Habbo

[Zombie]

"It is meant to be an online safe haven where children can socialise and feel safe. But the virtual reality of the world's largest social game and online community for teenagers is also attracting a different, less well-meaning audience. Habbo Hotel - in which users can, according to the site 'make friends, chillax, (and) get noticed!' - is also a hotbed of pornographic sexual chat between users."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2158301/Habbo-Hotel-childrens-website-defences-paedophiles.html

 

I wasn't even aware of Habbo until I saw Channel 4 News tonight which stated the site temporarily withdrew chat services that have since been reinstated. Curiously, Habbo users then made death threats on Twitter against .... Channel 4!

 

GA seems a pretty safe environment but this news item just illustrates the potential dangers of online social networking and the need for younger members to understand and be aware of these dangers.

[Cia]

Exactly. My kids are still young, 8 and 5, but I've locked search parameters and put a password protect on the computer for certain ratings on sites. They also aren't allowed on any site that has a chat feature unless a parent is in the room either. There's only so much you can do though once kids reach a certain age. *shakes head*

[thephoenix]

A long time ago, I used to go on Habbo. That was a reallly long time ago - even before I moved back to Canada in 2002. (I'm no longer in Canada, but that's another topic.)

 

I logged on just to kill time and chat. There were some mini-games within the "hotel", but it was largely a giant interactive chat room. With multiple rooms. Maybe a tiny slice of the sims mixed in to it, because some objects could be interacted with.

 

Online social interaction has its advantages, not only for its convenience, but also because it's just more comfortable to stay in the cover of relative anonymity. I'm sure some of us can relate to that, for those of us who are not 'out'. Unfortunately, the internet has people who portray themselves as someone else for the purpose of taking advantage of the internet's younger and less experienced users.

 

I think it's important for parents to educate their kids about what not to do on the internet and what kind of things to look out for and avoid. Later in life, I guess you just have to hope that they listened well and that sufficient advice is given so that they don't have to learn the hard way.

 

(Edit: 250th (game-forum posts not included) post!)

Edited June 21, 2012 by thephoenix

[W_L]

I feel old, now. I never heard of Habbo either.

 

Back in my teenage years, I was most active on Neopets (if there are other neotopians around can you check if my pet is dead yet, I stopped feeding him in college like 4 years ago )

 

I think in any community, there will be a risk, but there is only so much we can do. In the end, once a kid has hit the age of curiosity, you probably should sit them down and tell them about some facts of life, before they discover it from a website with a flash video.

Edited June 21, 2012 by W_L

[Y_B]

Exactly. My kids are still young, 8 and 5, but I've locked search parameters and put a password protect on the computer for certain ratings on sites. They also aren't allowed on any site that has a chat feature unless a parent is in the room either. There's only so much you can do though once kids reach a certain age. *shakes head*

 

 

Pshh, Cia I chat with your son every other night.

 

Anyways, good reminder that all online communities can easily provide a false sense of security, especially places like GA where you can really get screwed depending on what you've gotten yourself into. I think all internet users would benefit from taking a step back every once in a while and make sure we're not putting too much of ourselves online that can put us in inconvenience and/or danger.

[W_L]

Pshh, Cia I chat with your son every other night.

 

Anyways, good reminder that all online communities can easily provide a false sense of security, especially places like GA where you can really get screwed depending on what you've gotten yourself into. I think all internet users would benefit from taking a step back every once in a while and make sure we're not putting too much of ourselves online that can put us in inconvenience and/or danger.

 

Y_B don't pull a Sandusky (that will be probably adopted as a phrase knowing how media hype has made it)

 

GA though still has standards and controls from its founders and leaders. I think Cia's kids, once they are old enough, could join and meet her crazy fellow GA writers and readers. Most of us are decent people, we have our fights and disagreements, but at the heart of it, we are sort of a hybrid between social network and a support group, like an AA for gay writers and readers

 

I hate to say bad things about other people's sites, but another "alternative story site" had relaxed its rules in the past and unleashed a huge deluge of issues. They used to have a lot of good stories and authors with a good support system youths, too. I think most GA authors know the site I am talking about and their chat rooms.

[wildone]

For these mentioned reasons, I glad we have chat monitors like Benji, Krista, Patrick and Sam around. Also the fact that Eric and Renee pop in as well from the Global Moderator category with Joe, Cia, and Myr who visit often all helps keep our chat hopefully safe for all.

 

The biggest thank you for this does definitely have to go to all the users who make GA Chat and GA what it is. Most issues are resolved by members themselves and it is great that this happens on it own.

 

I'm sure all of us want to ensure our chat room is a welcoming and safe place for the young as well as the old (Me ).

[Celethiel]

Pshh, Cia I chat with your son every other night.

 

Anyways, good reminder that all online communities can easily provide a false sense of security, especially places like GA where you can really get screwed depending on what you've gotten yourself into. I think all internet users would benefit from taking a step back every once in a while and make sure we're not putting too much of ourselves online that can put us in inconvenience and/or danger.

 

careful, The saying the female of the species is more dangerious then the male, and never get between a mother and her kids

 

to this topic in general... this is why you have to watch out for them kids, they're psycho, mean cruel... .and will issue death threats against a tv channel with a high likelyhood of carrying it out

[Cia]

Fortunately for Yang's sake, I know his 'talking' joke would mean just talking. Even so, once my kids are old enough I'll probably be the nutso parent that has their phones gps tagged and a keystroke monitor set on the computer, as well as required full access/passwords to any social media type website that is popular. Hell, while I was out mowing the yard earlier today they asked to access my husband's facebook account so they could play zoo. I said no because I wasn't inside of course, but kids younger and younger and learning what these websites are and wanting to be a part of the 'in' group that uses them. One of the boys I babysat this year before school had a facebook account apparently, and he was only in the first grade.

 

I know firsthand how places and people you think you can trust aren't always all they appear. I'm an open person, but not with my kid's safety in mind. However, if they get to 13 and want to join GA, they're more than welcome. I know this site and I know the staff all work hard to protect everyone and make sure that GA is a safe place to be yourself.