Age for VMK?

[dr_zero]

I have a little one that plays and the trade is turned off and friend request is off by default for a little extra insurance.

I got called into a trade about a item but instead it turned out to be for another reason and was sexually propositioned by this girl!

Yes I did report it but at the time I was told to use the ignore button and move along!

Things have gotten better as far as when you do send something to them and I have seen them take action.

There are some creative uses of words like bench & donalds last name but overall not nearly as bad as what you hear just walking around Wal mart.

 

[KrazyPete]

I am right and you are wrong, nyah nayh nayh...

You're testing me aren't you?

 

[mtlhddoc2]

You're testing me aren't you?

What is the square root of 63?

ok, ok, enough hijacking

 

[cteddiesgirl]

There are some creative uses of words like bench & donalds last name but overall not nearly as bad as what you hear just walking around Wal mart.

Very true.

I do see some vulgar behavior, but not as much as Doc aparrently sees
Personally, because of this, I'd just let them find it on their own. If I were a teacher, I wouldn't suggest it to anyone but an adult. I would also provide a full disclosure of what can happen in the game and what safety protocols are in place. I would not want to be responsible for upset parents.

 

[Vary]

Try every child ages 8 and up.

Every child ages 8 and up is going to guess that a word they know is meant to mean a word they don't know, and guess what that word they don't know is?

My point is that dictionary dancing isn't the same as outright swearing; since the actual word can not be used, it's more along the same lines as saying 'you are such a b-word!': anyone who doesn't know the word being alluded to is going to understand that 'b-word' is a bad thing to call someone, but even if they do know the actual word, it's not the same as hearing the word itself. I mean, I'm sure we've all heard a kid pseudo-swearing on a playground. It's the same thing: it's bad, they shouldn't do it, but it's not the end of the world. At recess, a kid who hears other kids saying things they shouldn't should tell the teacher and stop playing with the kid until he cleans up his act, both for their own good and so the kid who's 'swearing' will learn that it's not an acceptable way to behave. On vmk, the same principles apply: you report, you ignore, you get back to having fun with your friends. If someone makes you feel uncomfortable, you report and then leave.

The game is absolutely appropriate for the target age group. It is possible for a kid as young as eight or younger to safely have fun in vmk; they just need someone to give them the knowledge they need to deal with problems they might run across. I certainly wouldn't allow any child to play in any social game without making certain they know how and when to report and ignore, but if they understand what to do and when to do it, they're going to be fine.

 

[Disneychick74]

I have to say my 10 year old, although not allowed to play VMK would get very frustrated trying to play VMK, he is a very smart kid but has trouble typing and spelling everything correctly which of course as you all know ill result in #### in the text.
so by the time he actually got his sentence on the screen the conversation is long over.
I think the game is more for ages 12 and up.

As for the "Behavior" issues of VMK it is becoming worse and worse every day.
I was in yeti the other day doing a quest and a boy asked a girl if she was taken, she said she did not do taken and he called her a name that we ARE allowed to say thanks to "Lady and the TRAMP" being a Disney Movie title.
Of course I reported and moved into checkers where a new player asked a girl for help and she replied that he was Ugly, looked like he was on Well.fair and poof left the room. If this was the kids first encounter on VMK I feel bad for him!
So as a parent, no my children are not allowed to play VMK because YES VMK tries to make it as safe as possible BUT by the time you can report someone for something the damage is already done.

 

[aengus]

something funny to just throw out there. I have found once a kid turns 13 they lose interest in VMK ROFL. So if its not for the 10 year olds and the +30's who is it for?

 

[Imagineer_Tech]

Of course every kid is different but mine just turned 11 (5th grade) and she likes playing VMK.

The game is not exactly as it is described in the book. Some of the objects that the author describes (soda machines and green couches I think) don't exist. The proximity chat feature where conversation turns to gibberish then nothing at all as you move further away on the screen from the other players that are talking, that does not exist either. There may be some other things that differ, it's been a year since I read it.

My daughter is halfway through Peter and the Starcatchers (also by Ridley Pearson with Dave Barry). I'm constantly bugging her, "Hurry up I want to read it!"

The book is more describing habbo hotel and VMK and fusing them together with vmk's magic and habbo's items and interface. ( Well both vmk and Habbo items are in the book). So yea it is vmk but the author must have thought they were relitivley the same thing and put them together.

 

[Luv2CtheMouse]

It is appropriate for anybody who wants to play it, plain and simple.

 

[KrazyPete]

Just like everything else, some people are more easily offended than others. If I saw one kid call another kid a tramp I don't think I would have even reported it. The same goes for general rudeness in checkers and pirates. I don't like it but I have to live with a lot rude behavior in life. If I let it get to me I'd never make it home through rush hour traffic.

The internet in our house is very supervised but VMK is something that both of my kids enjoy. If it's not for pre-teens then I don't think there is any MMOG that would be considered appropriate. So to the question as to whether or not VMK is appropriate for 4th graders, my firm opinion is yes. In fact, my 5 year old has an account and she loves clicking around VMK while sitting on her daddy's lap. I don't find behavior that offends me to be an "often" occurance. I report it when I see it and the player frequently disappears.

Considering that some people are more easily offended than others I would agree that a teacher probably wouldn't want to recommend it to her class. I suppose that it could open her up to some liability from those same easily offended people.

 

[mtlhddoc2]

Just like everything else, some people are more easily offended than others.

See, thats where we disagree. I, personally, am not offended by off color words or phrases, what offends me is that these are CHILDREN, not rush hour traffic. I would be just as upset if I heard the same type of talk coming from children in the park where I take my kids to play. It is one thing for adults to sling these words at each other, but when you have teens and tweens doing it in mixed company, where they do not know the age of the others in the room. I am upset. And yes, I have written VMK, and Disney about it numerous times. They need to stop worrying about people putting in too many codes and start cracking down on REAL issues with the game, such as the general rudeness, really, MEANNESS that goes on quite often. I see it any time I am in a public room, any public room.

 

[KrazyPete]

See, thats where we disagree. I, personally, am not offended by off color words or phrases, what offends me is that these are CHILDREN, not rush hour traffic. I would be just as upset if I heard the same type of talk coming from children in the park where I take my kids to play. It is one thing for adults to sling these words at each other, but when you have teens and tweens doing it in mixed company, where they do not know the age of the others in the room. I am upset. And yes, I have written VMK, and Disney about it numerous times. They need to stop worrying about people putting in too many codes and start cracking down on REAL issues with the game, such as the general rudeness, really, MEANNESS that goes on quite often. I see it any time I am in a public room, any public room.

Either you are offended by things that do not offend me or we hanging out in different public rooms.

And, since when are kids not frequently rude to each other? My daughter tells me the stuff kids say and do to each other in school almost every day. I hear it from my bedroom window when the neighborhood children are skating in the street. In that respect VMK is an extension of reality. A Disney-fied, dictionary restricted, host policed extension of reality.

Denny Crane

 

[Imagineer_Tech]

But on a side note at least no one in vmk can get pants, or beat up.

 

[KrazyPete]

But on a side note at least no one in vmk can get pants, or beat up.

That's hilarious. You should make that your tag. "In VMK, no one gets pantsed"

 

[mtlhddoc2]

I wouldnt stand for those types of things on my street either. We live in a neighborhood where everyone, including the children, respect their neighbors.

I can tell you this: "I" am not offended by the speech. I am actually a quite vulgar person in private, but that does not mean I think my children should be hearing it in the public arena. And it is more than just the speech, it is the bullying, sex talk, "taken" garbage too. Soon, VMK will have to verify the identities of the people on VMK to the authorities when asked. There are tons of new cyber-bullying laws going in effect this and next year and alot of what I have seen on VMK would qualify.

 

[Imagineer_Tech]

That's hilarious. You should make that your tag. "In VMK, no one gets pantsed"

Funny but true have you not been to a school in recent years kids throw desks at each other and i'm dead serious.We had an issue about a month ago kid brought in a gun no one was hurt though. But on the other side yea funny tag.

 

[SkippyPaul]

What ages is VMK appropriate for?

I'm a teacher who is currently reading aloud Kingdom Keepers to my class and now they are all fired up about VMK.

Since I know very little about it, I thought I would ask questions here!


THANKS!

HI there....
Like everyone said before me here, 8-14 is the targeted age. But Im sure its pretty frustrating for smaller ones that dont have the typing skills. I know it was for me at first to but wow Im fast now thanks to vmk. LOL. The down side to that is you learn a slang that sometimes gets carried outside vmk, such as glove...ive, sleepy, cheesy (dont ask) lol. In short its a safe fun environment. So much fun to be had, and friends to make.

The OP should know that VMK uses a "whitelist" of allowed words. This dictionary greatly restricts a player's ability to communicate in a "rude, vulgar and sexualized nature." Players do "Dictionary Dance" to create words that are not in the dictionary. Dictionary dancing in most often used in benign ways. What Doc describes does happen but can be reported by other players. When reports are confirmed or the behavior is otherwise discovered by VMK staff they take action against the offending player with bans from a couple of hours up to ten years.

My "parental opinion" is that Doc is overstating the problem.

I agree with you 100% Pete. If vmk was not safe and monitored it would not be here this long. Yes there are rude and hurtful ppl in the game but nothing like what we come across while with our friends, or listening to music, watching tv, school, and yes even in the confines of our own homes, trust me its there, everywhere we are. Then compound that with the vmk formula of..... per every square inch of vmk = 255 little ppl clad in rare all ready to report you at the drop of a hat -shakes-

 

[heimlichfan]

Thanks for the replies!

Apparently there are some kids in my school that already play it so I told my students to talk to them.

And while I did not "recommend" VMK to my students, I told them basically what all you posted here - in 4th grade terms of course!

Since most of them do Webkinz and Club Penguin stuff, I don't think that too many will venture to VMK.

Thanks again for the lively discussion!

 

[KrazyPete]

I wouldnt stand for those types of things on my street either. We live in a neighborhood where everyone, including the children, respect their neighbors.

That's beautiful. I wish everyone could live in your neighborhood. Even Wally and the Beaver's hood had it's Eddie Haskell.

 

[Imagineer_Tech]

That's beautiful. I wish everyone could live in your neighborhood. Even Wally and the Beaver's hood had it's Eddie Haskell.

Sometimes playing hockey outside the words slip out but we always know to apologize and we do respect neighbors and their property and they respect us and our right to play. So if I had to say so i'd say our neighbor hood is indeed a great one. But great doesn't happen on it's own it takes great people to make something great.