Yahoo Closes Chat Rooms to Anyone Under 18

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Yahoo Closes Chat Rooms to Anyone Under 18

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Wednesday October 12, 2005 @11:34AM from the no-chat-for-you-kid dept.

Talaria writes "Yahoo has announced that they are closing all of their chat rooms to anyone under eighteen, following an agreement with New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Spitzer, who began investigating the Yahoo! chat situation earlier this year, said "We need to be vigilant to protect our children.""

20 of 680 comments (clear)

Won't somebody think of the children? by Carthag · 2005-10-12 11:35 · Score: 5, Funny

Where are they going to chat now?
1. Re:Won't somebody think of the children? by femto · 2005-10-12 11:38 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Yahoo's shopping centre?
2. Re:Won't somebody think of the children? by xero314 · 2005-10-12 11:53 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  What? Parents actully have some clue of what their children are doing? Not here in the US (hopefully other countries are a little better than us).
  
  I have been saying this same thing for a long time. I only hope that some day I see a Slashdot article that reads "Parent Jailed for not knowing what their child is doing"
  
  The solution is "easy", even if it is a bit authoritarian. Mandatory sterilization.
3. Re:Won't somebody think of the children? by Seumas · 2005-10-12 12:01 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Considering the number of people who molest their kids or have child molestors in their family that abuse their kids and the number of people who seem to look the other way when their underage children are screwing around with adults twice their age, I have to wonder why we don't take children away from all parents. I mean, sure there are some responsible parents just like there are responsible children on the internet, but you can't take that kind of risk. Should just take children out of the home as a preventative safety measure.
4. Re:Won't somebody think of the children? by TheFlamingoKing · 2005-10-12 13:18 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Well, if MTV wouldn't keep shaking preteen ass in my face I wouldn't be so tempted...
5. Re:Won't somebody think of the children? by stor · 2005-10-12 13:37 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Well, if MTV wouldn't keep shaking preteen ass in my face I wouldn't be so tempted...
  
  Hey buddy, I think you missed the "Post Anonymously" checkbox.
  
  Cheers
  Stor
  
  --
  "Yeah well there's a lot of stuff that should be, but isn't"
6. Re:Won't somebody think of the children? by NotBorg · 2005-10-12 13:59 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  [...] better handled by actual parents moderating chat rooms and moderating their children...
  
  Just the other day I gave my little Johnny a Troll (-1) for posting to a 25 year old woman from Texas. Not that I have anything against Texas, mind you, I just feel that Johnny could do better. She wasn't that hot.
  
  Only by taking an active roll in our kids's lives can this kind of treachery be stopped.
  
  --
  I want this account deleted.
7. Re:Won't somebody think of the children? by rdoger6424 · 2005-10-12 14:53 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  16/F/NYC: OMG!!!!!1! PARENTZ R TEH SUX!!!111one!! LOL OMG WTF BRB JK JK LOLLERSKATES ROFLCOPTER!!!!!!
  40/M/NYC: UR RITE! ASL 17/M/NYC
  
  Why should chatrooms be moderated? I don't know.
  
  --
  "Hello 911? I just tried to toast some bread, and the toaster grew an arm and stabbed me in the face!"
8. Re:Won't somebody think of the children? by Anonymous Coward · 2005-10-12 15:27 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  I solved this problem by installing VNC software on all the computers in the house, waiting until the kids enter a chatroom and engage in... dubious... behavior, and setting the wallpaper to be embarrassing chatlogs right as I walk by to ask them a question about how school was. One child literally threw the monitor off of the desk to keep me from seeing the wallpaper I set. I should have made a video.
  Another good one is to keep note of chat logs and start introducing quotes from them into normal conversation. They won't say anything just in case you don't know, but the look on their face is priceless.
  Needless to say, my kids have the shit scared out of them every time they're looking at something they shouldn't be. Ah, the joys of being a parent that can code in the internet age ;)
There goes by DustyShadow · 2005-10-12 11:36 · Score: 5, Funny

90% of their traffic...
Whew! The perfect solution! by rbanzai · 2005-10-12 11:36 · Score: 4, Funny

Good thing there's no way around this system. It's not like anyone could lie about their age on the internet.

Way to go Yahoo/Spitzer!
This will help a lot by CaptainCarrot · 2005-10-12 11:38 · Score: 5, Funny

Because, you know, there are no other chat rooms anywhere else on the Internet.

--
And the brethren went away edified.
Genders next... by TexTex · 2005-10-12 11:39 · Score: 5, Funny

Pretty soon they'll close their chat rooms to men who pretend to be women online... That should cut back on traffic as well.

--
-Barkeep, a draft of your most hazardous brew, for the world is slowly stepping into focus, and I don't like what I see.
Various Responses by efuseekay · 2005-10-12 11:50 · Score: 4, Funny

(a) Eliot Spitze : Heh Heh Heh. Man, I look like a hero, even though I don't give a damn to those kids who parents should know better.

(b) New York State Parents : Rah rah rah! Our children are safe from sexual predators!

(c) Yahoo! : Heh Heh Heh. As though as we can even try to stop childen from U18 from getting in.

(d) Under 18 Kids: Doh, everyone know you have to pretend to be over 18 to hit on anybody anyway.

(e) Over 18 Perverts : Doh, now I have to *really* try to believe those U18 kids online are simply pretending to be Over 18.

(f) Everyone else : Groan.

--
Mode (3) smart-aleck mode. Press * to return to main menu.
Who is this protecting? by AK+Marc · 2005-10-12 11:53 · Score: 4, Funny

I've been in the Yahoo chat rooms. I needed protection from those that were claiming to be under 18, not the other way around.

--
Learn to love Alaska
Re:Fragging children. by Seumas · 2005-10-12 11:56 · Score: 5, Funny

Lets just put each child in a room with padded walls, no windows and a TV tuned to Seseme Street 24 hours a day. They will be provided with KidChow(TM) and Water.

Dad, is that you?
Re:And so that stops us how? by Anonymous Coward · 2005-10-12 11:59 · Score: 5, Funny

It's voilà. You sound like a fucking moron when you say "wha-la".
Re:Foolproof adult test? by Kelson · 2005-10-12 12:16 · Score: 4, Funny

How about:

Which income tax form did you file last year?

(a) 1040
(b) 1040EZ
(c) 1040A
(d) Cowboy Neal
aw crap.... by Lehk228 · 2005-10-12 12:32 · Score: 4, Funny

aw crap, now they are all going to flood in to IRC asking "ASL? ASL? ASL?"

--
Snowden and Manning are heroes.
Re:So what? by schon · 2005-10-12 13:06 · Score: 5, Funny

How do they plan on verifying age? A little checkbox saying "I am at least 18 years old"?

Of course not. They're going to require the user to enter their date of birth. Everyone knows that American schoolchildren won't be able to figure out the math. :o)