Bow to the Gatekeeper

[Andy Chalk]

Bow to the Gatekeeper

What is the true purpose of age gates? They certainly aren't there to keep kids away from inappropriate content.

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[AboveUp]

I've never entered my real birth date with those age gates. I always just choose the year, scroll down to some random number (which is usually somewhere in the '50s) and click enter.

It's obvious the age gates are only there so that if parents start complaining they can point at the age gate saying "we've already put warnings, and a test there. We've done the best we can do. Don't blame us". Quite sad that they have to do this, since the problem is the fact that parents don't pay attention, just like you pointed out in the article.

Then again, I remember my mom helping me by answering the questions so I could play the first Leisure Suit Larry game when I was 10. She knew what she was allowing me to play as well, but deemed me intelligent and adult enough to handle a game like that at my age.
In fact, she'd watch me play the game because she thought it was a funny game herself, but she had no interest in playing a point n click game.
Same with how she watched me play the Discworld, Monkey Island and even Metal Gear games.

I've always wondered about the age gates... I remember seeing them with on the Angry Video Game Nerd, which made me chuckle. Most of his viewers are under 18, so if the age gate would have worked, he'd lose all of his viewers.

 

[Nargleblarg]

I always lie to get past them but I'm just sure they want to cover their asses by not getting sued up the ass because little susie ***** got onto the manhunt website and saw several trailers and now eats her own shit.

 

[Susan Arendt]

I only ever change the year, so according to numerous sites across the web, my birthday is January 1.

My parents knew every single game that came into the house, and made sure they watched me play them long enough to get a feel for what was going on. The irony, of course, is that those games were little more than one colored block banging into another colored block.

 

[Therumancer]

Hmmm well I feel your pain, I did this once before when I was having a brain fart and accidently listed the current year instead of the one I was born in, making me like an infant calling their site. I was permanantly locked out of course, but didn't think it was a big deal.

To be entirely honest I'd much rather see the current age gate system rather than something that actually works, because I do not want to have to like photocopy my driver's liscence and send it to some bloody sitemaster to get access or whatever.

Basically any information that could genuinely prove my age, would also be relatively dangerous to hand out in any kind of permanant form to complete strangers. What you can do with a Drivers's Liscence # or social securit number might surprise you.

 

[ghalkhsdkssakgh]

I only ever change the year, so according to numerous sites across the web, my birthday is January 1.

This is how I get past most age gates, particularly the ones on Steam. If it wasn't for a quick scroll down, I'd wouldn't have been able to play Bioshock or Prototype. My parents don't mind. In fact, I have a fond memory of showing my Dad one of the consume kills in Prototype, which involved swinging a guy over your head and slamming him head-first into the pavement. My dad barely batted an eyelid.
Good times.

 

[Andy_Panthro]

I tend to say I was born on april fools day.

You could use similar arguments for DRM, if you replace "parents" with "shareholders", and "children" with "pirates".

 

[BehattedWanderer]

I only ever change the year, so according to numerous sites across the web, my birthday is January 1.

I'll usually do the same, going up only a few years because of that secret little bit of fun I have at lying to the silly things.
That, or I put in a a common historical date from the last few decades, and go from there.

 

[9NineBreaker9]

I don't think my mother is phased anymore by what I turn up on the Internet, if only because she herself was the one that basically made it so very little surprised me.

(Note to self: never ask a very open-minded parent questions, because you'll get the answer. In detail.)

I don't think that these age-gates really stop anyone, and, like you said, just serves as a way to ensure that no one is sued and everyone is happy. Parents should be the ones enforcing rules about what to view and what not to view on the Internet, because they're the ones that care if I look at otherwise adult material.

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

I never would've expected to see an entire column addressing those damn things, but I'm glad you managed to come up with one. Honestly, kids aren't completely naive. They know why they're being asked their age, so the system is really just a complicated version of having two buttons, "Yes, I'm over 18" "No, I'm not over 18."

And yes, I too have experienced sites messing up and acting like I put in a birthdate I didn't. Complete BS.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Companies are just afraid of everything...and they proably should be afraid of everything.

 

[Foxbat Flyer]

before i was 18 i always lied about my age, but still, the sites have no verification as everyone is saying... my parents had me set up my very first PC i ever got in the lounge room so they were able to watch what i do all because my brother got caught looking at porn too often... bring back strict parents

 

[ben---neb]

Age gates, oh the good memories of always plugging in the wrong date of birth. Sometimes I'd say I was a hundred. So wonderfully useless.

My gaming computer is in the living room and my Mum still stares at the screen to see what I'm doing. One of these days I should get round to pointing out that I'm 18 and mature enough to censor my own gaming. Then again she has never once told me to stop playing a game.

 

[UnravThreads]

It's just one of these damned Politically Correct failures of this "modern" society. I don't wish to pin it on one country, but the Americans do have a horrible habit of sueing people. I'm not saying all Americans do it, but I bet it's very common and over very silly things (such as Peanuts containing Peanuts, and no warning. DESPITE IT BEING PEANUTS). But then again, every country is probably just as bad for it.

I just hope some companies get a "backbone" and stand up to this utter BS

 

[Irridium]

Every time I see one of those things I enter that I am 100 years old or older.

They only do this because if they didn't, parents and politicians would be all up in arms that they explicitly market to children.


I once went on a site when I was underage, it had many women who didn't wear too many clothes.
Know how my parents got me to stop, they moved the computer and my dad hit me a few times.
Thats how you be a parent.

 

[SomeUnregPunk]

It's just one of these damned Politically Correct failures of this "modern" society. I don't wish to pin it on one country, but the Americans do have a horrible habit of sueing people. I'm not saying all Americans do it, but I bet it's very common and over very silly things (such as Peanuts containing Peanuts, and no warning. DESPITE IT BEING PEANUTS). But then again, every country is probably just as bad for it.

I just hope some companies get a "backbone" and stand up to this utter BS

You want some companies to stand up and lose a potential sum of money due to lawsuits by abusive people with no conscience? It'll be easier to stuff a ham up your country's leader nose than to hope for this to happen.

 

[UnravThreads]

It's just one of these damned Politically Correct failures of this "modern" society. I don't wish to pin it on one country, but the Americans do have a horrible habit of sueing people. I'm not saying all Americans do it, but I bet it's very common and over very silly things (such as Peanuts containing Peanuts, and no warning. DESPITE IT BEING PEANUTS). But then again, every country is probably just as bad for it.

I just hope some companies get a "backbone" and stand up to this utter BS

You want some companies to stand up and lose a potential sum of money due to lawsuits by abusive people with no conscience? It'll be easier to stuff a ham up your country's leader nose than to hope for this to happen.

I would love it if companies didn't have to fear the lawsuit happy people, but sadly, that'll never happen.

 

[Sewblon]

I actually told the truth to age gates the first couple of times I saw them, but after the fifth gate I encountered I figured out that in order to get what I want from the internet I had to lie to them. Now that I am 18 I usually scroll down to the 80s or 70s because it is less work than putting in my real age. by putting them everywhere they are teaching people(including kids) to lie to them.

 

[mooncalf]

I only ever change the year, so according to numerous sites across the web, my birthday is January 1.

Same here, and the depth of my cursory scroll usually takes me to 1913.

I think it's heartwarming how these gates recognise the rights of 96-year old gamers.

By putting them everywhere they are teaching people(including kids) to lie to them.

I find this a particularly engaging point. Are age gates and disclaimers teaching kids that lying is an easy and (technically) accepted way to get what you want?