The point of being 13 years of age to use a site, is because of Child Protection Acts, in USA they're trying to make sure these kids do not go out to the internet, give all their personal information and become victims of rape, kidnappings, identity theifs, etc. Heck, just about 4-3 years ago some one around in my town had the back of their knees slit over giving their location and making a date with a stranger they didn't know longer than a month. Didn't know them, but it's a sad fact.
I think it's called COPPA or something of the sort, but if you're under 13, you can't do many things (such as on forums, you can't post, fill in some parts of your profile, use private messages, etc.) unless your parrents agree with such terms, by sending in a copy of their signature and some other information which takes weeks and months to process, just so you can do something such as "Hi I'm new to ____, can any one get me started?" 2 good examples of this is Flipnote Hatena, and ChickenSmoothie. (but Flipnote may have changed, not sure. But ChickenSmoothie has always been strict with this.)
Heck, I remember when club penguin around '07-'08 some what forced, yes FORCED any kid under 13 to use safe chat, but luckly theres many ways around that and they kinda gave up-since well, kids under 13 was their audience. the entire under-age majority is not stupid, not smart, but not stupid. They're learning from mistakes as we all do. I'm 14 i don't have to worry about this but when I was younger than 12, every chat that i gone into they thought i was some 15-18 year old male and thought i was joking, so they didn't understand that i wasn't 15-18, or even a male for that matter. It depends on how one is raised.
"Video games are voilent and make our kids do bad things!" I been playing GTA San Andreas since I was 3, I haven't pimped hoes, sell drugs, do gang shootings, stab people, none of that. The only "Big and Bad" thing I did was throw sticks at boys on a swing set because they kept kicking the living shit out of my back and the teachers wouldn't do anything. And guess what, I was taught by my parrents it's fake. I know it is, it's a stress reliever. It's fake and it should be treated as such. Parrents don't do that much now days and it's rather concerning for me.
When you first meet me I'm the most cussing bitch you'll ever meet, but as you become more 'close' you notice I'm not all that bad than am I actually laughing at it, because I want to know what kids actually /feel/ like now days. I'm not really a kid any more, I can be super immature. And I think another thing we should keep in mind, Not 13+ are all wise-high and mighty...

Beavisjr a dit :

I'm 14 i don't have to worry about this

But you should worry about it, because to an extent, this kind of thing affects everyone who regularly uses the Internet, and especially those who make most of their social life on the Internet. The whole Child Protection spin is a potential defense behind the bills such as SOPA, PIPA, and etc. that we don't want passed. I'm not blaming underage children on the Internet as being the cause of this, but a particular important "goal" with Internet Protection Acts is to be able to keep an eye on suspected rapists, pedophiles, bestiality practictioners, and so forth that would have a 'negative' impact on children. This would include, for example, furries, despite the fact that a one digit percent of furries claim to actually be interested in bestiality. If there were to be such a law as to say, for example, sodomy is wrong, which was an attempted thing in Texas semi-recently, then homosexuals would likely be on that list, too.

Beavisjr a dit :

"Video games are voilent and make our kids do bad things!" I been playing GTA San Andreas since I was 3,

Children generally obtain the ability to separate reality from fantasy by the time they are two years of age. Anyone that isn't brainwashed by FOX News recognizes what a stupid argument that is anyway, and you really shouldn't give it any credit, ever. Also, kind of irrelevant?

I'm just curious but what do furs have anything to do with this? I'm not sure if I'm misunderstanding something here but just a side note I'd like to have cleared up.

Also it's been said many times that the people here aren't targeting people below the age of 13 nor are we trying to insult or make them feel uncomfortable, it's just that the majority of immature players is made up of people around the age of 13 and below. Maturity isn't based on age and I'm sure everyone, if not most of us that are posting here know and agree with that.

Sorry if this seems a bit out of place, just wanted to clear that up again because I'm seeing more and more people bring it up.

the thing is that some people THINK that being harsh on others means being mature. if you actually do that means you are far more immature than you think

Shadowwinter a dit :

I'm just curious but what do furs have anything to do with this? I'm not sure if I'm misunderstanding something here but just a side note I'd like to have cleared up.

Not much, I just used it as an example of a social group that will be immediately and negatively affected if an Internet Protection Act were to pass. They're only related by proxy because underage Internet users would be a targetted "benefit" that those bills would search to "protect". After all, especially with all the social networking out there and putting yourself out there and detailing everything about your life, the Internet is a risky place.

Oh alright, thank you for explaining. I just kind of thought you were saying something offensive about it (Sorry I sometimes misread/misunderstand things).

Anyways.. Back on-topic about everything. Okay I don't know what to say right now, huff.

speaking as an adult (24 year old) TFM player i do see a whole bunch of people claiming to be about 9 and even in some cases younger. there's no way to stop them, rules will always be broken, and my advice to any kiddies wanting to play adult games it - grow a thicker skin. the internet is a horrible place where people will always joke about horrific things (nazi's, rape, pedos, etc) and if a troll finds something you specificly respond to, somthing that really hits your nerves personally they will keep hammering on to that thing. These 9 year olds are chosing to enter a place where they should not be, they should be prepared for the worst.

I'm finding TFM a lot lovelier a place now that the ignore/blacklist feature is fully working, people need to use this feature more rather than getting butthurt over insults and trolls. Yes i know lots of people are going to be saying "but they shouldn't have to hear/see it at all" but the truth is, there are horrible people out there, and there always will be.

also, language filter is lovely, when i see kiddies going "OMG PLEASE DON'T CUSS" i point them to it, thought most of the more original swears arn't filtered by it.

yeah, my two cents is just grow a thicker skin, or simply ignore the people who are being dicks. You'd hang up the phone on someone insulting your mother for no reason so you can't hear them any more, why not do the same and blacklist the idiots on the internet the moment they start?

Everyone knows that 10-12 years old are way more mature than those pubescent monsters (13-15).

Those in puberty might actually be overstressed by the emotional turmoil in Transformice. As a consequence, I suggest that those who are older than 13+ but younger than 16 are forbidden from playing Transformice. 10-12 years old should be highly welcomed!
For the greater good,
Moepl
(11 years old)

As a 16 year old watching 10 and 12 year olds act on these forums I highly do not agree

*I'll be 17 on Friday so I guess I don't count

This matter isn't limited to age. I think it's about how they're brought up and their behaviour, not just their age. I think it's also a fault to the parents/carers/guardians/whoever; they should be a lot more careful and not turn a blind eye to the internet.

More mature things like rape, cussing, racial/sexism/offensive language in general are things that have been around for a while. I'm not trying to say that kids should be completely exposed to this kind of thing, but I absolutely hate when parents get over-protective. If you shield them from the real world too much, what's going to happen when you're gone? Especially since the news has an increasing amount of negative things floating around. The internet is such a vast place. Although it has its cons, I actually think it's a good place to learn and mature as long as you are being sensible and mature about it. People in this world need to learn to be mature and I think that's a huge factor everywhere.

Children are like this IRL, too, surprisingly enough. Their carers or schools need to do more about it. It's not all their fault. More needs to be done about people's behaviour in general.

Do I think children should be banned from the internet? No; there are a great deal of good resources there for their learning (including online gaming). Do I think children should be banned from Transformice? I'm sitting on the fence. Parents should know about the content and the website and they are the ones who should judge whether they think their kids are suitable for the game. If not, fair enough. If so, fair enough. They need to know a lot more about what their children are doing on the Internet, regardless of whether it's good or bad.

They need to learn what's right, wrong, improper, proper, mature, immature and reasonable. Education is a very significant factor here.

Age shouldn't really matter. I think maturity does. We're all here on the internet, and we can all agree inappropriate stuff are said and done. Kids joke around about stuff they saw on the internet, such as rape, for an example. It's nothing to be joking around with, but kids do, sadly... But it's the internet, whatever is said or posted.. Is viewable for everyone.
But... Their's one thing I don't understand, why do kids under the age of 12 freak out about about the language online? I mean, sure, it's not right to say those words online, or in the real world. But.. It's just life, and they need to learn to deal with it.
I know, some underaged people can start to give out insults randomly, I was actually a victim of one, trust me, you have no idea how bad I felt about.. Uhm.. Ya know. But later I learned it was just people who were unconfident about themselves and whatnot, so it doesn't really bother me anymore.
Why do some social websites ban people 12 or under? Sometimes even 17 and under? I mean, it shouldn't really matter if they're mature enough, ya know?
People may be racist, or just inappropriate in general, but it's the way of the life, and the internet. We will all meet people like that.
Ack, knowledge coming from a 12 year old. Is this good or-- What am I saying? 'Course it's good!

Kayleekitti a dit :

Kids joke around about stuff they saw on the internet, such as rape, for an example. It's nothing to be joking around with, but kids do, sadly... But it's the internet, whatever is said or posted.. Is viewable for everyone.

This isn't just limited to children. A lot of people joke about rape, and it's because they are more or less enabled to do so because not many people tell them that it's actually a terrible thing to do so. Most people are complacent - as long as you recognize it's a joke, it's okay, right? That works in most situations, but rape is too severe for that.

a dit :

But... Their's one thing I don't understand, why do kids under the age of 12 freak out about about the language online? I mean, sure, it's not right to say those words online, or in the real world. But.. It's just life, and they need to learn to deal with it.

This is just part of the growing up process. Eventually you realise that words only have power if you give them power, and for a reason parents act like cursing is terrible and horrific around younger children. (Quite frankly, likely for the correct reason; if they were told cursing is not bad, then they would probably curse in the wrong spots and just make a fool out of themselves. Cursing is okay, but it is non-productive to most formal discussions and should be used with care outside of friendships.)

Rehoto a dit :

This isn't just limited to children. A lot of people joke about rape, and it's because they are more or less enabled to do so because not many people tell them that it's actually a terrible thing to do so. Most people are complacent - as long as you recognize it's a joke, it's okay, right? That works in most situations, but rape is too severe for that.

beautifuly said

Umm... I'm 11 years old and I'm gonna turn 12 next year on April.
And well... o-o I agree that if you play the game you ought to have a good behaviour. Not just the age but depends on how mature you are... I mean, childhood nowadays it's a lot whole different. And that's the main reason I wish I could've lived my childhood back in the 80's. But these days kids my age just don't behave well AT ALL and I'm the only student in my class who seems to be "more mature than any other kid in the class". And yeah, I think I've gone a little too off-topic but yeah, I usually just go on TFM for frieands and not bad behaviour thingeys...


*P.S.: If you think my avatar is a little exaggerating for my age, go on and tell it, but, even though I'm 11 I think I started to have a bit of a dirty mind... ;_; Don't judge.

Kayleekitti a dit :

Why do some social websites ban people 12 or under? Sometimes even 17 and under? I mean, it shouldn't really matter if they're mature enough, ya know?
People may be racist, or just inappropriate in general, but it's the way of the life, and the internet. We will all meet people like that.
Ack, knowledge coming from a 12 year old. Is this good or-- What am I saying? 'Course it's good!

Sometimes it's part of law and not things like maturity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Online_Privacy_Protection_Act (COPPA)

Haditamagica a dit :

*P.S.: If you think my avatar is a little exaggerating for my age, go on and tell it, but, even though I'm 11 I think I started to have a bit of a dirty mind... ;_; Don't judge.

All I see is two guys kissing. Sexuality is something I believe kids should know about from an early age. One day I hope that different sexuality/'types' of relationships are things that we don't have to label. I hate things like 'Same-sex Awareness Day' because people should be aware of these things already and we shouldn't have to make a big deal about it or find it so hard to come to terms with, IMHO. I'm still seeing immature comments like "omfg that gay image has scarred me for life" "ew that is so disturbing" "that is just weird as hell".

Rehoto a dit :

But you should worry about it, because to an extent, this kind of thing affects everyone who regularly uses the Internet, and especially those who make most of their social life on the Internet. The whole Child Protection spin is a potential defense behind the bills such as SOPA, PIPA, and etc. that we don't want passed. I'm not blaming underage children on the Internet as being the cause of this, but a particular important "goal" with Internet Protection Acts is to be able to keep an eye on suspected rapists, pedophiles, bestiality practictioners, and so forth that would have a 'negative' impact on children. This would include, for example, furries, despite the fact that a one digit percent of furries claim to actually be interested in bestiality. If there were to be such a law as to say, for example, sodomy is wrong, which was an attempted thing in Texas semi-recently, then homosexuals would likely be on that list, too.
Children generally obtain the ability to separate reality from fantasy by the time they are two years of age. Anyone that isn't brainwashed by FOX News recognizes what a stupid argument that is anyway, and you really shouldn't give it any credit, ever. Also, kind of irrelevant?

Some one didn't read.
I don't have to worry about COPPA at 14, seems fine with me. Also, it wasn't "irrelevant." I can go to a elementary or middle school right around the corner, and make friends with these people, go hang out at their home and waht not "Zomg on spung berb he burnz his hand and he did no get burnt he iz ok" so they purposely turn on the fucking stove and put their hand on it. Or lets take my favorite video game for example, kingdom hearts. "Oh sora goes out and kills every thing I'm going to do that too!" On top of that, I know it's a bullshit arguement, but you know what, it seems to apply to transformice, the way you made this thread seemed as if it creates kids to be overly inapropriet and cussing like shit. TFM is like 90% more tamer than any GTA game, granted, the chat does make it pretty unsafe, but that's every game. Club penguin, World of Warcraft, runescape, League of Legends, Minecraft, etc. Heck, I remember going on a buildabear game and get asked if i want to do it or not.
"The whole Child Protection spin is a potential defense behind the bills such as SOPA, PIPA, and etc. that we don't want passed." I feel bad for you, there's 'bills' and 'laws' already like that, Sopa and Pipa aren't going to make a difference to me."Anti-Sopa!!!!" No. if anything I don't care, I don't support nor flag it for being bad. it's already there, this just seems like an update to /the terms you read on the god damned internet, but no one truely reads them/. "But what about artist-" if some company such as Nintendo or Sony had such a issue with this, it wouldn't be on the internet in the first place. ouo

Beavisjr a dit :

"The whole Child Protection spin is a potential defense behind the bills such as SOPA, PIPA, and etc. that we don't want passed." I feel bad for you, there's 'bills' and 'laws' already like that, Sopa and Pipa aren't going to make a difference to me.

wat.

just wat.

Are you saying you're pro-Internet Protection Acts?


...wat?

Rehoto a dit :

wat.

just wat.

Are you saying you're pro-Internet Protection Acts?


...wat?

i find it funny you still don't seem to read; i'll let you be then.

Beavisjr a dit :

i find it funny you still don't seem to read; i'll let you be then.

I find it funny that you "neither support nor flag it for being bad", despite the fact that complacency is just as bad as supporting it.

Illusionyx a dit :

Sometimes it's part of law and not things like maturity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Online_Privacy_Protection_Act (COPPA)

Yeah yeah.. I've heard of COPPA. But.. just, why do they even exist? Teens get full freedom on the internet, why can't we?