Parents - Revision history

BRFennPocock at 18:34, 21 July 2016

2016-07-21T18:34:00Z

BRFennPocock at 23:33, 20 July 2016

2016-07-20T23:33:46Z

BRFennPocock: /* Outside Content */

2016-07-20T19:34:58Z

‎Outside Content

BRFennPocock at 19:29, 20 July 2016

2016-07-20T19:29:54Z

BRFennPocock at 19:20, 20 July 2016

2016-07-20T19:20:00Z

BRFennPocock at 19:18, 20 July 2016

2016-07-20T19:18:10Z

BRFennPocock: /* Adults-Only Areas */

2016-07-20T17:51:00Z

‎Adults-Only Areas

BRFennPocock: Created page with "= Parents' Guide to Tootsville V (the game) = Tootsville is a fun, safe place for your whole family to play together online. Here are some hints and informatio..."

2016-07-20T17:40:30Z

Created page with "= Parents' Guide to Tootsville V (the game) = Tootsville is a fun, safe place for your whole family to play together online. Here are some hints and informatio..."

New page

= Parents' Guide to [[Tootsville|Tootsville V]] (the game) =

Tootsville is a fun, safe place for your whole family to play together online. Here are some hints and information to help you make the most of it.

* Note, we use “parent” here to mean, “parent, legal guardian, guardian ad litem, or other person responsible for a child,” in the general sense.

== Signing In ==

We require sign-ins using a Google Account, which means each person signing in *must* be over the age of 13 years. (Visit http://MyAccount.Google.Com/ to sign up or check your settings. This is the same account you might use for Google-owned services like Gmail, YouTube, Google Docs/Drive, or Google+, among other things.)

Teen-agers can have their own accounts, that means — it's up to you.

Younger kids will need a parent to sign them in.

== Child Accounts ==

You can create accounts for your children to use. Once created, you can give permanent or temporary “guardianship” to other adults.

For example: Jane and John have two children; Adam is 16, and Brenda is 9. Jane signs in with her Google Account and creates a Child account for Brenda. John and Adam each sign in to their own Google accounts.

Since Jane knows John and Adam's Google account names (which are usually Gmail e-mail addresses, like `johndoe@gmail.com`), she can add them both as family members and give John permanent permission to sign in for Brenda.

John and Jane go out, and leave Adam to babysit for Brenda. While they're away, Jane gets a request on her smartphone from Adam to let Brenda sign in. She gives Adam temporary permission to sign in Brenda.

= Kids and Adult Content =

Let's face it: we can't police everyone, all the time. Just like in the real world, some players may use language that we don't want our younger children to hear, or discuss adult topics like alcohol, sex, or smoking.

While it has never happened yet, there's also the remote possibility that some kind of online child predator might attempt to interact with a child through the game, possibly even masquerading as another child, themself. (Obviously, we would work strenuously with law enforcement if we ever were to suspect such activity.)

Ultimately, we have to say, it's *your* responsibility to monitor your child's online interactions. However, we do provide the tools to make it easier.

== The Black Diamond ◆ ==

To help remind adults to act appropriately around children, a black diamond symbol (◆) appears next to the names of children. This is to help other players to know that they should “mind their manners” around these players.

You can voluntarily place a White Diamond (◇) next to your own character's name. This lets others know that you would prefer that they avoid offensive speech around you. We refer to this as the “Sensitive Player” symbol.

== Sidekick Mode ==

You can join up with your younger child as a “sidekick” pair. (You can decide if you're their sidekick, or they're yours.) In this mode, you'll be able to “hear” everything that your child can hear, and even “mute” other players.

== “Be Nice!" Button ==

The “Be Nice!” button can be used to ask another player to watch their language. It appears in every speech bubble, when you tap on the speech balloon or move your mouse pointer over it, and looks like a “thumbs down” symbol. When you click it, the other player will get a warning reminding them to play nicely with others.

== Reporting Inappropriate Conduct ==

There are two different rules at play, here:

* Completely inappropriate conduct includes hate speech, bullying, and other extreme language.
* Contextually inappropriate conduct includes using profanity, discussing sex, drugs, alcohol, or violence, or other similar content around children or when it makes other users uncomfortable.

Hate speech, bullying, and so forth should always be reported by clicking the “Be Nice!” button three times. The icon will turn into a Warning Sign (⚠) and you'll see a pop-up confirmation box.

Contextually inappropriate language cannot be reported unless there are children or sensitive players (marked by the black or white diamond by their name) nearby.

=== Adults-Only Areas ===

Some places in the game may be reserved for adults. These areas will not allow children (or anyone with the “Sensitive Player” setting enabled) to enter.

Hate speech or bullying are *never* allowed, but these locations provide a safe haven in which adults can discuss topics not appropriate around children.

One such location in [[Toot Square Mall]] is [[Quiggen's Coffee]]. Also in [[Tootsville (city)]] is the [[Dawn Montgomery Cabaret]], and at [[Taft Landing]] is [[Blossum's Scuttlebutt]].

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:34, 21 July 2016
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		+	== READ THIS FIRST ==
		+
		+	Most of the child account features mentioned here are not yet working. [[Builder:Child Account Creation]] will be updated as we work through the bugs. (Note, you can Watch that page for updates from the tools at the top, by “Read” and “Talk,” and post comments on the “Talk” page.)
		+
	= Parents' Guide to [[Tootsville\|Tootsville V]] (the game) =		= Parents' Guide to [[Tootsville\|Tootsville V]] (the game) =

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:33, 20 July 2016
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	John and Jane go out, and leave Adam to babysit for Brenda. While they're away, Jane gets a request on her smartphone from Adam to let Brenda sign in. She gives Adam temporary permission to sign in Brenda.		John and Jane go out, and leave Adam to babysit for Brenda. While they're away, Jane gets a request on her smartphone from Adam to let Brenda sign in. She gives Adam temporary permission to sign in Brenda.
		+
		+	== Friend List ==
		+
		+	Characters in the game may have a [[mobile phone]]. This can be used to place voice and video calls or send short messages (SMS) to other players.
		+
		+	Only people on your [[Friend List]] can call you.
		+
		+	You can accept or decline [[Friend List]] requests from other players on behalf of your child. You can also remove their ability to use the (in-game) [[mobile phone]] except to contact you, another parent or guardian that you've added, or other children of yours.
		+
		+	(Using the previous example, Brenda would be permitted to chat only with John, Jane, or Adam.)
		+
		+	Child accounts are currently created with mobile phone locked down to family only, like this, but you can choose to adjust it.

	= Kids and Adult Content =		= Kids and Adult Content =

@@ Line 66: / Line 66: @@
 = Outside Content =
-Some real-world content is accessible from within Tootsville.
+Some real-world content is accessible from within Tootsville. All of these outside materials are generally accessible over the World-Wide Web. While we ''do'' take some care in selecting sources, you may want to monitor your child's access to these resources.
 == Movies ==
@@ Line 75: / Line 79: @@
 The [[T University Library]] has tens of thousands of real-world books in electronic form. Not all of them are appropriate for children, but there is a curated collection of children's books (see https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Category:Children%27s_Bookshelf ) that is easily located near the entrance.

@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 One such location in [[Toot Square Mall]] is [[Quiggen's Coffee]]. Also in [[Tootsville (city)]] is the [[Dawn Montgomery Cabaret]], and at [[Taft Landing]] is [[Blossum's Scuttlebutt]].
 == Movies ==
 [[Theatre Downtown]] plays movies from the [[Creative Commons]]. We pre-select movies that are appropriate for general audiences (equivalent to a “G” or “PG” type rating in the US), but not all movies may be appropriate for younger children; eg, they may be scary or contain some violence. The [[Theatre Downtown|marquee]] outside the Theatre tells what shows are scheduled.

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:20, 20 July 2016
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	== Movies ==		== Movies ==

−	[[Theatre Downtown]] plays movies from the [[Creative Commons]]. We pre-select movies that are appropriate for general audiences (equivalent to a “G” or “PG” type rating in the US), but not all movies may be appropriate for younger children; eg, they may be scary or contain some violence. The [[~~marquee\|~~Theatre Downtown]] outside the Theatre tells what shows are scheduled.	+	[[Theatre Downtown]] plays movies from the [[Creative Commons]]. We pre-select movies that are appropriate for general audiences (equivalent to a “G” or “PG” type rating in the US), but not all movies may be appropriate for younger children; eg, they may be scary or contain some violence. The [[Theatre Downtown\|marquee]] outside the Theatre tells what shows are scheduled.

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:18, 20 July 2016
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	One such location in [[Toot Square Mall]] is [[Quiggen's Coffee]]. Also in [[Tootsville (city)]] is the [[Dawn Montgomery Cabaret]], and at [[Taft Landing]] is [[Blossum's Scuttlebutt]].		One such location in [[Toot Square Mall]] is [[Quiggen's Coffee]]. Also in [[Tootsville (city)]] is the [[Dawn Montgomery Cabaret]], and at [[Taft Landing]] is [[Blossum's Scuttlebutt]].
		+
		+	== Movies ==
		+
		+	[[Theatre Downtown]] plays movies from the [[Creative Commons]]. We pre-select movies that are appropriate for general audiences (equivalent to a “G” or “PG” type rating in the US), but not all movies may be appropriate for younger children; eg, they may be scary or contain some violence. The [[marquee\|Theatre Downtown]] outside the Theatre tells what shows are scheduled.

@@ Line 58: / Line 58: @@
 === Adults-Only Areas ===
-Some places in the game may be reserved for adults. These areas will not allow children (or anyone with the “Sensitive Player” setting enabled) to enter.
+Some places in the game may be reserved for adults. These [[Adults Only]] areas will not allow children (or anyone with the “Sensitive Player” setting enabled) to enter.
 Hate speech or bullying are *never* allowed, but these locations provide a safe haven in which adults can discuss topics not appropriate around children.
 One such location in [[Toot Square Mall]] is [[Quiggen's Coffee]]. Also in [[Tootsville (city)]] is the [[Dawn Montgomery Cabaret]], and at [[Taft Landing]] is [[Blossum's Scuttlebutt]].