Certain age requirements

This topic popped up in my mind after I was scolded in Vent for saying "plum muffin" in alliance chat (this prompted a 9 year old to ask her mother what a plum muffin was). Should there be certain age limits to playing MMORPGs such as MapleStory that contain an overwhelming majority of teenaged players? When I was 9 the only games I played were YuGiOh and Pokemon (the video game) which, normally, didn't put me in too much contact with teenagers (but, of course, I wasn't completely immune; my brother is 3 years older than I am, and, suffice to say, he has influenced my vocabulary, including tricking me into saying when I was 7). The adformentioned child plays with her mother. Step into her shoes for a moment. Would you let your child play a MMORPG, even though you know quite well about the rest of the community? Of course, everyone eventually curses (hopefully at a much older age than I was when I first uttered those words) and you can't completely block them off, but should there be a certain age when it is "ok" to play an MMO? Personally, I think the age should be 12 or 13. By that age, most kids have heard it all. And this doesn't only include cursing. My alliance chat includes a bunch of racist comments (mostly towards me, considering I'm the only Arab in the entire alliance). These things are present in any MMO community and any one playing will 110% be exposed indefinitely. These things shape a child's understanding of other races. If a 9 year old is constantly exposed to the statement "Keenan you Arab go blow something up", they will think that Arabs blow stuff up (please, no terrorist jokes). My friend put his 3 year old brother on Vent (Thomas, if you're reading this, seriously, how the fcuk did you get into MIT) and told him that "Keenan is a bad guy" (pimento) about a week ago. He put his brother on Vent again about 2 days ago and my friend told his brother to say "Hello" to me. Instead of being greeted with "Hello", I was greeted with "Keenan is a bad guy". Repeatedly.
What solution could be thought of to solve this problem? Of course you could say just don't curse, I mean, that is why the curse filter is there, but you can't stop every single person. I personally think that is the responsibility of the parent. If they so wish to expose their child to an online community, be my guest, but don't come knocking on my door when your child asks you what a plum muffin is.
--And to anyone whom it may concern, no, I did not know a 9 year old was online, or that anyone under the age of 13 was even in the alliance. If I had known that anyone of such a young age was online, trust and believe me when I say, I would never, ever say such things. There is a 12 year old in my guild, he curses as much as I do but even when he is online, I try and watch my tongue.

I helped with an after school daycare thingy..
And there is an age cap at 10.
Because what a 10 yearold and 12 year old are supposedly drastically different.
As a karate instructor I am inclined to agree.

Well first off I'd just ditch that whole alliance.

Now the age thing,
I'd say the most typical age that any child so really get involved into MMORPGS and more mature stuff would be around 12 or 13, this is assuming that they know about being mature and the differences between being a child and being a well behaved teenager. Though most of it is mentality and not age.

Well, if you knew there was a 9 year old on your vent channel, why would you say plum muffin?
Flipside, why would a parent let a 9 year old a vent server if swearing is common place?
(I'm not sure about the specifics of your situation )
It really depends on the circumstances. My 10 year old plays maple but she just wanders around and doesn't really interact. I probably wouldnt let her on my guilds vent channel, though I'm pretty certain if I did, people would respect her prescence and tone it done while she was on.

Well, if you knew there was a 9 year old on your vent channel, why would you say plum muffin?
Flipside, why would a parent let a 9 year old a vent server if swearing is common place?
(I'm not sure about the specifics of your situation )
It really depends on the circumstances. My 10 year old plays maple but she just wanders around and doesn't really interact. I probably wouldnt let her on my guilds vent channel, though I'm pretty certain if I did, people would respect her prescence and tone it done while she was on.

It wasnt in Vent, it was in Alliance chat on Maple. The Vent I go into is for my guild only, the 9 year old was in a different guild in the alliance. The youngest person in our Vent is 14, and, trust me, he's fine. Everyone else is 16-17 and two are over 18. The 12 year old in my guild comes on our vent sometimes and I've heard him curse so I know he does.
--
I used to know someone who played with her grandchildren. They were around 10 as well and mostly just wandered and didn't really interact with other people a lot (but they still did).

Eh.. I'm on the fence with this one, Keenan. I wouldn't let my child play a game if I knew that type of things were going on. It's not appropriate for their age yet. But knowing how some children do behave they'll more then likely just go behind their parents back & play the game over at a friends house anyways. But really?... the kid ACTUALLY asked her mom what a c*nt muffin was? lmao.. I'm sorry but I find that hilarious. Wouldn't be funny though if they were in a store and the child just all of a sudden blurted it out in anger at his/her mother.. People would think bad of the parent. People say it's "just a game" but playing these games do shape a child's mind set.

Eh.. I'm on the fence with this one, Keenan. I wouldn't let my child play a game if I knew that type of things were going on. It's not appropriate for their age yet. But knowing how some children do behave they'll more then likely just go behind their parents back & play the game over at a friends house anyways. But really?... the kid ACTUALLY asked her mom what a c*nt muffin was? lmao.. I'm sorry but I find that hilarious. Wouldn't be funny though if they were in a store and the child just all of a sudden blurted it out in anger at his/her mother.. People would think bad of the parent. People say it's "just a game" but playing these games do shape a child's mind set.

As far as I know, the question was asked in their house. Now, I said plum muffin for the first time a long time ago and I've said it on a regular basis as to the point where I'm not the only person saying it, so it might not be my doing. I've been playing MMOs since I was 10. If my parents knew the things I've heard they probably wouldn't have let me play

Oh mackenzie!
You only made the whole guild leave the alliance, its okay.

Oh mackenzie!
You only made the whole guild leave the alliance, its okay.

I'm proud of my accomplishments. And no, I'm not selling you my goggles.

UNLIKE YOUR GOGGLES, MY GOGGLES DO SOMETHING

I'm proud of my accomplishments. And no, I'm not selling you my goggles.

UNLIKE YOUR GOGGLES, MY GOGGLES DO SOMETHING

I raise my price to 50 whopping k nx.

I raise my price to 50 whopping k nx.

...Stay on topic Will

Stopping a kid from learning swearing doesnt mean swearing wont happen. That's a patched up solution. Stopping you from playing a game, just because a game has people who swears is silly. People swear everywhere.

Relationship should be open, truthful and respectful. What does that mean? Well, between a mother and a son say, they shouldnt hide anything or being fearful of anything between them. Successful parenting requires a friendship-type relationship between the parent and the child.

From being able to openly discuss any topics, it leads to truthful convo. If a kid innocently asked the mom/dad "What does plum muffin means?" You can simply explain to them that "It is a bad word with defamatory meanings. You should not use them when talk to others." for example, is a much better approach than "OH JESUS WHERE DID YOU HEARD THAT FROM? I FORBID YOU FROM PLAYING THAT GAME EVER AGAIN!!!". You as the parent have effectively scared the child, prompting future hesitations or even hiding certain things from you.

As for respect, it's a privilege, not a right, even as a parent. You need to earn respect from your kids. If you dont actually respect them, then they wont respect you either. Everything must be absolute but compassionate at the same time. Dont be overly harsh, which can come accross as unreasonable, but at the same time, dont be too linence, which leads to whining. If your kids respect you, they'll be more open and truthful to you.

tl;dr; (which happens to be lots of my posts these days) Parent shouldnt freak out and go ban-happy on kids just cause they're curious of something.

Please, people following age requirements for games? When has this ever done more than deterring little kids from getting M rated games. I watched my eleven year old cousin play BioShock and Halo during our 4th of July celebration. Online games just add the verbal violence to the mix. They're gunna learn it eventually, so why be so restrictive with how we treat it? If they know how and when to use it, let them. I think it is a matter of competence and respectability (Although I watch what I unfortunately call my brother (now 23) every day and have to deal with the fact that these things don't grow with age).

I worry about my nephew. He's 10. I know he knows cuss words, but I feel like I am obligated to protect him from the more obscene things. I feel that everyone knows in EF that he is 10, which is nice. Although, there have been a few close calls. They usually have me going "STFU, Alex is 10". I am not his parent, so I can't restrict him from the game, but I feel like I need to protect him from the internet. I'm not worried about cussing though 'cause he doesn't cuss and there is no real way to shelter anyone from that.

You can't stop them from doing these things, but you can do your best to protect them while they're doing it.

But here's the thing...

Personally, I think the age should be 12 or 13. By that age, most kids have heard it all.

Heard it from where?

Say someone's lived a sheltered life, 25 years and somehow or other don't know of and haven't heard of any... you know.
How is that different than if he's 9?

Of course there are going to be differences in how that person is going to react and handle that knowledge, but really. I know that some 8 year olds can be at least as mature as some 18 year olds and vice versa. You can't just put a line there like that.

I'll say no more; I guess my point of view is kind of biased. Somehow I'm regarded as young and innocent and crap (I think it's because 1. I don't go out enough and 2. apparently I look 13-14). When in fact I would've already been "corrupted" many times over; it just doesn't show, most of the time.
If shit still needs to be censored from a guy by the time he can fucking drive, that's a hindrance to society.

But here's the thing...

Heard it from where?

Say someone's lived a sheltered life, 25 years and somehow or other don't know of and haven't heard of any... you know.
How is that different than if he's 9?

Of course there are going to be differences in how that person is going to react and handle that knowledge, but really. I know that some 8 year olds can be at least as mature as some 18 year olds and vice versa. You can't just put a line there like that.

I'll say no more; I guess my point of view is kind of biased. Somehow I'm regarded as young and innocent and crap (I think it's because 1. I don't go out enough and 2. apparently I look 13-14). When in fact I would've already been "corrupted" many times over; it just doesn't show, most of the time.
If shit still needs to be censored from a guy by the time he can fucking drive, that's a hindrance to society.

Well, people will hear words from different people and places. Some can hear it from their parents arguing. Personally, I heard the words from my brother and others his age in school. I never asked my parents what those words meant. I don't know how I know what they mean to be honest LOL.

Well, people will hear words from different people and places. Some can hear it from their parents arguing. Personally, I heard the words from my brother and others his age in school. I never asked my parents what those words meant. I don't know how I know what they mean to be honest LOL.

Then what's the difference between 'learning' those words as a 9-year-old from Maple and doing so elsewhere?

Maple's age requirement: PG13. You must have adequately mastered basic curse words before you play Maple so that we are not held responsible for you being spoiled.

I'd like to see an 18+ area or channel or server or what have you of Maple, something accessible only by proving your age with a credit card or something. No curse filter there, maybe some other perks that come with not being 12, etc. It doesn't have to have any special content, just...you know, be able to speak without **** popping up half the time.

I'd like to see an 18+ area or channel or server or what have you of Maple, something accessible only by proving your age with a credit card or something. No curse filter there, maybe some other perks that come with not being 12, etc. It doesn't have to have any special content, just...you know, be able to speak without **** popping up half the time.

Never going to happy.

Aside from the swearing, there isn't anything "mature" about Maple.