Shoud TNT starting considering catering to it's adult members?

[annikarose]

This is why I think that it shouldn't be lowered. But if some how, there was a way to prove one was over 18, then I feel it should be lowered. There's a premium only board, why not an 18 only board?

 

Point taken. I was thinking that they could just take down certain filters and still keep people from giving out personal information, but I definitely didn't take into account the wiliness of pedophiles. The park name and jersey number story is definitely chilling.

 

I would be definitely happy with an 18+ board, but then Neopets would have to verify your birth date so that kids couldn't sign up as adults.

[CrazyBiscuit]

I'm in my late twenties, I've played Neopets since I was in high school, and (content-wise) I hope it doesn't become more adult. I go on Neopets to get away from all that, personally. I won't go over what others have already, but I agree that there are some aspects of Neopets that are challenging enough whatever age you are, as well as some jokes that would probably go over the head of most younger players (and that's not to be offensive towards any of you that are younger, just pointing out that when I started playing I probably didn't appreciate some of the subtle references that I can now).

 

I never used the boards and think it's a good thing that TNT are protecting younger members so their parents know they're going somewhere online that's as safe as it can be. When I was 14 I pretended I was older so I could join up to 18+ forums full of swearing, explicit content, and the type of things only adults should be discussing. My parents weren't computer savvy and I covered my tracks so no one knew my internet habits - I thought I was grown up enough to handle it, but if I had been I wouldn't have needed to pretend to anyone. Nothing really bad happened to me, and I had a lot of great experiences, but I wish I'd have enjoyed my childhood and teenage years while I had them, rather than rushed to feel and be older. Neopets is one of the few places kids can still be kids, and adults can relive the magic of being a kid, too!

 

I would have to agree that Neomails are too restrictive though. I think, if you have both accepted one another as Neofriends, are both over 18, perhaps been members for a certain length of time, there should be an OPTION to turn off the Neomail filter so players can decide for themselves what they are willing to read.

 

On a final note, when the banned word is inside another word, I don't think the longer word should be banned (such as the case with cucumber, as some have already mentioned) as it then just makes people think about it more. It's counter-productive.

[paperdoll66]

The problem is that adults just do not make up too large of a percentage of users. I just don't think it makes too much sense for Neopets to implement changes, espescially changes that might damage the site's reputation as a safe site for kids, for a change that not even a quarter of users would benefit from. Also, I have always figured that a lot of the restrictions were a result of not having enough staff to handle the traffic on the boards and the number of neomails sent each day. I don't think they would be very inclined to make any changes that might increase what they would have to spend to moderate the site.

 

Anyway, for such a large community Neopets doesn't have a whole lot of trolls. Even though the everyday user is inconvenienced by the rules, going to the Neoboards is a lot more plesant than going to the boards of sites that appeal to similar age ranges. I'm sure that the RP sections of the site would go nuts if the filters were changed, even if it only affected neomail. When I was more active there, Neopets could barely keep control over the boards and the guilds. I don't know what the guilds are like now, but I know there were some that were involved with sexual roleplaying through around 2006 (when I gave up RPing). I had my own experience with someone from Neopets that would harrass me accross several different websites when I was in middle school. I think a lot of the restrictions, even though they are annoying to users that do not have any sort of bad intent, are probably all that keeps the boards a reasonably safe place for kids, who are the primary audience.

[annikarose]

The problem is that adults just do not make up too large of a percentage of users.

 

The people who have played the longest are the older players, though, and I know they get all kinds of special privileges, but I just think there is a way to accommodate the older players without compromising the safety of the kids who play.