Virtual World Standards for Children’s Safety
Ren Reynolds over at Terra Novahas a good post today with a budding discussion thread about how the Virtual World industry should put together some agreed upon policies and procedures for children’s’ on-line safety.
For this to work sites need a combination of technical and behavioral approaches.
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He mentions Whyville as particularly good on this subject and I have to agree that they have put together one of the best combinations of technical and behavioral/cultural approaches to this issue (disclosure – they are a client).
They have also managed to mix some humor and fun into it – misbehave and your mouth gets duct taped for a couple of days so you can’t chat.
The important thing is that it isn’t just about technical issues –chat streams filters etc. – you need to actively design in behavioral and cultural standards into your community and go out of your way to make sure community members get a chance to learn about them.
The Federal Trade Commission has a good start on this with their On Guard On Line site. Perhaps the industry could start here.
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Lee Wilson has spent two decades in the education business at Apple, Chancery, Pearson, and Harcourt.
He consults on strategy, marketing, and sales issues for technology and print publishers.
