Aussie govt's planned mandatory net censorship regime to censor video games

[SGB]

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/games/web-filters-to-censor-video-games-20090625-cxrx.html

[enforcer888]

Fat chance they're going to go through with it... The ban would most likely include sites like ebay, steam, amazon, cdwow etc

Conroy's values are extremely archaic in this day and age, it's his own personal agenda nowdays with this games censorship crusade. It's his smug, arrogant and dismissive attitude when it comes to addressing people's objections to the censorship that is the biggest insult, and it's always 'for the children'.

If it does go through except a bunch of angry gamers out for his blood.

[16364279]

wont happen

[GoktimusPrime]

I'd like to highlight two things from that article...

Australia is the only developed country without an R18+ classification for games, meaning any titles that do not meet the MA15+ standard - such as those with excessive violence or sexual content - are simply banned from sale by the Classification Board, unless they are modified to remove the offending content.


This means that even Australians who are aged above 15 and want to obtain the adult-level games online will be unable to do so. It will undoubtedly raise the ire of gamers, the average age of which is 30 in Australia, according to research commissioned by the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia.
Why the hell doesn't the government just introduce a rating system that's already in place for film literature?

[SGB]

Why the hell doesn't the government just introduce a rating system that's already in place for film literature?
Blame S.A. AG Michael Atkinson. He's the one holding back an R-rating for video games.

He has a screwed up sense of reality and believes there should be no R-ratings for games in order to "protect adults". :rolleyes:

He maintains this line despite most other AGs, to my understanding, having no problems with the idea of R-ratings for games. Even one of Atkinson's own sons thinks he's stupid for holding back R-ratings for games.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

This is pretty un-workable. Its likely to just increase piracy from downloads and those who are in the know will find a way around the ISP blocking anyway.

This Conroy guy sounds like a complete dick from what I have seen about his lame ass net censorship and now this:mad:. If I could, I would vote his ass out quick smart.

However, if it did go through, it wold add fuel to the fire of Govt censorship debate as it would be seen as a step in the wrong direction.

To show the crapness of the MA rating anyway, the picture at the top of Fallout 3 which was originally refused classification (http://www.oflc.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/d853f429dd038ae1ca25759b0003557c/a1df4bf7177b9261ca2575a9002759ff!OpenDocument)had a revised rating after a change. It ended up being MA (http://www.oflc.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/d853f429dd038ae1ca25759b0003557c/aedebdbad84b3475ca2575a900275a00!OpenDocument), but if my memory serve me correctly, according to the guys at Good Game, all they changed was the name of the drug....

[SGB]

This Conroy guy sounds like a complete dick from what I have seen about his lame ass net censorship and now this:mad:.
He's an absolute dick. He shouldn't be Communications Minister at all because of his behaviour and his poor understanding of technology. He doesn't even know the difference between a Megabit and a Megabyte, and has even said in public that he is unable to set up a digital TV box!

You should have seen his performances on Q&A and Insight a couple of months back. Very face-palmy stuff.

Rudd made a big mistake keeping Conroy in the Communications portfolio. Conroy should have been booted out of that portfolio in the recent cabinet reshuffle.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

PLus Australia's rating system is pretty crap too.

[Golden Phoenix]

Blame S.A. AG Michael Atkinson. He's the one holding back an R-rating for video games.

He has a screwed up sense of reality and believes there should be no R-ratings for games in order to "protect adults". :rolleyes:

You guys are aiming you anger at the wrong people.
Remember who's fault it really is? The Mafia! :D


He maintains this line despite most other AGs, to my understanding, having no problems with the idea of R-ratings for games.

There are supposedly one or 2 who would prefer not to have a R rating, but would vote for an R rating if it was enforced properly. ie. being made illegal to sell R rated games to minors
Which I'd agree with. Fair enough, but you'd still have to have an R rating

[SGB]

You guys are aiming you anger at the wrong people.
Remember who's fault it really is? The Mafia! :D
The Russian mafia, to be precise. :p

[MV75]

Well that toss-pot moron Jack Thompson got disbarred, Con-fool-roy seems to be following in his crackpot footsteps.....

[enforcer888]

Arg lack of sleep, my vitriol was targeted towards Atkinson and not so much Conroy. Got them mixed up.

[Gutsman Heavy]

To show the crapness of the MA rating anyway, the picture at the top of Fallout 3 which was originally refused classification (http://www.oflc.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/d853f429dd038ae1ca25759b0003557c/a1df4bf7177b9261ca2575a9002759ff!OpenDocument)had a revised rating after a change. It ended up being MA (http://www.oflc.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/d853f429dd038ae1ca25759b0003557c/aedebdbad84b3475ca2575a900275a00!OpenDocument), but if my memory serve me correctly, according to the guys at Good Game, all they changed was the name of the drug....

that is true!

Don't they get that an R rating would HELP? Rather than shoehorning GTA into MA and let lots of kiddies get it, it would be R and make it a fair bit tougher for the kiddies to pick up, and I assume parents would be more wary of letting their kids play an R rated game than an MA one...

[GoktimusPrime]

By introducing a ratings system, or even an advisory system (like they have with music), it helps parents to make an informed choice when purchasing games. If they don't want their children to play games with violent and sexual content, and the game comes with a warning about that, then they can choose to not buy it. If they still go ahead and buy it and get upset about it, well then that's their own damn fault.

When I saw South Park The Movie in the cinema there was a man who brought his children in to see it. After the first 10 minutes he quickly dragged his children out. I felt no real pity for that parent... the movie is rated R for a bloody reason and he should've paid attention. The cinema staff also should never have sold the tickets to those kids (which he must've informed them of in order to get children's discount).

I'm aware that our ratings systems has its flaws, like the M rating which is bollocks, but the core concept of it is sound insofar as giving consumers a more informed choice.


He has a screwed up sense of reality and believes there should be no R-ratings for games in order to "protect adults".
That's stupid. The entire point of being an adult is that you have to take responsibility for yourself. If, as an adult, you don't like certain material, then make the conscious choice not to view it! For example, if someone finds pornography to be offensive and finds a pornographic magazine or DVD that has a warning label on it, then that adult can choose to, oh I don't know, NOT view that material!! Adults making responsible choices for themselves -- HOLY SH**!!

*ahem* It sounds to me that this guy just wants to treat adults like children. If so, I wanna borrow his car. :p

[roller]

hmmmmm popular opinion on this board is against this proposal

so im going to do what i always do

im going to do the opposite



bring on the ban!! woo woo woo

[hotaru_oz]

he wants to protect adults by refusing an R rating for games? What is he high? He's basically treating the adult population of Australia like we're a bunch morons.

[Golden Phoenix]

He's basically treating the adult population of Australia like we're a bunch morons.

I work in cafe and through my experience I'd say this is mostly true :p

[Gutsman Heavy]

When I saw South Park The Movie in the cinema there was a man who brought his children in to see it. After the first 10 minutes he quickly dragged his children out. I felt no real pity for that parent... the movie is rated R for a bloody reason and he should've paid attention. The cinema staff also should never have sold the tickets to those kids (which he must've informed them of in order to get children's discount).


Nah its MA, I saw it with my mum, THANKS MUMMY!

http://www.oflc.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/5c2433d416948a0bca25759f00820d25/f2c8617b29419422ca2575a900266257!OpenDocument

[hotaru_oz]

I remember South Park being rated PG when it first aired on SBS years ago, I remember when the movie came out the ratings were kicked up to M.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I work in cafe and through my experience I'd say this is mostly true :p

Bit of a delay here, keep in mind that a person is smart, but people are stupid...:p

[Dkaris]

take away net freedom and video games and watch the online communities begin to take down government sites, and DDOS their servers. it wont happen.

[SofaMan]

Some things we can all do to keep this well and truly in the public eye are:

1) Donate to GetUp's Censordyne campaign
https://www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaveTheNet&id=684

2) Join Electronic Frontiers Australia. They do vital advocacy and research work to both keep people aware of this sort of thing and taking their representations up to government.
http://www.efa.org.au/

:cool:

[SGB]

Some things we can all do to keep this well and truly in the public eye are:

1) Donate to GetUp's Censordyne campaign
https://www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaveTheNet&id=684
I suggest everyone here make a donation.

The ad was shown during "Meet The Press" yesterday morning, and on the Sky News channel this morning. The more money raised for the campaign, the more air time the ad will get.