However with that in mind, there are some compelling arguments that its due time for World of Warcraft to get a few age restricted servers.
For starters, take a look at what Second Life has done. They're a pretty successful venture, and have a lot of parallels to MMORPGS like WoW. They've created a server called Teen Second Life in which they do their best to only allow teenagers between the ages of 13 – 17 access. When you turn 18 you're moved up to the adult server along with all your gear and property. Of course this has the same pitfalls as any other internet site where you can fake your identity, but it is a start; and a good one since Linden Labs actively polices age restrictions.
For environments like Second Life and World of Warcraft, think for a minute about the benefits of an age restricted server. On the adult side of things there would be less interference from age related and maturity issues*. Things like talking in l33t s93ak, the social issues of growing children and teens, and not having to worry about age appropriate content/conversations would be a very good thing for many of the adult players out there.
And as Helen Lovejoy reminds us, "Won't somebody think of the children?" Of course! Age restricted servers in a game where people have to register their names and use secure identities such as valid credit cards will be a significant factor in securing the game for kids. While nothing but strong parenting can completely protect against people like those seen on To Catch a Predator, giving parents a secure server to let their kids explore the game would be a major step in the right direction.
So what do you think about a server with an age restriction? If you're a parent of a teenager, would you exercise your parental muscle and insist they use it?
*I'm sure we all realize that adults can be just as bad, if not worse, than any child. However, that's another blog post for another time. ;-)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
2-09-2008 @ 3:15PM
brittwilson said...
I would have no problem with that. I already don't like it when I feel like making a highly dirty joke to my buddies, only to remember that a guild member turned 14 the day before. I don't hang out with 14 year olds in my everyday life, socially or at work. It would be awesome if I didn't have to in WoW.
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2-09-2008 @ 3:18PM
Krick said...
Any chance of getting a warcraft server without racists and homophobes? I'd pay extra for that.
...
Krick
http://www.tankadin.com
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2-09-2008 @ 3:23PM
JasonTerminator said...
Yeah, Blizz needs to make reporting inappropriate language easier. Not so much for cursing, since I don't care about that, but if somebody makes a racist or sexist joke in General, that's some bullshit, but not bullshit enough for me to feel like waiting an hour or more to talk to a GM about it.
2-09-2008 @ 5:09PM
Pucelle said...
I'll second, third, fourth and several-millionth this one.
I would pay twice as much, monthly, for a server that somehow magically had the racist, sexist, homophobic assholes removed from it.
2-09-2008 @ 3:19PM
JasonTerminator said...
God, I wish.
I might actually be able to roll alliance on that server without tearing my hair out.
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2-09-2008 @ 3:24PM
C.A. said...
*I think you're little asterix if far more important to this post than you think.
I have to say that most children are fairly mature on this game and if not, they are usually at least trying.
Teens and adults can be hit or miss, but I have definitely seen just as many 18+ players that should be ashamed of themselves as far as their behaviour goes.
That being said, I don't think it would be a terrible idea. The server would be only trying to better protect younger players from some of the more foul things or ideas that can be said in the trade channel. On the other hand, I'd imagine the children nowadays would be plenty smart enough to find their way onto an age restricted server.
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2-09-2008 @ 3:26PM
C.A. said...
Darn it! I meant "your" of course.
2-09-2008 @ 3:45PM
Luciferchrist said...
I would love some adult only servers... no fear of some hyperactive 12 year old getting you banned for a few days because you used a word that can be said on TV in general!
Imagine world PvP.. no Terran Mill/South Shore Epeen flexing. OK... maybe just not as much.
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2-09-2008 @ 3:52PM
brucimus said...
I would transfer my toons to the Adult only server. Not so i can swear or talk about inappropriate subjects. Just to play with people i can relate to. I bet the new geezer server would be full in hours ...not days
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2-09-2008 @ 7:30PM
ChefCK said...
I would pay a little extra to have a server that had over age 25 only on it.
Just to have an intelligent in game conversation about game matters or what have you w/o confusing the kiddies would be awesome.
Maybe then we could do w/o the "barrens chat" or "nagrand chat" and have a chance to leave a man who doesn't even play the game (Chuck Norris) out of it.
2-09-2008 @ 4:06PM
Runstadrey said...
Just last night I asked a guildy 'who is that new guy ***?'. Guildy didn't know, but a few minutes later the new 'guy' posted that he'd had a bad day, minutes passed before finally someone asked and the reply was 'i fnd ot evry1 at skewl h8s me'
I'm in our guild because it's G language is strictly enforced. But, I would pay extra to play on a server where I didn't have to listen to teen angst.
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2-09-2008 @ 4:27PM
Xanthanos said...
I would pay extra and move all of my toons on my 4 accoutns over to a 18 or 21+ server
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2-09-2008 @ 4:40PM
Snailking said...
Make it 25+ and you got a DEAL!
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2-09-2008 @ 4:54PM
Zeplar said...
I'd rather you just have to take an IQ test to get in :p
Gets rid of retarded 13 year olds and retarded 18 year olds, in one stroke!
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2-10-2008 @ 5:47PM
Zegim said...
That would rock so much.
2-09-2008 @ 5:05PM
Zerenity said...
I would pay large amounts of real money to play on a 25+ server. Seriously. It would be expensive for Blizzard to run it, but people would pay.
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2-09-2008 @ 5:13PM
woez said...
Count me in. Over 18 sounds good, but over 25 would be amazing. The 18-21 crowd has really surprised me be how badly they can behave. Especially since people would then feel like they have free license to say whatever they want.
Lemme see some ID, kid.
2-09-2008 @ 5:32PM
Nick said...
As a fairly mature (I don't type in leet, bring my personal problems into the game, etc.) sixteen-year-old, I think of myself as fairly neutral (slightly biased towards the kids due to my age) in this, and I find it hilariously ironic that a bunch of 18 and older people are bitching about whiny kids. Just because you're more literate and like to talk about certain things doesn't give you the right to section off the people who don't talk about the same things, and just because a person is younger than 18 doesn't mean they're a total asshole.
You constitutionally cannot imprison someone for speaking their beliefs (most times), and so you are forced to listen to other people in the real world. You deal with it in real life, why can't you deal with it in WoW? If you can't deal with it, Blizzard might be slightly easier to deal with than the federal government, but I wouldn't put too much on your chances. Okay, I’m not neutral. What’re you going to do about it?
And to all the fuckers who lumped me into the “dumbass whiny little kid” category, I say:
i no lyke rite lolololololololololol ha stfu nubz i pwnz j00 aswhole ya i cant belive she did tat waht a ho MOAR FRITOS qwertyuiop i hat u omg tat was sw00t and i wuz lyke i no and she was totaly lyke hahahahhaha penus
I R WIN
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2-09-2008 @ 5:44PM
Lucas said...
QFT
2-09-2008 @ 5:55PM
Zakk said...
"You deal with it in real life, why can't you deal with it in WoW?"
I considered that the other day after reading the other recent article about age issues on WoWInsider. I really, really wanted to break down the argument for separation based on age, so I was grasping at anything to basically say "Too bad!" to the people who wanted us to be separated. The end result was that same idea. Then I realized that's just dumb. This is a game. This is not life. People want to play a game for fun. The irritating things in life aren't fun, so why should they be in a game? Was kind of painful to accept that this was case since I wanted them to wrong so badly, but after thinking about it, it's obvious that just because we have to deal with things out-of-game doesn't mean we should have to deal with them in-game.