Slashdot Mirror
Christian Group Prepares To Mark Wii as 'Porn Portal'
Citing the Wii's ability to browse the internet via the Opera browser, a Christian group based out of California is planning on targeting the console with a smear campaign, Kotaku reports. The site has gotten ahold of a leaked press release from the upcoming 'Porn Talk' media event. From the release: "Like many new gaming technologies, the Wii's wireless internet capabilities make it a portal to porno. 'Parents think the computer is the only way for their kids to get porn on the internet. Unfortunately, they are dead wrong,' says Mike Foster, founder of ThePornTalk.com. 'Gaming devices like the Wii and the PSP aren't just for fun games anymore. You're able to surf the net, chat with friends, email, and view porn because of its internet access. Kids know this but parents don't!'"
"Playing with my Wii."
"Oh, ok. Carry on."
First joke!
Parent groups prepare to label real life as "violent and filled with adult-related content." ....seriously, folks. Access isn't the issue in the modern era; teaching kids good judgment is.
The ability to communicate well does not directly correspond to the ability to communicate intelligently.
It may be a little sensationalist, but the basic point is fine. "Guess what parents, kids can also access teh pr0nz0rz using the PSP, Wii, etc." If they were trying to get the Wii banned or something, that would be one thing, but just trying to help parents do their job (again, with a little extra sensationalism) is really no cause for controversy.
-stormin
The Southern Baptist Convention has creationism. On Slashdot, we have porn.
The hysteria is silly, but it's not like they are making up the fact that it enables access to the internet at large. It sucks for the kids, but with crazy parents, lots of stuff sucks for the kids.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
I don't know about you, but I didn't even think of using it for that until now!
...I look at Jesus' words and actions as significant and the previous story before Him and insignificant in terms of how we live. In my opinion, when Jesus said "Judge not others" He meant it.
Christians who judge others haven't read their Bibles. It is time to move forth, Christians, read your Bibles, and get out of people's lives, especially the lives of non-Christians.
Embarassing, to say the least.
This makes me more inclined to buy a Wii. I usually do not like console games, but if I can look up porn while getting exercises while angering a Christan group, I do believe it is worth it.
A unique way to learn a language: http://languageloom.com
Man, if you thought it was difficult to find a Wii in the store before...
1. This Christian group is planning to provide free advertisement for the Wii. "There's No Such Thing As Bad Publicity"
2. This Christian group is planning to provide free advertisements that inform people that they can use the Wii to look at porn on their bigscreen TV.
I don't think this is all that bad. Sure, people will say "The parents should read the label", but how many of those 'caution' labels do you actually read? The damn things are like Vista UAC warnings, you don't Actually read them, you just acknowledge them.
Anyways, if this group's inflammatory campaign motivates parents to better monitory their children's online behavior, then all the better. If Sony/MS/Nitendo lose a handful of sales to far right wing conservatives, I doubt it will make or break the bottom line.
-Rick
PS: Link for those "Label lovers" out there: http://engrish.com/
"Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
Did these people not know that, in order to use the Opera browser on the Wii, you first have to download it from the Wii Shopping Channel ... In order to get to the Will Shopping Channel, you must input a PIN number. To use Opera once it's downloaded ... you must input your PIN.
That was put there so PARENTS COULD HAVE CONTROL OVER WHAT THEIR KIDS DO WITH THE MACHINE! (Sorry for the yelling...) "Wii == Porn Portal" makes a much better headline than "Parents too busy to take responsibility for thier kids."
I mean seriouly, it takes all of 2 minutes to setup a PIN number on the Wii. It takes even less time to not tell your kids what the PIN # is. If you can't trouble parents with that level of responsibility, what are they there for?
Having a couple of small children who play the GameCube, and knowing the Wii provides internet access and is backwards-compatable with the GameCube games...I have been considering getting one so as to have an internet access port at the TV for sites like "Playhouse Disney", "Nicklodeon", "PBS", etc.
Not to be a prude, but there is some pretty harsh stuff out there (not just porn BTW) that is not exactly "kid-friendly".
While screaming, "but you can get to porn!...THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!" is a tad reactionary, it would be a cool feature to store a "white-list" of acceptable websites on the console. So, that this particular "internet access port" is limited to specific locations - very much like enabling "parental control" on my Satellite TV box.
That would seem reasonable.
A goal is a dream with a deadline
So we go through all the nonsense of using friend codes to keep the console kiddie-friendly, and still the wii is targetted by prudes and whatnot. What gives? Just drop the stupid friend codes, you're not winning friends on either side of this issue, Nintendo.
Posted by yintercept - "...science...[is] the study of the 'divine creation.' "
does anyone take these Christian groups seriously enough for this to actually be a problem?
... i think everyone needs a bit of porn in their lives. how else are you supposed to know what goes where? :D
Christian groups seem to decry basically everything and everyone, and they seem to love dropping the "porn" bombshell left and right, but outside their little communities and fellow zealots, is there really any threat whatsoever from these people? And, as such, is this really newsworthy? I'd really only begin to worry if people in Congress start talking about it.
and, as a slight aside, am I the only one who have noticed that kids who grow up in these perfectly wholesome and innocent Christian-value-centric homes seem to end up being significantly maladjusted and immature in a sense that even though they end up as good adults, they're really completely unprepared to actually live in the world?
*sigh*
ìì!
First of all, the press release isn't bashing the Wii, or calling it "Satan's PORNtal" or anything like that. They even go as far as to point out that the Wii includes parental controls: It looks like they're just using the Wii's popularity to push their agenda, that agenda being discussing the issue of porn with your kids -- a perfectly respectable goal. FTA:Encouraging parents to talk to kids about online behavior? That's a good thing. The Wii tie-in is nothing but marketing to attract parents.
Sony ha
I think you could still Wiip one out if you tried.
Big! Strong! Wow! Tada-O!
Rather than using your Wii to surf for adult materials (which is of questionable utility anyway, seeing as how you have a hires computer screen in front of you), why not point it toward one of the many online gaming sites that cater to the Wii?
The most popular is probably WiiCade, as they have the largest selection. There's also WiiArcade and WiiFii.net.
You're welcome.
Hey Nintendo! Where are the damn games! I can't think of a SINGLE non-Nintendo game in all of 2007 that is worth buying.
Why are you blaming Nintendo for the quality of non-Nintendo games?
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
I don't see why the Wii gets so much innuendo compared to the other consoles.
"Playstation 3" sounds like a deep space brothel.
"X-Box 360" sounds like getting gang-raped by guys who ejaculate Mountain Dew.
Come on, people.
Christians who judge others haven't read their Bibles.
Sounds like you're doing a little judgment of your own, doesn't it?
Look. Way too many people make this misunderstanding. The passage says "Judge not, lest you also be judged" (or something to that effect, depending on your translation). It DOESN'T say, "never judge anything at all, ever." It says, watch yourself, because the same rod you use to measure others might come back and bite you in the ass one day (I'm reminded of some very famous televangelests).
In fact, just moments after Jesus instructs us to "judge not", he says: Well, clearly, he didn't mean LITERAL dogs and swine. How would we know if they were dogs or swine if we didn't JUDGE the behavior of others? Clearly, we're supposed to make assessments of others based on their actions, and had you read your Bible, you'd know that's what Jesus meant.
I realize this seems off-topic, and I'll likely be modded down to oblivion, but as it IS a Christian group that's the subject of discussion here, I think this rebuttal is only fair. Flame on
Sony ha
...ah, Parents be responsible for your kids. Its not the technology thats the problem. Know what the hell your kids are doing, know what the people they hang out with are doing, know what the families of the people they hang out with are doing.
And #1 teach them a sense of values. What video game system they have doesn't matter its what you tell them to do with it, and what you teach them is OK.
When I was young could I get a copy of a playboy sure, but I knew I shouldn't have...
Power Corrupts,Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely, leaving one person(group)in charge is absolutely corrupt.
I have yet to come across a pornographic website that emulates the wii interface, and the claim seems to be rather unsubstantiated. Could somebody point me to a few example websites?
What's really funny is that, at least based on the look they give in the article, the article (and, even worse, the summary) is far more overreactive and emotionally charged than the campaign itself.
...
"Like many new gaming technologies, the Wii's wireless internet capabilities make it a portal to porno. 'Parents think the computer is the only way for their kids to get porn on the internet. Unfortunately, they are dead wrong,' says Mike Foster, founder of ThePornTalk.com. 'Gaming devices like the Wii and the PSP aren't just for fun games anymore. You're able to surf the net, chat with friends, email, and view porn because of its internet access. Kids know this but parents don't!'"
So the solution lies in parents getting the facts and then talking to their children about expectations for online activity. Foster believes that, "Whether it is the home computer or these new gaming consoles, porn is easily accessible. The Wii is an amazing console and tons of fun but parents need good info on how to keep kids safe."
My Gord! That's so... so... rational, unemotional, and largely objectively (or "empirically", if you prefer) true. Compare to
targeting the console with a smear campaign
Saying the truth in a calm, collected manner is called smearing, now? When did that start? Or
I find it funny that a site that seems to go to so much effort to hide its ties to religion and ministry work is using the phrase dirty little secret.
Wait, was that an implication that religion is a dirty little secret? Damn submarine Jews.
the story's caustic tone
Is that more or less caustic than calling religions dirty little secrets?
Seriously. I may think the anti-porn campaign is a bit unnecessary (in a "don't you have something better to do?" way), but the campaign is surprisingly (at least after reading the beginning of the article) docile and rational. Who cares what they think, really? And who cares if they tell parents that kids can surf porn on the Wii? I mean, you can surf porn on the Wii, right? The most emotional (as opposed to rational) appeal in the whole thing is the title of the campaign ("The Wii's Dirty Little Secret"), and even that's less emotional/sarcastic/caustic (or "witty", as we prefer to say) than the average Slashdot catch-phrase. Hell, this paragraph has more sarcasm than that whole campaign.
Overall rating of the article: Troll.
You have tried to support your argument with faulty reasoning! Go directly to jail; do not pass Go, do not collect $200!
actually the christian group said that it is a fun console to play, but parents should be aware that it has internet access, and then explain how to turn on and use the parental controls. if you read the actual article by the christian group, which was linked to in previous post by someone else, you'd see they didn't actually have anything bad to say about the wii.
...in light of today's VGCats: http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=227
Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to conviction
Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, , Mushroom, MUSHROOM, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, , Mushroom, MUSHROOM, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, Aaaaah A Snake, It's a Snake, Ooouuh, A Snake, a Snake, Judgers, Judgers, Judgers, etc. ...
[WTF?]
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
Wii sales higher then ever!
MS claims to have inventd porn and is releasing XBox: Whackjob.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
- A lot of children have relatively unmonitored access to the Wii, perhaps in their own bedroom or play room.
- A lot of parents *don't* know about the Wii's internet capabilities. Many of those that *are* aware, assume that the content is somehow filtered.
- A lot of parents *don't* know about the Wii's child protection features, account controls, etc. - I'm not sure what's required to download the browser, but if no credit card is required and no admin-like privileges are required or set up, then its possible for them to download the browser themselves.
While the tone of the press release is too strong as I said above, I think we can all see that, yes, the Wii can be used to access porn, chat rooms, etc that may be innapropriate for young people. I think we can all agree that, yes, all parents should be aware of this reality and take steps they deem appropriate, but many are simply not aware at this point.This isn't another "Video games are the devil!" argument, no one's calling for a boycott of the Wii, or for Nintendo to be held responsible for the content some children might access... beyond the slightly sensational tone all I see is information that is usefull and pertinent for parents.
No one here would turn their kid loose on the web without proper protection/monitoring in place, or at the very least recognize the risk in doing so. We forum-goers are always calling for parental and personal responsibility, for good reason, and I don't see this press release as doing much else.
...When they decided to turn Wii in to whine.
After reading the actual Wii article on their website, it seems to me that the sensationalism is actually coming from the gaming press. "Smear campaign"? "Attack on the Wii"? I don't see at all in the article. Yes, they do mention that the Wii is a "portal to porn" in the press release, but that phrase isn't on the website, nor do they use anything similar blatant. Rather, it's the headlines in the gaming press where you see the sensationalism.
...
Yeah, so the website appears to be funded my some Christian group. Even though I'm not Christian, I don't really see a problem here, considering the actual messaging is quite reasonable and responsible. I don't see them blasting Nintendo or the console, in fact just providing parents the messaging they need to "do the right thing" (use the proper parental controls, etc.).
Sometimes I think the gaming press really does itself more harm than good
-- jchenx
Sigh. "Nannie state fascist" is not a bad term, but the fact that you apply it so carelessly indicates a certain knee-jerkiness on your part. Please repeat after me: "Rush Limbaugh thinks with his mouth."
To me, a "Nannie State fascist" is somebody wants the government to outlaw every little danger. Ralph Nader is a prime case. Of course, the term is sort of subjective. You and I would probably agree that the crusade to require passive restraints in cars (basically, seatbelts that buckle you in involuntarily) is Nannie State Fascism. But we probably disagree as to the speed limit (I think people who think they can drive safely at 90 MPH are fooling themselves, but that's not a popular opinion).
This, on the other hand is better described as "Righteous Religious Fascism." The motivation is not to protect you from yourself, but to protect you from Satan.
Thanks a lot, nobody else here knows how to run a whois
Username taken, please choose another one.
Apparently a lot of people haven't read the actual article in question. In fact, they do mention PIN numbers and parental controls. However, parents need to know that they have to turn these features ON, since it's default to off.
Also, the "Wii == Porn Portal" is actually something the gaming press came up with. The actual site itself doesn't appear to be "blaming the Wii" for any problems.
Unfortunately, this appears to be a case where the gaming media is blowing something out of proportion, and stands a good chance at doing more harm than good. If I were a regular parent who came across the article on this site, I would have thought, "Oh, the Wii has a web browser? And I have a way to turn on parental controls? Excellent!". However, if I had come across the Slashdot or Kotaku article instead, I might be thinking "THE WII IS A PORTAL TO PORN!? OMG!" . Gee, thanks gaming press.
-- jchenx
... honestly, Christian groups have condemned Barney and Teletubbies, Harry Potter, the interweb, etc... it's a big yawn conspiracy. Whee, yet another condemation. For gods sake they wouldn't want kids to have any fun.
Whatever happened to parents taking an active part in their childrens life instead of blaming everything in the world for corrupting their children? Oh that's right they're too busy out crusading against everything to bother with, you know, raising their kids. God knows they need to make the world safer for the kids. [/sarcasm]
Shadus
This article should really be tagged "slownewsday." Look, some random Christian group that no one has heard of decided to make a press release that hardly anybody outside of their sphere would have seen. This press release is not geared towards the general public, but towards a subset of Christians who share the group's beliefs about porn. Somebody decided to stir up contention by "leaking" the press release to Kotaku, and somebody else decided it deserved a place on Slashdot. It doesn't.
/. is responsible for taking this one more (and too) seriously.
This is not a Jack Thompsonesque nationwide crusade against Wii or anything like it, which is apparent from reading the actual press release. It's merely a piece written by Christians and for Christians, with the now-typical sensationalist attention-grabbing headline. Most of us recognize sensationalism as such when the topic is more mundane, and I expect that the skewed view of Christianity that is prevalent here on
Sometimes Christian groups do things that are worth talking about because they're stepping on the rights of others. This is not one of those times. Nothing to see here, move along.
Your brain is not a computer.
i had this experience when teaching kids to code HTML in the early 90s...
one 14-yr-old kept after me for "real porn sites;" he was tired of salivating over soft-core pornvertising (bra ads, swimsuits, television, Hustler, etc) and wanted the "hard-core" stuff. I told him, "You really don't want to see some of that..."
Eventually he found his way to some nazi-pr0n; donkeys, scat, etc. When I heard from him next time, he said, "Dude! Why didn't you tell me that was GROSS!" I said, "I did." He quit thinking such material was "interesting." I also broke him of the death-pr0n fix he had in common with so many adolescents by sending him to the Cobain autopsy photos...
I was reminded of this by the scene in "South Park - The Movie" - "Dude! WTF is wrong with German people anyway?!??!?!"
The people who watch pr0n the most, in my professional experience, are all the office middle-management types that surf pr0n sites behind their closed office doors while whacking off, and then wonder why their drive is littered with malware, all the while denying what can be easily read in a scan of their cookies/site histories/tracking files.
Hypocrisy rools, d00dz!
If I spash holy water on the Wii.... does it void my warrenty?
Seriously, most game consoles, your cell phone, your home computer, hell even appliances in the home (fridge, microwave, etc) have browsers, so they are all "Portals to Porn". Why are people listening to these quacks who need to "save us all from ourselves"? What is the alternative? Sell everything and crawl back into a cave?
June 28, 1969 called. It wants its misinformed homophobia back.
---
DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
Asshole Limbaugh thinks with his mouth.
How the world has changed. When I was a kid, I had to go to my father's machine shop (the family business) and look at the calendars in the shop or the magazines in the bathroom. Now all my children have to do is get past the fact that their parents are watching TV behind them while they sit at the computer.
You can tell they're unbalanced - just look at how much flash is on their home page. Next they'll declare eyes the portal to porn, and have talks with their kids about removing their eyes...
"how did you feel when you saw it?"
"bad..."
"and if you were blind and looking at it, how do you think you'd feel then?"
"Not so bad, i guess..."
"We are all geniuses when we dream"
- E.M. Cioran
Your sad little dreams of the 'sky daddy' are the most robust example of 'groupthink' I can recall!
Also hilarious, is that you bash 'leftists' for their 'groupthink'. Leftists are progressives...and since you obviously see the world in black and white, you must be a rightist...or conservative. Conservatives don't like change...they want things to stay the same way they've always been and the same way everybody already does them...which is GROUPTHINK!
If this was a troll, good job.
Blar.
We all cool now? Breathe deeply, allow the hatred of all things religious to wash out of you.
They are simply trying to inform parents about the need to use the Parental controls and to engage their kids in an active discussion on the topic of pornography. In other words, they are trying to foster GOOD PARENTING. They just erred in selecting an ad-campaign by picking one that was a tad too combative in presentation.
Official Heretic from the "Church of Global Warming". Proven right thanks to whistle blowers. AGW = Flat Earth Theory
I am totally getting a Wii now!