Re: Too young

From: "Justin Smith" <jthsmith@unm.edu>

Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 00:00:00 +0000

Lord Mist wrote in message <6ltmmg$fmg$1@supernews.com>...

>Yoni plays in a PBEM that I run and so far has not shown the slightest bit
>of immaturity.
>He seems to me to be a very interested and dedicated gamer. To judge anyones
>"Fitness" to play a game by there age seems to me to be an idea that should
>have gone out ages ago. In my experience it's in the later teenage years
>that most of them actually start to become obnoxious and immature(and before
>anyone flames me I did say "in my experience")

The FGN didn't originally have an age limit.  It's something we implemented
after careful consideration.  As pointed out in another post by "FGN," we have
had a lot of problems with younger players.  We do put a lot of time into each
player who joins, sending them to a dedicated Academy to introduce them to the
game.

We do have a few players under 14 who joined before the age limit was
instated.  They are a few rare exceptions, young players who stayed in the
game and contributed for a long period of time.  Most young players only last
a few weeks before they get bored and want a ship of their own to command so
they can go blow stuff up.  Only a few have shown the level of maturity
required to make it in the FGN.  We just don't want to put up with sorting
through the vast numbers of them looking for those few rare gems.

I'd like to give some evidence for Yoni's immaturity.  He first submitted his
application, describing his character as a human who can "jump 30 feet up" and
who "has been on 13 different voyages, as ensign and lueitenant."  Spelling
aside, he couldn't even give thought to a realistic character.  The FGN is all
about character development and interaction, and Yoni's application showed he
didn't take it seriously.

Once rejected, Yoni reapplied, lying about his age in order to try to get in.
We don't want people who lie to us.

This second application described his character as 21 years old, who "served
as assistant security officer abord Starship Voyager before it was lost" and
again featured the superhuman ability to "jump really high."  Considering that
the FGN universe takes place around 30 years after the Voyager was lost, his
character is totally impossible.  If he would have read the timeline
information on the FGN's web site (http://www.azorius.co.uk/fgn/) he would
have realized this.  More evidence that Yoni did not take the FGN seriously.

Then we have Yoni's post in frustration to this newsgroup.  "I'm 13 and they
say I'm too young!" was all he said.  Who said he's too young for what?  He
clearly didn't think that post through first.

All of Yoni's actions demonstrated a level of immaturity that the FGN just
doesn't want to deal with.  The appropriate action for Yoni to have taken
would have been to email the FGN Board members and discuss the issue, perhaps
getting a testimonial from you, Lord Mist.  We could have discussed it, and
Yoni may have been given a chance in the Academy.  Instead, we have a bunch of
hysterical ranting in a newsgroup.

As for the accusation that commanding officers take part in sexual acts with
the crew, I, a CO in the FGN, tell you that this is totally false.  Neither I
nor any other COs have never done any such thing.  A sexually explicit post by
any player, including a CO, would be grounds for immediate dismissal.  We
don't even put up with explicit cursing.  We run a good, clean game.

Thank you for your time,

Justin Smith

References

Re: Too young
rdh206@aol.com (RDH206)
Fri, 12 Jun 1998 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Too young
Ben <Anthrax@homeway.demon.co.uk>
Fri, 12 Jun 1998 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Too young
FGN <FGN@FGN.com>
Sat, 13 Jun 1998 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Too young
"Steve Pritchard" <steve@spelbind.demon.co.uk>
Sat, 13 Jun 1998 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Too young
"Lord Mist" <klt@netdotcom.com>
Sat, 13 Jun 1998 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Too young
Ben <Anthrax@homeway.demon.co.uk>
Fri, 12 Jun 1998 00:00:00 +0000

Referenced By

Re: Too young
rdh206@aol.com (RDH206)
Fri, 12 Jun 1998 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Too young
Ben <Anthrax@homeway.demon.co.uk>
Fri, 12 Jun 1998 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Too young
FGN <FGN@FGN.com>
Sat, 13 Jun 1998 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Too young
"Steve Pritchard" <steve@spelbind.demon.co.uk>
Sat, 13 Jun 1998 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Too young
"Lord Mist" <klt@netdotcom.com>
Sat, 13 Jun 1998 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Too young
Ben <Anthrax@homeway.demon.co.uk>
Fri, 12 Jun 1998 00:00:00 +0000