Restrict new signups to 18 years or older

[Doug R.]

A bit of an afterthought here; under which country's legal system would these hypothetical policies have to adhere to?

The country where the servers reside, in this case, the US.

[Auryn]

Instead of being required to be over 18, how about an option to select whether the player is or not, then a very small <18 symbol could be placed in their character description. That's the best compromise I could come up with. I also dislike having to make my character watch their words and actions, especially when it comes to sexual encounters.

I am for the originally proposed 18 or over. I have a feeling we will actually see an overall decrease in the profanities and general immature actions in the game. As long as Cantr isn't ADVERTISED as a sex rp site, I doubt we would attract too many people only seeking that. There could be a disclaimer that just states that there is adult language and OCCASIONALLY adult situations.

I don't really think a credit card check should be needed. That shouldn't have anything to do with this topic.

[EchoMan]

A bit of an afterthought here; under which country's legal system would these hypothetical policies have to adhere to?

The country where the servers reside, in this case, the US.

Slightly off-topic, but since the latest server move, we are hosted from Ireland nowadays.

[cjace68]

Instead of being required to be over 18, how about an option to select whether the player is or not, then a very small <18 symbol could be placed in their character description. That's the best compromise I could come up with. I also dislike having to make my character watch their words and actions, especially when it comes to sexual encounters.

I am for the originally proposed 18 or over. I have a feeling we will actually see an overall decrease in the profanities and general immature actions in the game. As long as Cantr isn't ADVERTISED as a sex rp site, I doubt we would attract too many people only seeking that. There could be a disclaimer that just states that there is adult language and OCCASIONALLY adult situations.

I don't really think a credit card check should be needed. That shouldn't have anything to do with this topic.

I actually think this is a brilliant idea. A tag that tells us whether they are 18 or over would be absolutely perfect. I don't usually censor myself in game, but at least this would give me the option to be mindful if I notice there are younger people around.

[Black Canyon]

What about a symbol or specification for only PG-14 themes, or no graphic sexual themes or some such thing and have this designation automatic for those under 18 but voluntary for those over 18? This way, our minors won't be labeled as targets for any possible predators.

[computaertist]

What about a symbol or specification for only PG-14 themes, or no graphic sexual themes or some such thing and have this designation automatic for those under 18 but voluntary for those over 18?

I would support this. I can't think of any reason anyone would be against it.

EDIT: And then I remember the first post of this thread...
I'd still support it, but it doesn't solve Doug's initial issue.

It's just that when my characters were created and developed, this wasn't an issue in the community, so they developed their personalities in an atmosphere free of restriction. Now behavior restrictions are in force, and I simply can't go back in time and change who my characters are to accommodate the new reality. Instead I have to make conscious ooc choices to curb their behavior.

[oddedd]

What if instead of labelling every minor, we instead have as simple game mechanic that detects if there are any characters played by minors that could potentially hear your chat, (that includes people that could potentially overhear your whisper) and if so add a little symbol next to the chat box advising you as such. They would be singled out on some occasions, but only when necessary, i.e one on ones.

EDIT this could work in conjunction with the above suggestion instead of just minors it could look for anyone tagged as no adult themes.

[Doug R.]

My argument against labeling is that it would create an "underclass" where these characters may become excluded.

[Money]

No. People seem to be throwing around accusations that minors are the cause of a vast number of problems, do you have any official statistics (provided somehow through the game or GAB) to verify this? While I understand the reasoning behind such an idea I don't think that "gut feelings", "common sense" and "personal experience" should be the basis of such a massive policy change, all you get is a recipe for observer bias and other fallacies.

[Wolfsong]

Popping in with my two cents.

Cantr II is undergoing a massive player bleed, and has been for some time. Restricting the pool of potential players even further won't help that in the slightest, and will pretty much guarantee that the game will continue to bleed subscriptions without replenishing them through new accounts. Restricting sign ups to 18+ years through verifiable means will put another nail in the coffin of Cantr's slow, slow, slow death. (And trust me, this game is definitely dying.)

The argument here is that some people have complained in the past about other people engaging in certain behaviors, so people who are legally unable to engage in such behaviors should be prevented from engaging in these things, right? Whether or not the people actually complaining are minors or not remains to be seen (like Money, I have my doubts) but if Cantr is trying to protect itself legally from such complaints, just put up a notice to all new accounts clearly defining that Cantr is an online game and as such, cannot be rated because online experiences may change in an instant, and that there will be (in all likelihood) adult themes discussed and presented: sex, violence, swearing, etc. And have new accounts check to agree that they understand this is the case and are legally entitled to view that sort of thing. You don't need to require credit checks or any of that bullshit. Once they check that bit, or click "I accept" or whatever - Cantr is no longer legally liable. Or even just present, as others have suggested, a MA or 17+ rating sticker on the website.

[JsWill]

Well this is a little more than unfair, that's all I have to say about this. I don't believe anyone should be forced to not play a game due to their age especially one such as this.