In MMORPGs such as Blizzard's World of Warcraft, it's inevitable that you'll encounter the occasional (well not so occasional) child who decides to pick up and play the game. Now, your experience can either be good or bad. When it leans to the latter, you'd probably agree that something has to be done about it. Let's face it, the anonymity granted by the game makes some children feel that they can get away with murder.

Tviokh has had a horrible experience with a kid who joined their guild and wanted to kill a dragon (it's a 10 to 25 man raid people, not just some creature you can easily kill). From her account they were very patient with the child and yet, in typical tantrum-throwing spoiled brat fashion, the kid left in a huff.

Now, I'm not saying that he/she was wrong to do so (God knows I was pretty bratty as a kid, just never to that extent), I'm just saying that he was given every opportunity to act like a proper player and go through the proper channels with regards to his request but he chose to act immaturely.

It's well known that some guilds don't allow younger members of the community into their guilds. If we were to base it simply on Tviokh's account then we'd have to agree with them. However, there are some younger members of the community who are very polite and courteous to their guildmates. Children who are allowed to play WoW should be monitored by their parents and taught the proper method of dealing with people. After all, some of them may not realize that there are living, breathing, and irritated people behind the characters they are harassing.

It should be good to note that there are children-friendly guilds and that the kids there are generally well-behaved. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that their parents are watching over them and keeping tabs on them. It's also comforting to know that the kids you're playing with have already done their homework and chores for the day and are kicking back to play a game like responsible adults do.

What have you experienced in playing the game with kids?