was the one who suggested they be added to the Mysts ~as a warning or notice~ to anyone entering whatever room. The room ratings were originally put into place (from my recollection) for everyones safety as to the content of that room, NOT as a restrictive measure.

Let's say that a room owner just sets their private room to PG rating (so so many aren't kept out) and then talk more adult rated content?

Is the room owner going to be punished for that? I mean, if not then that pretty much eliminates the purpose and function of the room ratings in the first place correct and if they will be punished? Then just... that's simply bad bad news.

I can put 1 and 1 together. My previous paragraph is what is going to crop up and start happening and we all know it and then administration is going to (again) alter their rules and start punishing room owners for that occurring. Correct? It's natural progression of the stated problem (at hand) and the path it's going down.

Personally? I think this is just... well.. more restrictive on everyone and REALLY doesn't solve anything.

*SHRUGS*