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Chinese Govt Limits Kids to 3hrs of Online Gaming
1MC writes "The Chinese govt is requiring game houses to modify MMOG's to restrict under 18 users to 3 hours "productive" gameplay per day. This "anti-addiction" software must be in place within 4 months, with games not compliant by July 15 liable to be shut down in China. Net9, Shanda and NetEase will be moving to comply with the government regulations. Users will have to register with their real names and Chinese identity card numbers to be allowed access to the games."
I'd rather say, thank-god-i'm-not-in-china!
Uhh how about the thank-god-i-don't-f**king-live-in-china-for-any-re ason dept?
When can we get that here?
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
That kids getting caught faking identities to get around this would be dealt with harshly by the government.
Parents (or kids?) going to jail because junior wanted to play WoW for more than 3 hours a day and faked ID?
China is really repressive of their younger generation gaming online, primarilly because their dissident groups start up from these under 18 people being online. Stopping them from gaming as much will help disrupt bonds between the groups and cause slightly less anti-government behavior.
Of course I think their system will collapse in a few years because of this anyway, but it is likely to stave off the inevitable for a little while at least.
Looks like I'll have to look to India for my gold farming.
Can't they just restrict their manufacturing to 3 hours a day too?
...so that under-18 players could be restricted to certain servers, and the rest of us could play in peace, basking in the huge decrease in leetspeek, ninja looters, griefers & beggars.
Seriously though, this whole "nanny state" the Chinese have going over there just cracks me up. I wonder if one can "bank" one's hours by not playing for a few days, in order to have enough time to join an end-game raid without worrying about one's big-brother software logging you off at an inopportune time.
Just once I'd like someone to call me 'Sir' without adding 'You're making a scene.'
In other news kids are now swiping adults ID cards in China. Entire city blocks have now been closed off with hundreds of riot control police and...
How about it starts by improving the country's dismal human rights record? I would be a lot less worried about my kid playing too much WoW than I would be about the possibility that he could be thrown in prison for the rest of his life because he made a speech at his school bad-mouthing the government.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Will their be a timed meter for juvenile viewing of the local Chinese television coverage of that huge propoganda magnet when the time comes? Yes, yes, twiddling your thumbs on a game console for three hours isn't the same as watching large, barbarian Scandinavians cream your countrymen in the shotput... because at least the game console gives your thumbs some exercise.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
I just heard some sad news on talk radio, famed radio dinosaur Don Imus was found dead at his New York City home. There are few details about his death other than the obligatory groveling at the feet of race hustling poverty pimp Al Sharpton. Even if you did not enjoy his work, there is no denying his contribution to hard core gangsta rap. Truly an American icon!
So how will they raid with only 3 hours of game time? ;) On a serious note does this only apply to internet cafe's or also in home gaming?
-Xen
After the 5-hour limit, players will be subjected every 15 minutes to the warning: "You have entered unhealthy game time, please go offline immediately to rest. If you do not, your health will be damaged and your points will be cut to zero." I wouldn't call that encouraging, I would call that threatening. If I got that message and responded by going offline, it would be because I didn't want to lose the points I'd just gained, not because I was worried about my health.
No good deed goes unpunished. - Avon, Blake's 7
FTFA: "Under the system, known as the "anti-online game addiction system", the first 3 hours of play for each day is considered "healthy", during which players will be awarded full points in the virtual world. The next 2 hours will yield only half the normal points and there will be no points after 5 hours. "
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Each time I read about China and their antics in the media, I increasingly dislike the country. I know we're not entirely free here in the western world, but at least we can make our own mistakes.
Nanny states are bullshit, just come visit the UK in the not to distant future and you'll see what I mean (in fact, regardless of the nature of the previous link, we're already a nanny state).
ilovegeorgebush
Chinese kids who are playing games are Chinese kids that aren't making my cheap plastic crap.
China requires Kids to undergo 3 hours of Communist Ideology Indoctrination Training.
I can throw as many stones as I wish; my house is made of transparent aluminum.
I agree that China needs to work on its human rights issues first. In another sens eI can understand why they want to implement a system like this, although given that China likes to ban things (i do believe they banned at least some form of blogging fairly recently) and then un-ban them, I wonder how long this rash, harsh measure will last. Some people criticize America (and rightfully so in many instances) but atleast I don't have to live with asinine restrictions on how long I can play a video game.
Isn't that an oxymoron?
-m
The government, not the parents, is responsible for controlling the children?
I wonder who is responsible when little eight year old Le punches his classmate in the nose?
Or 16 year old Hwang rapes a 13 year old neighbor girl?
Before all you USAians start going on about how repressive the Chinese government is, many of us over here in Europe find it pretty strange that in the USA you can't drink until you're 21. That's much worse than only being able to play three hours of video games a day if you're under 18!
The Chinese government started out by limiting World of Warcraft to 3 hours a day, but that was like a year ago...
And, when that happened, there were tons of stories about how people just got more than one account, since time played was dependent on the account that you're logged into. Perhaps they'll change the way these other MMOs deal with it, but there was a simple (and very lucrative for Blizzard) workaround in WoW.
Users will have to register with their real names and Chinese identity card numbers to be allowed access to the games.
THAT is the real reason. Register for this...soon register for ALL internet use.
"We want to know who you are and where you go."
It is so sad that it has to be a country like China that finally gets it right.
MMO-s are addictive, they are designed to be addictive, not as a controlled substance but as a physiological trick of continuous reinforcement. Very soon people do not have fun in these game, rather they can't actually quit, they need to play to feel good again and regular life seems devoid of this feel good ingredient.
Alas I know too well what it is like to be addicted to an MMO. And I consider myself lucky to still have a job (thank god for my wife).
Moreover asian countries are at even more risk than US. There is a cultural affinity to the kinds of achievments that MMOs offer: "grind=advancement" and people get sucked in a lot more. Regulating gaming seems outrageous, until you realize that we're getting into a territory where we are not talking about games anymore...
Wait about 10 years and see how different the IQs of china and the USA match up.
"restrict under 18 users to 3 hours"
total user amount to restrict is a max of 18, and these, less than 18 will get max 3 hours. the rest will be allowed to roam free. I'd hate to be in that exclusive group.
m10
Due to the prevalence of these cafes and the ungodly amount of time younger kids WASTE here, hopefully these laws will encourage these kids to do other more productive things in their free time. Kids are not known to be responsible, especially on items good for their own welfare. I'm not saying a little wasted time is a bad thing, but spending so much time on these type of games can have a serious negative impact on the social life of the kids and their school grades. I know several people who have dropped out of college or have trouble holding jobs due to these addictions. Granted, I'm sure some kids will find ways to get around this (like alternate between cafes). But it is the hassle of doing so that will hopefully encourage kids to limit themselves.
I can see alot of parents signing up for thier young to pass the ban and keep the kids from nagging them. Kids plays online all day, dads at work gets a call from the goverment saying he has a double life and locks him away... Matrix anyone?
when I say.. thank god
According to this:
t ml
http://www.logoi.com/notes/common_chinese_names.h
"Over 50% of all Chinese people have one of these nine Chinese family names. And just 50 different family names are sufficient to name 90% of the population of China, that is, over a billion people."
I never thought about it, but how *do* they keep track of a zillion people with the same name? I can't imagine what their phone books must look like.
Perhaps I'm the only one (and thus I will be modded into oblivion) but I don't think this is so bad. We are, after all, talking about minors here. As a poster above mentioned, America (lots of countries, actually) doesn't allow drinking under the age of 21; why is this? Because minors are not capable of responsibly handling something like alcohol. Well, guess what: most minors aren't capable of responsibly handling gaming either if they feel the need to do it in a public venue for more than THREE FREAKING HOURS per day! Three hours! That's almost 25% of your waking time playing a game. Notice that this does not restrict adults, and it does not constrict what anyone (including minors) do in the privacy of their own home. If any kid is so addicted that limiting his net-cafe time to three hours a day sounds like a terrible punishment, they are in need of help.
I'm 19, so I'm in the same ballpark; I dunno what Chinese society is like firsthand, but I sure as hell don't have more than three hours a day to dedicate to a single asinine activty every single day. In my opinion, anyone who does much more than three hours of gaming in internet cafe's a day is quite analogous to someone with a substance abuse problem; they're both physically damaging, overly time-consuming, money-wasting, and socially awkward.
The government just wants to bust the "geek" wrap those Asian kids get at school...
Sorry. I was channeling Don Imus.
I might know what I'm talkin' about, but then again, this is Slashdot...
That's how harmful the kids' gaming activities are right now in China. The kids are doing this without going to school/getting sick/stealing money.
DON'T attach everything with human rights please.
The 24x7 Chinese Communist Party Youth League meetings in popular role-playing games have been rescheduled to 1700-2000 hours, effective August 1.
Unchanged is the mandatory attendance policy.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
And this is no rant. For thousands of years you have let yourselves be molded to shape by a central government, be it the first emperor be it the communist party. only difference of chi and communist party is that there was a single emperor back then, now there are 5-100 emperors on the top deciding what you should do.
Read radical news here
As much as I find it amusing to see these MMORPG wastoids be voluntary drawn out of society (I do oppose the China's big brother methods, though), I am happy to see a force intervening.
These sad souls need guidance, rehab, a life, something outside the warm cocoon of fat rolls and 3d dwarf landscapes.
Too bad that legal and underground Internet cafes in China are now the new Opium Dens. It's the adult crowd in China that is really abusing the system. They get more money going into the online game gold trade/farming gig then they would with a real mundane job.
If only parents would limit their children's TV watching. In China, the USA, anywhere. Videogames are a good deal better (or at least less deleterious) for your brain than TV, I'd wager. Videogames may not make you smarter, but they don't actively make you know less than you did before, do they?
Nice to see the US doesn't have a monopoly on the government telling people how to be parents.
Sig? What sig? Do I have to have a sig!?!?
The USA does this quite a bit, and we really don't have so many subversive groups, because the way that it is done makes their subversive groups look like fringe crazies.
It helps a lot that in many cases, the subversive groups are fringe crazies.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
and wake up now -
if you BAR kids from doing something they REALLY like and WANT to do in their development stages, and instead FORCE them to do whatever society/you think right and should be done, what you do is going to come back to you as payback when kids reach adulthood and start to exhibit personality/psychological deviations.
ANYTHING that is suppressed gets bigger and strikes back at a later date.
this same trend was here in turkey aroun 15-20 years ago, all kids were put to the "career race", which was something that was seen as both good for the kids, and for the society. (hey, you make the kid race for ranking at the top in the national university entrance exams, which guarantees them a good education and then later a respectable, high salary job, what can be wrong with that)
and 15 years later now, majority of those generations are experiencing personality quirks, antisocial behaviour, a degree of childish selfishness, (which leads to MANY marriages to breaking up), strike-back from stress that is accrued in 15 years of organizational education/racing, aimlessness in life and valueing/judging everything on merits of career/power/monetary values and not able to appreciate real values like love, compassion, friendship, family and so on. hell, there are so many stuff that i dont know if i can stop once i start.
you, chinese are total morons for approving that, or forcing your kids to forfeit their present for their future, a future which never comes and constant sacrifice continues while trying to reach it.
time spent NEVER comes back. NEVER EVER. at deathbed what people think are what they HAVE done, not what they MEANT to do.
Read radical news here
The Chinese government is playing a dangerous game imposing more and more restrictions on a recreational past time enjoyed by an apparently large segment of the population. Bread and circuses are essential for an authoritarian regime to maintain power. And while it is probably easy for Chinese citizens to shrug off the lack of political freedom, it isn't so easy to ignore government interference in how one makes money (bread), or how one has fun (circuses). Given the large population of "spoiled", mostly male, young people due to the one child policy and bias towards male children realized through selective abortions, government restrictions on the recreational activities of this group carry a great risk. It would be better to have these young men wasting time in internet cafes playing WoW during their teen years, than making trouble for the regime in the real world, a world short of girls for them!
While I don't believe that kids under 18 should be playing WoW or similar games for more than 3 hours a day, if I'm trying to keep people from growing up with a desire to overthrow the government, it'd be better to just let them have their fun. WoW hasn't caused the collapse of civilization in any other countries as yet... right?
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
instead they should go to school (right from kindergarten at age 5), go through elementary, middle, high, college, grad, work their arse off for 18 years in order to be able to work their arse off MORE while working in their later life.
so, instead of "drugs" you want them to be FORCED to modern day slavery.
Read radical news here
Please Mod parent up for being one of the few to actually RTFA instead of automatically assuming the kids would be rounded up and shot for passing the time-limit.
This could be the USA in a decade or lses. The dangerous thing here is that it is perfectly reasonable to "restrict" teenagers to 3 hours of gaming per day. What's wrong with this picture is it shouldn't be the government's job to do this, it's the parents responsibility. If families offload their parenting duties to the government, that's a very slippery slope of shaping and mind control. A generation later, we'll have these kids all grown up in these federal ways. They will be far more open to being controlled by their government... every generation will be less "free" than the last and they won't even know it.
Me, I'm all about tough love. If the kid is left to piss away their life in front of a dumb game like Lineage, and become a worthless drain on his/her family, well that's just desserts for the failed parents. The same way a good family expects their children to provide for the family later, as if parenting were a business venture, well they should be responsible if their strategy bombs and goes bankrupt.
-Billco, Fnarg.com
If you have ever had someone tell you that guns cause crime, please read this article. When anti-gun people are confronted with a few facts, they shut up and get a look on their face like they just shit in their pants. It's funny. I've seen it happen. After reading this, you can do it to them, too.
I heard some twit on the radio a while ago trying to convince the listening audience that guns are the cause of all of the murder in America. Her opponent was arguing that violence in the media was the real cause of violence. I find this type of thing fascinating, because it is all pure and utter bullshit, and the American public falls for it every time. Two people who appear to be at opposite ends of the political spectrum ("left" versus "right") put up a 'fight" replete with interruptions, raised voices, name calling, etc.....The listeners get all riled up and call in vehemently supporting one side or the other. Of course, both of the debaters were intentionally misleading the audience by using "straw men," which are fake targets set up for people to expend their energy knocking down in order to prevent them from seeing the true picture. Guns cause shootings like airplanes cause hijackings. And while the media is a destructive influence, it cannot explain the crime rate. For example: One of the women on the radio debate I heard was using 2 cities (Windsor, Canada and Detroit, Michigan) to prove that guns cause crime. Her theory was that Detroit and Windsor are only a few miles apart and so the inhabitants of both cities had access to the exact same TV and radio shows, as well as the same cinema, and yet in 1999 there were 396 murders in Detroit while Windsor, being in Canada where there are no guns allowed, only had 8 homicides. Well, I decided to do a little research, and I found out that Detroit has a nigger population of 82% while Windsor is only 2% black. Wow, that is simply fucking amazing, I thought it was the guns that caused all of that murder. Well, let's not be hasty. Let's check out the theory scientifically. If it is guns that are the real cause of people getting shot and the only reason more people get shot in Detroit than in Windsor is because guns are legal and available in the U.S. but not in Canada, then we should assume that if guns were legal in Canada the same levels of shootings would occur. And we would also assume that if guns were outlawed in America, there would be almost no shootings here. So what about arson? I mean, they have matches in Canada don't they? Cigarette lighters are legal there? So there should be about the same number of intentionally set fires in both cities right? Nope. In Detroit (82% black) in 1999 there were 2,121 arsons. In Windsor (2% black) there were about 120. Hmmmm, that's odd. Well, what about automobile theft? They may not have guns up there but they have cars, so we can compare those numbers. In Detroit (82% black) in 1999 there were 25, 892 car thefts, while in Windsor (2% black) there were 53. Son of a bitch! Not only do guns cause shootings, but cars cause carjackings! You can look at the table below to see for yourself. Included is the rate per 100,000 population to account for the fact that Detroit is a bigger city than Windsor.
Of course, when you point out the facts, you hear all kinds of bullshit excuses. My favorite one is, "Crime is caused by rampant poverty." Right. Poor Leroy is starving on the streets of America and just has no choice but to turn to a life of crime. How come when they break into your house at night they don't steal your groceries? I'm just not sure how the murder and assault rates can be explained by poverty. Or rape. How does sexual assault and battery improve a person's economic situation? What about arson? Look at the first table above and tell me, what the fuck does "being poor" have to do with arson? Is there good money in burning shit down or something? I mean, I know the kikes used to get rich by burning down their own warehouses for the insurance money. That was called "jewish lightning" in the old days. Maybe the nigge
Anyone ever consider that they're doing this in part because they desperately want to be world leaders (more so)? Its a position they will no doubt share (or occupy) in the future, but in order to reach it, they need to be more and more productive. I imagine as income rises, more and more children will play video games (look at the rest of the region), and having half a billion or more people hours a day going into WoW or some other MMORPG - not very productive. It'd be much better to have them studying, working, or even sleeping than having them play a MMORPG for 10 hours a day.
And while it may be true that the under 18 crowd doesn't contribute a substantial portion to the economy, it sets up a habit which will likely continue past age 18 (which is the goal of limits on smoking or drinking - stop addiction). The time that they'd spend playing video games is also important in that it means less time will be spent studying, which has an impact on acceptance into competitive colleges and thus the rest of life...
I am not an expert. If I am misled in something, please correct me.
Even worse, every state in the US has laws that severely limits how much you can work under 18. It is a pretty bad situation for those people under 18 that have to support themselves.
I disagree that China should make a new law that allows people under the age of 18 to play video games for a maximum of only 3 hours. Growing up you should be able to play video games as long as you want. If your parents dont mind then you should be able to. If the parents are doing a good job of parenting and control their kids to do their homework and do the dishes than it should not be this big of a problem. I think it is just outragous to actually make a law that says you cant play videogames more then 3 hours a day that is just madness.
my mom only gave me one hour of computer/video gaming when I was a kid.
She truely was totalitarian!
34486853790
Connection too slow for X forwarding? Try "ssh -CX user@host"
China first government to recognize what a complete waste of time MMORPGs are.
I play games like mad but I find any game you can't get out of in at most 5 mins is more of a chore than anything. Apparently the Chinese government also favors quick action games you can jump in and out of. WoW is the type of game where a 3-hour time limit is actually a considerable roadblock. I've watched my friend play it obsessively. Don't you have to kill ostriches for at least 2 hours before anything happens? That only leaves 1 hour for "productive" play. Too bad.
Hmm, fellas - think you've been scooped. By 1.5 years.
0 000e2511c8.html
From FT, August 2005
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/89ea206a-13f3-11da-af53-0
So they take the edge off of their methods - so what. It's still a repression of the basic, personal freedoms of the people they govern, and it's espeically egregious because it's repression inside their own homes. The Chinese government is still Communist, despite the roots of capitalism taking hold, and they still have a generation of old-school, "we run everyon'e lives for the good of the people" governmental officials that need to die off before real freedom can take root.
and then go a sue any and everybody that we feel is responsible because even though we did it with full knowlage of the consiquences it can't possibly be our fault.
Undetectable Steganography? Yep, there's an app fo
Besides the very obvious argument that the government shouldn't have the right to decide what's best for you, what about people who can't enjoy going outside? Some people are only really alive in virtual reality. This is just another way of crippling them.
I guess they'll just have to spend more money so they can take up multiple MMORPGs.
Rhetorical question one: Is the government going to reimburse players for the 11 hours (counting a normal sleep cycle) they have paid for but now cannot use?
Rhetorical question two: Is the Chinese government's solution to taking this away from those who cannot enjoy the outside to abandon those children as infants next time?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
But the latter image is more humorous! Although it's one of those "I can't believe I'm laughing at something to horrible" cases.
Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!
How long until these kids find a way to bypass the system and get all the game-time they want?
Parental control > government control > no control.
In the absence of parents that give a damn, it's nice that someone is telling the kids to do their homework. But then again, I'm a responsible parent that already limits my children's time when they're unable to manage it themselves.
Interested in open source engine management for your Subaru?
Saying the big human rights problem with China is their restriction of online gaming is like saying the problem with Bob Jones University is not supporting Linux on the network.
Anyone want to buy the url AddictedToMedia.com? I don't have $10...and its about to expire before I can do anything with it. (myspace.com/johnlfoster)
You think that the under 18 crowd is the leetspeek, ninja looters, griefers & beggars group? You obviously haven't met these people in real life. Some of the worse have kids!!!
Let alone the fact this is the typical selfish reaction from people who only think freedom works when someone else doesn't do something they don't like.
no, the solution is for you to ignore the people who cause you grief in these games or just don't play them. Most MMORPGs have methods to ignore the very people you speak of. Use it, never suggest to a politician new ways to thwart our rights.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
Sadly, it's not that simple. We all like to pretend that surely only kids do this and that, and grown ups are all responsible and polite and whatnot. Dream on.
Point in case, I actually know a mid-40's mid-level manager who speaks l33t in MMOs. Shocked the heck out of me to hear (ok, read) him online chatting in what I imagined to be typical loser-kid speak. The poor sap probably imagines that adopting that lingo makes him all cool and hip online.
I know a guy in his 50's whose online life consists pretty much of being a die-hard ganker. That's how he gets his jollies. Ganking newbies.
Also, let's just say there must be a reason why the stereotype about all the "horny naked teenage female" characters online is to assume it must be a fat 40-year-old guy, and not, say, that it must be a 14 year old guy. 'Nuff said.
Conversely, I've been grouped with more than enough 14 year olds and even (according to himself) a 11 year old, that could actually play the game pretty darn well and functioned perfectly well in a group.
Now I'm not saying that either covers 100% of the group. ("All generalizations are false, including this one.") Just that you can't take it for granted that kids = "leetspeek, ninja looters, griefers & beggars", and adults = cool.
As for the nanny-state part, actually I hope that it's _not_ possible to bank hours. The chinese have my sympathy, but from a selfish bastard point of view: maybe having to deal with the chinese market will finally hammer it into everyone's head that 40-man 8-hour raids are _not_ fun. If it's not possible to do it in 3 hours, including getting the group, that should be anyone's hint that it's probably not that much fun. If you end up having some sort of _duty_ to the guild to be there daily at hour X, because 39 others depend on you, it's not fun. Time sinks are ok only when done in moderation, not when you need to quit your job or give up sleep to even be able to join.
Again, I'm aware that it's a very selfish and nasty thing to say, cheering at someone else's problems. So don't take it too seriously. But, still, if it's happening anyway, it might as well give some designers some clue.
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
"Users will have to register with their real names and Chinese identity card numbers to be allowed access to the games."
So the next time some kid starts talkin' smack we can track them down, call them collect and give them a piece of our mind.
"Collect Call from: The Chinese Government, pick up or be disconnected."
"Dictator Flakes. They WILL be delicious."
I predict it will backfire. Under-18 players rather than grinding away in the online game for say a 5 hour stint, will instead only play for 3 hours. Lots of software utilities will be written to monitor/maximize this time. The remaining 2 hours will still be online, but since it is not rewarded fully, people will just hang out 'chatting'. The chatting will allow for MORE 'political dissident' speak than without the law. Hence, unintended consequences.
It's impossible to post this without a bunch of text up front to get past the slashdot "lameness filter".... IM IN UR CHINA NERFING UR GOLD FARMING
I wonder what other features this software has. Are these Game-Houses typically internet cafes? If so are these computers also used for web browsing?
Sure sure, I know China's already got the tap on these places. The sites these users visit (that aren't blocked), are probably logged for easy reviewing access. But it sure would be nice to tie browsing (and game-playing) history to one person, regardless as to what computer he sits at or cafe's he visits.
Monitoring in-game chat would also be a "nice" feature.
-Derek
He's not dead and he was born in 1940.
Maybe you meant some other Don Imus.
We all know Slashdotters are technically advanced, so maybe you really are from the future. Or not.
You would think that in places like China and India, the government would not disrupt activities which are surefire methods of decreasing reproduction rates.
There are a huge number of yeast infections in this county. Probably because we're downriver from the bread factory.
So I can only get my ass handed to me by the same (Chinese) guy 3 hours a day. Hurray for the Chinese government!!!
Now if the South Koreans would ban their kids to like 20 min, I might be able to get some loot.
Tell me more about how I need self-control. How I can choose not to play WoW 7 hours a day... because I just want to check out on my auction status of that dagger... This is comming from someone who has tried smoking many times and every time was able to just stop... without wanting to smoke. No, I didn't quit smoking many times -- didn't need to "quit" -- just stopped. Everyone has their addiction. Just because you can't appreciate how some people can be addicted to that which you can try for a while and quickly get bored of doesn't mean that their addiction is not real. Yes, really! No, I am not being sarcastic. If you haven't discovered your adiction yet, then consider yourself lucky. If anything, the shock of most of the people on this site is indicative of how adaptable the government of China is being to the changing world... I'd say that says something about the state of our own beuaracracy in the US.
Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
I see nothing really wrong with requiring such a feature be *available*, but it should be up to parents to decide wether to switch it on or not. And further, how do they know who is playing?
Table-ized A.I.
In a way I have to appreciate their form of government. If they know something is bad - negative - whatever, they can just make a law. No protesting by the people who just like to protest etc. But on the other hand this law could have been something even more overbearing and you would be powerless to do anything except get on your knees and say thank you great leader. Kinda scary!
now kids have more chances playing standalone/single games and watching american porn instead.
China, in fact, is very fragile.
Maybe it's because your view of Asia is so Japan-centric. You would like nothing better than for all Asian nations to be a puppet state of the US. However, the US is in very real danger of making the same mistake in Asia as they did in the Middle East -- namely, associating yourselves with the one country in the region that has a recent history of imperialist invasions against virtually all of its neighbors. If you like that sort of thing, by all means, keep pretending that China doesn't have reasons behind its motivations. Keep pretending that having an ally in Japan and maintaining minefields in Korea puts the US squarely on the good side of Asians.
For those of you who actually want to stop to consider why things are the way they are, and why China continues to grow in popularity while the US digs itself further into its own hole in the global arena, today's history lesson is the so-called Opium Wars. Look it up on Wikipedia. The Opium Wars were initiated by Britain because they didn't like their trade deficit with China. DOES THAT SOUND AT ALL FAMILIAR? That war nearly cost China its sovereignty, and they would be stupid to allow a videogame to do the same thing today. The Chinese are addiction-prone, and this isn't just a recent issue with MMOs, it goes all the way back to Mahjong (huge numbers of Chinese were/are gambling addicts). The government realizes that this is a problem both for the individuals affected and the nation as a whole, and they are doing something about it. Westerners may consider compulsory limits on videogames to be too restrictive; but given the choice between limits on videogames (for children) or having a foreign army walking your streets uncontested, it seems like a pretty small price to pay, doesn't it? Most nations have compulsory (even if conditional) military service. Americans call it the draft. This is something the government forces you to do when a war breaks out. The Chinese version is to avoid war by limiting the amount of addictive influence that foreign entities can have on its populace. So take your pick -- join the army or limit your MMO time. Does China's actions seem more reasonable now? Perhaps even... humane, considering the very real alternatives that still linger in the collective memory of the Chinese?
Again, the Chinese are applying lessons learned from history. Their history. Not the whitewashed history that you want them to learn from. Americans in their eternal arrogance think this is just about Western ideals of personal freedom vs the Chinese government's repressive regime. You people obviously don't know the history of the nation well enough to understand its motivations, so please stop passing judgment as if it has any comparison to western politics.
I think that its a good idea for the youth to be limited for the number of hours of online gaming. There is more out there than just gaming. 4 hours is a damn long time to be playing a game thats 1/6 of the day. Dont jump on me about this but its important for children to get outside and play not just live in front of the computer. I think its a good step.
Oh, did I misread that?
Do you have to resort to the deep rooted stereotype whenever talking about anything you don't really know or understand? I'm so tired of the typical rants here about China that I actually spend the time register and say something different.
Fact: China has a long way to go in comparison to most western countries on banning things, esp in the minor protection department. Think of all the hassles you've got to go through to buy alcohol, or to go to a movie and left the kids home. Think of all those regulations you've got to study to do anything kid related, be it starting a day care or get licensed as a school teacher.
Fact: The communist party in China is neither more evil nor more foolish than the party you vote for or vote against. The so-called "China style communism" is neither more repressive nor more rigid than the church doctrine you believe or disbelieve. Tell you what, when I first came to the US, my first ever and the only bible study (hard sold to me by a co-worker) reminded me dearly of the culture revolution style meeting my parents described to me. We Chinese don't do that sort of things anymore, ever since I was born. But it's still alive and kicking here. Talking about the brain wash, ha.
Fact: Most Chinese don't really care about the democracy or freedom of speech you cherish so much, at least for now. We certainly don't want the freedom to defend ourselves by owning a rifle. If you really want to export your ideology I'd say prepare for the culture shock. The last time a friend of mine (born a US citizen) tried to convince me the Taiwan style democracy is good for China I told him the popular saying in China, which is even quoted by Taiwan's vice president as well as opposition party leader as true, "if you haven't been to Taiwan, you won't realize the culture revolution is still on-going".
Fact: The shear fact that you're having a hard time believing these is the proof of how your democracy and freedom of speech has failed to provide you with a clear view on what's going on in the world. Think harder, and think out of the box, then maybe someday you'll make sense of the things happening across the ocean.
The Chinese Government MUST reconsider their recent actions to limit online gaming! I was hoping to actually be able to enjoy the great outdoors once the rest of you were completely addicted... This sucks.
This is another typical slashdotter itchy/scratchy article. For ANY China related article, say "Wenjiabao farted", these grunts will find a way to related the 'news' to 'human rights record', 'iron fist state-control'...etc.
I'm throwing poop bricks at them not because they put adaware on there but becuase they had the audacity to give such a lame reason for it. After that I looked at their page noticed how much white space there was. It was rediculous. If those ads were visible I wouldn't have bothered reading the article. That list is one big joke.
I'm glad that someone else has noticed this.
Slashdot articles on China are ALWAYS negative.
It wouldn't surprise me one bit to learn that CmdrTaco and his has-been wanker buddies look down upon Chinese people.
Lucky they have you to tell them what's best for them then.
>> I think the distinction between "government" and "family" is actually a little artificial
>I think this is one of the most wrong things I've ever read.
wrong!?? this is SPARTA!!!!
I think that it's a good idea for the youth to be limited for the number of hours of online gaming. There is more out there than just gaming. 4 hours is a damn long time to be playing a game that's 1/6 of the day. Don't jump on me about this but its important for children to get outside and play not just live in front of the computer. I think it's a good step.
Yesterday April 9, the Chinese government issued a regulation which takes effect on April 15 that demands online operators set up a "game fatigue system." What this does is limit the amount of "productive gameplay" to 3 hours a day. After the limit is exceeded for up to 2 more hours gamers receive half of the normal points, and after 5 hours they receive no points. The reason for this anti-addiction software is to deter gamers from playing games so long that they damage their bodies. However, limiting gamers to the amount of time they can play a game they bought sounds like an invasion of privacy to me. Also it seems kind of forceful to require online gaming cites to integrate software into their games. And even more of an invasion, why should gamers have to register using real names and identity card numbers to indicate if they are younger than 18? This anti-addictive gaming software seems as though it violates many rights of Chinese citizens.
O.k this is completely ridiculous. I understand that sitting at a computer or gaming system for hours on end does not promote a healthy lifestyle for kids but it is really up to the parents to monitor that and NOT THE GOVERNMENT. If the government takes it upon itself to monitor the time spent gaming in each household, what else will it soon "take an interest in"?? TV watching? Reading? Other more personal activities? Because sitting down reading a novel lacks about as much activity as playing a video game. I would hate to have a government official knocking at my door the minute I've gone over my 3 hour reading limit and am just getting to the juicy plot of the novel! My opinion is that the government should stay out of the recreational lives of it's citizens.
I don't see anything naive about realizing that the bottom line is, it's an issue you have to take upon yourself to solve. Like most addictions, you won't truly get over it until a lot of bad things happen in your life as a result of it. (And I fail to see how it should be any other way, really? If your intense interest/obsession with something isn't interfering with the rest of your life in a significant manner, it's questionable to label it a true "addiction" that needs "treatment". Many of the world's most difficult problems are only solved by people with that type of focus and drive.)
We tend to create groups (like Alanon or the "Bets Off" type groups to stop compulsive gambling) only for problems that have no apparent "good side" to them. (Show me anyone who can say their alcohol addiction provided a number of benefits in their life, despite the damage to their health, the loss of their job, and so on.)
Other "addictions" like getting hooked on multi-player online games may provide several benefits to the player that aren't immediately apparent to people not participating in the games. Perhaps they allow a handicapped person to communicate with the "rest of the world" more easily through online chatting? Perhaps it allows teens to make online friends with people of other cultures, from all over the world, who they'd never have reason to start a conversation with otherwise? They're certainly not *physically* addicting like cigarettes or other drugs can be.
I daresay that rather than relying on some "support group" for help in these cases, individuals need to take control of their own lives. It's a shame that it could mean breaking up a marriage over it, but if that's what it takes to force a person to step back and see the "bigger picture" of what their life is all about, I think that's the only true "solution".