4 ms·

I'm reading all the threads here and wonder: is there a similar type of game that is safe for kids to use? I'd love to have the collaborating with other kids to

by xrd 7y ago

I'm reading all the threads here and wonder: is there a similar type of game that is safe for kids to use? I'd love to have the collaborating with other kids to build things, but I'm deeply concerned about the predatory aspects other parents are describing here. Is there an open source version of Roblox or Minecraft that you can run on your own server and only invite known people (neighbors, friends, etc.) to play on it?

thecatspaw 7y ago
while its not open source you can definitely run minecraft on your own server with a whitelist. I dont know about roblox. You might also be interested in minetest?
- em-bee 7y ago
  there are plenty of minetest servers if you don't want to run your own, check out a few and see how they are. several advertise a family friendly atmosphere. go inside play a while and monitor the chat to see how the moderators act. i found a great server right away, where my son and i are now happily building away without trouble.
mastazi 7y ago
Minecraft: You can run a Minecraft server on your own hardware (for free) [1], or pay for "Minecraft Realms" which is a cloud based server managed directly by Mojang [2]. There are also 3rd party hosting offerings [3]. It should also be mentioned that the Minecraft client has an "Open to LAN" button so you can play over LAN without even running any Minecraft server. Roblox: You can create your own game using Roblox Studio[4] and make it private (for free) or you can pay for a VIP Server [5] which allows you to play participating games on a private server. Minetest: There is also an open source Minecraft-like game called Minetest [6], it is possible to run a Minetest server on your own hardware[7]. [1] https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server/ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server/ [2] https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/realms/ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/realms/ [3] https://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/1vawah/whats_the_best_site_to_host_a_server/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/1vawah/whats_the... [4] https://www.roblox.com/create https://www.roblox.com/create [5] https://developer.roblox.com/en-us/articles/Creating-a-VIP-Server-on-Roblox https://developer.roblox.com/en-us/articles/Creating-a-VIP-S... [6] https://www.minetest.net/ https://www.minetest.net/ [7] https://wiki.minetest.net/Setting_up_a_server https://wiki.minetest.net/Setting_up_a_server
mhh__ 7y ago
You can get a free Minecraft server online fairly easily, with whitelisting.
ptah 7y ago
why not teach your kids how to avoid predators instead?
- Cthulhu_ 7y ago
  Because it's too late before they put one and one together. It's not as simple as you (and other commenters) want to make it seem.
  - ptah 7y ago
    essentially don't interact with anyone that you do not know from real life and got their id from them in real life
    - loa_in_ 7y ago
      Curiosity might always win. It's just false sense of security for the parent.
0xdeadb00f 7y ago
Don't take these threads as gospel. There's always shitty kids and there's always shitty people online. I have relatives (young kids, obviously: 7-14yrs old) who live in different cities. They play on Roblox together on weekends and use the chat to communicate. It's quite cute. They seem to know what they're doing (because their parents gave clearly taught them well). They play innocent RP games, and they don't chat with anyone other than between themselves. Most of the minigames they play are role play or dress up. There's even a bodybuilding one where you lift larger and larger weights until you become a giant. Harmless stuff like that. There _is_ however minigames like a Counter Strike clone (which is very well made I might add), which aren't for a younger audience. But because they use it to play _together_ they don't even want to play those "violent" games, they just want to be together. I've watched then play before. Before I did I didn't think much of Roblox; I thought it was some crappy Minecraft clone but it's really not. I think Roblox is great if your child knows 1. Not to talk to anyone 2. Not to play "violent" games. You might say "kids will be kids and they'll play those damn violent games and they'll talk to those damn pedos", but my relatives don't seem to want to do any of that.
tsss 7y ago
I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of abuse on these games comes from other children and not some ominous adult sexual predators.

by xrd 7y ago

thecatspaw 7y ago

while its not open source you can definitely run minecraft on your own server with a whitelist. I dont know about roblox. You might also be interested in minetest?

em-bee 7y ago
there are plenty of minetest servers if you don't want to run your own, check out a few and see how they are. several advertise a family friendly atmosphere. go inside play a while and monitor the chat to see how the moderators act. i found a great server right away, where my son and i are now happily building away without trouble.

mastazi 7y ago

Minecraft: You can run a Minecraft server on your own hardware (for free) [1], or pay for "Minecraft Realms" which is a cloud based server managed directly by Mojang [2]. There are also 3rd party hosting offerings [3]. It should also be mentioned that the Minecraft client has an "Open to LAN" button so you can play over LAN without even running any Minecraft server. Roblox: You can create your own game using Roblox Studio[4] and make it private (for free) or you can pay for a VIP Server [5] which allows you to play participating games on a private server. Minetest: There is also an open source Minecraft-like game called Minetest [6], it is possible to run a Minetest server on your own hardware[7]. [1] https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server/ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server/ [2] https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/realms/ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/realms/ [3] https://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/1vawah/whats_the_best_site_to_host_a_server/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/1vawah/whats_the... [4] https://www.roblox.com/create https://www.roblox.com/create [5] https://developer.roblox.com/en-us/articles/Creating-a-VIP-Server-on-Roblox https://developer.roblox.com/en-us/articles/Creating-a-VIP-S... [6] https://www.minetest.net/ https://www.minetest.net/ [7] https://wiki.minetest.net/Setting_up_a_server https://wiki.minetest.net/Setting_up_a_server

mhh__ 7y ago

You can get a free Minecraft server online fairly easily, with whitelisting.

ptah 7y ago

why not teach your kids how to avoid predators instead?

Cthulhu_ 7y ago
Because it's too late before they put one and one together. It's not as simple as you (and other commenters) want to make it seem.
- ptah 7y ago
  essentially don't interact with anyone that you do not know from real life and got their id from them in real life
  - loa_in_ 7y ago
    Curiosity might always win. It's just false sense of security for the parent.

0xdeadb00f 7y ago

Don't take these threads as gospel. There's always shitty kids and there's always shitty people online. I have relatives (young kids, obviously: 7-14yrs old) who live in different cities. They play on Roblox together on weekends and use the chat to communicate. It's quite cute. They seem to know what they're doing (because their parents gave clearly taught them well). They play innocent RP games, and they don't chat with anyone other than between themselves. Most of the minigames they play are role play or dress up. There's even a bodybuilding one where you lift larger and larger weights until you become a giant. Harmless stuff like that. There _is_ however minigames like a Counter Strike clone (which is very well made I might add), which aren't for a younger audience. But because they use it to play _together_ they don't even want to play those "violent" games, they just want to be together. I've watched then play before. Before I did I didn't think much of Roblox; I thought it was some crappy Minecraft clone but it's really not. I think Roblox is great if your child knows 1. Not to talk to anyone 2. Not to play "violent" games. You might say "kids will be kids and they'll play those damn violent games and they'll talk to those damn pedos", but my relatives don't seem to want to do any of that.

tsss 7y ago

I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of abuse on these games comes from other children and not some ominous adult sexual predators.