The Void or " where generations clash"

In most parts of the world, the distinction between adult and child is distinct and marked by age limits and activities. There are terrible exceptions to this of course- child soldiers in warring african nations, uber geeky tecnology whizz-kids and adults trying to dress like gangsta rappers. There is an area where the the worlds of adult and kid collide- The Void, or online gaming as some of you might know it. Common perception amongst non-gamers is that gaming is an activity for kids. Any , 'adult ', fool enough to spend his days stabbing away at a joy pad or frenetically pushing a mouse around a pad can expect no more than to keep the company of adolescents. We know better. Many of you are parents, and the limits and boundaries of your childrens' behaviour is well established. Online, we encounter , ' Timmie ', who has not been raised with your personal values, and has yet to mature enough to have a grasp of fundamental adult concepts of behaviour, politeness or as often as not, grammar and spelling, ( text speak has a lot to answer for!! ). Quite simply, as we cannot understand, or choose to listen to Timmie and his cohorts bad- mouthing, smack talking, flame wars take on online gaming, neither can he see the fun in playing the game our way. The problem is, until we run into each other, who we meet and play is a lottery. The advent of 2Old2Play has given rise to a community of more or less like minded gamers, who, at the very least abide by the rules of adult life. I don't believe we should expect a kid to understand the etiquette that we enjoy at 2O2P. Partly because he / she, ( predominantly he ), is just that, a kid, but mostly because it is not our place to school someone elses' child on the do's and don'ts of what is acceptable in social encounters. If this were an enviroment such as a school or a place of work, then a word of caution is well placed to help ground the offending party,but that rests well in the realms of physical, or , 'real ' , world encounters. The ether of xbox live, Sony Home and the myriad game servers has a protective anonymity-Say what I like with no real consequence or come back for Me !! We live in an era of chat rooms and forums where we can vent spleen, make friends, be positive, be negative. A site like this one allows us to choose our audience, but playing games online will continue to be where kids try and be grown up and grown ups can play like kids, yet only one of the two is having any success!!