Posted on 07/17/2007 2:26:16 PM PDT by KingofZion
The Chinese government has launched a campaign to limit the number of hours teenagers spend online playing games. Under new rules that took effect Monday, Chinese Internet gaming companies must install a program that requires users to enter their ID card numbers. After three hours, players under 18 are prompted to stop and "do suitable physical exercise."
If they continue, the software slashes by half any points earned in the game. All points are wiped out if players stay on more than five hours.
The program is part of a government campaign to combat Internet gaming addiction, "clean up the Internet environment" and "promote civilized Internet use," according to guidelines issued by China's General Administration of Press and Publication.
About 10% of China's more than 30 million Internet gamers were underage as of the end of 2006, according to the Chinese newspaper National Business Daily.
The government guidelines don't flat-out denounce the popular pastime, saying "measured gaming is good for the brain, but gaming addiction hurts the body."
* * *
President Hu Jintao ordered regulators in January to promote a "healthy online culture" to protect the government's stability, according to state media.
Though China's communist government promotes Internet use, it has also set up an extensive surveillance and filtering system to prevent Chinese from accessing material considered obscene or politically subversive.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsvine.com ...
I wish I could boycott all chinese products but it is nearly impossible to avoid them.
It’s not easy to do, but I’m doing it pretty well. Paying more = getting more.
Hey I do this at my house. I severely limit the game and internet time at my house.
Oh yeah, I can see how this is going to endear the government to the youth.
I say, “Go for it Commies!”.
Don’t get the wrong idea - I think it is a good idea for parents to limit the amount of time kids spend playing games, watching TV (but not reading!)
But it is a terrible idea for the government to regulate such activity, or worse, to specify software programming under penalty of law.
Oh yeah, I was just saying that they got the idea from me and stuck their label on it. :)
while I’m strongly opposed to government intervention in almost everything I will say that this will cut down on the amount of gold farming on mmorpgs, although it will probably beggar more than a few chinese teens.
The expression on the face of the guy in the lower right corner is priceless. He’s getting some ink as well, but is probably wondering about this guy’s state of sanity. And those tats on the backs of the hands are not only jobstoppers, they’re datestoppers as well!
That’s the first thing I thought as well—a pretty clear indication that I spend too much time playing computer games.
Finally something good being exported out of China.
Kids will start having adults register for accounts. Unless the government has a way of telling who’s actually manning the keyboard, this measure will have negligible effects on the amount of time juvenile gamers spend on the computer.
I was laughing so hard when I saw this guy I thought I was going to choke. I couldn`t believe they were real tattoos, I mean who the hell could be so stupid, but they ARE real. I did a search for him and he is a guy from Germany who actually did this insanity. Here`s some videos of him. I don`t know what they are saying, but obviously he really did this. What a NUT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBCD34F0PYc
How do you like his business card? “Mr. Lover Lover, Mr. Cool ice” LOL!
What I`d like to know is what does ice have to do with a skeleton? LOL!
you guys won’t believe it but i just saw this guy’s twin in nordstroms at lunchtime. he was buying something with cash and was providing directions to the pretty young clerk on where to go for a similar inking. she thanked him, mentioned she was planning to go to law school, but didn’t think any potential employer would care about the tats.
i was going to set her straight but i couldn’t stop laughing ;)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.