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PC Games (Games) Role Playing (Games) Entertainment Games

Thai Government Comments On Gaming Curfew 40

Posted by simoniker from the no-fragging-after-four dept.
Thanks to BBC News for their article discussing the reaction to Thailand's imposition of a gaming curfew for those under 18, as previously reported at Slashdot, meaning that, "For younger players [at net cafes] without the special [adult ID] logon, the game simply stops working at 10pm." Apparently, "The government say it has seen a significant drop in the number of nocturnal players since the curfew was imposed", and justifies itself by arguing: "But in the developing world, in Thailand, the parents, especially those parents who have teenage children, they must work very hard and they work until very late at night so they don't have the time to look after their children properly." But the BBC article wonders: "Is it really the government's job to decide what's best for the nation's youth after dark?"
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Thai Government Comments On Gaming Curfew

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  • Ohhhh... (Score:3, Funny)

    by rhs98 ( 513802 ) * <`ku.oc.taobatisi' `ta' `89shr'> on Tuesday November 25, 2003 @12:20PM (#7558762) Homepage Journal
    So no more late night fragging my mum on Half Life then?
  • In a perfect world where parents can and do take responsibility for their children, the government wouldn't need to do this. That being said, it's not a perfect world. There are neglectful parents who don't monitor their children and there are overworked parents who can't monitor their children. Some government regulation has long been noted as a good thing for the youth of a country but the line between just right and too much is hard to find.

    My concern is that if the parents are not around to keep their k

    • Couldn't parents give the kids "credits" to play games when 1) they were good 2) proved they did their home work...

      Then they'd still work, and play...
    • You're right that in the face of overworked parents the gov't might have to come help. But why can't they come help by making it so the parents don't have to be overworked? I'm not offering solutions just suggestions.

      And my question is, what were these kids doing that was so bad that they had to shut them down like this? Were grades falling? Was the intellect of the future dying?

      You make a good point, all they were doing was playing games, that's a world better than hanging out on a street corner drinking
      • When the government steps in to make the parents less overworked - you've got socialism. And as we both know, socialism creates a mediocre society. These people are working long, hard hours because that's what the market dictates they have to work. The workers should organize and demand fair pay and make their lives better. I'll accept some government intervention but I would like to see the workers take the first step. Let's not forget the great Red Menace.

        As for what the kids, this is from the article "Th

        • Or the goverment could not tax so much, causing both parents to have to work to bring in enought money to live.
          • But the socialists have already perverted the meaning of government and now people expect certain services that they cannot live without. To cut taxes, you're going to have to cut services and people won't allow that.
          • Right. Because we all know that it is the tax burden [tillekeandgibbins.com] which keeps demand for labor in developing countries low.

            A Thai Jasmine farmer earns about 200 US dollars per year, or about 8,000 Baht, which means they don't pay any taxes. An average family income is 161,016 Baht [thainews.com.au] per year, or about 4,000 dollars. That number is skewed a bit high, as it is average rather than median, but we'll accept it. Of that 161k Baht, 60k is a standard deduction, there are personal deductions of 30k per parent and 15k per chil

        • When the government steps in to make the parents less overworked - you've got socialism. And as we both know, socialism creates a mediocre society.

          ... and when the government dicates where people can and can't be at certain times of the day - for the good of society - you've also got socialism. Which, as we both know, creates a mediocre society.

          The reason this has occured is because politicians, be they in developing or developed nations, will never solved the problem if it's easier to treat the sympt

  • Priorities (Score:3, Insightful)

    by scumbucket ( 680352 ) on Tuesday November 25, 2003 @12:26PM (#7558830)
    "But in the developing world, in Thailand, the parents, especially those parents who have teenage children, they must work very hard and they work until very late at night so they don't have the time to look after their children properly."

    This is bullshit. If you can't handle the responsibility of parenthood, THEN DON'T HAVE KIDS!!
    Really, if these parents are putting their careers ahead of their children, they should be tied up and severly beaten.
    • Think you'll find that most do it to feed their children, to support them, to get them shoes and clothes.
    • Really, if these parents are putting their careers ahead of their children, they should be tied up and severly beaten.

      I don't really think it's about careers, I think it's about putting food on the table. Thailand is a poor country. The Average GDP per person is $6,900 [cia.gov]i n thiland, as compared to $37,600 in the US. [cia.gov] Also, considering the main employment sector is agriculture [cia.gov], I think the only ladder most thais are trying to climb is the one agains the barn.

      Personally, I don't think that this is much of an

  • Kids after dark (Score:4, Interesting)

    by joshsnow ( 551754 ) on Tuesday November 25, 2003 @12:35PM (#7558938) Journal
    "Is it really the government's job to decide what's best for the nation's youth after dark?"

    Ironically, here in the UK, the problem seems to be the opposite - how to keep the kids off of the streets after dark. There's even legislation for so-called "anti-social orders" which , AFAIK, force a curfew onto kids making sure they're not hanging around on the streets at night in large "intimidating" groups. Trouble is, these orders rarely used because they're very difficult to enforce.

    I wouold have thought that giving young people something constructive to do in the evenings (like gaming) was a Good Thing.
    • Why are those laws difficult to enforce? It seems like if a cop is on patrol and sees a group of kids, he should radio for the paddy wagon. That would get the parents involved in that they'd have to come pick up their kids from the station (or let them loiter in jail - which is better for society since they're in a controlled environment). For parents who don't want to be involved with their kids, making not being involved more hassle than being involved is the only way to produce kids that don't steal cars

      • Re:Kids after dark (Score:2, Informative)

        by Yarn ( 75 )
        It's a politically motivated law. Grumpy Old Men(tm) moan about kids hanging around. Government say "Vote for us, we'll make it illegal". If the police actually enforced the law it'd be very unpopular, probably challenged under human rights law.
      • Cops on patrol? Evidantly you don't live in the UK ;)
    • Arguably, this is doing the same as the UK system... keeping the kids off the street late at night. In regard to being a good thing: it does make people more antisocial it does cause eye-strain (can you really take a break?) it does cause rsi-related problems it would help to ensure that kids can stay awake in school

  • Government control of child rearing (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Baron_Yam ( 643147 ) on Tuesday November 25, 2003 @12:44PM (#7559042)
    1. Should the government tell parents how to raise their kids? No.
    2. Should parents spend enough time with their kids to have as strong a social group as the kids have with their peers? Yes.
    3. DO parents, on average, spend enough time with their kids? Probably not.
    4. Should *I* have to deal with the problems caused by a percentage of kids improperly raised? Definitely not.

    The only solution I've seen so far is the government passing legislation every time a significant problem crops up. It isn't fixing the problem, but it bandaids the symptoms enough that I can walk to my local corner store without getting mugged by a teen with a knife.

    On the other hand, as expressed in another comment - a kid fragging is a kid who is having harmless fun and not bothering me. I say, let them play games.

  • 10 pm... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Parsec ( 1702 ) on Tuesday November 25, 2003 @01:25PM (#7559458) Homepage Journal
    ... time to find some cheap alchohol and roam the streets.
  • ... But, the parents DO still make the final decision. They can give their kid the adult login if they wish.

  • It's 10pm... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by spudwiser ( 124577 ) <spudwiser@noSpAM.hotmail.com> on Tuesday November 25, 2003 @01:58PM (#7559905) Journal
    Do you know where your h4x0r is?

    Personally, I think that I would rather have kids up playing video games until the wee hours instead of some of the other activities that the night can provide.

  • what they are really saying (Score:3, Insightful)

    by bigbigbison ( 104532 ) * on Tuesday November 25, 2003 @02:13PM (#7560084) Homepage
    "But in the developing world, in Thailand, the parents, especially those parents who have teenage children, they must work very hard and they work until very late at night so they don't have the time to look after their children properly."

    what they are really saying is that "our labor policies and minimum wage sucks, but rather than do something about it, we are going to make it easier for people to work themselves to death by taking cre of thier children for them."
  • the censorship/privacy issue here? I thought the Internet was supposed to provide access to information to everyone. If governments can put restrictions on access to computers (yes, even just game networks) it sets a precedent for more general censorship of our communications. Also, what's to stop the government from tracking the usage of each person with an adult logon? ...just to toss a little Big Brother-oriented paranoia into your day...
    • Just about every US city has a minor's curfew nowdays.[this isn't that extreme] This one in the article is only pertaining to internet cafes [of course these kids probably can't afford computers at home..that's a different issue]

      ....the rule for electronic gaming hours & kids in my town goes back to at least the 50's!!!... when it was pinball and juke boxes...

      nothing to see here...move along

  • That this is after deaths [silicon.com] related to marathon videogame playing in Taiwan & South Korea. I'm not saying it's right, but I'm guessing that this might have something to do with the decision.
  • The article was about kids in I-Cafes (no valid "adult ID") not being able to play games after 10pm.
    For this matter, and this matter alone, YES, IT IS the govt's job to handle this.

    Let's have a (?quick?) logic & comparation here:

    What kind of kid stays after 10pm to play games in a i-cafe? The kind of kid parents got out of hand already, the kind of kid parents don't know for sure where he is, etc.
    No, I am not a parent, but I was such a problem-kid (right up 'till university, and even now, one year and
    • As a kid, I'd play games in arcades after work until midnight. I only did it on weekends, though. I don't see any shitty parenting on my parents' part. After the arcade closed, we'd drive around. I don't think I'd have been better off if I'd been kicked out of the arcade at 10. They did have a curfew for under 18, too. Only really enforced by one cop, though, so it didn't really affect anyone's actions.

      And, yes, I got good grades in high school(slightly better than 4.0 an a weighted grade scale).

  • hmmm (Score:1)

    by MDCore ( 324972 )
    "Is it really the government's job to decide what's best for the nation's youth after dark?"

    Is it really the BBC's job to decide what's best for thailand?

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