ALFA PG-13 or 18+ ?

[Mirabai]

A bigger risk would be knowing a member to be a minor and then allowing them access to sexually explicit content

Is this just an american thing? Since when was sexually explicit content all that falls into the R rating?

Most Americans seem to generally feel that it's fine for their children to watch and/or act out maiming, smiting, decapitating, lopping off limbs, exploding, imploding, and various other forms of dealing death...ya know, so long as it's done to "The Bad Guys".

However, sex? OH GODS NO CAN'T HAVE THAT! Johnny might ask uncomfortable questions. Jane might get it into her head that doing what comes natural doesn't make her "bad". Nope, can't have any of that, can we?

[dirsa]

Is this just an american thing? Since when was sexually explicit content all that falls into the R rating?

as an example, let me just bring up the infamous super bowl boob incident... some years ago jannet jacksons boob came loose during her performance at super bowl... it was a shot from couple hundred yards away into smoke filled stage. to actually see the boob you had to zoom in with some technology. hd wasn't available back then either..

anyhow, what ensued can only be described as ridiculous and very typical of americans. parent, christian, and christian/parent organizations across the country got up in arms, yelling about their forever scarred children by the sight of a blurry breast on prime time tv. what's worse - government, lawyers and media all went along, fined people, changed broadcast rules, etc...

in other words mirabai is right: for american children detailed mutilation, dismemberment, shooting, stabbing, etc. are perfectly acceptable forms of entertainment, but mere mention of sex could start an avalanche... go figure.

[zicada]

Where did you get the server-host issue from in the first place ?

I personally will probably at all times have content on my server somewhere that is let's say a bit more, hardcore, than a couple of old geeks/nerds playing doctor with their online dolls.

Do I think I am in any way, shape or form taking a risk? not at all, that would be rather paranoid. Have you _seen_ the internet ?

I highly doubt the situation is any different in the US, regardless of what some lawyer would be able to come up with. Actually I know it isn't,- millions of servers operate in the US with content that would actually warrant what is proposed in this thread without any sort of disclaimer. Somehow I think those might be given a higher priority than our, let's be honest, pretty innocent online fantasy group (where most players are over 25). That is, if the basic premise of cyber-police/cyber-lawsuit thing was even a reality in the first place. The fact is, as long as the american hosters don't publically offer a bunch of new Disney movie bluray rips we're gonna be just fine and not encounter the law in any way shape or form, we're simply not remotely interesting enough for anyone to bother, even concerned mothers of america, who probably have their hands full with sites like motherless (dot com, don't look at that unless you really think you want to )

Since anybody can just lie and say they're 18 anyway, we're basically buying into the "as long as i told them i'm fine" concept, which, if this whole issue came from a morality point of view to begin with, clearly wouldn't cut it anyway. It is simply a device used to not get blamed for it,- the "damage" (i have no idea how anything ALFA could ever damage anyone, come on!) would already have been dealt.

If it is actually the case that the vast majority of members are adults (even old people ), a good way to show it would be to just remove any notion of a (highly flawed) rating system used to rate films in America, trust the playerbase and DM's, and remove fingers from behinds and placing them firmly back in the ears in which they belong.

[Mirabai]

Refreshing injection of sense-making is refreshing.

[Rotku]

*waves the We Love Zicada banner*

[oldgrayrogue]

I believe Castano raised the issue of potential host liability. I don't know if it is a valid concern or not, but on the chance it is I would prefer to err on the side of protecting our hosts. To the "no one really care's about ALFA as compared to other sites on the internet" argument I say: Famous last words.

Let me paint a picture. Fifteen year old is accepted to PG-13 advertised ALFA. Fifteen year old rolls up a provacative Sharessan. First day on ALFA fifteen year old engages in willing and consensual Cyb0r with an adult player on ALFA. Fifteen year old clips a log of the chatbox and saves it for posterity. Parents of fifteen year old find the chat log, and question said teen. Fifteen year old who has been caught doing something naughty predictably claims he was "forced" to engage in the conduct. Outraged parents alert the authorities claiming that our "innocent PG-13 fantasy gaming community" is really a front for internet predation on minors. Not possible? Really?

From a morality standpoint, because of the anonymity of the internet, an age requirement is probably impossible to police because minors can simply lie. However, if an 18+ requirement is present, a parent is placed on notice of the content, can make an informed decision about whether the site is or is not appropriate for their child, and will be hard pressed to claim they thought the site was appropriate if some type of incident occurs.

Given the fact that the membership seems to be over 18 anyway, I don't see what the resistance to a check box really is. Nor do I see it as a "silly American" issue, and frankly take offense to the stereotyping.

[Mord]

7 members of this community are puritanical misanthropes.

[Swift]

7 members of this community are puritanical misanthropes.

Get back to youtube, troll!

[Mord]

7 members of this community are puritanical misanthropes.

Get back to youtube, troll!

A cruel but perhaps deserved fate.

[Hialmar]

Just a note that a checkbox is now at the end of our application form with the following text:

By checking this box you state that you are at least 18 years of age and that you understand that ALFA games may in some instances contain mature, violent and/or sexual content and themes as part of their overall storyline and are thus not suitable for minors and/or may not be allowed in your country. Please keep in mind that such content and themes in game are not the primary focus of ALFA, nor should they be the primary focus of your game.

We will now work on something that will be displayed the first time a player connects on one of our servers. It will require them to say that they are at least 18 and this will be stored in the database.

Thus ALFA is now officially 18+.

[CloudDancing]

Really well crafted statement! Kudos!

(some people thought this was sarcastic, its not

[Hialmar]

The "18+" in game conversation is in beta test on Vaultster Beta TSM mod.
It should go live ASAP.

[JaydeMoon]

Is this an announcement worthy of BILLBOARD PLACEMENT in all of ALFA's subforums anymore?

ie can Announcement status be removed?

[Veilan]

Downgraded to announcement, will further downgrade gradually.