The downside(s) to VMK...

[Ariel Mae]

It loads slowly. But it's worth it, right? It is...until your computer freezes and/or crashes.

It's fun, but...what on earth is with the limited vocabulary? Words like 'love', 'hate', 'vocabulary' and 'wording' aren't allowed. I mean, come on, those aren't offensive. What's up with that?

And, that said, I've come across quite a bit of slowness in VMK. Slow loading, quests that load only so far....Was it worth it to sign up for this?

 

[FrontierNatasha]

The reason why love and hate are not in the dictionary is obvious. Words of affection like love and kiss are not allowed because this is a kid's game and no child should be seeing those kinds of things. Hate is not allowed because you can't just say you hate someone. That doesn't teach kids to be nice. Although alot of ppl say "hat, heart, <3, glove".

 

[catmac]

Although in saying that kids do find ways around the dictionary by substituting other words for the ones not allowed.

Today I had a girl from my friends list in my room and a boy that neither of us knew came in. SHE started asking him to follow her to her room because she wanted to be his friend. He said ok that he would go and she starts telling him she wants him to 'fell her'.

The boy asked her what she meant and she told him she wanted him to be her taken friend. The boy at least had some sense and told her he was sticking to the rules and was now reporting her so she left.

He reported her and I deleted her from my friends list. Still can't believe it

 

[Ariel Mae]

The reason why love and hate are not in the dictionary is obvious. Words of affection like love and kiss are not allowed because this is a kid's game and no child should be seeing those kinds of things. Hate is not allowed because you can't just say you hate someone. That doesn't teach kids to be nice. Although alot of ppl say "hat, heart, <3, glove".

It's not just a kids came, now is it? Adults play it more than kids in my community. That said, why shouldn't children, ages 11 and up, say, be introduced to affection? They kiss their mothers, don't they? They tell their parents they love them, don't they? Why is that any different? It's affection, nonetheless. Hate is not allowed for a stupid reason, in my opinion. A kid should be introduced to both negative and positive effects of life. Life isn't about kindred and kindness. There is hate. There is love. There is affection.

 

[BestLittleLauren]

It's not just a kids came, now is it? Adults play it more than kids in my community. That said, why shouldn't children, ages 11 and up, say, be introduced to affection? They kiss their mothers, don't they? They tell their parents they love them, don't they? Why is that any different? It's affection, nonetheless. Hate is not allowed for a stupid reason, in my opinion. A kid should be introduced to both negative and positive effects of life. Life isn't about kindred and kindness. There is hate. There is love. There is affection.

The game was DeSiGnEd for kids. VMK is suposed to be a happy exsperience ( and for me it is) so why have ppl going around and saying i hate you? Kiss?
They dont have that word because most of the VMK staff doesnt really agree with taken/baybe why make it even worse by puting kiss in the dictionary

 

[ShadowKittyKat]

It's not just a kids came, now is it? Adults play it more than kids in my community. That said, why shouldn't children, ages 11 and up, say, be introduced to affection? They kiss their mothers, don't they? They tell their parents they love them, don't they? Why is that any different? It's affection, nonetheless. Hate is not allowed for a stupid reason, in my opinion. A kid should be introduced to both negative and positive effects of life. Life isn't about kindred and kindness. There is hate. There is love. There is affection.

How about an 8-year-old that plays VMK? Sure it's just three years younger you're thinking, but it can make a huge difference. There may be a lot of adults playing but there also are a lot of kids. I would not want my little sister (8) playing VMK if those kinds of words are allowed.

Anyways VMK would just turn in to a world of love and hate and VMK would have to change the name...

 

[hdmonkeybug]

can you just imagine what this game would look like if kids could run around saying these things? Yes kids should have affection, but it would be misused and that is the point of the limited vocab. People already dance around the vocabulary to say things that are very offensive. Such as, I was in a room and saw someone say, "I glove you, lets go make out and make a bay be!"
OMG! If they could say the real words, it would be so much more offensive! And before you ask, yes, I did report it! So there is a purpose to the limited vocabulary, it is already abused and VMK does their best to control the ways in which we can say things. If there was no limit, kids would give out phone numbers, addresses, etc. And we would have a major predator problem, just like other sites! It may be a pain, but the vocab is that way for a reason. I have 2 eight year olds, and there are already things that ppl say that I would prefer not to have them see, or hear. I am glad the vocab limits how much they are subjected to.

 

[Shaymojack]

Think of all the uses for "love" and tell me if it still seems good for a game designed for kids as young as eight.

 

[SilentPedro]

I agree with Shaymojack. The word love could be perverted in so many ways. Without the filter, players could use so much vulgarity, I don't even want to think about it.

 

[Disney Dreams]

...Was it worth it to sign up for this?

uh -- the sign up was 100% free. If you don't like it that much, why stay? All you have to do is never sign on again - nothing lost.

I for one, enjoy this game for SO many reasons, that the downsides are just part of what come with a free hobby.

 

[cat_herder]

Vmk is not the only online game for kids and teens, do those games limit what the kids can say?

 

[Alionette]

Here's my way of putting the problems... I agree completely with hdmonkeybug, it is just not a good way to do it. You may think right now that vmk is boring, but after a few days I'm sure you will love it. Took me a long time to learn what you could actually do. I've been playing since Sept. 1 last year, and now I'm a VMK addict

 

[Jennifer815]

It's not just a kids came, now is it? Adults play it more than kids in my community. That said, why shouldn't children, ages 11 and up, say, be introduced to affection? They kiss their mothers, don't they? They tell their parents they love them, don't they? Why is that any different? It's affection, nonetheless. Hate is not allowed for a stupid reason, in my opinion. A kid should be introduced to both negative and positive effects of life. Life isn't about kindred and kindness. There is hate. There is love. There is affection.

Another thing that occured to me, coming from what you said, is that there are adults playing, lots of them. Do you think it's appropriate for children to "be introduced to affection" when in reality the person on the other end of that avatar could be a 40 year old man or woman? Asking for trouble there I can't even begin to fathom. The filters in the game are safeguards, and in this perspective, I can TOTALLY see the reason.

 

[bopper]

Vmk is not the only online game for kids and teens, do those games limit what the kids can say?

I don't know, but because VMK does limit what the kids can say, I let my 10 and 13 yr old play VMK. It provides a safer environment for them.

 

[sassymom]

I don't know, but because VMK does limit what the kids can say, I let my 10 and 13 yr old play VMK. It provides a safer environment for them.

I play and love it and after playing for a while I let my 5yo play with little worries.

 

[Random Villains]

What I get mad about is pirates. Sometimes I will blow up someone who has the flag and blow up their teammate, but then it will say they won cause they have the flag on board, but they dont. I dont get how someone can win yet both me and my other teammate are still alive.

 

[FrontierNatasha]

My 5yo sister plays on one of my characters and to my surprise she can actually read almost everything ppl are saying and I don't think my parents would like it if she was seeing innappropriate(sp?) stuff.

 

[hdmonkeybug]

What I get mad about is pirates. Sometimes I will blow up someone who has the flag and blow up their teammate, but then it will say they won cause they have the flag on board, but they dont. I dont get how someone can win yet both me and my other teammate are still alive.

If they gat the flag closer to their base, no matter how many are still standing on the other team-they win. The point of Capture the flag, is to get your flag as close to the base as you can, not to kill the other players.

 

[Random Villains]

I know but I do get my flag closer to the base, this last time I was extremly close to the base, I had the flag, my teammate was alive, they both were dead and had only moved the flag a little bit.

 

[BestLittleLauren]

What I get mad about is pirates. Sometimes I will blow up someone who has the flag and blow up their teammate, but then it will say they won cause they have the flag on board, but they dont. I dont get how someone can win yet both me and my other teammate are still alive.