Age should not matter!

[Carzem]

Hey as you can see the title says it all. I do not think that age should matter when it comes to hardcore ops or WZ when that comes, and of course not when you want to join a guild. Im aged 13 so im qualified to play this game but i got serious issues with joining a guild. Almost every time i say my age i get kicked or no invite. I think that is wrong. Some ppl says that you gotta be mature and understand and write good english. But maybye i can and im only 13 but i still get no invite. I want YOUR thoughts on this.

 

Carzem

 

PS: I play on the EU server Scepter of Ragnos currently lvl 41 Sorcerer named Wantzer.

Edited March 11, 2012 by Carzem

[Beevman]

Not to be that guy, but you have a few grammatical errors in there.

 

Honestly posting here wont change anything, it's the choice if the guild wants you or not. Nobody can force the guild leader to let you in. I know it's tough for younger people in these games because a lot of younger people in gaming can be very annoying. Just deepen your voice in vent and lie about your age. hahah just until youre 18

[Azzras]

It's a guild's choice to not have adolescence join.

 

That said, keep looking.

 

Don't give your age unless asked.

 

And stay off of vent until you prove yourself.

 

Just a few suggestions.

[Pregzuel]

Age does matter a lot.

 

 

If your guild members want to you raid on Thursday night till 3 am in the morning

 

and you cant because your mom will turn off your computer.. or ground you

 

as to a 30 year old which can do what he wants..

 

plus age gap is huge.. i dont think anyone would want to hear the opinion of a kid who has done nothing with his life..

 

Just saying.

[Carzem]

Thanks! And i know i got some grammatical errors, english is not main language. And i understand that the guild should choose but i feel it is a bit harsh to not give me even a try.

[Hajimi]

The biggest problem with it is school. You can only raid certain times and if it runs any later you can't do it. If you get a project as schools tend to give to students then you may need to take an extended break to do that. I've been in plenty of guilds allowed it but they always got hte boot because school was and should be more important. Hell I don't even like inviting college kids for this same reasoning.

[Darth_Bond]

but i feel it is a bit harsh to not give me even a try.

 

 

welcome to interwebz

[Dayfax]

1) Learn to type proper English.

 

2) Never state your age.

 

3) Claim you have a headset but no mic.

 

4) Use "my boss" or "my job" to excuse unavailability instead of "my mom."

 

5) Age 5 years.

[freekyjason]

some guilds may ask for mature members due to the topics raised during discussion. at 13 some topics shouldnt really be raised.

 

personally i have no problem with younger people joining a guild, and would advise others that a younger member is present, but some guilds may choose to make it easier on themselves and their members by refusing entry to minors as such.

 

there may be many reasons, the most popular usually being based on the theory that 13-18 yr olds are too immature to play with. ive met plenty of 30+ yr olds i have avoided afterwards, so no bias here

 

this is part of an mmo. hiding your age is not the route to take i feel, as that can lead you into situations where your presence may create an ethical/moral issue, and exposure will lead to your removal anyways. take time and find a guild that will be mature around you, while accepting your age for what it is.

[Derfmiolleh]

Start your own kids only guild and pwn all the old farts.

[Carzem]

welcome to interwebz

 

Haha that was fun.

 

But about the raiding. I was thinking that i was almost only goning to play PVP so raid times do not really matter to me.

[Elhanan]

There are plenty of adults that have also done nothing with their lives; just a thought....

 

And there are plenty in these forums that may not use the best grammar and spelling, but as one that finds languages to be among the most difficult college courses to grasp, I smile at those that display talent for linguistics. If the point being made is clear, personally I have little problems with small errors.

 

While maturity is not only based on age, it is rare to see one that is mature at this young age. Many will not take a chance to test their resolve and worth; maybe some will. Keep seeking the latter, and do not fret over the former.

[lainewell]

I really don't see why you get asked your age to join a guild. Nor should you blatantly announce it for every one's consumption.

 

I would suggest just play normally, no need to divulge your age or whatever. We have youngsters playing in our guild and we really don't mind as long as they get along with everyone.

[Gharlane]

The folks I play with...mostly old friends from EQ2... are adults, mostly 40s and 50s. Do you REALLY want to hang out with us ? Do we really want to hang out with you ? Would you be happy ? Just sayin'.

[mousestalker]

Start your own kids only guild and pwn all the old farts.

 

 

This. Seriously, if you feel left out because of age, it's very likely that there others who feel the same way. Y'all should organize.

[Dreadvg]

Age dosent matter to me personaly, If your a good player then your a good player and I'd love to run things with you instead of caring people half the time. Bad english? Honestly if I can understand what your saying fine then I dont care and in game I dont think most people do (or shouldnt at least), I mean lets be honest here, I think we have all been in more situations where we couldnt understand what a 25 year old from spain (or somthing like that) is saying more than we have been in situations where we couldnt understand a 13 year old from the US.

 

 

In fact the only real issue with younger players is that some people feel like they cant talk freely around them because their kids. But come on, they here worse every day they go to school.

 

 

In terms of a hardcore raiding guild, yea I can see school being an issue untill you finaly graduate but a casual raiding guild shouldnt have any issues recruiting you.

 

 

If nothing else and you cant find a guild then do what has already been suggested. Lie about your age and claim to not have a mike. Its not like their gona come to your house and check after all

[kevlarto]

I been gaming for along time, I have had people in my guild that were 14, 15 ,16, they were mature and awsome gamers,i have had people in my guild that were 25, 26, 30+ even, that acted like Ahats, were worse than 12 year olds, age matters maybe, the kinda person you are matters even more, maybe if guilds these days took time to get to know it's prosepective members first they would find, in the end age does not not matter that much after all.

[archifikoss]

Hey as you can see the title says it all. I do not think that age should matter when it comes to hardcore ops or WZ when that comes, and of course not when you want to join a guild. Im aged 13 so im qualified to play this game but i got serious issues with joining a guild. Almost every time i say my age i get kicked or no invite. I think that is wrong. Some ppl says that you gotta be mature and understand and write good english. But maybye i can and im only 13 but i still get no invite. I want YOUR thoughts on this.

 

Carzem

 

PS: I play on the EU server Scepter of Ragnos currently lvl 41 Sorcerer named Wantzer.

 

I know how you feel, I used to hate seeing the usual "you must be 17 years or older to enter" signs on arcades, bars and other such establishments here. We've all been there and it's frustrating. However try to put yourself in their shoes:

 

It's up to each guild separately to pick and choose their members... Many people have had run-ins with badly behaved adolescents and use the age restriction as a very basic preventive measure. In those cases, your best bet would be if you actually knew a member of such a guild who would be willing to vouch for you.

 

Also, many guilds tend to be adult only because they don't feel comfortable having crass or lewd conversations in front of younger people. Not to mention, you would feel quite out of place with everyone discussing stuff like tax returns, their newborns or even old TV shows you may have never heard of or can't relate to. Believe me, you would feel awkward, I know from personal experience in (non gaming) communities I'd been in when I was your age.

 

That been said, I would personally be more than welcome to give a younger person a chance if I owned a guild - I've met some teens in-game who really surprised me with their maturity and decency. Hang in there Carzem, ask around and be on your best behavior. If you're a good chap, you're sure to find a good in-game home

Edited March 11, 2012 by archifikoss

[Mephismo]

I am old and I suck, so age matters:D

[Veluthurk]

Lie about your age despite DS points and don't talk in vent.

 

In my previous adult guild we discovered a 16 year old who I thought was 40. He even sounded 40 in vent 'cept he said something one day that caught my attention. That's when I discovered he was just 16. He had been in the guild for a month so I let him stay. I did have to warn a few of our female members that he was underage and Chris Hansen may be listening.

 

On the other hand we had a kick *** boomkin who had approached us about joining and was being looked at. In vent I thought he said he was 17. That was so close to 18 and played so well I let him join. It turned out I misheard him, he was actually 70, not 17. More than old enough. rofl

 

So really age doesn't matter too much so long as the person is mature enough to not cause conflict or drama with the adult members.

[Terimac]

when i played wow in pretbc and raided mc/bwl and all other endgame instances guess what age is was , 13 I dont remember if i said to everyguild i joined that i was 13 years old , but a good player is a good player no matter age. But true parents and school did limit my playtime abit but i was a sneaky bastard back then so i got through

 

Now iam 20 years old , but i almost wish i was 13 again because i mostly play this game for pvp so iam not eally looking for guilds in this game , and i dont find raiding in swtor so exciting as in wow YET.

 

oh man pretbc good old times.... well wow is beyond crap now ^^ Going to play Swtor until Diablo 3 releases ( dont hate)

[Ardelia]

 

 

In fact the only real issue with younger players is that some people feel like they cant talk freely around them because their kids. But come on, they here worse every day they go to school.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, that's not our decision to make....we're not their parents.

 

 

The other dimension here is self-protective. It doesn't matter what the kid says is ok, it doesn't matter what kind of disclosure is made ahead of time, you take a lot of risks introducing minors to an adult environment online.

 

I'm the GM of a guild of primarily "old farts". I require website participation and Vent (actually Mumble, but same concept) usage for raids. It only takes one time for me or another member of my guild to engage in a locker-room description of the female anatomy with a minor present, a parent to hear it and call the cops, and somebody's under investigation for making lewd comments to a minor online.

 

It doesn't matter if it's ultimately defensible or not (whether somebody could actually get in trouble for it); law enforcement does not discriminate when investigating those kind of claims, and whether we'd be found guilty or not, nobody needs that kind of investigation on their record or their conscience.

 

you might be a good player. you might actually be amazing. It's also certainly possible that you're very mature for your age. At the end of the day, though, I don't know you, I don't know your parents, and it's simply not worth the trouble.

[ErikModi]

Age does matter quite a bit.

 

First and foremost is ESRB rating. While this game is rated T for Teen, there's the little disclaimer that the ESRB does not rate online interactions. Which means that if you hear someone cuss in a multiplayer online game, that's not the ESRB's fault. Guilds who don't want to have to censor themselves may not want to have minors around. While it's entirely possible (even probable) that the teen in question has no problem with swearing (and, in fact, may be able to teach the adult members an inventive invective or two), they are still (possibly) monitored by parents or guardians, who may object to their child hearing that sort of language and yank them from the guild, forbidding the teen player from interacting with that guild again. Best case scenario, guild is no better or worse off than it was before. Worst case scenario, the teen player had filled a vital niche in the guild in some way, and by removing that critical linchpin, the parent has now caused that entire guild to collapse (before you laugh, I've seen it happen.)

 

Point one A, some role-playing guilds deal with more mature subject matter. That is not to strictly say ERP, but some things that parents may not want their children exposed to, with similar results above. In Star Wars Galaxies, a guild I was in was planning a very lovely wedding for two of our members. The bride wasn't heard from for several days, when all of a sudden we got a mass in-game mail from her. It was actually her mother, telling us all that the player was thirteen, the 'marriage' and her in-game 'fiancee' were disgusting, we should all be ashamed of ourselves for taking advantage of a minor, and that she was closing and locking her daughter's account and she would never be returning to this game, ever. (To be perfectly fair, the mother did also state something about the private communications between the 'bride' and 'groom,' indicating they had been ERPing, which I can understand as something a parent would not want their teen doing.) Not a pleasant bomb to have dropped on your guild, and it can lead to deeper issues down the road and even tear a guild apart.

 

Second, the issue of maturity. Now, we all know thirty and forty year olds who act like they just turned four. But the ratio of, shall we say, unpleasant immaturity is much higher among teens than adults. I know several kinds of behavior exhibited by this 'unpleasant immaturity' that I would like to completely avoid. If you exhibit said behaviors, do not not expect to be welcome in my company. Now, admittedly this point is about behavior rather than age, so it is entirely possible to circumvent it by being one of those oddly mature teens.

 

Point two A, with lack of maturity comes lack of coping skills. No one wants to see a critical party member bail on a Flashpoint, Operation, or Warzone because things aren't going to plan. It really sucks when the whole group has to start over from scratch with a new player or two because others couldn't take a deep breath, deal with their emotions, and get things done. Speaking from my own (not THAT distant) experience as a teen, that was MUCH harder for me to do between the ages of 13-20 than it is now. Teens tend to have much higher emotional states than adults, and this magnifies all the "drama" that any guild or group might go through, leading to more and more intense conflict. Many adults have only very limited time to play, they do not want to chew up that time dealing with the unfun kind of conflict. This is linked to the idea of maturity above. . . being over eighteen does not make you immune to ragequitting, and being under eighteen does not guarantee you ragequit over every little thing, but it is a concern that prejudices adults against teens.

 

Thirdly, as has been brought up before, the issues of time. While many adults do hold full-time jobs, and may have families and other responsibilities that eat into their play time, they are adults and capable of being responsible for their own decisions. If I have to be to work at 7am tomorrow morning, I can still choose to stay up until 3am datacron hunting with my guild, with the knowledge that I will be tired tomorrow. A teen does not usually have that luxury, as their parents (should) be enforcing some kind of curfew. Add on burdens of homework, school activities, and the ordinary chaos that is the life of a teenager, and it may be undesirable to have someone who cannot commit to a regular set schedule.

 

These are only reasons why a given group or guild may not want a minor tagging along. I encourage you, however, to find groups and guilds that don't care, or will even welcome youth to join. They are out there. And whatever happens, don't take it personally.

[Quintan]

All you people telling the kid to lie are real pieces of work.

 

Kid you get much much further in life just telling the truth.

 

Do some research and find a server/guild with lots of young people, you will enjoy it more.

There will come a time when you are also an old fart and can enjoy other farts hehehe.

[SaibotLiu]

Guilds wont pass on any chance to be elitist. They'd probably just as easily say no gays, cripples, (insert race here) if it was socially acceptable to do so. Theres no real reason to have an age requirement for the guild, if that person makes a nuisance of themselves because they're young and annoying you just remove them from the guild. Dont tell me a couple of clicks in an MMO is a big trouble.