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[ZombiePlatypus]

Do you even have a 3DS?

It's protected by a pin. If you fail that after three times you have to enter in two password responses. If you fail that you have to actually call customer service to get it reset to verify your age.

This isn't "Nintendo failing". This is a very robust parental controls system.

How readily accessible is this stuff to parents though? I always neglect parental-controls cause I personally have absolutely no use for it. Do parents have to dig for this stuff to enable it, or is it readily presented to them when the system's booted for the first time? (I don't remember what the parental controls prompt was like when I turned my XL on for the first time.)

 

[Arc Christelle]

And there goes my dreams of being able to enjoy Mario Online. Killed by pedophiles and some improper ass lil girls.

 

[rpmurphy]

IIRC you can't put numbers on Animal Crossing's chat feature, so you can't exchange friend-codes.

But it's been a while.... I could be mistaken.

Unless that changed in the past several months, you should be able to. And not just that though... if you visit someone's village online, you can add the other visitors to your friends list without having to swap friendcodes (you still both have to add each other). This is how my friends list doubled in size due to the game, most of the new people being Japanese players.

 

[mollipen]

False equivalencies all up in this post.

How? The point is that if somebody wants to prey on children, it's going to happen. There's nothing special about Swapnote that made it a good utility to do so, and shutting the entire service down because something terrible happened over it is short-sighted.

 

[FyreWulff]

How? The point is that if somebody wants to prey on children, it's going to happen. There's nothing special about Swapnote that made it a good utility to do so, and shutting the entire service down because something terrible happened over it is short-sighted.

Nintendo isn't obligated to let it happen on their private servers, though. They're not going to fall on their sword over an app they were about to replace with MiiVerse anyway.

maybe I'm just a square bear when it comes to knowing stuff like this, but how does an older man (late 40's) like that get a 12 year old to agree to go inside a hotel room?

and yes, even if there is a chance that the 12 year old is the one pushing for it as well...of course that older man is still 100% responsible for his actions.

grooming

 

[PhantomR]

How? The point is that if somebody wants to prey on children, it's going to happen. There's nothing special about Swapnote that made it a good utility to do so, and shutting the entire service down because something terrible happened over it is short-sighted.

Not even bothering to look at this from Nintendo's perspective from a legal perspective is RIDICULOUSLY short-sighted.

 

[ZombiePlatypus]

How? The point is that if somebody wants to prey on children, it's going to happen. There's nothing special about Swapnote that made it a good utility to do so, and shutting the entire service down because something terrible happened over it is short-sighted.

I agree with you, but I don't think it's fair to also ignore the idea that Nintendo's products could attract kids more than other online enabled goods. They kinda have to be more careful with how they roll out their services.

 

[PhantomR]

How readily accessible is this stuff to parents though? I always neglect parental-controls cause I personally have absolutely no use for it. Do parents have to dig for this stuff to enable it, or is it readily presented to them when the system's booted for the first time? (I don't remember what the parental controls prompt was like when I turned my XL on for the first time.)

Nope. It's right there in the system settings as it's own section and there is even a separate parental controls icon on the 3DS Home Menu.

And like you mentioned, when you turn the system on for the very first time it will walk you through the parental control setup, and the features that you can have restricted is a fairly long list.


That's why I think people up in here even TRYING to place blame on Nintendo for this ( not you) need to have their heads examined.

 

[Nilaul]

Well we are not getting our nintendo phone anytime soon.

 

[fabricated backlash]

Disgusting shit. I guess this explains the Nuke option.

 

[Herb Alpert]

Nope. It's right there in the system settings as it's own section and there is even a separate parental controls icon on the 3DS Home Menu.

And like you mentioned, when you turn the system on for the very first time it will walk you through the parental control setup, and the features that you can have restricted is a fairly long list.


That's why I think people up in here even TRYING to place blame on Nintendo for this ( not you) need to have their heads examined.

They're definitely not to blame, and their behaviour can be seen as very responsible from a parent point of view. They acted quickly to disarm something that potentially could have mean a image disaster right before holiday season.
But I hope shuting down the service doesn't mean they will be even more defiant on online features.
They definitely need accounts that can be banned. They could cooperate with police in these cases.

 

[Deleted member 125677]

This is also a reason on why they need to get an account system going.

Ban those fuckers

 

[PhantomR]

They're definitely not to blame, and their behaviour can be seen as very responsible from a parent point of view. They acted quickly to disarm something that potentially could have mean a image disaster right before holiday season.
But I hope shuting down the service doesn't mean they will be even more defiant on online features.
They definitely need accounts that can be banned. They could cooperate with police in these cases.

Reasonable points on your part.

I think Nintendo can bring Miiverse to 3DS as that is already heavily moderated. Maybe disable adding attachments on direct messages and restrict any video conferencing features like the Wii U has.

 

[Jintor]

A twelve year old. Man... urgh.

 

[hirokazu]

How does exchanging Swap Notes end with meeting dirty old men in a hotel room?!

Fuck these dudes.

 

[mollipen]

I agree with you, but I don't think it's fair to also ignore the idea that Nintendo's products could attract kids more than other online enabled goods. They kinda have to be more careful with how they roll out their services.

I have a lot do strong opinions on this, but I also want to remember that there are innocent victims involved.

I'll just say that if this is how Nintendo is going to deal with this situation, then they should also kill the 3DS web browser, and definitely Animal Crossings' online functions (something I see as a far stronger tool for pedophiles than Swapnote was). Lock every online experience down to either be policed or neutered when it comes to communication.

Right now, I think they're trying to have it both ways (a secure family safe environment and something that will appeal to gamers), a situation I personally find to be mess, and hugely frustrating as a big 3DS fan.

 

[TaroYamada]

Because kids are being exposed to paedos, fuck you mean why is this a valid reason?

You seem prone to anger, I guess that's why this post doesn't make much sense? As, by your logic, any service that could expose children to pedophiles should be discontinued? Regardless of how many individuals use said service for perfectly legal means?

 

[IHaveCandy]

Because kids are being exposed to paedos, fuck you mean why is this a valid reason?

How far are you prepared to shut down communication? The solution isn't to just kill it. The solution is the regulate it better. Maybe require a credit card attached to the account to use swap note and require the card holder to read a warnings about these dangers. And unfortunately, it must also be recognized that even removing these methods of communications doesn't stop these terrible crimes. It just forces these people to do it a different way.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

Wow this is horrible. Is there no password protection?

 

[HovaHovito]

How far are you prepared to shut down communication? The solution isn't to just kill it. The solution is the regulate it better. Maybe require a credit card attached to the account to use swap note and require the card holder to read a warnings about these dangers. And unfortunately, it must also be recognized that even removing these methods of communications doesn't stop these terrible crimes. It just forces these people to do it a different way.

Wut? They have every right to kill it. Nintendo giveth, nintendo taketh away. Theyre probably altering the terms atm. Its totally reasonable to shit this down as there is also likely a criminal investigation and i would be surprised if nintendo faces a lawsuit

 

[Herb Alpert]

Wow this is horrible. Is there no password protection?

Of course there is.
And of course there will always be some kids that will be able to discover their parent's code. And some parents that don't realise how dangerous online can be for young people.

 

[Tohsaka]

Wow this is horrible. Is there no password protection?

There is, it's right there when you first start the system for the first time.

 

[StreetsAhead]

I have a lot do strong opinions on this, but I also want to remember that there are innocent victims involved.

I'll just say that if this is how Nintendo is going to deal with this situation, then they should also kill the 3DS web browser, and definitely Animal Crossings' online functions (something I see as a far stronger tool for pedophiles than Swapnote was). Lock every online experience down to either be policed or neutered when it comes to communication.

Right now, I think they're trying to have it both ways (a secure family safe environment and something that will appeal to gamers), a situation I personally find to be mess, and hugely frustrating as a big 3DS fan.

I respect that you're angry, but honestly, this is likely the only solution that was possible between learning the situation would go public and it actually happening. At the same time that this is potentially not the most elegant solution and that other services might be affected by the problem, the ones in these cases are Swap Note. Nintendo, presumably, had to act quickly because a) who wants to be responsible for that happening, even in a small way, and b) no company wants to go into the holiday season with their kid/family aimed product appearing in media associated with the words 'rape' and 'children' and be seen not having done anything about it.

 

[Enkidu]

It's protected by a pin. If you fail that after three times you have to enter in two password responses. If you fail that you have to actually call customer service to get it reset to verify your age.

I don't think this is correct. I just tried enabling parental controls on my 3DS and while it does boot you from the PIN screen after three failed attempts, there's nothing stopping you from just opening the app again and going for another three tries. I failed out multiple times and as far as I can tell there was no hard lock where you had to answer your personal question so theoretically you could probably brute force the PIN, especially if you are a kid with a lot of time and determination.

 

[PhantomR]

I don't think this is correct. I just tried enabling parental controls on my 3DS and while it does boot you from the PIN screen after three failed attempts, there's nothing stopping you from just opening the app again and going for another three tries. I failed out multiple times and as far as I can tell there was no hard lock where you had to answer your personal question so theoretically you could probably brute force the PIN, especially if you are a kid with a lot of time and determination.

If you fail the pin, and fail the secret questions, you're given an inquiry number that you need to give to give to a customer service rep in order to have services restored. I didn't mention anything about a hard lock, only that if you fail multiple times you have to call customer service to get it unlocked. Yes a kid go just back out and try to do it over and over again if they're that desperate. Having a permanent lockout would be nice, however.

 

[wuxian fengguang]

Fucking pederasts, this is why we can't have nice things!

I actually completely understand Nintendo's decision now, knowing that your service is unwillingly servicing this scum...

 

[KHlover]

How far are you prepared to shut down communication? The solution isn't to just kill it. The solution is the regulate it better. Maybe require a credit card attached to the account to use swap note and require the card holder to read a warnings about these dangers. And unfortunately, it must also be recognized that even removing these methods of communications doesn't stop these terrible crimes. It just forces these people to do it a different way.

Credit cards? Yeah, GREAT idea. Fuck everyone outside of the US where Credit Cards aren't widespread as much.

 

[MomoPufflet]

Are the 4 digit pins just numbers? My 12-year-old self would have definitely been up to that tedious challenge.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

Of course there is.
And of course there will always be some kids that will be able to discover their parent's code. And some parents that don't realise how dangerous online can be for young people.

There is, it's right there when you first start the system for the first time.

I meant a separate one for the service.

 

[Rehynn]

Some people laughed at this possibility when they were criticising Nintendo's "overly" careful, kid-safe approach.

 

[Xedah66]

This wouldn't have happened if nintendo used 10 number pins! I miss using swapnote so much :'(

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

Mario Kart 8 will never have voicechat now.

 

[Agent Gibbs]

Justifiable reason to close it down then, considering all they can do is ban consoles

Disgusting perverts deserve the full force of the law and a vigilante mob!


If they had accounts perhaps they could have issue bans, increased security etc and kept the service open though....


but well god damn thats just disgusting beyond belief, if there is one thing in life i cannot stand its peadophiles

 

[Frodo]

Looking at how many posters have no idea of how the Parental control work, it would be a good idea to add to the OP that the Parental Control is not a hidden obscure feature that you need to dig through menus and sub-menus to find. At THE VERY FIST TIME you switch the system on, it will go through explaining what the Parental Control is, how it works and it asks if you want to turn it on.

Basically every form of interaction can be blocked using the Parental Control. It is a very solid method and, as already posted, it will leave all these features or only the features you previously specified behind a password, that kind of works like the PIN of your credit card, with limited amount of tries.

Should a parent want to prevent their children to use any application that allows interaction with strangers, or Swap Note, which, per se, doesn't, they would be able to do so in a fairly straight forward manner. I believe Nintendo's Parental Control system alone prevents Nintendo to be blamed for what happened. The fact that they so quickly acted to shut the service down also shows their commitment in keeping their environment safe, which at this point, based on how Nintendo focus to appeal as a family brand, are almost entirely justified.

 

[wildfire]

It's unfortunate, but this is hardly Nintendo's fault. The 3DS has parental control functions to restrict all kinds of activity, as do the other handhelds and consoles. The same thing could happen on any of them, or Facebook or similar social networking sites, but you don't see those shutting down.

That's because the people in charge don't care about children, Nintendo does.


Thinking on this matter Nintendo's only solution in the future is to put a more powerful camera in their devices and do an age check through facial recognition. If you refuse to be scanned too bad. Unlike Microsoft I have enough trust in them to limit what information they would be gathering.

 

[phoenix3934]

I understand their reason, but shutting down a service just because of a few scumbags is absurd. It's not like the 3DS is the only thing those pedos could use.

 

[fabricated backlash]

Mario Kart 8 will never have voicechat now.

Thank god for that, would get me banned instantly. I'm a chronic Mario Kart Rager. Poor kids would learn some exquisite new expletives.

 

[StreetsAhead]

Looking at how many posters have no idea of how the Parental control work, it would be a good idea to add to the OP that the Parental Control is not a hidden obscure feature that you need to dig through menus and sub-menus to find. At THE VERY FIST TIME you switch the system on, it will go through explaining what the Parental Control is, how it works and it asks if you want to turn it on.

Basically every form of interaction can be blocked using the Parental Control. It is a very solid method and, as already posted, it will leave all these features or only the features you previously specified behind a password, that kind of works like the PIN of your credit card, with limited amount of tries.

Should a parent want to prevent their children to use any application that allows interaction with strangers, or Swap Note, which, per se, doesn't, they would be able to do so in a fairly straight forward manner. I believe Nintendo's Parental Control system alone prevents Nintendo to be blamed for what happened. The fact that they so quickly acted to shut the service down also shows their commitment in keeping their environment safe, which at this point, based on how Nintendo focus to appeal as a family brand, are almost entirely justified.

Added your post to the OP

 

[L~A]

I respect that you're angry, but honestly, this is likely the only solution that was possible between learning the situation would go public and it actually happening. At the same time that this is potentially not the most elegant solution and that other services might be affected by the problem, the ones in these cases are Swap Note. Nintendo, presumably, had to act quickly because a) who wants to be responsible for that happening, even in a small way, and b) no company wants to go into the holiday season with their kid/family aimed product appearing in media associated with the words 'rape' and 'children' and be seen not having done anything about it.

Exactly. That's sort of stuff could be the worse kind of publicity ever, and would've a negative impact not just on the 3DS itself, but on the company too. I agree that shutting down the service was like cutting off your arm if you got a minor infection that can still be treated, but did Nintendo have any other choice?

What annoys me the most about this is not so much Swapnote being closed down, it's Nintendo getting even more "paranoid" about online stuff and add yet another layer of restrictions to their online services.

 

[RulkezX]

How readily accessible is this stuff to parents though? I always neglect parental-controls cause I personally have absolutely no use for it. Do parents have to dig for this stuff to enable it, or is it readily presented to them when the system's booted for the first time? (I don't remember what the parental controls prompt was like when I turned my XL on for the first time.)

I bought a 2ds for my son last week and they were presented to me upon first boot.

 

[Jintor]

I'm amazed the 12-year-old managed to either go to the hotel or to just go off with these 2 pedos by themselves, though. Bizarre

 

[mclem]

That or they trusted her with the password after some time.

That seems to have defeated the point of the password.

 

[Prince Vultan]

How does exchanging Swap Notes end with meeting dirty old men in a hotel room?!

Fuck these dudes.

I don't think she wanted to do that...

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

Thank god for that, would get me banned instantly. I'm a chronic Mario Kart Rager. Poor kids would learn some exquisite new expletives.

I just want it enabled for those on your friends list.

 

[Ondore]

Jesus, a 12 year old? No wonder.

 

[BGBW]

I'm amazed the 12-year-old managed to either go to the hotel or to just go off with these 2 pedos by themselves, though. Bizarre

When I went to my first ever offline meet I was about 15/16. Even then my parents went with me until they could see the group I was meeting and seeing they were of a similar age and not some dodgy old blokes.

I just want it enabled for those on your friends list.

Problem is this happened even with the "protection" of a friendlist.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

Do the parental controls restrict this? Because I think that is the smart thing to do.

The thing is if you forget your parental control PIN you get given a code which you can contact Nintendo with and they'll provide the PIN or a reset or something. I am unsure what the limitations are in who can contact Nintendo.

I remember seeing this code when using a demo unit someone had trolled by disabling wireless and so I tried to access the parental controls and I tried entering 1234 as the PIN.

IIRC you can't put numbers on Animal Crossing's chat feature, so you can't exchange friend-codes.

That reminds me, Pokemon nicknames are 12 characters long but...you are not allowed to have a nickname with more than 5 numbers in it.

 

[Bony Manifesto]

If you fail the pin, and fail the secret questions, you're given an inquiry number that you need to give to give to a customer service rep in order to have services restored. I didn't mention anything about a hard lock, only that if you fail multiple times you have to call customer service to get it unlocked. Yes a kid go just back out and try to do it over and over again if they're that desperate. Having a permanent lockout would be nice, however.

Have they beefed up the security with the override code though? I know with the Wii (and I believe the DSi), the code to override parental controls was was only a very basic CRC hash of the unlock code and current date.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

When I went to my first ever offline meet I was about 15/16. Even then my parents went with me until they could see the group I was meeting and seeing they were of a similar age and not some dodgy old blokes.


Problem is this happened even with the "protection" of a friendlist.

Yeah, we're screwed.

 

[M3d10n]

I'm hoping they simply couldn't remotely disable the picture sending functionality in a timely manner and disabling spotPass is temporary until they can push an update that doesn't send pictures anymore. Without SpotPass the service is pretty much dead.