They couldn't come up with ONE thing that the Teen Council did this year? They didn't dress up ONE initiative with a fancy name and credit it to the Teen Council, whether they actually helped or not?
It's clear that it's just a figurehead oversight board that they can point to, just to say they have one, even though it has no power and is never consulted whatsoever. I hope the members can get a good college rec letter and some resume padding out of it, at least.
That's my read on it so far, too. If we're granting grace, most executives conducting email interviews are going to give you the blandest possible answers, but this is what I'm working with and the company has specifically reached out (twice!) over this project. I was willing to give some benefit of the doubt last year, but I'm more inclined to be on your side this year.
Your skepticism is absolutely warranted. Bhaumik's responses are classic corporate non-answers—full of buzzwords like 'insights,' 'workshops,' and 'valuable feedback,' but zero specificity about actual policy changes or measurable outcomes. It's particularly telling that they can't name a single concrete initiative that resulted from the Teen Council. If you assembled a group of teens, had them provide input on community guidelines, parental controls, and safety resources, and then implemented changes based on that feedback, you would lead with those examples. The fact that she didn't suggests there aren't any. The tension you identify—between teens wanting fewer restrictions and Roblox needing to implement more—is crucial. A real Teen Council would surface that friction and force Roblox to articulate a coherent philosophy. Instead, this feels like a fig leaf. A way to say 'we consulted teens' without actually ceding any decision-making power or transparancy. The screen time limit feature you mentioned is the perfect example: it's a performative gesture that shifts responsibilty onto users while allowing Roblox to avoid harder questions about platform design. I hope you continue to ask these questions.
Wow, this is the blandest of bland comments from RoBlox. I'm almost offended for you. Nothing of substance noted and even the demo question, which was about as softball as you could get, was whiffed on.
Sounds like PR pablum and I'm sorry they wasted your, and our, time.
They couldn't come up with ONE thing that the Teen Council did this year? They didn't dress up ONE initiative with a fancy name and credit it to the Teen Council, whether they actually helped or not?
It's clear that it's just a figurehead oversight board that they can point to, just to say they have one, even though it has no power and is never consulted whatsoever. I hope the members can get a good college rec letter and some resume padding out of it, at least.
That's my read on it so far, too. If we're granting grace, most executives conducting email interviews are going to give you the blandest possible answers, but this is what I'm working with and the company has specifically reached out (twice!) over this project. I was willing to give some benefit of the doubt last year, but I'm more inclined to be on your side this year.
Your skepticism is absolutely warranted. Bhaumik's responses are classic corporate non-answers—full of buzzwords like 'insights,' 'workshops,' and 'valuable feedback,' but zero specificity about actual policy changes or measurable outcomes. It's particularly telling that they can't name a single concrete initiative that resulted from the Teen Council. If you assembled a group of teens, had them provide input on community guidelines, parental controls, and safety resources, and then implemented changes based on that feedback, you would lead with those examples. The fact that she didn't suggests there aren't any. The tension you identify—between teens wanting fewer restrictions and Roblox needing to implement more—is crucial. A real Teen Council would surface that friction and force Roblox to articulate a coherent philosophy. Instead, this feels like a fig leaf. A way to say 'we consulted teens' without actually ceding any decision-making power or transparancy. The screen time limit feature you mentioned is the perfect example: it's a performative gesture that shifts responsibilty onto users while allowing Roblox to avoid harder questions about platform design. I hope you continue to ask these questions.
Wow, this is the blandest of bland comments from RoBlox. I'm almost offended for you. Nothing of substance noted and even the demo question, which was about as softball as you could get, was whiffed on.
Sounds like PR pablum and I'm sorry they wasted your, and our, time.
Thing is, if they offer it up, I'll keep asking. I'll just keep making the questions more pointed. The specifics are important here.