DS attractive to Child Molesters?

[Shino]

WHAT?

Yeah... That's what they are reporting in Milwaukee

It's sad that things have gotten to this point.

[Razer]

The DS is attractive to child molesters...then again, so are little boys. So are we to do away with both of them?

Here's some excerpts from the article:
Nintendo claims the range is 65 feet, but FOX 6 was able to send messages from one DS unit to another from more than 300 feet away.
I have not tested this myself but I highly doubt this unless you're talking about standing in a clear field or in the end zones of a football stadium. And then wouldn't you know who your molester is?

In the owners manual and on its website, Nintendo warns parents to talk to their children about Pictochat to make sure they don't respond to messages from strangers, but FOX 6 found most parents don't even know Nintendo DS has this feature because they haven't read the manual.
And this is Nintendo's fault? It's in the manual AND the website! I am a parent and I read even the instructions for a toaster when I buy it...well, maybe not a toaster. Still, I personally check out everything I buy my kids or anyone else's kids. America...Land of the failed parent.

[Nogrick]

[Kugyou]

Parents who are unaware of a potentially-risky feature of something they buy for their child...an "expose" on a risk that should be a "well,duh" to anyone whose brain wasn't rotted straight through by video games...and a sense of wonderment at people who don't read manuals.

It's like the Sokolove epilepsy controversy all over again.

That one was Nintendo, too.

[Silver Adept]

This is really not too much different that saying the Internet is attractive to child molestors. This is known, and parents should be warning their children about those kinds of things. So the DS can do Pictochat - all the rules regarding responding to strange messages should already be in place. It still behooves a parent to read the manual and find out about these features (after all, if the DS could do Internet browsing, parents would want to know that.), but I guess I wonder why the media has so little faith in children that they don't expect them to apply lessons learned in one setting to another setting.

[RivaOni]

I thought this would be an atack on Nintendo, but no where is it said that its Nintendo's fault, the device is used as an example of a means that a Paedophile could use, its not "attractive" to them, its more a potential tool that may be used and I think its a good thing that FOX have brought it to light.

Neither of the mums knew what was on the system, one thought it was a gameboy with better graphics... and the other basically said "well its not on the advert how am I supposed to know?"

Answer? Take fucking notice of what your kids are doing, what they're interests are and what you're buying.

No ones saying "take this stuff off the shelf" or anything of the sort, which is what most of the serious gaming websites seem to be assuming and its that sort of attitude that gives the industry its immature reputation.

No ones saying that it will be used by a paedophile, but gamers, who have spent the past few years under attack from news sources and other people who can easily gain the spotlight thakns to their "respectful" positions jump and immediatly start rubbishing these claims.

If a mobile phone can be used to lure kids into a paedophiles hands (which if I remember rightly is how Holly and Jessica from the UK ended up at Ian Huntley's house after he SMS'd them) so acn something that uses wifi to send and recieve messages over whatever distance (in a crowded area it can be impossible to spot someone with a DS) where all the reciever has to do is accept the other person invite to chat or whatever.

Case in point, my niece accpeted my email address onto her MSN contact list after I'd added her, she's 12 no one in my family knows me as RivaOni and I forgot to include a message, yet she still accepted my address. All kids really want is to make lots of friends, and thats what they'd probably see someone wanting to chat in Pictochat as, and its upto the parent to put into the child some kind of thought to ask their parent before accepting an invite to chat to someone they don't know and to monitor the child chatting to this unknown person.

[ScrumYummy]

I like what Penny Arcade had to say about it: "There is probably something here that could be of use to parents, but it is buried so deeply in viewer manipulation that it couldn't possibly be extricated."

[Shurikane]

I am absolutely certain the staggering majority of people who used Pictochat drew a penis as their first message.

It's a chat program. What did the people expect? Flowers and butterflies?

[GAAZ]

Osiris drew Luigi and Mario making out in graphic detail.

It was a VERY impressive picture that scarred me for life.

Also I find the DS VERY attractive...Mayhaps I am a child molester.

[Gekko]

This article and these parents are prime examples of Sheeple, they aren't real ppl, they LOOK like them, but they are mindless, wandering, consumerist zombies. Thinking that if they just can get "THAT" they'll be happy. The hypocrisy of democracy is terribly apparent here. The sheeple of this country are simply being led to become "the one with the most toys" by the ones WITH the most toys. Monetary value cripples the desire for spiritual and mental self-assuredness. Which is why we have so many "sad" ppl, everyone has EVERYTHING they need, and more accurately, want. But they still feel empty inside, worthless. It's because money only has the value we put on it, but when we value EVERYTHING monetarily, we lose perspective. It really is sad. /end rant