Okay, I just logged onto SmallWorlds for the first time since they went live. I am totally convinced that it is no longer appropriate for minors.
Why? For one, there is huge increase in the number of players who seem to be consumed with nothing else but dating. Granted, this is something you're going to run across in many games, but there are absolutely no safeguards in SmallWorlds against underage players giving out personal information. (And I'm sorry, but just because a player is 13 doesn't mean they aren't susceptible to online predators.)
But the straw that broke the camel's back for me is the shock I got when I visited the "Bank" to see what that was all about. When I see official SmallWorlds options to "earn gold" by signing up with a "cellphone dating community", I know they no longer care about the safety of their young players.
This is so disappointing to me, as out of all the games I've looked at so far, SmallWorlds is the only one that offers players the ability to be truly creative.
On the up side, I was surprised to see that I could still use my level 30 angel wings. I'm almost scared to take them off; anyone know what happens when you do, or when you try to wear any other high-level items you obtained during beta?