Open Letter to Parents of league of Legends Players

This looks like a good topic of discussion.

source: http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.co...etter-to-parents-of-league-of-legends-players

"
This is an online game. In most cases, your child is playing with real people. Please take a moment to understand how this game's person-to-person interaction functions. In the past, I have seen numerous stories of children who routinely disconnect mid-game because it's bedtime, or their parents decide that they've played enough for the day. Some of these stories have come from parents themselves, proudly stating that they are firm about making their children stop playing at a specific time.

While it is admirable that you are teaching children some responsibility to schedules, please stop neglecting to teach them responsibility to other people. Unless your child is playing a Custom Game, his actions will permanently affect the statistics of up to 9 other people. Don't enforce behavior that involves disregarding other people. Do you want your child being callous to people in face-to-face situations too?

The average game of League of Legends lasts over 30 minutes. Many last close to an hour. When a game has begun, players have implicitly committed their time to each other until the game ends.

If you have given your child a strict cutoff time for play, do not allow him to begin a game if he has less than an hour left.

• Bedtime in 30 minutes? Don't allow him to start a new game.
• Dinner in 45 minutes? Don't allow him to start a new game.

If a game is in progress, do not interrupt it unless it is an emergency. You are affecting up to 10 people, not just your child.

• Feel like checking your e-mail on the same computer? Please wait until the game is over so you don't completely ruin things for the real people on your child's team.
• Is a game that started 90 minutes before bedtime somehow still in progress at 87 minutes? Please allow him to finish the match so you don't completely ruin things for the real people on your child's team. Games almost never last that long, and if people lose due to a teammate quitting after spending that much time on a match, they are likely to be more upset than usual.

Now you're probably thinking, "But what if my child takes advantage of me and starts a game 5 minutes before bedtime because now I'll feel guilty about making him quit a game in progress?" I have an answer for that. Are you ready for it? It's a two parter.

1. Let him finish the game. This sounds like you're letting your child walk all over you, but please just let the game finish normally and follow through with step 2.
2. Ground him. You're the parent. Don't let him play League for a while. If your kid tries to exploit you, you don't have to stand for it. Step 1 is just about showing courtesy to other people and being responsible to the team. However, your child should definitely learn that there are consequences for all actions.

If you are a parent and can't figure out why this is a problem, take some time to read how people react to children prematurely abandoning games.

If you know any parents who make their kids leave mid-game on a whim, please direct them to this thread."

 

lol.

 

Vidya iz SRS bizness.

 

Oh look, someone who has some fucking sense. What's he doing playing LoL?

 

I feel compelled to add that this is the article I found the link to that in, where the author is using this as an example of player's taking their games too seriously.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-reasons-we-need-to-take-video-game-addiction-seriously/

 

I'll come out and say it- I very much have the same reaction to that letter that the writer of that article conveyed.

 

Haha, love that article;

"Online, being a dick is like meth for your self-esteem."

Tru.

 

I can't even...

I want to punch whoever wrote that open letter in the dick. Seriously?

I mean... seriously?

 

He has decent points, but for all the wrong reasons. Instead of it being a letter about teaching their kids responsibility so they're not cunts as adults (which I fully support), he's simply worried about his elo and e-peen (which I couldn't give less of a fuck about).

 

You hit the nail on the head, Bear. That's exactly why I'm like... wut?

This guy is telling parents how to raise their children over a LoL score? Get a life, dude.

 

LoL players need lives. CONFIRMED!

 

So what a few of you are saying is. The next time I'm in a 12 man group for community warfare in MWO, it's okay for me to just leave at the start of a match and just go do what ever.

 

well we'll be annoyed that we are a person down but real life comes first brah.

 

Honestly I can see both sides.

The game IS NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL. LOOSING IS NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL. There, I said it. We know, we get it that it is a game, and your ELO will recover.. WHATEVER we know.

However, there is something else that the letter does note that no one is talking about, time. This is something I dealt with when I was running raids in WoW and Rift. When you say you are going to be somewhere, please try your best to show up. We know things happen, but the fact is there are potentially 19 other people who have set aside time for something they want to do too. There are people who that is all the time they get, they get this set of 2 hours to do this raid, and then they have to go back to being a responsible adult. Well, when 3 people don't show up because they double booked, or planned poorly, now they have to waste time re-organizing things instead of doing the thing they enjoy doing. It is about recreation, it is about having fun. It is also about respecting other.

Now, the problem with the article is when they start talking about dinner time and bedtime and things like that. That was unnecessary in my opinion. Simply saying, hey if you guys are going to play this game, great. However, keep in mind there are 7 other people who have put in time for this game, and this may very well be there only game they get to run because they are busy adults with many important things to do.

So yes, I agree with parts of it, and there are parts that are a little ridiculous. I think you should have respect for people's time in gaming online, as well as in day to day life. There really is not much difference, but for gaming it is something we enjoy doing and would like to be able to have a good time, as opposed to wasting the time that we did have getting stomped because someone decides to not hold up their end of the bargain.

That is my 2 cents.

 

God, I love PA.

Hollister, if you dropped from a 12 man because your Mom sent you to bed, no - we wouldn't hate on you. Listen to your Mom, bro.

 

If there's a pressing matter you have to deal with in RL, then yes, it's perfectly understandable. If you do it just to be a spiteful tool or rage quit, then that's a problem.

 

The thing I was trying to get it is, be respectful of others, no matter what medium. At least try to. Until they start acting like dicks, then fuck em.