[parasubvert]

Tbh making Roblox illegal feels like the same moral panic that our parents had around metal music, hip-hop, and arcades.

My kid plays Roblox, I prevent her from talking to others, and I police the Robux purchases. It really is a fun platform. The problem is for parents that aren't technical, or are negligent and don't know how to police it.

[feydaykyn]

Don't be so dismissive! In practice...

- You cannot prevent your child to login and play at least 15mn (without manually resetting the password in the kid account) - combine this with the fact you cannot prevent changing the password reset email on the child account, and in practice you cannot prevent your child from using roblox - You cannot prevent gift card to be used - There's no way to trace gift cards usage at all - Roblox will remove controls at some ages without warning you - Deleting your kid account is a fight (it's been two weeks and roblox is asking me proof of ownership I cannot give since they don't exist) - You cannot prevent fear of missing out - You cannot control pay to win games - You cannot prevent your child face to be scanned and shared for "age control" - Same for your own face - Probably more...

Oh and don't forget there's absolutely no way to prevent your kid to have multiple accounts, and have a parallel life you know nothing about.

[lo_zamoyski]

You cannot prevent someone from robbing and killing you either. That doesn't mean the law has no value. It sets a standard for conduct and creates a psychological expectation. If violated, it enables punishment.

[parasubvert]

well sure I was a blue boxer, software pirate, talked to lots of creepy people on IRC, participated in online sexting, x.25 and tcp/ip network hacker, with a stack of stolen credit card numbers, and root access to a bunch of university labs ... when I was 13. that was 35 years ago. what were my parents supposed to do?

determined resourceful kids will do what they want. so long as I talk about the risks and dangers and put up a modicum of effort to police it, I'm fine if they figure out ways around it. some people have to learn the hard way.

[iamnothere]

I mean to a degree this is true of any kid who is that determined to go against their parents’ wishes. You can’t prevent a kid from making friends with the bad kids while at school, you can’t prevent a kid from playing the asphyxiation game, you can’t prevent a kid from sniffing solvents (they’re everywhere). At some point you just have to do your best and hope things turn out ok.

[s1mplicissimus]

I think parents (not fully unfoundedly) expect more of a playground experience from something advertised as a "game for children", so for them it follows that they should precisely not have to manually police it.

[parasubvert]

what's amusing about this is that I can't think of a playground irl that a parent wouldn't manually police these days.

letting kids roam entirely free is a remnant of the 80s and a bit of the 90s.

[AlecSchueler]

> Tbh making Roblox illegal feels like the same moral panic that our parents had around metal music, hip-hop, and arcades.

I feel like this argument has become a cliche in itself. Sometimes things are worth panicking about, and limiting access to things like cigarettes or gambling for children has been a real benefit to society. The same could be true for the dark patterns listed above.

[parasubvert]

No, nothing is worth panicking about. Panic is fear-driven. Fear is the mind killer.

Restrictions are fine, to a point. Making something entirely illegal to save the children is a moral panic induced reaction, in my experience.

[WesleyJohnson]

It goes beyond that though. There are games and in-game content that aren't being reviewed. There are claims of player skins where the characters are wearing a t-shirt with an actual photo of Charlie Kirk's death (the shot to the neck).

Anyone can make a Roblox game and publish it, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of moderations or verification going on. And you don't need to "talk", voice or text. You can emote, type on signs, and communicate in other ways.

[mysterydip]

> And you don't need to "talk", voice or text. You can emote, type on signs, and communicate in other ways

I had blocked chat on my kid's account and thought I was ok. Then I see her playing one game and ask her what she's doing. She says she's updating her character status (description etc) to talk to other players.

[watwut]

Apparently, for all the "free speech requires us all to tolerate nazi" logic I hear here all the the time, a mere rumor of maybe someone being jerk toward fascist is enough to go all the other way.

Roblox do actually takes down violent content, in reality. But that is never the important part.

[Analemma_]

> There are claims of player skins where the characters are wearing a t-shirt with an actual photo of Charlie Kirk's death (the shot to the neck).

Gambling and facilitating sexual predation is probably worth regulating, but I don't find tasteless jokes a sufficient cause for intervention.

Nor is this even a remotely new phenomenon. I was on Newgrounds as a pre-teenager when people were making wacky flash games about school shootings and 9/11.

[foobarian]

> I prevent her from talking to others,

Honestly the voice comms have been a nice upgrade and I find I mind it a lot less than text. It's a lot easier to confirm the person on the other side is not some middle aged creep. It's also a lot more ergonomic for talking with friends (though they already tend to use facetime calls in the background)

[yoyohello13]

I used to work at the local after school club a few years ago and we had to have several interventions when the 8-10 year old girls were talking about the grown men they were talking to through Roblox.

The grooming going on there is a real problem. At least more awareness for parents would be a good thing.

[endymion-light]

I mean, gambling for underage children is already illegal due to a myriad of reasons. I'd argue the psychological design of gacha games should be limited. Building patterns that get adults addicted, and advertising them specifically to children is the problem.

In the same way if a casino advertised child roulette wheels, I'd want legislation to step in.

[Ekaros]

I would not be against banning sale of any type of mystery or lootbox mechanics to those under age of 18. Including all digital and physical products. Yes, some things will be lost, but I think it will be for better.