How old were you when you registered on Habbo?

[DPS]

Well ive been playing since 2002, and im now 22 years old. so i was around 11/12.

Got into Habbo as my brother already played and started scripting so i kinda missed out the noob stage as you would call it due to him teaching me alot of stuff plus hes inrl friends also played back then. he later quit in 04 and i stuck with it.

[e5]

I was 8 or 9 when I joined

[vito201-:D]

We all know about the C4 Investigation, and the pressure now placed on Sulake to improve filtering, moderation and safety in particular to protect the most vulnerable.

It's recommended that players be 13+ to register with Habbo. But we all know that's not the case.

So how old was you when you registered your first Habbo account?

Hey Alice! =]

When I FIRST joined Habbo in January 2001 (The 23rd) it was actually aimed at 18+ ... and I was nine I believe... how ever, I only joined the community for one day as I found it all a bit too much... I think I just went back to ebaying after that.

I then rejoined in October 2003 when I was eleven and that's when I really started playing... this is why I voted eleven although I was actually nine when I originally registered.

I don't believe in 2001 there was an age restriction though? It just said "This game is aimed at 18+" somewhere...
In 2003 they did have an age restriction to be 11+ or you got a few hours IP ban... once that was lifted I just came back an lied about my age though... >-> as I'm sure most people did? Lol.

But to be honest, by the time I first registered with Habbo I'd seen everything the internet had to offer and been talked to by many people I should've avoided... and I managed to not accept webcam invites etc even at that age... it shocks me to think Sulake are being blamed for children that have been bought up to think flaunting their bodies is in the slightest bit acceptable...
I'm twenty-one now and I've never felt the need to post a picture of myself naked... and I honestly don't think I ever plan to... =/
- Alex (Vito201/Shenk).

[MissAlice]

Hey Alice! =]

When I FIRST joined Habbo in January 2001 (The 23rd) it was actually aimed at 18+ ... and I was nine I believe... how ever, I only joined the community for one day as I found it all a bit too much... I think I just went back to ebaying after that.

I then rejoined in October 2003 when I was eleven and that's when I really started playing... this is why I voted eleven although I was actually nine when I originally registered.

I don't believe in 2001 there was an age restriction though? It just said "This game is aimed at 18+" somewhere...
In 2003 they did have an age restriction to be 11+ or you got a few hours IP ban... once that was lifted I just came back an lied about my age though... >-> as I'm sure most people did? Lol.

But to be honest, by the time I first registered with Habbo I'd seen everything the internet had to offer and been talked to by many people I should've avoided... and I managed to not accept webcam invites etc even at that age... it shocks me to think Sulake are being blamed for children that have been bought up to think flaunting their bodies is in the slightest bit acceptable...
I'm twenty-one now and I've never felt the need to post a picture of myself naked... and I honestly don't think I ever plan to... =/
- Alex (Vito201/Shenk).

Hello Alex

Spooky, I think my account was created 23rd January 2003.

Sulake must have made several changes over the years for the recommended age for players.
I think a high number tend to enter a false age, something that cannot be controlled, when players sign up.

Sadly not all children are internet savvy, and neither are all parents. Being a parent carries responsibilities, it’s not just about raising children; it’s also about giving necessary guidance in life. But if that’s not happening, or children aren’t listening or lack an understanding of their actions, then vulnerable children become easy targets. No doubt you’ve seen this one ‘Don’t post anything on the internet, you wouldn’t want your parents to see!!!!’ You and I may be knowledgeable enough to know what is and isn’t acceptable, and most children are too. Just not everyone though.

C4 exposed Sulake’s weaknesses, and gave the game a lot of attention, that could have been avoided. It showed what most adults/parents wouldn’t find acceptable and obviously contributed to investors pulling out, because they no longer wanted to be associated with such a game. What choices did this leave Sulake with?

I’ve probably said it elsewhere on the forum, Sulake need to up their game, if they want to survive.

[vito201-:D]

Hello Alex

Spooky, I think my account was created 23rd January 2003.

Sulake must have made several changes over the years for the recommended age for players.
I think a high number tend to enter a false age, something that cannot be controlled, when players sign up.

Sadly not all children are internet savvy, and neither are all parents. Being a parent carries responsibilities, it’s not just about raising children; it’s also about giving necessary guidance in life. But if that’s not happening, or children aren’t listening or lack an understanding of their actions, then vulnerable children become easy targets. No doubt you’ve seen this one ‘Don’t post anything on the internet, you wouldn’t want your parents to see!!!!’ You and I may be knowledgeable enough to know what is and isn’t acceptable, and most children are too. Just not everyone though.

C4 exposed Sulake’s weaknesses, and gave the game a lot of attention, that could have been avoided. It showed what most adults/parents wouldn’t find acceptable and obviously contributed to investors pulling out, because they no longer wanted to be associated with such a game. What choices did this leave Sulake with?

I’ve probably said it elsewhere on the forum, Sulake need to up their game, if they want to survive.

I'm just really annoyed to see Channel4 target an individual company... it is true that since the merge and the moderator out-sourcing that Habbo's security has lapsed some what... and this was an issue that I agree desperately needed to be addressed.

However, Sulake are by no means the worst for these kind of activities... I'm sure they're not even the worst for the age group they target...
I think Channel4 warning parents of Habbo specifically may have made children less safe... because if parents blocked Habbo instead of talking to their children about the dangers of the online community... the child will no doubt go and find a new MMOCC/RPG to play on, and many are less safe then Habbo...

I wish Channel4 took the time to explain to parents that these things exist ALL OVER the internet... and explained the dangers using Habbo as an EXAMPLE instead of making it sound like the problem. =[

Also causing a company so much damage even though they've done nothing wrong compared to their competitors is rather unethical in my view...
- Alex (Vito201/Shenk).

[Plebings]

joined when the 13 limit was in place, was 11 at the time (2004) - they decreased it to 11 around 2006 i think?

[iFlame]

Was about 13 LOL

[Dublyu]

I joined Habbo at the age of 11 back in July 2011 so basically just turned. Back then it was the same however moderation seemed to keep a cap on the activity of user's obviously having filters. For example if you we to attempt and write "S.E.X" "S3X" "S E X" this would automatically become a "bobba" regardless of how hard you tried to avoid the filter. If there was a gap it wouldn't be long until this was then patched and having the word show as a "bobba". The recommended age for Habbo being 13 would seem about right however, with the price of credits even back then it was common to see habbo's often young becoming "cyber prostitutes" to earn a plasto, pod or sometimes a rare furni. This issue is always going to be there but can be monitored if a creative, structured and satisfactory system is put in place. Now back to my point of young users becoming online prostitutes that are most probably around 10 - 13. This is most likely due to sex education being taught then in schools and giving abit of an insight into the adult life. It would probably benefit Habbo to increase the age to a minimum of 14/15 when they begin to understand the meaning of money and having to work for cash. It will never be the case that you will not get underagers on the side because it is easy to make up another birth year. Moderation needs to become much much tighter, flaws needs to be looked at like they were before and patched. Now sulake has decided to communicate with it's users again I feel they have realised their oopsie. Will they keep the communication going ? Who knows but for a cash cow organisation it seems very doubtful they will ever go back to their roots no matter how many habbo's would like them to. I left habbo from 2004 and visited around 07,08,09,10,12 which wasn't very often. Each time I log in it appears to become more complex and less of a community. That's just my views on everything.

[Jurv]

i think i would've been 11 years old, which is back in 2007.

[The Don]

I would have been 10 back in 2004 but i think i may have had another account before that