Habbo caught up in child sex scandal / Habbo Mute

[Storking]

you are making me laugh. thirteen year olds aren't allowed to be exposed to sex or explore it and simulate it virtually in words? the biggest habbo site by user activity is the spanish hotel. guess what the legal age of consent is in the lovely nation of spain? thirteen. you can get down and dirty trying out every single position you've seen played out in film and music video alike as soon as you turn thirteen with full legal support. you sound less like someone worldly and more like my grandmother.

as for the safety thing, well, uh ... habbo is pretty safe as far as children's communities online go. very safe, actually, compared to most other popular sites with kids in total. there is absolutely nothing unsafe about two preteens having cyber with each other. the only unsafe thing here is the element of the pedophile and habbo has never condoned that. a pedophile is free to infiltrate any website out there — no one asks for your driving license when you register for a community. if habbo knows about a pedophile then they deal with it. the sad fact is habbo is such a tiny element (the first stop) on the 'grooming train' for pedophiles that habbo doesn't really see what goes on. habbo doesn't allow you to upload your cleavage shot to go beside your avatar nor does it offer webcam chat on their site. they discourage it. kids will do what they want. kids are interested. kids are curious. it is not habbo's fault. i've used this word a lot but it can't be said enough: sensationalism. sensationalism. sensationalism. ssssennnnnnsationnnallllismmmm.

You keep bringing in other websites when this is only regarding HABBO UK. In the UK, age of consent is 16, this isn't spain.

"It is not habbos fault". I am lost for words.. you have no real concept of what Habbo should and shouldn't be allowing so please stop spouting bullsh*t!

---------- Post added 13-06-2012 at 08:17 PM ----------

because you can legally have sex and get as dirty as you'd like in real life with real ramifications in westernised nations. you need to read up on this, seriously, if you think that thirteen year olds are taboo from the world of sex. you're kidding me, right? this is some troll?

Age of consent is 16 in the UK, not 13.

If a 16+ year old has sex with a minor in the UK then they can be arrested for statutory rape. Maybe you should read up on some stuff?

[Bob1]

@Bob1, staff and moderation efforts pulled from the passionate community of users on habbo was a great thing. you are whining on your tumblr about bringing it back. do you think that's something channel four will agree to or what? do you think it's in association with this attack they are having to have the same pool of users who go to these 'sexy nitecloobs' take calls for help and help run the community? i thought it was a great thing but it had to be rid of for exactly this reason. habbo is too big of a company to give too much power to users who cannot be vetted. i appreciate your nostalgia but i am a bit lost with your tumblr. furthermore, i kind of laughed when you mentioned becs in closing your post. very loud.

Re-read it, I did not suggest that Habbo bring back Hobbas, which is what you just described, I did suggest they re-look at their hiring, training and policies with regards to professional moderation. Having written those guidelines that were used world-wide on every hotel I know that what has been ALLOWED to happen by Sulake should not have happened and never would of happened to this extent in the past. Moderators were paid staff, some office based, some home based but all attended a lot of training, there were a lot of policy documents and there were several criminal and background checks so I find your suggestion that the system was insecure enough to allow that type of person to be hired slightly amusing. I'll also point out that Sulake was a far bigger company in terms of its online presense when I wrote those documents and they were more effective than whatever they're using at the moment on the fewer products they currently run. As for Becs, you might not like her personally and that's fine, I wont get into this but she successfully ran community for AOL, a HUGE company, she also successfully runs a vastly successful childrens community now, one that does not have these issues.

[peteyt]

you are making me laugh. thirteen year olds aren't allowed to be exposed to sex or explore it and simulate it virtually in words? the biggest habbo site by user activity is the spanish hotel. guess what the legal age of consent is in the lovely nation of spain? thirteen. you can get down and dirty trying out every single position you've seen played out in film and music video alike as soon as you turn thirteen with full legal support. you sound less like someone worldly and more like my grandmother.

as for the safety thing, well, uh ... habbo is pretty safe as far as children's communities online go. very safe, actually, compared to most other popular sites with kids in total. there is absolutely nothing unsafe about two preteens having cyber with each other. the only unsafe thing here is the element of the pedophile and habbo has never condoned that. a pedophile is free to infiltrate any website out there — no one asks for your driving license when you register for a community. if habbo knows about a pedophile then they deal with it. the sad fact is habbo is such a tiny element (the first stop) on the 'grooming train' for pedophiles that habbo doesn't really see what goes on. habbo doesn't allow you to upload your cleavage shot to go beside your avatar nor does it offer webcam chat on their site. they discourage it. kids will do what they want. kids are interested. kids are curious. it is not habbo's fault. i've used this word a lot but it can't be said enough: sensationalism. sensationalism. sensationalism. ssssennnnnnsationnnallllismmmm.

Exactly what I've been saying. There are millions of online websites that are aimed for children or a general audience that have the same problems as Habbo has. Most of the cybering is basically teenagers messing around, a load of us on this forum probably hae once when we where young did it for a laugh.

As mentioned in an above post though this has been going on online and actually on Habbo for ages. So why have they just found out now. If anything it's the supposed to be good system for identifying these bad sites that needs looked into more in my opinion then Habbo.

I've mentioned this a load of times to, don't buy your young 11 year old a webcam. If you buy your child a webcam, make sure they know about the dangers and as a parent keep an eye on their online activities

[iBlueBox]

Sorry, but am I the only one who think that Paul actually isn't a bad CEO?

[Bob1]

Exactly what I've been saying. There are millions of online websites that are aimed for children or a general audience that have the same problems as Habbo has. Most of the cybering is basically teenagers messing around, a load of us on this forum probably hae once when we where young did it for a laugh.

As mentioned in an above post though this has been going on online and actually on Habbo for ages. So why have they just found out now. If anything it's the supposed to be good system for identifying these bad sites that needs looked into more in my opinion then Habbo.

I've mentioned this a load of times to, don't buy your young 11 year old a webcam. If you buy your child a webcam, make sure they know about the dangers and as a parent keep an eye on their online activities

100% agree parents need to be more active and educate their children on dangers. The problem with Habbo is the shear volume of this type of behaviour that has been left to happen between teens gives their very small moderation team even more work to do in identifying potentially dangerous users with predatory intentions. They need to limit this behaviour as they used to, needle in a haystack and all that.

[jasey]

1) They need to hire a new CEO, Paul is useless.

agreed!

2) They need to update the filter, and be more harsh.

if someone wants to say something, they will find a way to say it. every time. filters are nice but making the filter more harsh wouldn't solve any of this problem except perhaps appeasing the mommies and daddies who are wetting their pants seeing these atrocities of kids being curious about sex while watching channel four.

3) They need to hire actual moderators who actually reply with actual answers.

yep, the moderators are bad. there is no moderator that can compare to a parent or guardian, however. i'd prefer if they got moderators from people better trained in this sort of thing, though. at time the moderation feels like getting a foreign call centre when you call for tech support on the phone or something. still, this would happen just as much with trigger-happy anti-sex moderators. if not on habbo, on the next site. no one is going to erase the culture of sex.

4) They need to unmute the hotel.

debatable. it's inconvenient but i am sure channel four would love to set up habbo avatars they can film saying they love how young the kids are on habbo and how easy and ripe they are for the picking. i'm behind the mute in that sense.

5) They need to get rid of all dating, bed, and sex rooms. Especially the [DATE] category.

are you a puritan or something? habbo is a teeny tiny part of youth usage of the internet. it isn't the only place dating is enouraged. perhaps you should write to radio one and tell them to stop playing the songs children memorise that describe sex acts in not-so-veiled metaphor (or often just blatantly) and get all the videos featuring dating, beds and sex rooms off of the television. on that level, we need to get rid of children dating in real life as well. i'm giggling that you think people need a bed on habbo to cyber. kids cyber in chatrooms even more prevalently than on habbo and there are no images at all. perhaps we should make acknowledgement of sex illegal for kids just like holocaust denial is so that they aren't exposed to the dangers of what we are as people.

5) They need to stop releasing vibrating furniture, kissing booths, and the like.

on the same level, should they get rid of the bullet hole and bloody corpse outline furniture? the mafia simulations where people fantasise about guns and murder, crime and killing, drug exports and cartel wars. all of that and so much more. where is the big story on this? oh, wait, there isn't one. i wonder if that's because it's something that comes to children naturally to be interested in. i think the channel four reporters should all tell us their most dirty sex story. i'd love to hear but only if they are honest.

[Xedia]

Sorry, but am I the only one who think that Paul actually isn't a bad CEO?

Yes.

[jasey]

1) They need to hire a new CEO, Paul is useless.

agreed!

2) They need to update the filter, and be more harsh.

if someone wants to say something, they will find a way to say it. every time. filters are nice but making the filter more harsh wouldn't solve any of this problem except perhaps appeasing the mommies and daddies who are wetting their pants seeing these atrocities of kids being curious about sex while watching channel four.

3) They need to hire actual moderators who actually reply with actual answers.

yep, the moderators are bad. there is no moderator that can compare to a parent or guardian, however. i'd prefer if they got moderators from people better trained in this sort of thing, though. at time the moderation feels like getting a foreign call centre when you call for tech support on the phone or something. still, this would happen just as much with trigger-happy anti-sex moderators. if not on habbo, on the next site. no one is going to erase the culture of sex.

4) They need to unmute the hotel.

debatable. it's inconvenient but i am sure channel four would love to set up habbo avatars they can film saying they love how young the kids are on habbo and how easy and ripe they are for the picking. i'm behind the mute in that sense.

5) They need to get rid of all dating, bed, and sex rooms. Especially the [DATE] category.

are you a puritan or something? habbo is a teeny tiny part of youth usage of the internet. it isn't the only place dating is enouraged. perhaps you should write to radio one and tell them to stop playing the songs children memorise that describe sex acts in not-so-veiled metaphor (or often just blatantly) and get all the videos featuring dating, beds and sex rooms off of the television. on that level, we need to get rid of children dating in real life as well. i'm giggling that you think people need a bed on habbo to cyber. kids cyber in chatrooms even more prevalently than on habbo and there are no images at all. perhaps we should make acknowledgement of sex illegal for kids just like holocaust denial is so that they aren't exposed to the dangers of what we are as people.

5) They need to stop releasing vibrating furniture, kissing booths, and the like.

on the same level, should they get rid of the bullet hole and bloody corpse outline furniture? the mafia simulations where people fantasise about guns and murder, crime and killing, drug exports and cartel wars. all of that and so much more. where is the big story on this? oh, wait, there isn't one. i wonder if that's because it's something that comes to children naturally to be interested in. i think the channel four reporters should all tell us their most dirty sex story. i'd love to hear but only if they are honest.

[GommeInc]

Sorry, but am I the only one who think that Paul actually isn't a bad CEO?

How come? Before this took off I had never heard of him. I can't stand him - he's slow to respond and doesn't appear very helpful, and that's before and after this.

[MKR&*42]

Sorry, but am I the only one who think that Paul actually isn't a bad CEO?

I don't think he's absolutely dreadful and not all the blame can be forced upon him because he's only been here for 8 months. and in all fairness to him, he did add Habbo Helpers and mentioned there were plans for them to have mute/kicking abilities eventually. He's reacted to this quite calmly on Twitter yet the global mute decision wasn't the best thing to do (Especially for such a long time) - but then again, I suppose it's stopped other news sites actually gaining evidence of the cybering lol.

If he manages to get Sulake out of this extremely rough patch, I'll be very impressed.