Roleplay/Partyfinder Discrepancies & Policy Enforcement by GM's

[MeiraStarborne]

Yeah, usually we hold adults accountable instead of literal kids. Adults are the ones who should have the mature judgement and presence of mind not to get into sexual situations under circumstances where 1. They can't know the age of their partner and 2. It's explicitly prohibited by the terms of service.

First time I've greed with you. You are correct. It's not entirely the minor's fault if an adult sells them alcohol without carding them first. The adult gets in HUGE trouble as well.

Same applies here. You don't blame the underaged person when the ADULT engages in adult behavior with them without vetting their age.

[SylviaKarsten]

People can do everything they want in the game as long as they don't break the ToS and the ERP unfortunately is something that breaks it, now you can do it privately with your friend or partner or have a place where several people get together and do it but ALWAYS it has to be done secretly and this is what has generated a problem. Many people who do ERP ignore that but promote it to people who do not care or in places that should not.

I also have to remember the live letter that Yoshida dedicated to the RP / ERP community?

I wasn't playing at the time, I'd imagine. I can't say I ever saw that.

I'm not trying to defend the ERP community as being so much permissible in regards to the ToS, because if it breaks the ToS then it breaks the ToS; that's what GMs should be enforcing but it's the people that are calling for the heads of every RPer with their torches and pitchforks, basically. Just whipping up people into a mob mentality to attack us all like we're all somehow part of the "problem."

I'm just saying that ERP isn't hurting other players the way they're making it sound. Someone is getting upset because they scroll to the bottom of party finder and see an ERP venue, and are morally outraged by it. If they want to report it because it violates ToS, fine! That's well within their rights to do so, but you cannot lump every RPer into the same category as those who violate ToS by indulging in ERP.

[AmpersandHyphen]

"Party finder".

It's like joining a dating app for the purpose of business opportunities.

I have no issue with peeps using PF other section for the purpose of RP and venues, but I find the arguments proposed kind of funny when the very purpose of party finder is stated in the name.

[Taytay]

Can anyone offer a valid reason that isn’t based on personal opinion as to why RP venues should be banned from advertising in PF?

Because as it stands, no one in this 30+ page thread has offered anything tangible other than “I don’t like it.” And that’s not a valid reason considering you can just as easily ignore it.

[JanVanding]

First time I've greed with you. You are correct. It's not entirely the minor's fault if an adult sells them alcohol without carding them first. The adult gets in HUGE trouble as well.

Same applies here. You don't blame the underaged person when the ADULT engages in adult behavior with them without vetting their age.

They are vetted though, it requires a credit card or paypal account to pay a subscription fee, which minors cannot own.

It comes back to the problem of the parent, rather than paying attention to their kids, just handing over their card and letting them use a non-restricted account.

Try accessing this site on a brand new cellphone contract account where the cellphone provider has default restrictions in place and you need to verify to remove those restrictions, you will get "Site blocked, mature content" and redirected to home.

[Hexie]

RPers should not have to go outside of the game to find venues and events. Discords and other websites for RP already exist, but if you are a new player interested in RP, how are you to find out about those if not for the PF ads? As people have discussed earlier in the thread, Fellowships and Linkshells aren't enough as they're very limited (and hard to come across without someone involved in them telling you about them). I've been playing since 2014 and RP ads in PF have always been there.

[LittleImp]

Can anyone offer a valid reason that isn’t based on personal opinion as to why RP venues should be banned from advertising in PF?

Because as it stands, no one in this 30+ page thread has offered anything tangible other than “I don’t like it.” And that’s not a valid reason considering you can just as easily ignore it.

I'd like to preface by saying I support an RP section in the PF.

However:

The idea behind party finder is that you're using it to join a party. When you go to an RP venue being advertised in PF, you don't join the party the person has hosted to do so. Often the party is locked to an impossible ilevel or some such. Ergo they are not using it for its intended purpose. This can of course also apply to run sellers and the like.

[MeiraStarborne]

They are vetted though, it requires a credit card or paypal account to pay a subscription fee, which minors cannot own.

It comes back to the problem of the parent, rather than paying attention to their kids, just handing over their card and letting them use a non-restricted account.

Try accessing this site on a brand new cellphone contract account where the cellphone provider has default restrictions in place and you need to verify to remove those restrictions, you will get "Site blocked, mature content" and redirected to home.

This game is rated T for Teen. Teens play this game. Adults playing this game need to be mindful of that fact and be responsible for their actions and words. Period.

[erroch]

They are vetted though, it requires a credit card or paypal account to pay a subscription fee, which minors cannot own.

It comes back to the problem of the parent, rather than paying attention to their kids, just handing over their card and letting them use a non-restricted account.

Try accessing this site on a brand new cellphone contract account where the cellphone provider has default restrictions in place and you need to verify to remove those restrictions, you will get "Site blocked, mature content" and redirected to home.

You can also buy game time cards from many stores which do not require credit cards or other proof of age. There are people playing the game without parental consent due to the game's rating of 'Teen'. There is no actual age gating on the game.

[SturmChurro]

This isn't an attack against RP in general, but rather the advertising in party finder. Can SE do better for social players? More, better, social features? Sure, but PF is simply no place for this.