Habbo Hotel- 'Children's Brothel'

[Marguerite]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lqGini5BiE

http://www.channel4.com/news/should-...in-habbo-hotel

I don't know how many of you guys are familiar with Habbo Hotel; probably quite a few of you considering the demographics of this site. It was a game I was really into when I was younger. I got sent an article by someone I used to play it with.

I think it's pretty funny to be honest. I remember as a (really lame) joke once I offered to send naked pictures of myself to my 'friends list' for credits (can't stress enough how much I would never actually do this lol) and I got banned for like a month. They talk about how there is basically no moderation in the channel 4 report, but if anything I remember it being overly cencored. You would get a warning for even typing something moderately suggestive.

Then again I remember all the 'dating' rooms and that kind of stuff. But I can't ever remember someone asking me to skype or whatever. I don't know what to make of this report really. Seems to me like there is some pretty skeezy stuff going on in Habbo Hotel that older creeps can take advantage of, but surely so is any website aimed at kids/young teens. It's quite hard to spot pedos unless they announce their age which they don't tend to do. Especially since there are usually thousands of users online at any given time.

One of the things they say in the news report is that within minutes of loging on they were bombarded with sexual messages. But I played for about 5 years and that never once happened to me. I think it's definitely an issue if those things are availible to kids in an online community like that, but you really have to be looking for it. I've met some great people from HH who I talk to online to this day, and basically all we did on HH was play games, make rooms, chat etc. I think that's what most users do.

Anyway, just thought I'd share-

Has anyone else ever used HH?

And what do you make of the report? Should it be shut down?

[Acheron]

Eh, it's the typical moral panic. It combines two of the greatest fears of the Daily Mail-reading public: paedophiles, and the internet.

[NevermindMe]

Until it closed in 2007 (2008?) I was on the Disney rip-off of Habbo, VMK. It was well moderated, but some jerk always found a way to bypass the filter. The important thing to realize is that people online cannot harm your child as long as they protect themselves. It's safer than leaving them walk to the bus stop alone, or go to school without you holding their hand. They just need to use the most basic of common sense.

- Justin

[Marguerite]

Originally Posted by JKmadu619

Until it closed in 2007 (2008?) I was on the Disney rip-off of Habbo, VMK. It was well moderated, but some jerk always found a way to bypass the filter. The important thing to realize is that people online cannot harm your child as long as they protect themselves. It's safer than leaving them walk to the bus stop alone, or go to school without you holding their hand. They just need to use the most basic of common sense.

- Justin

Yeah, that's the funny thing. On the video I posted some woman with Channel 4 who went 'undercover' as an 11 year old said 'People were coming up and having sex with me without my permission'. What??????

[Skeleton]

I used to play Habbo years ago and back then, it was actually a fun game to play. People on the site were there for what the game was designed for, to chat and swap items and whatever else but obviously, we all grew out of it and left. I went back on a few months ago though and it's totally different now, it is just people who are only interested in having some sort of sexual conversation with you and it just isn't fun anymore, you can't meet someone on their who you can chat and have a laugh with cause it's all kids just trying to get some kicks in a way they shouldn't be at their age.

They really do need to sort that out, it may just be online and you might be able to just exit the conversation but at the end of the day, not all kids are going to know to do that and you don't know who is on the other side of that pixel avatar asking for some x rated photos of you and considering most of it starts off in rooms that can be moderated, it's surprising they haven't already cracked down on it.

[The Goblins Blade]

Eh, Habbo is a shit hole, Just like Gaia is. The only thing is that Gaia is worse.

It was always funny to scam people on Habbo.

[Daivia]

Oh, man, I remember VMK. I played as a boy

I don't really think it's that big of a deal. If kids are old enough to get themselves on to Habbo, I think they have enough sense to find the report button.

[WhisperingSilence]

Honestly, most kids are playing club penguin now, Habbo hotel is old.

[TigerTank77]

I remember this place.

Did they open the pool back up yet or no?

[TigerTank77]

I remember this place.

Did they open the pool back up yet or no?

[The Goblins Blade]

Originally Posted by TigerTank77

I remember this place.

Did they open the pool back up yet or no?

Not sure myself

[niente_]

Oh god, I remember going on that! To be fair me and my friend were 12 year old teenage girls trying to be cool and grown up and we did engage in some sexual stuff on there. It was just two habbos stood next to each other and you took it in turns to say something. No one asked us to send them pics or anything. I think I added a few on msn but only ones I was actually friends with. I used to like playing the games and trying to get my room on the most popular list. Oh and I used to like trying to get a job!! Like in a popular room bar or something. I had many fun times on that. I'm actually tempted to go back on it now to see what its like ... but I'm 21 and it might get taken the wrong way haha!

[BabyIndia]

I used to play alot when i was younger, i still sometimes go on even at my age lol, i have a lot of overseas friends on there, and its easier to talk to each other on there and earn credits and stuff at the same time. (my pc wont take msn or skpe because is it sucks lol) Its not to bad now minus the mute haha, but man sometimes you go into a room because it says fallin furni or some other game, and theres to habbos standing next to each other like really getting into there sexual talk, fine i find it funny and dont bat an eye lid and just press ignore on them, but some of them are actually on there saying oh how old are you and the person says oh 12 so then they say come on msn and show me pictures and ill show my webcam and ill play with myself, ill give your furni, and there going off and doing it!! Its not habbos fault its the children that the parents think are all so innocent! They introduced ad word called bobba if you said anything bad and they also did a mute for a couple of minutes if you used sex words or bad words, but kids were just finding ways around it.