Online Worlds > Xeko (Elf Island)
HOST-Lily and MOD-Mocha no longer part of Elf Island staff
PrincessWendyBird:
--- Quote from: Purpleduck on September 21, 2009, 03:31 PM ---Right here is a forum for EI. You all even posted in it! :lolg:
We really hadn't had too many playing EI lately, so I let it slide for the past month or so, keeping up on blogs and new items.
But this can become as much of a forum as any would like (for EI), just as we have a very alive and major forum for VFK as well.
--- End quote ---
:lolg: Well, I guess I figured our forums were a given for adults out there. I posted the other site thinking some people might be able to pass it on to the many kids who belonged to Bug's site. Hugs to all of you who had found a home at EI and are now finding yourselves "homeless" again. :bighug:
Bugdozer:
Hi, Looks like I need to respond.
No one but me knows what I am going through. I lived on Elf Island from opening to closing. I promoted the game since before it opened. It became my home. So not only do I not have my site that I love but I am homeless again with no game to play. I feel like they let me down.
As the owner of a site there is a huge responsibility. It is even more so when you decide to make it a kids site. When I took this on with Slinkyman at the beginning the most important thing was/is the safety of the members. I wanted to run the type of site I would have wanted for my kid when they were 8yo and up. I took the steps necessary to become Coppa compliant. I took this job seriously. I could not live with myself if a child was hurt due to someone contacting them through my site.
I was left with no choice. An adult staff (host) used my site to contact a 14 yo child. Does not matter if you or I think this person is "safe" this is extremely dangerous. Would you want a stranger contacting your child? To see the things this adult told this kid is just so wrong. Then to tell her where she lives is beyond belief. Not only did they break rules on my site but this staff broke her contract and her rules of her job. Seems she was so unhappy with her co workers and her job that she had to go a child to complain to. I don't know how anyone could find this acceptable.
I took the steps necessary that was in best interest of all- banned them and contacted the game owners. Everything would have been fine if they had done what should have been done to start with. That staff should have been relieved of her job. But when I talked to them on the phone I was fed a story about how they were a new company and wanted to treat their employees like family. That is fine but the safety of kids are at stake here. I was informed that by Coppa laws if the girl had been 13 or under they would have had no choice but to fire their staff person. So I guess she is lucky the child she picked was 14. I was in unbelievable disbelief that nothing was done. I gave worst punishment on my site then she received.
I struggled with this for weeks. I hoped they would see their error and do the right thing. Things were going downhill so fast and bad. The talk allowed on the island broke my heart. The game was sinking before my eyes. For a place whose motto is do good they were not seeing what was happening in their world.
As word was getting out the other day things went bad fast. It was becoming a fighting match. I had a kid start posting vulgar messages to me. I had to stop it from getting worst. I did not need to have Elf Island come to me and say that I kept the site open only so people could bash them. Even in my anguish and despair of what was happening I tried to have some respect for the game. My statement was extremely hard to write and post.
Judge me if you must but you have not walked in my shoes. I miss my site terribly. The kids, the people, the articles, the pictures, the honor of producing something quality for the kids. I go there all the time still and look at my home page and just cry. I look at it and say EI why can't you do the right thing. I miss being in the game all the time. I LOVED this month theme. I feel like I have been a walking zombie for 3 days. This is killing me more than any of you.
If EI was to fix the problems then I would consider starting up again but I know that will never happen as in their eyes they have done nothing wrong. In my eyes allowing a staff that could easily try to contact another child to stay is just plain wrong and dangerous.
It you think your butts hurt, be happy it is just that as once again I had my heart ripped out.
Bug
RosieC:
:hug: Big Bug Hugs to you Bug! :hug:
DreamTulip:
I am sad to hear about all these events. I can't really comment on the host and child relationship/EI response and things that have been occurring on EI since I only know about it all from reading these posts (other than wow, that is scary that it sounds like adults are abusing their "power" and not putting children first and I am sad for Lily and Mocha losing their jobs for standing up for what they saw as inapporpriate).
I haven't been on EI in months because I have more interest in other online places and not enough time for it all. I was a member of Slinky/Bug's forum from the beginning, and although it has been awhile since I have visited there as well, I always saw it as really well made and fun. You could tell a lot of time, money, and heart was put into it. The contests and ideas were cute and it was well moderated.
Huge hugs to you Bug. From all I have read/heard you made the best, safest decisions. I am sad that you and many more are once again out of a "home". I hope that people aren't upset at you because I agree that giving notice of closing would have probably caused some inappropriate comments and information being posted. While I don't know what you are going through, your post shows you commitment to the best interest of children and the love you have/had for your site and EI. Thank you for sharing, and best wishes to you, Lily, Mocha, and all the former EIers in finding a new place to call virtual home.
~Dream
Decoy:
--- Quote from: PrincessWendyBird on September 21, 2009, 06:36 PM ---
--- Quote from: Purpleduck on September 21, 2009, 03:31 PM ---Right here is a forum for EI. You all even posted in it! :lolg:
We really hadn't had too many playing EI lately, so I let it slide for the past month or so, keeping up on blogs and new items.
But this can become as much of a forum as any would like (for EI), just as we have a very alive and major forum for VFK as well.
--- End quote ---
:lolg: Well, I guess I figured our forums were a given for adults out there. I posted the other site thinking some people might be able to pass it on to the many kids who belonged to Bug's site. Hugs to all of you who had found a home at EI and are now finding yourselves "homeless" again. :bighug:
--- End quote ---
Just to clarify we have a number of wonderful boards for a variety of games and activities. We do try to keep the public portions of the site kid friendly, however we are not, nor will we ever be a kid's site.
The whole reason KnoBS began was to get away from the childish BS running rampant at other sites. It is therefore our intention to maintain a site as free of said BS as possible.
There have been a few cases when there have been suspicions of members under 18 on this site, and even a couple of times that a member has clearly shown there age to be under 18. In the cases of the second example they were banned an told they would be welcomed back when they were an adult. In the cases where there has been only a suspicion, we have tried to make our judgments solely on the content of their posts and their behavior.
For these reasons I have no problem with sharing information about other sites, or even clearly suggesting, in public sections of the forum, alternatives for younger players of any of the games we have boards for.
On another note pertaining to this thread, I am deeply saddened to hear of all that has gone on. As a forum administrator / website owner my heart goes out to you Bug. :hug:
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