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Games Entertainment

Thailand Imposes Gamers Curfew 412

Posted by CmdrTaco from the they-can't-take-away-local-lan-gaming! dept.
bg writes "How addicted can you be? According to this article, Thailand will install a curfew to "protect" their childern from the addiction from Gaming. "Game servers, both local and overseas, will be blocked from 10.00pm to 6.00am daily from July 15 to Sept 30, while Internet cafes will also have their hours curbed to those times". Under particular attack is Korean role-playing game Ragnarok, which was introduced to Thailand seven months ago."
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Thailand Imposes Gamers Curfew More

Thailand Imposes Gamers Curfew

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  • Protect the Brothels (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @07:14AM (#6389867)
    Remember, this is Thailand. During the hours from 10:00 pm to 6:00, that is where they want the children working.

  • I can't stand Ragnarok (Score:5, Funny)

    by georgeha ( 43752 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @07:15AM (#6389872) Homepage
    I don't know what it is with Korean games, but the sounds coming out of the character's mouths never sync with their lips. I must have a slow PC.

  • Whatever makes the parents feel good (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Em Emalb ( 452530 ) * <ememalb@gm a i l . com> on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @07:16AM (#6389874) Homepage Journal
    Once again I bring you this service announcement:

    Parents, watch your kids. Don't make the government do it for you, you won't like it.

    This is not specific to Thailand either.
    • But please notice that

      the Thai government acts only when facing real problem (not "Doom causes school shootings")

      it introduce a partial limitations

      it doesn't emphasise jailing people or suing them

      it intends to evaluate the effectiveness of these particular measures after a few months.

      Rhetorical question: in which country the government would probably attack an imaginary problem, ban computer games altogether, sue developers and jail players and make these measures permanent with only possible revision

  • Gaming Addiction (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    That's horrible!! Those people may never know what it's like to do a 36 hour multiplayer marithon.

    That certainly would be motivation to have a LAN installed and invite friends over for weeks at a time.
  • Maybe they should have a good read of the article about why games are good for you [slashdot.org]. Video games are good for your kids! (Oh, they're good for adults too....)
    • 10pm-6am is 9 hours enough for a quick bite to eat and a good night sleep. To much of anything is bad for you. If the parents are not going to force their kids bedtimes and have responsible bedtimes them self then the government will have to intervene because having a large % of kids falling asleep during school or adults falling asleep during work effects everyone.
    • " Maybe they should have a good read of the article about why games are good for you. Video games are good for your kids! (Oh, they're good for adults too....)"
      I'm in agreement that games can be educational for kids but if they're imposing a curfew that kids can't play games between 10:00pm and 6:00am then they're probably playing way too much. Just like any other addiction, too much of a good thing isn't a better thing.
      Granted, the curfew still sucks. I think it should be more up to the parents to tak

  • Changle (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SlayerofGods ( 682938 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @07:22AM (#6389890)
    I'd like to see how the plan to do this from a technical stand point. Blocking some well know servers shouldn't be all that hard. But blocking all gaming trafic.... I see this plan failing hard and fast.
    • Changle? What the hell does that mean? Man, I swear people on Slashdot make words up just for the hell of it.

      Man, I thought the last story [slashdot.org] was bad, with its "muggles", "Gryffondors", etc.

  • Sigh (Score:2, Insightful)

    by AdamHaun ( 43173 )
    What a bunch of fools. The article implies that most of the gaming is taking place in cafes, so these measures might actually have a chance of succeeding, but is that really a good thing? It's better to learn the dangers of MMORPG addiction when you're 12 than when you're 20.

    Besides, I can't imagine that the number of "addicted" players is anything like what they're making it out to be.

  • Ouch... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by supersam ( 466783 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @07:23AM (#6389902) Homepage
    ... said the gaming industry as it faces hostile action from various quarters for the violence it 'promotes'.

    I believe they have a new ratings system for video games. It rates the games on the basis of the level of violence in the game. e.g. cartoon violence, fantasy violence, intense violence and sexual violence. This will come into effect from Sept. 15.

    I wonder why Thai authorities could not do the same instead of imposing curfew.

    Anyways, I don't think the curfew is gonna work. It never does! After all, the forbidden fruit is always the most desirable... and the best way to ensure that children do something is to disallow it!

  • Hopefully... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Patik ( 584959 ) * <cpatik@gmail.COMMAcom minus punct> on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @07:23AM (#6389905) Homepage Journal

    Hopefully it will prevent incidents like this [slashdot.org], when gamers apparently don't know when to stop.

  • Do you know what (Score:5, Funny)

    by HoloBear ( 677797 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @07:24AM (#6389908) Homepage

    I wish they would come around to my apartment and *enforce* this curfew on me, personally.

    Games should have a playing limit; If you play for more than 24 hours, it enforces you to shower, shave and eat something. You would have to present fresh evidence that these tasks have been done before unlocking the next level.

    It would be for my own good :/

  • working hours (Score:2, Funny)

    by garns ( 318370 )
    In a related story the US desides to block all porn sites during working hours.

  • So? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Dark Lord Seth ( 584963 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @07:29AM (#6389940) Journal

    Just run a game server at port 80? Or if it requires more ports, tunnel them all through port 80 or use other common ports? (21, 23, 25, etc) This either renders the "curfew" useless or generates one helluva fun spastic reaction from Thai officials as they accidently ban the web.

    • Just run a game server at port 80?

      Port 80? But that's for the Interweb.

    • UDP != TCP (Score:3, Informative)

      by molo ( 94384 )
      TCP is not UDP. Games run on UDP. Blocking UDP port 80 will not interfere with TCP port 80.

      -molo

  • Asian parenting, the gaming phenomenon, etc (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Blind Linux ( 593315 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @07:35AM (#6389977) Journal
    Malaysia has, like Thailand, what it perceives to be an increasing amount of youth addicted to gaming. What one has to understand is that the methods of parenting in many Asian countries are quite different from those employed here, as is the perceived role of law enforcement. Because parents feel that they cannot simply order their children to stay away from the arcades, they put their trust in the laws of the land to prevent their children from what is seen as an unproductive, unhealthy activity.

    I've been to Malaysian Net Cafes. Part of the reason parents are so worried about these places is because they often are havens for youth gang members, and still more often serve as venues for recruiting impressionable youths into the gangs.

    Gaming addiction, while not so prevalent here, is quite common in the Far East. Kuala Lumpur has Net Cafes on every block, and enough children skip school or sneak out at night to play there that parents groups have demanded that something be done.

    Many asian societies value strict adherence to the wishes of one's parents. These curfews have probably been implemented because parents feel extremely concerned that their children are defying family values (by disobeying their parents and playing games at all hours).

    • Parenting here (Score:5, Insightful)

      by nuggz ( 69912 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @08:01AM (#6390167) Homepage
      Because parents feel that they cannot simply order their children to stay away from the arcades, they put their trust in the laws of the land to prevent their children from what is seen as an unproductive, unhealthy activity.

      Well here in Canada (and the US) parents don't feel they can simply order their children around either. But rather then expect law enforcement to do anything about it, they whine and bitch about freedom and rights.
      Then schools and law enforcement try to cover the gap left by bad parenting, constantly overstepping reasonable bounds and cause more trouble. (I actually had a principal that gloated about how he was more powerful then a court, he didn't even need evidence to punish students)

      Bad parenting exists everywhere, you have busy hardworking overworked parents, lazy parents, non existant parents.
      Making laws to compensate isn't going to help, we need parents to get back to work.
      (No, I'm not a parent. Yes I know it's hard, which is why I'm not a parent yet, I'm not ready.)

      • Re:Parenting here (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Blind Linux ( 593315 )
        Popular thought with regard to children in America/Canada seems to increasingly tend towards one of two categories:

        1) Passive Parenting
        - Exposure of children to all media, regardless of content, with no explanations
        - Laissez-faire attitudes, encouraging "expression" and "individuality"

        2) See-No-Evil Parenting
        - Shield children from "the evils of the world" - Strict enforcement of one's personal values on child

        I believe both of these methods of parenting can lead to complications with children as the

        • Re:Parenting here (Score:3, Insightful)

          by nuggz ( 69912 )
          What we need is accountability on the parts of all parents for the actions of their children, and a fundamental change from the #1/#2 parenting styles.

          Yes, but accountable and blame aren't fair.
          There are excellent parents with terrible kids.
          I also think that no person should ever be responsible for the actions of another. This garbage with jailing parents because their kids skip school is unacceptable.
          You really can't force responsibility.
          • I don't dispute what you're saying. However, when one looks at incidents like the Columbine shooting, it is foolish to completely disregard the possibility of negligence on the parts of the parents.
            You're absolutely correct: no person should be responsible for the actions of another. However, when we attempt to look at what brings about these actions, we often disregard the cold had truth, the fact that there are steps parents could have taken to prevent their children from taking these courses of action.
  • That's Ragnarök, or more correctly "Ragnarokr" (original ancient spelling), not Ragnarok! ;)
    Ragnarök is Ancient Nordic (sweden/norway/denmark/iceland - the language the Vikings were speaking) and is the name of "the end of the world" according to Aesir religion.

  • Great! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MongooseCN ( 139203 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @07:35AM (#6389980) Homepage
    Now kids can go back out on the street and get mugged, do drugs and get trashed at parties! Just what every "normal" kid should be doing. If my kid has a tendancy to get addicted to things then I want him doing drugs and alchohol, not evil video games!

  • Similar thing in UK (Score:3, Interesting)

    by pubjames ( 468013 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @07:39AM (#6390002)

    When television first starting being broadcast in the UK, there was no transmission perhaps an hour in the evening so that parents could put there children to bed.
  • I have to get the kids to sleep first!

  • Outrageous (Score:5, Interesting)

    by ajs318 ( 655362 ) <sd_resp2@earthsh ... minus herbivore> on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @07:43AM (#6390034)
    ..... but not surprising coming from the country where it is allegedly illegal to go commando!

    But seriously. This sort of thing is serious, even although it is "only" happening in Thailand, because I can hear Blair, Bush et al having real live orgasms about the possibilities. You have to ask the question, "what next?" When they finally take the ashtrays off restaurant tables, the sugar bowl and the salt cellar will look furtuvely at one another and wonder how long they have left. Those in authority never stop with what they have. If they can successfully "solve" the "problem" of childhood addiction to computer games, then some new problem will take its place as "#1 menace to our youth" and will, in turn, be "solved" by an even more pointless and draconian law.

    Since when has it become necessary to prevent adults from doing something that might be harmful for children just in case children might do it anyway? That is not the job of the government, it is the job of parents. The whole point of being an adult is that you alone are responsible for your actions and the consequences thereof. Since the dawn of time, the human race has practiced self-destructive behaviour ..... it's part and parcel of what separates us from the animals.

    Governments have been nibbling away at our rights for a long time now. Every so often, though, they seem to bite off a huge chunk, chew it with their mouths open, and spit it in your face.

    If we don't take up against this sort of thing right now it might be too late. The day is coming when every single decision that might have a hint of a consequence about it will have already been made for you. The world is turning evil, what with ID cards, CCTV cameras, embedded RFID chips, anonymous tip-off hotlines and suchlike. And you know what? Under that kind of a system, I really can't think of a single advantage to not being in prison.
    • Can you really imagine GW Bush getting on a podium and pointing at an initiative that came from Thailand as an example of a US initiative for children? Not only would it leave him open to attacks (Thai children's initiative? Is that something to do with the asian child sex trade?) but more importantly everyone should know by now that ALL GOOD THINGS COME FROM TEXAS. The moment Houston implements something like this (probably with a death sentence attached for violators) GW will round up Blair and hold a new
    • That's why you need to wear your tin foil hat! That way the government won't be able to read your mind.

    • Re:Outrageous (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      When they finally take the ashtrays off restaurant tables, the sugar bowl and the salt cellar will look furtuvely at one another and wonder how long they have left.

      "Anything not good for you is bad, hence, illegal. Alcohol, caffeine, contact sports, meat . . . "

      "Are you sh**ing me? "

      "John Spartan, you are fined one credit for a violation of the verbal morality statute. "

      "What the Hell is that? "

      "John Spartan, you are fined one credit . . . "

      "Bad language, child play, gasoline, uneducational toys, and

  • Some kill for gaming... some die for it (Score:3, Informative)

    by SoSueMe ( 263478 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @07:45AM (#6390051)
    Quick comparison. "Kill" & "Die"

    Kill [bbc.co.uk]

    "One of the boys was seen on Chinese television telling police interrogators that he had started the fire in an act of revenge because staff at the cybercafe had refused to let him play computer games there."

    Die [gamer.tv]

    "A South Korean man died yesterday after playing computer games at an Internet cafe for 86 hours nonstop, reports the Associated Press."

    I have no point, just an observation.

  • Hmm... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Veovis ( 612685 )
    If I setup a floating-in-international-waters high power 802.11b (Wireless LAN) access point, provide instructions on how to setup and install a directional antenna and amplifier on the users house, will Thailand's "FCC" (or other authority that controls radio allocations) place a ban on all wireless activity between 10p and 6a?

  • Will cut gamer deaths for sure (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Otterspocket ( 687725 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @07:51AM (#6390078)
    Isn't it the Koreans who always seem to be dying from 72 hours of non stop gaming, forgetting to eat sleep or drink. Try googling for korean+gamer+death - seems to happen quite a bit.

  • sounds like Thailand to me ... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Heisenbug ( 122836 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @07:54AM (#6390097)
    This doesn't suprise me at all. When I was teaching in rural Thailand (though close enough to an urban center to have net cafes), I would go there every day to check my email. Usually, most of the computers would be taken up by kids I recognized from my (elementary level) classes. At that point, the really popular game was Counterstrike. It was a strange experience to be writing home while the sound of gunfire came at me from a dozen directions ...

    I have to admit wondering at the time what effect it would have for an entire nation to grow up playing a game like that. They would be well-versed in squad combat techniques, for a start ...

  • The rise of the Internet Speakeasy (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mikeophile ( 647318 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @07:55AM (#6390108)
    Same as it ever was.

    Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes.

    - Abraham Lincoln

  • I wish that IRo had 600,000 users. They probably would have if they didn't screw up the release here.

    The first thing they did to gain users was make an open beta period where it was open for free. this is good, but considering that it was only 1 month and there was still bugs when they went to pay, most users didn't have much time in it to stay with it, not to mention now it has no way of attracting new users since there is no 30 day trial period as far as I can see. From open beta to retail, it went from

  • How is it different? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by almiki ( 686143 )
    In the US, it's illegal to do drugs, and to drink alcohol under the age of 21, and to smoke cigarettes under the age of 18, and to look at porn under 18. Those are all for the most part instances of the government poking its nose into our personal lives and telling us what we can or can't do. How is it any different if the Thai government deems that computer games are damaging to the country's youth and future?

    You might tell me that computer games aren't damaging--hell we've all been playing them for ye

    • Re:How is it different? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Hatta ( 162192 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @09:35AM (#6391172) Journal
      I agree. There is no difference. The laws against minors drinking and looking at pornography are just as absurd as this law. Prohibition is never the answer. When we prohibit things, be it porn, drugs, or video games they don't go away, they go underground. Then you really have no control. The more illegal it is the less control you have. As a kid is was a lot easier for me to get pot than alcohol. (which was convenient, alcohol is such a nasty drug. tasty beverage though)

      Anyway, when you prohibit something, it becomes a forbidden fruit. It's no longer just a drug, or just a game, but it's a way to rebel. So children forget about the risks, and just do it to piss off adults. If we were to accept that children have the right to decide for themselves, then they would be more inclined to accept advice, and make rational decisions. This is why DARE is a failure, children aren't stupid, they know what they are getting is propaganda. Think about the differences in alcohol use between american and european youth. For americans, alcohol is taboo and thus it is heavily abused by teenagers and college students. In europe binge drinking is not the problem it is here, because they have been exposed to alcohol and learned socially acceptable ways of using it.

  • For when you get fragged:

    Fucking stop camping or I'll call the cops on your ass!

  • Having lived in Thailand for a long time and having seen that laws are enforced less-than-vigorously, I can't see this really changing anything.

    Thailand is the kind of place where I can go to Pantip Plaza and have my choice of five floors of pirated software for $2.50US/CD. When the police come to crack down, you throw a sheet over your stall - if you can't see it, apparently it's not there (with the aid of a bit of a kickback, of course). Get pulled over? Shell out a few hundred baht to compensate the off

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