Man. I'm hoping Roblox will stop being popular by the time my daughter is old enough to play, but Fortnite has been around the block a few times and shows no signs of slowing down, so...
This is genuinely kinda terrifying to think about as a parent. The bar for entry is on the floor. I know not everyone is tech-savvy enough to feel comfortable tweaking router settings, but I really want to see how I can set up ip blocks to limit access on my end. Because that increasingly sounds like the only way to actually block access to the game that really wants to be the suspicious white van peddling candy in school zones.
I've never touched Roblox, so maybe I'm being naïve, but could they not make some kind of Kidz Zone?
Like, "No ID? No phone number? No e-mail address? That's cool! Here's a curated set of Roblox experiences that are safe for all ages. (In the meantime, we can still use you in our count of created accounts and active users. You can still perpetuate the idea of Roblox as a default activity and hang-out space with among peers. We still own anything you create.) Talk to your parents if you'd like to access more! (And don't forget to tell them how much more fun you'll have if they give us a credit card number.)"
I'm just saying, there's plenty of room for them to continue being horrifically predatory without encouraging children to independently create accounts for ages 13+. Why wouldn't they do the minimum to protect their ethically reprehensible business from further litigation?
My nine-year-old's reaction to your headline was, "That's true." Even he know how easy it is to bypass parental controls. I set them up on his main account, but once he figured out how to create accounts (with help from YouTuber videos on alts) it made the controls useless.
Man. I'm hoping Roblox will stop being popular by the time my daughter is old enough to play, but Fortnite has been around the block a few times and shows no signs of slowing down, so...
This is genuinely kinda terrifying to think about as a parent. The bar for entry is on the floor. I know not everyone is tech-savvy enough to feel comfortable tweaking router settings, but I really want to see how I can set up ip blocks to limit access on my end. Because that increasingly sounds like the only way to actually block access to the game that really wants to be the suspicious white van peddling candy in school zones.
And here I was thinking I could've gotten away from learning advanced networking skills because I didn't get a job in Tech...
I've never touched Roblox, so maybe I'm being naïve, but could they not make some kind of Kidz Zone?
Like, "No ID? No phone number? No e-mail address? That's cool! Here's a curated set of Roblox experiences that are safe for all ages. (In the meantime, we can still use you in our count of created accounts and active users. You can still perpetuate the idea of Roblox as a default activity and hang-out space with among peers. We still own anything you create.) Talk to your parents if you'd like to access more! (And don't forget to tell them how much more fun you'll have if they give us a credit card number.)"
I'm just saying, there's plenty of room for them to continue being horrifically predatory without encouraging children to independently create accounts for ages 13+. Why wouldn't they do the minimum to protect their ethically reprehensible business from further litigation?
My nine-year-old's reaction to your headline was, "That's true." Even he know how easy it is to bypass parental controls. I set them up on his main account, but once he figured out how to create accounts (with help from YouTuber videos on alts) it made the controls useless.