NIMF To Close Its Doors

eldavojohn writes "One of the driving forces behind the ESRB toughening its ratings is closing its doors on December 31st, 2009. The National Institute on Media and the Family was funded by Fairview Health Services, and simply could no longer justify the yearly $750,000 price tag given today's economic climate. NIMF's reign of nagging has been pretty consistent since 1996, and was often indirectly featured on Slashdot. Don't worry, president and founder Dr. David Walsh promises to keep writing and giving speeches ... and imploring us all to think of the children."

Comments

Sad news

[Kagura]

A lot of us NIMFomaniacs will miss this organization. It always worked to satisfy us in creative ways. :*(

Fortunately

[Dunbal]

This is one good thing that comes with economic hardship. Idiotic, wasteful, inefficient ideas like this get swept away in the tide while people start focusing on more important issues, like keeping a roof over their heads or feeding and clothing themselves and their children.

      We need many more years of economic hardship to get rid of all the free-loaders who make a living from telling other people how guilty they should be feeling, or making nonsensical claims with no evidence to back them up.

Re:Fortunately

[91degrees]

There's nothing inherently wasteful about game age ratings.

There's nothing wrong with parents wanting to prevent their children playing certain types of games. If you think they're harmless, that's fine. Let your own kids play them. A lot of parents do care, and do like some sort of age rating. The NIMF encouraged this in a generally fairly reasonable manner.

violence is go

[czarangelus]

We lost the war on exploding craniums, explicit torture, and visible viscera - but as long as penises, vaginas, and boobs are still kept off limits in a game by adults for adults, we can consider this a victory.

That is terrible!

[gavron]

These people protected our MORALS and our VALUES and our CHILDREN.

*sniffle*

You are thinking of the children, aren't you? Michael Jackson did.

E

Economic climate... or lack of concern?

[Somebody Is Using My]

Is NIMF's inability to procure funding just a sign of the harsh economic climate or is it an indication that people are becoming less concerned with the issues it promoted. 15 years ago, computer and video games were making the transition from "toys for children" (Sonic, Mario) to more graphic and mature titles (Doom, Duke Nukem). Parents and (older) adults saw these gore-soaked, stripper-filled games and wondered what effect this would have on the younger generation. Worriedly, they funded -through contributions or taxes- groups like NIMF.

More than a decade later, a generation has come of age having played these games for most of their lives and -surprise, surprise!- they are not any more messed up than any previous generation. Video games, it seems, are not the corrupting influence people thought they might be. Not only are the supporters of yesteryear lest likely to fund these groups, but the same generation NIMF etal were meant to protect -now grown up themselves- are equally unlikely to open their pocketbooks to them.

Claiming it is merely the "economic climate" that is shutting down these groups is buying into their argument that there is a necessity for the services they provide but that harsher realities requires our finances to be redirected to more essential things. People generally consider "protecting the children" to be a priority. That NIMF is closing is just as likely an indication that we recognize they are not necessary to keep the kids safe because there never was any real danger to them in the first place.

Re:Economic climate... or lack of concern?

[Tim C]

Either that, or the Video Game Bogeyman has been replaced by the Terrorism Bogeyman, and people are simply concentrating on that instead.

Now, now. Be nice

[Telecommando]

I'm sure there will be quite a few disparaging remarks about the NIMF in this thread. And while some comments may be deserved, we should all just step back and take the time to say something good.

I'll start.

  They're gone.

Good.

Re:Already said, but true...

[Tim C]

my native country will be a better place (and before you start in with bits about American Indians, I'm part Cherokee as well as a White, so shut it)

Irrelevant. If you were born there, you're a native. Doesn't matter if your parents invaded the country and stole the land your house is built on, you'd still be a native.

Without the Cherokee blood (and perhaps even with it) you can't claim to be a Native American, but that is not the same thing as claiming to be a native American (= native of America).

And so we say farewell...

[Chris Mattern]

...to the Rats of NIMF.