Minimum Age and IQ requirements for FM'10

Dear All at SI;

As a Mac user, first of all, I'd like to thank and congratulate you on implementing DRM on Windows based machines, whilst I can't have a patch until Monday, it's been damn funny otherwise and you've provided monies worth in providing equal, if not greater entertainment.

Secondly, I'd like to ask specifically for a new feature for FM2010 that I feel would help make the forums a brighter and happier place following on from launch.

First off, can we have a minimum age rating for the game, let's be sensible and say something akin to 15 as an acceptable age minimum, hopefully this will allow the majority of users to be able to read and understand the message topics and individual forums without spamming the same useless topic over and over again, particularly in most PC Users' cases where the situation is machine configuration specific rather than there being any problem with the game.

After all, this is the Football Manager forums, not the 'I was distracted by all the flashing lights and cluelessly threw my money at the nearest PC World Saturday Kid without understanding anything about computers' forum.

Hopefully, it will also cut down on the number of petty rants, incriminations and back-biting that's going on and personally, would be a worthwhile addition to the game.

Secondly, I'd like the implementation of a 'Leisure Suit Larry' style age-requirement implementation. For those not meeting the age requirement, ask your father or sleazy looking Uncle.

In fact, we could combine the two measures and include the media module too, here's my take on some sample questions:

'You find your game has a repetitive problem, do you:

a) Go and download the patch?

b) Log on to the games forums and waste far more time and energy opening multiple threads whining about how you've been conned?

c) Both, but feel smug in your self-righteous lambasting?'

'You're having problems activating a remote Digital Rights Management software, do you'

a) Realise it's launch day and that no doubt the service is being overwhelmed and leave it until later in the hope that it will be quieter once all the school kids have gone to bed

b) Log on to the games forums and waste far more time and energy opening multiple threads whining about how you've been conned?

c) See B) but also stomp your tiny little feet about how being a 'long time devotee of the series, that's it! I'm getting my cash back and never buying your **** again!'?

You've taken your game back and had your money replaced do you'

a) Buy yourself a game similar but somehow lesser, enjoy it for a few days and then realise 'it's not FM though'?

b) Come on to the game's forum to gloat about how you had the temerity to stand up to the 'man' and return a product you felt was inferior?

c) Buy it a week later after hearing about how the patch had solved the majority of peoples' problems and feel a little bit more than embarrassed and foolish at all the fuss you kicked up over nothing because after all, it's just a game?

I think it may just work you know...

And again what was the point of making another pointless topic to clutter the forums?

We all know each year, people will have negative feedback, and positive. This year, perhaps negative is being done more. Fair, it is your opinion, and your allowed to air it freely.

And lastly, age requirements are based on the content within the game. There is nothing in FM that makes it a 15+ game.

Limited.

A bit rich that, applying common logic.

I think you should have to sit a test before you're allowed to purchase, no , no sir, I'm sorry but X where it asks for your name isn't really what we were looking for.

You've taken your game back and had your money replaced do you'

a) Buy yourself a game similar but somehow lesser, enjoy it for a few days and then realise 'it's not FM though'?

b) Come on to the game's forum to gloat about how you had the temerity to stand up to the 'man' and return a product you felt was inferior?

c) Buy it a week later after hearing about how the patch had solved the majority of peoples' problems and feel a little bit more than embarrassed and foolish at all the fuss you kicked up over nothing because after all, it's just a game?

I'm sure most are gonna choose this option:

d) Get a crack and play the game anyway.

And again what was the point of making another pointless topic to clutter the forums?

We all know each year, people will have negative feedback, and positive. This year, perhaps negative is being done more. Fair, it is your opinion, and your allowed to air it freely.

And lastly, age requirements are based on the content within the game. There is nothing in FM that makes it a 15+ game.

Limited.

The point was, 'Limited', that for once it was not a thread whining about the game not working/running and there would not be clutter if people would use just the tiniest bit of intelligence or patience in approaching the game. Yes, there are problems, they are recognised and largely fixed but the majority of posts are single machine specific problems and nothing to do with the game itself but the users.

Should people try reading around the forums rather than asking the same damn question time after time or moaning and bitching all the while and demanding an answer 'NOW!' like a three year old child, I would have more patience and tolerance with them

As you can see from Ritari's post above, I think you might be on to something.

However, there are plenty of "adults" who act as badly as children on this forum.

Fair point. I would expect people to use the search function as well. After all they didn't include it for fun purposes. But your age requirement issue, will get played down, cause there is 0 reason to "Really" take that into consideration. This is Football Manager, not Gears of war 2.

Plus you will be surprised at how old some of the people complaning are.

There are many posters who are well over 15 who are posting childish rants so an age restriction would be unfair as there are some genuine good posters under 15.

Fair point. I would expect people to use the search function as well. After all they didn't include it for fun purposes. But your age requirement issue, will get played down, cause there is 0 reason to "Really" take that into consideration. This is Football Manager, not Gears of war 2.

Plus you will be surprised at how old some of the people complaning are.

Funnily enough though, compared to GoW2 and FM, I know which of the two is more likely to make me drop F-bombs and create my own swear words too

I always click on these topics, yet never bother to read the boring essays or wall-o-texts.

Perhaps I should stop hoping for a unique point of view.

Physical age is not relevant, mental age is more so. Unfortunately, many physically adult users have never progressed from their mental childhood. This can be seen here as well as on many other forums. That's a sad fact of life.

And yet they want to play an in-depth tactical simulation on one of the most technologically advanced pieces of computer hardware...

Personally I'd call that irony.

Of course there are problems on the forums with people not searching and posting abusive posts, but an age restriction or a test isn't the way to fix that. Age doesn't bear as much correlation to forum sensibility as one might think, and it'd be far better to improve the forums by setting good examples for new users and having moderators being stricter (which should be easier now with more of them).

I take my hat off to the OP, this is the thread I've dreamed of writing.

If only SI could turn this into a reality... Still, in a strange way I do enjoy the sadistic pleasure that comes from reading the mindless ranting on these forums. And alas, only some of that can be attributed to age!

As a long time reader of 442to445's threads I think they've really dropped the ball with this one!!! There was nothing wrong with your last thread and frankly I don't see why you couldn't have just updated that one rather than putting out this flashy new thread that doesn't work. I for one will simply re-read you old posts 442 as frankly after this fiasco you do not deserve my further topic reading support.

P.S could you PM me the answers to Leisure Suit Larry