sexual content clearly is for M rating

[imported_Dali Dalinza]

<blockquote><hr>

guess for EA to admit they made a mistake, which we all can do and correct the mistake and either get this changed to a M rating or don't allow any kind of images that is questionable with some warning like i have stated many times already

[/ QUOTE ]

Neither of those aims is going to be achieved by this thread. I think you got your point(s) across, though. If you haven't contacted EA directly with your concerns, I think you should. I don't think EA execs read these boards.

I was browsing the EA online store this evening. You might find doing the same to be a bit instructive. I noticed that "The Sims 2 -- Teen Style Stuff" has on the advertisement, "ESRB -- Teen - Crude Humor, Sexual Themes, Violence." Interestingly, (to me, anyway), none of their M rated games for PC have any mention of sex. "The Godfather" comes closest by stating "suggestive themes." It appears violence is more the denominator for M ratings.

Even in my wildest imagination I cannot think EA is planning to make TSO into a porn city. Even if they did, who would want it? Most TSO players are not into that sort of thing. Apparently there is a system in place to filter out unacceptable material. I am gonna trust that the devs are working on a way to insure that the game they are working so very hard to invigorate is not brought down by raunchy material. They certainly don't want that any more than you do.

 

[imported_queenme]

well I don't have the time (or inclination to put it bluntly) to read this entire post, but I will throw in my 10 cents worth...
IMHO...
the current "screening process" for cc is clearly already lacking...when there have been a mere 1000 pieces of cc to check, I have already seen half naked women posters (skimpy loincloth, arms barely covering nipples on clearly naked breasts) that are in the game (right now tonight, an hour or so ago I saw it posted in a property), soooooo...
to me, that doesn't belong in a T rated game, so seems to me, they already have a problem with the "new system"....
or maybe I'm just old fashioned and think 13 yr olds (that is what a T rating is for isn't it?) don't need to see this type of image?
of course the dagger in the woman's arm complete with blood spurting out only added to the disturbing and again IMHO completely inappropriate for a T rated game image
so how is the new screening system going to work out when 3000 items a day are submitted for approval? when it can't even decently screen a mere 1000 items over a period of 5 days?
something to think about, and correct I would hope?

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

guess for EA to admit they made a mistake, which we all can do and correct the mistake and either get this changed to a M rating or don't allow any kind of images that is questionable with some warning that unsuitable content will not be tollerated by EA like i have stated many times already

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not MIANAMES but yeah me too, I don't want the rating changed, but an acknowledgement from EA that they now realize that this testing could have been handled differently would be nice, and might do some damage control in gaining back some of those brownie points I talked about earlier, and while alot of people here don't care what anybody else thinks of them, EA is certainly in a position to have to care what their subscribers think, because every single subscriber at this point has the power to tip the scale toward make or break. If TSO had as many subscribers as some of the other online games, then yeah maybe they could sit back and not care what individual subscribers think, and be more concerned with the 'masses' only......but this game cannot afford to do that. Each and every customer they alienate puts them closer to losing the entire game, but then its long been debated on the boards that despite all this effort, that might be exactly what they are trying to do in the long run. Most times I don't believe that, but then issues like this come up that make me wonder if those rumors/statements might be more true than not.

Bindy hit the nail straight on, if what Parizad said was supposed to be a 'joke' then it should have been made crystal clear that it WAS a joke, and that they did not want just anybody and everybody submitting the dirty material.

And calvinscreeksim you're still missing the point, just because a child (and yes a 13-17 year old is still a child) MIGHT have already been exposed to something in the past doesn't mean that we should just assume that they have and not be worried about being responsible for further exposure to it, or worse, assuming that they have been exposed to it and end up being the first person to expose them to it.

Sam, as to how my behavior would differ, that ought to be obvious.....I'd hope that there are certain things that any adult would not say when they know they are in the presence of minors that they might be comfortable saying if they are only in the presence of their peers or people their own age. The degree of what one would say differs from person to person obviously, but I'd hope that there'd be some subjects that nobody would discuss in front of a child, that they might discuss if none were around, while others might fall into 'gray' areas that depend on a persons moral/value system. Pornographic material is one of those things. Whether an adult choooses to search for and view that kind of stuff when they are alone is between them and their conscience, but NEVER should that be OK to view around kids. I didn't think about the devs being able to test that feature internally between them until MIA suggested it, but she's right, they probably could have. Parizad has a regular player account, and I'm sure some of the others on the dev team do too, so she should not be able to do anything with that account that any other player couldn't do, therefore if she can't get something through the filter, nobody else should be able to either. That being the case, then yeah its arguable whether the rest of the community even needed to be involved with that portion of testing if they felt it was too 'unfair' to hand choose certain members of the community and not others.

Sadly, this will probably fall into the many 'dead horse' issues that gets mulled around time and time again on the forums, because the chances of MIA, names and I actually seeing that admittance of a screw up that we'd like to see are pretty slim based on past behavior, but hey....EA has surprised us before, so maybe with some of the new dev members and their new attitudes one of them will step up to the plate and have the sac to say 'yep, we messed up, sorry guys!'.....I still do have some of that optimism left in me!

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

EA at no time told kids to search for and view porn. Some of you are taking what Parizad said and twisting it around to serve as a platform for your holier than thou soapbox sermons

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats where your wrong, EA did ask to send , in lucs blog I believe it was as Gilly that posted the link in another thread, did ask to send it all in including naughty. since all were asked not just adults **reminder reminder** this is a rated T game . Again if you bothered to read all my words, As an adult what was said by an EA dev. as an adult i find it funny with the asking of porn not to be ugly but not at a minors expense.

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe you should "bother to read all" of EA's words before grabbing the pitchfork.
<blockquote><hr>

Now remember, you can upload content that you want, but also upload the naughty stuff so we can test out our approval system.

[/ QUOTE ]

The bottom line is EA said "naughty"; <u>you</u> said "porn".
That is irrefutable.


<blockquote><hr>

4. Teen content warnings listed on back of The Sims Online game box.
*Comic Mischief
*Mature Sexual Themes
*Mild Violence

FIRST i have the link already. second, all my cases of the sims DO NOT have this, all mine say is T and game experience my change during online play.

[/ QUOTE ]
Be sure to look at the <u>back</u> of the box as well. Here are the boxes I have:

Beta disc sleeve - RPI: Rating Pending Interactive. The content of this game may change due to interactive exchanges.

2002 Release - T: Teen. Game Experience May Change During Online Play.
(on the back) Teen. Comic Mischief, Mature Sexual Themes, Mild Violence

2002 Charter Edition - T: Teen. Game Experience May Change During Online Play.
(on the back) Teen. Comic Mischief, Mature Sexual Themes, Mild Violence

New and Improved - T: Teen.
(on the back) Teen. Comic Mischief, Mature Sexual Themes, Mild Violence. Game Experience May Change During Online Play.


Hey, there's always http://play.toontown.com/
But let me warn you, I couldn't find an ESRB rating for it.

 

[imported_remflyer]

<blockquote><hr>

per the ESRB entertainment software rating board

TEEN
Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language.

MATURE
Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, <u> sexual content </u> and/or strong language.

What part of these rating EA appears to not understand?

[/ QUOTE ]

MIANAMES, the ESRB descriptions for Teen has changed since they approved this game. The Teen category used to state it could have Mature Sexual Themes.

I have read this entire thread and in it I see the same type of arguments that I saw a couple of years back when there was a big brouhaha when several of the romance houses started having explicit open house chats on sex. Many were concerned about the younger players being exposed to that and felt it violated the teen rating of this game. So I decided at that time to contact the ESRB, to get clarity on their rating. I told them the issues that had developed in game and asked for some guidance on how this adult content might affect their rating.

Their answer was that the rating is only based on the content of the game as it was designed and presented to them by EA. That is why I believe they put the disclaimer on the game "Game Experience May Change During Online Play." They also did not provide a good explanation of what they considered mature sexual themes. After hearing their response I would advise all parents not to trust an ESRB rating on any online game. They do not concern themselves with user content or gameplay.

The only way you can protect your kids in this game is to put on the parental controls. I have tested the parental controls and they work well. So well that your kid might as well play the offline game because they cannot interact with other players unless you approve them and they cannot read house chat. With visual custom content coming to the game I don't see how EA will be able to keep out all porn. It will be up to the community to flag inappropriate content. EA will most likely add to parental controls the inability to see any cc image unless it is created by a user that the parent has approved.

Also EA never asked children to submit porn to test their filters but even if they did it would not have violated the ESRB teen rating since the ESRB only concerns itself with game content created by the manufacturer.

 

[imported_SimTripps]

LOL Milton.. This is the thing - even if the game had a 'Mature' rating, don't you think that kids would still register if they so desired? Borrow Dad's credit card, and lie about their age when they register? Like I said in an earlier post, kids are curious by nature and will tend to rebel and defy their parent's authoritative control if they are told 'no'. Where there's a will there will always be a way with teen-agers...

I'm not sure which planet some of you live on lol... In my society teens have sex - they also smoke, drink, do drugs, etc. So how could a couple of 'boobie' pics in an on-line game corrupt them? Teens ALSO have a responsibility in what they allow into their psyche and what they disallow. If their personality draws them to naughty content, they'll find it anyway. And if their personality doesn't, then they'll turn away. We're not talking about 10 year olds here - we're talking about teen-agers on the verge of adulthood.

EA's only responsibility is to 'cover their butt' in terms of fulfilling their rating policy obligations - the rest is up to us..

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

Where there's a will there will always be a way with teen-agers...


[/ QUOTE ]
As a former teenager, I would like to confirm the truth of this statement.

 

[wishywashygirl]

<font color="purple"> Now remember, you can upload content that you want, but also upload the naughty stuff so we can test out our approval system. </font>
(from Parizad's post on tso-e/blog)

<font color="purple"> Naughty ~ lacking in taste or propriety (Merriam-Webster Online)
</font>

<font color="green"> Ok exactly where did Parizad ask for anything other than distastful images? Ummm... distasteful does not always mean vulgar, suggestive, or porn.

distasteful



Main Entry: dis·taste·ful
Pronunciation: \(&amp;#716dis-&amp;#712;t&amp;#257;st-f&amp;#601;l\
Function: adjective
Date: 1607
1 a: objectionable because offensive to one's personal taste : unpleasant, disagreeable &lt;found the job distasteful&gt; &lt;a shady, distasteful character&gt; b: objectionable because in poor taste, inappropriate, or unethical &lt;a harmless stroking…but it seems oddly distasteful in retrospect — Richard Sandza et al.&gt;
2: unpleasant to the taste &lt;distasteful unripe fruit&gt;
— dis·taste·ful·ly \-f&amp;#601;-l&amp;#275;\ adverb
— dis·taste·ful·ness noun

We need to all keep this in perspective and not read anymore into what was or was not asked for other than Naughty - ie distasteful - content. </font>

 

[Guest]

After reading this thread over and over, I do think MIA makes some very valid points. I am on my way out the door, I will reply later with my reasoning.

 

[wishywashygirl]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

RE: asking only those over 18 years to participate in the upload test. How does EA know the age of any player? (Answer: they don't.) I think they have to assume we are all 13 years of age or over, and we all know that is not the case.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's not true. Birthdates are part of the registration process, so they know very well who is underage and who is not, as far as 18 goes, unless a person lies on that when they register, which some people did to appear over 13 when they are not, but I don't think they'd have done it to appear over 18 because you don't have to be 18 to play, and they could have made the announcement without giving anybody any time to go in and alter that date so they could falsify being over 18. Besides that, if they had hand picked individual people to test, then they'd KNOW who they were getting because Parizad in paritcular has been around for a long time, and she knows some of the players very well, so I am sure she knows a dozen or so people whom she has definite confirmation that they are over 18 and could have asked them specifically to test it, and if anybody had been caught doing it that wasn't asked to, then action could be taken against them.

Yes, it probably would have caused a stink of jealousy from those who were not hand selected, but at least the children would have been protected, and EA's backside would have been covered in case anybody DID try to make a big stink about kids being intentionally exposed to pornographic material. Not that I think they should raise the stink, but you know some people would try just because they could, so I think the drama caused by jealousy would be preferrable to what could have happened the other way.....it's just luck that it didn't in fact happen.

[/ QUOTE ]


I don't recall ever once being asked for a drivers liscense number, social security number, anything at all other than my birthday that would prove my age.... so no EA has NO way of knowing how old anyone really is in this game.

 

[Guest]

*ttl*

*EA will come down hard and even ban, anyone publicly claiming to be under 13 in the game (whether they actually are or not)......if they are reported for doing so. In order to, legally, play this game the parents of children must exempt the company of all liability for what their *children(under 13)* do and see in the game.

*The ERSB ratings are a *guide* (they even call them guides) for parents....not a contract for game companies, nor a policing agency.....just a heads-up guide for parents, to use or ignore as they chose.

*The listings of topics that go along with the ratings are subjects that *some* parents might feel are reasons to deny their children access to the game in question. Sexual themes are listed with every Teen rating, for every Sims game, online and off.

All ratings systems (and our legal system) draw a line to divide the entire population into one of three basic groups....adult, teenager and child. The age lines may be somewhat arbitrary, but the classification is universal.....children are *not teenagers and teenagers are *not adults. This games is geared and rated for teenagers.....not children and not adults.

In response to Carrie's claim that 13 to 17 year olds are children.

Although it may be comforting, for whatever reason, to view teenagers (13 to 17) as children, they are not children, they are sexually maturing, semi-adults and in various states under various circumstances (either thru standing laws or emancipation), they can legally drive, live alone, marry, raise their own children, work, be held legally accountable for contracts and misdemeanors and tried/sentenced as adults for serious crimes.......no *child* can be given emancipation to be an adult and gain the legal rights and obligations to act as an adult....but teenagers of all ages can and have.

 

[Guest]

go to custom content upload test second response

 

[Guest]

Never mind the ESRB issues raised by custom content. Anybody thought about the DMCA implications?

 

[imported_Dali Dalinza]

<blockquote><hr>

Never mind the ESRB issues raised by custom content. Anybody thought about the DMCA implications?

[/ QUOTE ]

That is another thread, LOL. (DMCA = Digital Millennium Copyright Act, US copyright law, and is of concern to anyone who sells copyrighted material as custom content in a game such as Ea Land.) It is a topic that I have wondered about, too. I know Disney and other owners of cartoon characters are not amused when their rights are infringed, and have in the past taken legal action. The owners of naughty material might be even more litigious minded.

You can be sure that we will be hearing more about DCMA in the months to come. Will Ea Land have a "report infringement" button?

How this will relate to content and the topic of this thread, "M" rating, I don't know at this point.

 

[imported_corpatortis]

<blockquote><hr>

*ttl*

*EA will come down hard and even ban, anyone publicly claiming to be under 13 in the game (whether they actually are or not)......if they are reported for doing so. In order to, legally, play this game the parents of children must exempt the company of all liability for what their *children(under 13)* do and see in the game.

*The ERSB ratings are a *guide* (they even call them guides) for parents....not a contract for game companies, nor a policing agency.....just a heads-up guide for parents, to use or ignore as they chose.

*The listings of topics that go along with the ratings are subjects that *some* parents might feel are reasons to deny their children access to the game in question. Sexual themes are listed with every Teen rating, for every Sims game, online and off.

All ratings systems (and our legal system) draw a line to divide the entire population into one of three basic groups....adult, teenager and child. The age lines may be somewhat arbitrary, but the classification is universal.....children are *not teenagers and teenagers are *not adults. This games is geared and rated for teenagers.....not children and not adults.

In response to Carrie's claim that 13 to 17 year olds are children.

Although it may be comforting, for whatever reason, to view teenagers (13 to 17) as children, they are not children, they are sexually maturing, semi-adults and in various states under various circumstances (either thru standing laws or emancipation), they can legally drive, live alone, marry, raise their own children, work, be held legally accountable for contracts and misdemeanors and tried/sentenced as adults for serious crimes.......no *child* can be given emancipation to be an adult and gain the legal rights and obligations to act as an adult....but teenagers of all ages can and have.

[/ QUOTE ]

In my opinion Gilly just won this thread.

I agree wholeheartedly.

13-17 is in no way a child. Especially when you can legally have sex with someone in that age group (in most areas).

This thread makes me LOL. The game warns against sexual content. If you choose to ignore that warning do not be surprised when it presents itself. M ratings are usually because of intense violence and/or gore scenes. Sexuality in itself has, nationwide (canada &amp; US, possibly UK for AJ's sake), become more understood and less taboo.

If you feel otherwise then don't put yourself in a position where you would be exposed to it. Or your 9 grandchildren.

 

[TSO_Vortex]

Software with sexually explicit themes is not rated M. It's rated AO (adults only) and is thereby blacklisted by most (if not all) retail chains. There's no way EA is going to let TSO get that rating.

It's a pretty broad jump from T to AO, just as there's a broad jump from sexually suggestive to sexually explicit.

 

[Suzi Q]

Having read most of the comments in this and the original CC thread, it does seem that a lot of you are referring to TEENAGERS as young children. Let's face it most teenagers these days know more about sex than we adults! I agree that porn should be prohibited and my understanding is that EA will have filters in place to prevent it being used. I don't want to see porn myself, but there is a massive difference in what is deemed porn and woohoo in a vibrating bed!!! Do any of your teenagers watch TV these days? Even the soaps have sexual scenes in them!

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

13-17 is in no way a child. Especially when you can legally have sex with someone in that age group (in most areas).

[/ QUOTE ]

Referring to the bolded statement, that is FALSE. In MOST areas, maybe even all but I can't swear to it, in this country, consentual sex with anybody under the age of 16 or 17 can still be charged criminally as statutory ****, and the punishment for stat **** is about 5 years in prison, so that is not true.

OK, so 13-17 is not technically a 'child', but they are not little adults, they are not pre-adults, they are not young adults, therefore they should not have the same rights that grown adults do to look at pornographic material unless their parents are foolish enough to either give that permission actively or give it passively by just not caring. Some people said that the parents gave their permission for the children to participate in the testing when they let them sign up for the game. That is NOT true. They gave their children permission to sign up for a game with a Teen rating, and to participate and view anything that was appropriate to that rating. EA itself said that pornography is not appropriate, and will be against the TOS to be in the game, therefore its a perfectly legitimate question as to why it was appropriate for however long the test lasted, since the test was not limited to ADULTS age 18+. I realize some kids can be emancipated once they turn 16, but until they are emancipated they are still not adults.

Honestly though I'm getting ready to see KIR's famous beating a dead horse icon though, because the test is over, and we're not going to see the admittance of flubbing that some of us want to see, so its a matter of just having to get over it and move on, or speak out with your wallet if it's important enough to you to walk away in protest. It's obvious that those who don't see anything wrong with what they did are never going to understand why others do believe it was wrong, so I don't think continuing to go around in circles about it at this point is going to do anything but raise tempers and blood pressures and possibly cause some hurt feelings. *sigh*

 

[imported_Qute Pi]

<blockquote><hr>

per the ESRB entertainment software rating board

TEEN
Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language.

MATURE
Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, <u> sexual content </u> and/or strong language.

What part of these rating EA appears to not understand?

I am putting this as a new thread since this topic in not part of CC testing apparently. I am not looking for replys, just showing the difference in a T rating and a M rating. Therefore making my suggestions of waiting on this part of CC correct (waiting until EA changed the rating to M if this was still in their plans)or making sure there was some reminder this is a T rated game and actions would be taken if submissions are not in the boundries of a T rating. Giving the opportunity for minors to submit naughty/porn for approval is not acceptale in a T rated game. And stratics defending the right to submit a M rating image is clearly wrong. (yes I understand just because its submitted it will be declined, but the whole point is it is still being asked for and allowed to submitted by minors ((concidering this is T rated game, neither adults nor minors should be allowed to submit)).)

[/ QUOTE ]

Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes , crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language.

Suggestive Themes — Mild provocative references or materials.

Doesn't that cover the request for naughty material that doesn't actually make it into the game?

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

per the ESRB entertainment software rating board

TEEN
Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language.

MATURE
Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, <u> sexual content </u> and/or strong language.

What part of these rating EA appears to not understand?

I am putting this as a new thread since this topic in not part of CC testing apparently. I am not looking for replys, just showing the difference in a T rating and a M rating. Therefore making my suggestions of waiting on this part of CC correct (waiting until EA changed the rating to M if this was still in their plans)or making sure there was some reminder this is a T rated game and actions would be taken if submissions are not in the boundries of a T rating. Giving the opportunity for minors to submit naughty/porn for approval is not acceptale in a T rated game. And stratics defending the right to submit a M rating image is clearly wrong. (yes I understand just because its submitted it will be declined, but the whole point is it is still being asked for and allowed to submitted by minors ((concidering this is T rated game, neither adults nor minors should be allowed to submit)).)

[/ QUOTE ]

Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes , crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language.

Suggestive Themes — Mild provocative references or materials.

Doesn't that cover the request for naughty material that doesn't actually make it into the game?

[/ QUOTE ]

Would depend on HOW naughty the test was allowed to get. Suggestive leaves things to the imagination, even if in your mind you know what's gonna happen. In a movie or soap opera, a couple is heavy kissing and starting to remove each other's clothing but you don't actually see any naked body parts unless the movie is rated R, but in soaps you're not even allowed to see that. You see them in bed after they do the deed, so you know they did the deed but its still only suggestive because they don't show it. Full nudity, pornography, is not 'suggestive', its flagrant.....it leaves nothing to the imagination.

Remember the naked siggie campaign when people were campaigning for new clothing? There were siggies that were pulled because they crossed the line between suggestive and inappropriate, and with that you're talking about basically pixels and cartoon characters. If it's not OK for kids to see that then it definitely shouldn't have been OK for them to pictures of real naked bodies, even within the confines of the test, because that doesn't fall within 'suggestive themes' that the T rating of the ESRB allows for, and the testing is within the game so the issue is that some of us feel that even the testing should not have been allowed to violate the ESRB ratings with teens involved in the testing. If we were back in beta where everybody had to be 18, or at least had to say they were 18, it'd be a different story, or if they had limited that particular test to the adult players.....but they didn't, and there in lies the issue that is raised here.

 

[names]

TO SUGGEST IT IS LEGAL FOR <u>ANY</u> 13 YEAR OLD TO HAVE SEX IN A SUCH A SWEEPING STATEMENT WOULD YOU BE PREPARED TO PROVIDE WHERE IN UNITED STATES, CANADIAN OR UNITED KINGDOM LAWS IT STATES, IT IS LEGAL., SEEING AS YOU ARE QUOTING IT.


AS FAR AS I AM AWARE IT IS ILLEGAL ANY WHERE AND AS MINORS DO READ THESE THREADS WHAT TYPE OF MESSAGE ARE YOU TRYING TO PUT INTO THE MINDS OF MINORS OR ADULTS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

information regarding the reason behind the different labels / ratings

ea were informed by ESRB that "Mature Sexual Content" had to be included for the reason of the naked blurred shower scene if it was to carry a "T" rating.

 

[Guest]

Thread Warning:

Stay on topic. The topic is what should and should not be allowed into the game, the filtering process, and whether EA Land should be rated T or M.

Anything else doesn't belong in here.


Failure to remain on topic may result in staples being jammed under your fingernails.

(not really but at least I got your attention)

 

[imported_DutchAmerica]

<blockquote><hr>


Thread Warning:

Stay on topic. The topic is what should and should not be allowed into the game, the filtering process, and whether EA Land should be rated T or M.

Anything else doesn't belong in here.


Failure to remain on topic may result in staples being jammed under your fingernails.

(not really but at least I got your attention)

[/ QUOTE ]

Milton - great example!

See now, if you are just 'hinting' at violence you are keeping in the Rated 'T' zone. However, if you post gruesome, bloody pictures of you jamming those staples under your finger nails....that would be an M rating.

It would have nothing to do with porn whatsoever....I don't think. But it would be naught and it would definitely be an M rating.

 

[Bindy]

*TTL*

Umm here's some food for thought. When was the last time anyone saw TSO for sale in a store? If you're a new player the only way to get the game is to download it off the net. Soooo, how many "kids", "young adults", whatever..do you think have their mommy or daddy do the downloading for them? Or read the agreement online? They say hey I want to get this game but I need a credit card and the parents hands the card over. Unless the parent actively checks the game out, which Im willing to bet the numbers are low on that, then there is no visable rating to see.

Yes I know 13 to 17 yr olds arent in many ways kids but in the eyes of the law in just about every state that I know of, they are kids. Even if they get a court to allow them to move out of their parents home they are still kids until the age of 21 (18 in a very few areas), when they would now be of age to buy adult content items. Just beacuse a kid 13 to 17 yrs old tries to act and or do things adultish doesnt make them adults.

As far as EA coming down hard on anyone playing under the age of 13, LOL, sorry they dont come down hard on cheaters, botters etc. Yes, in the beginning of TSO they did if they actually found out by someone reporting a player for being underage, but that was long ago and rarely happened.

Oh yeah I did see EA's little agreement pop up the other day when logging on (which I figure was brought on by this very thread) and I had to laugh. They want their money honey, and in the past if a parent called EA and arranged permissions for their under 13 yr old to play thats all it took. That is if the parent or kid even bothered to go that route, which most did not.

Very easy to lie about age online and no one checks.

Only reason I can imagine EA taking the hard road against under 13yr old players now is because they are changing the game into a clone of a more adultish game that is widely known (no names mentioned), and they dont want adverse problems simply because of that other game.

 

[Bindy]

13-17 is in no way a child. Especially when you can legally have sex with someone in that age group (in most areas).

[/ QUOTE ]

Where the heck do you live that its legal to have sex with a 13 to 17 yr old??

I think you are a little confused on legal age limits because it most certainly is not legal to have sex with a person under the age of 18 (in most areas).

 

[imported_DutchAmerica]

<blockquote><hr>

*TTL*
They say hey I want to get this game but I need a credit card and the parents hands the card over.


[/ QUOTE ]


Who says they need to ask their parents for a credit card?

Can we say 'gift cards'?

Every Christmas/Birthday/other special event, it is not unheard of for my son to get an AmEx pre-paid gift credit card where he spend his money where ever he is. He even received a Visa card that is refillable so that if he wanted to, he could take it to an ATM machine and actually 'add' money to it.

These cards spend on the internet just like any other credit card does.

So, I hate to say it....kids don't even have to ask their parents for the credit cards any longer.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>


Thread Warning:

Stay on topic. The topic is what should and should not be allowed into the game, the filtering process, and whether EA Land should be rated T or M.

Anything else doesn't belong in here.

[/ QUOTE ]