Yahoo closes most chat rooms

MSN did this a while back and there was a brief uproar then it faded away. Now Yahoo is following suit:

SAN FRANCISCO - Yahoo, the most-used Internet site, has shut down all its user-created Internet chat rooms amid concerns that adults were using the sites to try to have sex with minors.

Chatrooms and messageboards are the original "sociable software", supplanted now in the main by community sites (Neopets, etc), games and IM. Disney have moved into multiplayer online communities with Virtual Magic Kingdom, and I'm sure many will follow suit.

I find it curious that to date (and to my knowledge) there's not been any reported dodgy goings-on in multiplayer games. Why not? There's certainly a large enough user base, and Yahoo and co have had chat alongside play for years, like on Literati. Why no smut? Why no moderators, or panic buttons?

Something to scratch chin about.

Comments

[badly dubbed boy]

because people pay to play MMOPRGs, and nobody pays to go into a chatroom? ;)

[praxis22]

I would suspect that the fact that you have to give your credit card, and be billed monthly is one reason. So if random kobold No.2 is hitting on you it's realy easy for the law/customer support to extract name and address, etc. I also imagine that it's also much harder to both divert children away from the game, (should there be any playing games with 18 stickers on them etc.) as well as the fact that "in an MMORPG everyone knows your a dog" :)

[Foe]

Actually, all of the MMOs targeted to children - Habbo Hotel, Virtual Magic Kingdom, ToonTown Online and Runescape - *do* have moderators, and at least Habbo and VMK also have panic ('Call for Help') buttons.

[Alice]

Good point, and I did know that, I was thinking at the time of the big MMOs - warcraft, et al.

Stuffed full of young teenagers.

The Ccard relationship is certainly a security measure - so perhaps when (some) MMOs go to the free-to-play model, it'll all get a bit worse? What about Guild Wars and AO?

Hrm.

[praxis22]

I still think that MMORPGs are a group activity, whereas the sexual predator is a loner, a solo. Plus you have thw whole deal of being chatted up by a troll or a elf, etc. When you know the person doesn't look like that. Text in a box is a lot more immediate that next in a bubble. you give your attention to the box, while you may be paying more attention to the paladin who just mooned you in game, etc. I imagine nothing breaks up a cosy fireside chat more than being attacked by a wandering mob of orcs :) I would imagine that this would work better in more "normal" world, like "second life" or "there" where you can essentially just hang out. Though I still think direct text is more immediate and less guarded.

[Groovymarlin]

Wasn't there some controversy about The Sims Online a while back? Talk about virtual brothels, a "mafia," and other nastiness, all involving supposedly under-age folks.

[Baldridge]

Hmm. I don't know, it's hard to be clear-cut with this really. I think nobody knows where to draw the line to be honest, because there are so many ways to spin it.
I'm more tempted to believe that it's being used as an excuse to shut down a not-so-profitable department and a moral argument always makes things look good.

[Chris Talbert]

The pervs already have a solution to the user room shutdown. For example Feet Fetish Folks hang out in Yahoo created room FETISHES:39, and Crossdressers hangout in FETISHES:10. They are listed on a website called www.yahlist.net

[lilyankee]

I luv to chat so i want to try something new.

[Gia Manck]

No coments

hi watever

[tinkerbelle]

i have a bunch of codes:
purple flying carpet:UCLG-UKPB-QHFB-VRYA
a special room:GPAY-Y2ZH-3PX2-U2PW

[mrcara]

omg i cant find codes!! can some one help me!?!