Goonhub
i'll keep this brief for everyone's benefit.
i think allowing minors here is a mistake, for goon and for them.
reasons:
1. every other major server is like this. tgstation, one talked about semifrequently in discord, has an all players must be 18+ to play. coolstation does as well. goon is unique in allowing minors.
2. this is simply not a pg or pg-13 game. this is very clearly m-for-mature level. this was brought up elsewhere, but pegi's ratings system agrees too; glorification of drugs and violence, gambling, death and dismemberment. (i also just think it's kinda funny that you can drink all the booze you want, but you can't call it sex on the beach. and yes i know it's because of the word filter, you don't have to remind me.)
3. the way the game works, it forces minors to pretend to be adults. this is fine when it's all minors, because then there's no problem. this is a lot less so when there is no way to tell who is a minor and who isn't. there are a lot of things that people say in this game that are fine around adults but not around kids, and this doesn't strictly mean in a sexual sense. adults should, generally speaking, not be verbally abusing kids, and that's exactly the kind of thing that this game allows (and to some degree, encourages).
even in the case where inappropriate things aren't happening strictly in game, the ease of communicating and moving to discord is trivial, and again, this isn't just about sexual things. i was part of the admin team, i know there have been reports of bigoted shit being thrown around by under-18s. that isn't something we should encourage by allowing them to congregate and mix with adults.
ss13 was always a mature game, and in no longer being part of the team -- leaving me to consider what i would do if and when i decide to set off on my own server -- i thought about the age limit. initially i was thinking 16+, but then i realized that there's not much of a reason to not just make it 18+ and save everyone the hassle.
some attempts to head off the obvious.
"we don't want sexual stuff":
that's not what i'm saying. i'm saying players should be 18 or older, not that all (or even most) 18+ content should be allowed. "you must be this tall to ride".
"we don't want to be policing or checking ages":
then don't. nobody on tg or cool is going to ask for a picture of your id. you are expected to heed the rules and be An Adult. if you are an obvious kid, or act like one -- having your age in your discord profile, talking about going to (non-college) classes, etc. "but people lie" yes, they do that anyway. that's why you're a human and not a robot.
"we have minors here playing already":
that's unfortunate, but i hear the kids have roblox these days? this is semi-sarcastic but i'm sure they can find something to do other than the spaceman murder simulator for a few years.
"i like having minors around and having a space for minors":
that's fine. we can simply agree to disagree. i liked about it too, until i sat down and thought about it some more.
"this is purely spite based off of the other thread":
sort of -- i made this thread because of it -- but no. i had thought about the age issue weeks ago after being fired and quitting, hence my joke invitation having a 16+ limit. i'm also absolutely not expecting anything to come of this thread; i just feel it's important enough to bring up, because i don't like the current situation.
to repeat: i am not asking anything out of this thread. i am very well aware the outcome is "no, we are not changing anything", and that's fine. i just have opinions, and this was an impetus to share them.
thanks for reading. cheers
i think allowing minors here is a mistake, for goon and for them.
reasons:
1. every other major server is like this. tgstation, one talked about semifrequently in discord, has an all players must be 18+ to play. coolstation does as well. goon is unique in allowing minors.
2. this is simply not a pg or pg-13 game. this is very clearly m-for-mature level. this was brought up elsewhere, but pegi's ratings system agrees too; glorification of drugs and violence, gambling, death and dismemberment. (i also just think it's kinda funny that you can drink all the booze you want, but you can't call it sex on the beach. and yes i know it's because of the word filter, you don't have to remind me.)
3. the way the game works, it forces minors to pretend to be adults. this is fine when it's all minors, because then there's no problem. this is a lot less so when there is no way to tell who is a minor and who isn't. there are a lot of things that people say in this game that are fine around adults but not around kids, and this doesn't strictly mean in a sexual sense. adults should, generally speaking, not be verbally abusing kids, and that's exactly the kind of thing that this game allows (and to some degree, encourages).
even in the case where inappropriate things aren't happening strictly in game, the ease of communicating and moving to discord is trivial, and again, this isn't just about sexual things. i was part of the admin team, i know there have been reports of bigoted shit being thrown around by under-18s. that isn't something we should encourage by allowing them to congregate and mix with adults.
ss13 was always a mature game, and in no longer being part of the team -- leaving me to consider what i would do if and when i decide to set off on my own server -- i thought about the age limit. initially i was thinking 16+, but then i realized that there's not much of a reason to not just make it 18+ and save everyone the hassle.
some attempts to head off the obvious.
"we don't want sexual stuff":
that's not what i'm saying. i'm saying players should be 18 or older, not that all (or even most) 18+ content should be allowed. "you must be this tall to ride".
"we don't want to be policing or checking ages":
then don't. nobody on tg or cool is going to ask for a picture of your id. you are expected to heed the rules and be An Adult. if you are an obvious kid, or act like one -- having your age in your discord profile, talking about going to (non-college) classes, etc. "but people lie" yes, they do that anyway. that's why you're a human and not a robot.
"we have minors here playing already":
that's unfortunate, but i hear the kids have roblox these days? this is semi-sarcastic but i'm sure they can find something to do other than the spaceman murder simulator for a few years.
"i like having minors around and having a space for minors":
that's fine. we can simply agree to disagree. i liked about it too, until i sat down and thought about it some more.
"this is purely spite based off of the other thread":
sort of -- i made this thread because of it -- but no. i had thought about the age issue weeks ago after being fired and quitting, hence my joke invitation having a 16+ limit. i'm also absolutely not expecting anything to come of this thread; i just feel it's important enough to bring up, because i don't like the current situation.
to repeat: i am not asking anything out of this thread. i am very well aware the outcome is "no, we are not changing anything", and that's fine. i just have opinions, and this was an impetus to share them.
thanks for reading. cheers