This problem affects not only dozens of players but also me.
I made my account under the age of 13 with parental permission, however, as years pass, i decided to revisit my old account, i bought my membership and couldn't wait to start the nostalgia. I join in and progressively level up my character, making new friends. A problem that hasn't yet struck me until now. Yeah, i can use filtered chat, but the option "Open Chat" isn't visible on the parental controls screen. Now, I don't understand why this can't be implemented regardless of whether or not the USA allows games to keep the age of someone 12 or younger, it could still be added, similar to the "Filtered Chat" option, or for even more security, another option for that would require a parent email conformation. The fact that it can never be changed to an old account even if the user has grown, annoys me, and if anything, an alternative way should be added in order to change it. It seems annoying when you hear you can't play on that account because you're chat is filtered, now you must create a new one, starting from square one in order to fix a chat option. If at all, i'd like this problem fixed for atleast me, if it can't help the rest of the community. I'm not sure if theres some sort of way that a scripter can change that specifically, but really any help will be great.
Re: Suggestion: (To help the growing of age players)
nickz04 on Jul 2, 2018 wrote:
This problem affects not only dozens of players but also me.
I made my account under the age of 13 with parental permission, however, as years pass, i decided to revisit my old account, i bought my membership and couldn't wait to start the nostalgia. I join in and progressively level up my character, making new friends. A problem that hasn't yet struck me until now. Yeah, i can use filtered chat, but the option "Open Chat" isn't visible on the parental controls screen. Now, I don't understand why this can't be implemented regardless of whether or not the USA allows games to keep the age of someone 12 or younger, it could still be added, similar to the "Filtered Chat" option, or for even more security, another option for that would require a parent email conformation. The fact that it can never be changed to an old account even if the user has grown, annoys me, and if anything, an alternative way should be added in order to change it. It seems annoying when you hear you can't play on that account because you're chat is filtered, now you must create a new one, starting from square one in order to fix a chat option. If at all, i'd like this problem fixed for atleast me, if it can't help the rest of the community. I'm not sure if theres some sort of way that a scripter can change that specifically, but really any help will be great.
Thank you.
The issue requires a change to federal law not KI's system of dealing with it. This is why most companies just banned anyone under 13 using their services, which obviously doesn't work for a game designed for children. COPPA regulations are supposed to protect the privacy of children online from unscrupulous companies, but rather than protecting them (IMO) it seems to just inhibit children from accessing services, encourages and instils in children the notion of lying online and punishes respectable companies for mistakes.
Under 13 the age can not be stored - people are not 'forever 10' etc their status is 'forever protected'. It's a violation of COPPA to attempt to work out the age of anyone who has this child protection status. There may be very expensive 3rd party methods of age verification but especially in a game such as W101 that will require it so frequently it is not a viable option. The penalty of violating COPPA regulations is $40,000 per violation...sorry but no-one's open chat is worth that risk (or the legal costs or the bad publicity etc).
I really can't see a way for KI to legally and safely mitigate the COPPA regulations even though they are a respectable company who would never misuse that information.
Re: Suggestion: (To help the growing of age players)
Victoria FireHeart on Jul 3, 2018 wrote:
The issue requires a change to federal law not KI's system of dealing with it. This is why most companies just banned anyone under 13 using their services, which obviously doesn't work for a game designed for children. COPPA regulations are supposed to protect the privacy of children online from unscrupulous companies, but rather than protecting them (IMO) it seems to just inhibit children from accessing services, encourages and instils in children the notion of lying online and punishes respectable companies for mistakes.
Under 13 the age can not be stored - people are not 'forever 10' etc their status is 'forever protected'. It's a violation of COPPA to attempt to work out the age of anyone who has this child protection status. There may be very expensive 3rd party methods of age verification but especially in a game such as W101 that will require it so frequently it is not a viable option. The penalty of violating COPPA regulations is $40,000 per violation...sorry but no-one's open chat is worth that risk (or the legal costs or the bad publicity etc).
I really can't see a way for KI to legally and safely mitigate the COPPA regulations even though they are a respectable company who would never misuse that information.
I do understand that factor, but I still don't see how that could be a risk, if you include a method of halting a child from lying on their account. I've come across people who openly confess to lying that they are above the age of 18; I mean, what child hasn't?
I do believe that no 3rd party methods (If they do indeed exist) have to be added in order to fix this. They already include the use of 'having a transaction in order to allow for more chat features' meaning whose to say that couldn't be added upon in order to make the process difficult, but possible. Showing proof of card could be added as well as an email conformation (after all, they already use those methods for other things), or maybe even ID verification.
The status of 'forever protected' does make this a bit impossible. However, I want to believe there is some sort of way.
Like I said in the original post, I'll be willing to go through hours of verification in order change my personal text chat, especially if it's a game that i'm willing to give hours of time and money towards. Even if (not trying to sound selfish, as i'm attempting to speak for the coming of age players) it means possibly just my account would be 'fixed'
Re: Suggestion: (To help the growing of age players)
Perhaps when KI started at the very beginning they were Solid on making this a kid-friendly game to play...Perhaps they had no idea that so many would Stay On forever, or, the parents got hooked when the kids grew up and went on to other things...that last possibility is where I am at....Im level 92 and dont want to start over!...and if I start a new wizard I will probably still have "filtered" chat.....no again.....Im the one that pays the credit card and its in my name!...I hope that someone, some day will figure out a solution....in the meantime I'm trying to learn the spotty lingo of the "filtered" ones...lol.....hang in there everyone.
Re: Suggestion: (To help the growing of age players)
Victoria FireHart nailed it right on the head. The problem is not coming from KI, It's coming from COPPA. I don't know what the agreement was when the contract was made between COPPA and KI. But Kingsisle must follow through that agreement to keep their license until the contract is up for renewal. Is COPPA a little paranoid by being overly protected when KI's safety features are already in place? Very possibly. In my opinion, precaution is the same cautious over caution is being overly protected.
