Crisp Thinking: keeping Free Realms players safe

Crisp Thinking is helping Sony Online Entertainment make Free Realms safer for kids; in fact it has been doing so for quite some time. Free Realms is using Crisp Thinking’s online threat protection software, NetModerator to accomplish this. The product identifies and blocks predators and other threats in online games in real time as well as providing analysis of veiled online communications which might be a “well-disguised wrong-doer” or an escalating situation of bullying.

Since Free Realms is geared towards adults and kids, a solution like this is probably for the best because it could be a potential breeding ground for Internet predators. NetModerator analyzes the intent of dialogue between players as well as the actual words they are using. According to its makers, the software can identify potentially escalating situations such as potential self-harm or cyberbullying as well as immediately calling attention to predators. In tests undertaken by Cambridge University in the UK in 2007, NetModerator proved 98.4 percent accurate.

“We take our responsibility to ensure child safety in our products very seriously and that makes it a priority in Free Realms especially. We feel strongly that it’s up to us to implement protections for children while they’re playing our games,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. “After installation and weeks of testing, we found Crisp NetModerator is a high-quality product that works well. It goes far beyond anything else we’ve seen. We are looking to implement it into other SOE games in the future.”

Crisp clients include Cartoon Network’s FusionFall, ZulaWorld and SuperSecret, along with Internet service providers, Sky and Tiscali. Full details of all Crisp Thinking solutions can be found at www.crispthinking.com.

Utah Kids Play Games to Learn Internet Safety

A new pilot program sponsored by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and Web Wise Kids is helping train teachers and students on Internet safety by using videogames in 75 Utah schools. The ESA is helping hand out Internet safety computer games to Jordan, Granite, Murray, Salt Lake and Alpine school districts. The program, which is strongly supported by Utah’’s Attorney General and the state legislature, teaches adults and kids that harmless online fun can lead to bad things and bad people.

Sally Jefferson, senior director of state government affairs for ESA, noted in the Salt Lake Tribune that the key reason for focusing on Utah schools is that it has more computers in households per capita than anywhere else in the country. Web Wise Kids and the ESA have been working together for the past six years. The ESA helped launch the program in Utah with a $75,000 grant.