AGE CAPS AND WHY THEY SUCK

[FalcoSparverius]

Age caps are the worst thing you could possibly do to a server. I'm 14. Therefore, I'm not mature. WRONG! 14 year olds can be very mature. So can 13 year olds. And 12 year olds. And 11 year olds. Yes, 14, 13, 12, and 11 year olds can be very immature. But so can 15 year olds. And 16 year olds. And 17 year olds. And 18 year olds. And...

 Do you see my point? You may have a mature 10 year old apply to your server and reject him because he is 10. A dumb 18 year old with choppy sentences and grammatical errors may also apply, and you accept him. Why!?! BECAUSE HE'S 18!?!?!?! NO!!!!!! I am more mature and intelligent than most of the 18+ year olds that I see here, but when they get considered more mature just because their older? No. Just no.

Thanks for reading. I'm going to go slam my head against a wall now.

[DrgonKing129]

so true, props to you

[Valkon]

I am more mature and intelligent than most of the 18+ year olds that I see here

As is clearly shown by the abundance of exclamation points and question marks in the statements preceding this one and the all-caps title.

[disconsented]

I used age restrictions on my server so I didn't have to deal with easily avoidable problems (How does X work, Am I allowed to do Y etc.)

[asiekierka]

Age restrictions /are/ retarded. Speaking from my point of view, more servers should just do simple tests before they accept a player.

 

When I run a server, I tend to have a whitelist. For every person who wants to register, I run a 5-minute conversation with them to get a feel for who they are and what they behave like. If it's a roleplay server, it's also a perfect chance to laugh at their OC give some constructive criticism so they don't make the same mistakes again. Remember, it's easy to ban someone, it's harder to teach someone something.

[Sennex]

I use age restrictions on every server I run because I really don't want to be there the first time some kid figures out he can get a rise out of others by posting dumb crap.

 

Like racial epithets. Homosexual slurs. Misogyny. WWII-era anti-semitic holocaust jokes. Teenage edgy bullshit designed to get a rise out of anyone within earshot - because you know they won't like it, like empathy's goatseed evil twin brother. That shit wasn't really funny the first time I heard it (or said it), and I usually regret the times I played a part.

 

To everyone saying "OMG BUT I R DIFFERNT!!!!!"

 

Congrats, you might very well be a 1%'er thats totally different.

 

Do I want to take that chance?

Nope.

 

Do I want to risk you getting a hardon for talking trash one day out of the blue and alienating a portion of my server?

Nope.

 

Have I seen "Mature" kids lose their cool one day and snap off? 

Yep

 

Just because your parents buy you Rated M games doesn't mean you are mature. 

 

And honestly, the "Real" mature ones are typically smart enough to sort out how to get passed an Age Restriction.

 

Hell, one of my best players is a 15 year old from Ireland that even allowed to mod on the server because he was a better, more mature player than the 20 year olds.

 

He lied to me to get on the server though, and managed to play with me for about a year before I sorted it out. When I found out though, I banned him, and then held a poll on our forums describing the situation and all the members voted on it.

 

Pro-Tip: He didn't whine or cry about age restrictions. He went above and beyond to handle himself like an adult at all times.

He was a 1%'er

[asiekierka]

He went above and beyond to handle himself like an adult at all times.

 

Down to the point of deliberately lying to you? That's not being an adult, that's being an asshat. I would NEVER keep a liar on any of my servers, no matter how noble his lie would be - and I had this problem sometimes.

 

Also, just because you're 25 or 30 doesn't mean you're mature. I met some people who are in their 20s and can barely keep themselves clean. As I said, a talk with every player beats an age restriction any day.

 

If you want to alienate young people, fine, but they will never learn unless someone teaches them something. If you want to contribute to a society full of asshats, go ahead, but I'm not doing that.

 

And yes, I have spent months teaching a 13-year-old how to behave on one of my servers. It actually worked. On the other hand, some people older than me have managed to play on my servers for 1.5 years before destroying them.

 

There are 1%'ers on both sides. Your argument is invalid.

Edited April 22, 2014 by asiekierka

[freakachu]

I've been that "mature" kid in the past.  here's a secret though: I wasn't really very mature.  I was playing grown up, which is kind of like being mature but without all the life experience to back it up.  were I to run a PUBLIC server (which I don't and won't for many reasons), I would certainly institute an age floor.  you can complain that it's "unfair" if you want.   you can wax poetic about how someone has to teach these impressionable young skulls full of mush how to behave, but the problem is that I shouldn't have to be that guy.  you want to know who's supposed to teach them how to behave?  their parents.  if I wanted to be some kid's father figure, I'd go make an actual kid of my own instead and be a real father.  I don't run minecraft servers to play step-dad to random 13 year olds on the internet or whatever.

 

trying to take every wayward youth that comes along under your wing takes time.  a LOT of time.  time I don't have.

 

the truth is that it's not a perfect world out there filled with perfect people.  age restrictions aren't around because anyone over the age of X is "mature", they're around because people over the age of X are less likely to be a raging moron than people under the age of X.  want proof of that?  think about how you acted 5 years ago.  think about what you thought/believed/knew 5 years ago.  you were stupid as fuck 5 years ago, weren't you?  there you go.

 

TL;DR:

it's risk management.

server OPs are not surrogate parents.