The very idea of a user-generated content free-to-play MMO for children with whack-a-mole moderation is totally bananas. Even good whack-a-mole moderation would be a bananas design.
I’m okay with little kids online gaming, but it needs to be in content that has been approved by a responsible adult in a setting where either adults are actively supervising or the children are on a server where we know everybody who’s in there.
like fucking neopets has existed for SCORES longer than roblox and i’ve yet to see a massive neopets-pedophile scandal. much less one that the company seems to publically ignore as much as is legally possible.
Less interaction, probably. It’s been >20 years since I even went to the site, so my take is probably old and useless, just like me. The only interactions between people were the ‘fights’ where you might have seen their name for less than two minutes. There was a forum where you might have talked with people, and a ‘newspaper’ where people could submit stories. I think that’s actually where I found my fondness for fanfiction. There are always a few gems hidden in the galaxy of rotted milk that exists in the written word.
Weren’t there also player run shops, complete with fully HTML customizable store front pages?
Also weren’t fully customizable html home pages, not unlike MySpace pages, a thing in Neopets? I could swear I had one, but maybe I’m remembering wrong?
Also there was a private message system if I recall correctly that could be used to send a message to any other Neopets user.
I remember the shops, but not any interactions through them. I don’t remember much other than setting a price on items, so maybe there were opportunities there. And yes, private messages were a thing.
The very idea of a user-generated content free-to-play MMO for children with whack-a-mole moderation is totally bananas. Even good whack-a-mole moderation would be a bananas design.
I’m okay with little kids online gaming, but it needs to be in content that has been approved by a responsible adult in a setting where either adults are actively supervising or the children are on a server where we know everybody who’s in there.
like fucking neopets has existed for SCORES longer than roblox and i’ve yet to see a massive neopets-pedophile scandal. much less one that the company seems to publically ignore as much as is legally possible.
clearly it’s something you CAN prevent!
I haven’t played neopets, is there something about its design that would make the situation better than roblox?
Less interaction, probably. It’s been >20 years since I even went to the site, so my take is probably old and useless, just like me. The only interactions between people were the ‘fights’ where you might have seen their name for less than two minutes. There was a forum where you might have talked with people, and a ‘newspaper’ where people could submit stories. I think that’s actually where I found my fondness for fanfiction. There are always a few gems hidden in the galaxy of rotted milk that exists in the written word.
Weren’t there also player run shops, complete with fully HTML customizable store front pages?
Also weren’t fully customizable html home pages, not unlike MySpace pages, a thing in Neopets? I could swear I had one, but maybe I’m remembering wrong?
Also there was a private message system if I recall correctly that could be used to send a message to any other Neopets user.
I remember the shops, but not any interactions through them. I don’t remember much other than setting a price on items, so maybe there were opportunities there. And yes, private messages were a thing.