I posted this in 2007 for what was essentially the same situation. I still think it's relevant, so here it is:
-------------snip----------------
Now then. When I was a kid, (and by that, I mean, under 10 years old) I was a gifted athlete. I played both soccer and baseball with adults in an adult "fun league" on the weekends, with my parents blessings.
My parents were told that if I acted like a child, I wouldn't be invited any more, and then that's what they told me.
My parents also told me that I'd probably hear a lot of swearing and that I'd see people drinking beer after games, but that swearing was inappropriate for a child so if I was caught swearing myself they'd stop me from playing. No beer either; same rules.
I played in that league for 3 or 4 years, so I guess I acted OK as far as other players and my parents were concerned.
So with that all said, I'm going to to out on a limb and say that Aces High really is an adult game, much like those fun leagues I used to play in, regardless of how HiTech markets the game. (However: Aces High is advertised on The History Channel, not Cartoon Network or Fox Kids -- think about it.)
Certainly, kids are welcome to play, but no one wants to deal with childish behavior. In the absence of parents to complain to, childish kids (and childish adults, for that matter) are going to take the brunt of other people's frustration themselves because we can't call their parents and tell them to make their child behave.
Similarly, parents who let children play Aces High should be aware that their kids will be exposed to adult discussions and jokes. I'm pretty sure you'd tell your kid that if they were playing sports with other adults.
Finally, in my experience with this game and other online games, kids only get subjected to truly nasty adult behavior when they start acting childish - and usually they have to act VERY childish over a period of time. When kids don't act childish, they normally fit in just fine.
(text about that 2007 incident edited)
If true, as a parent, it is *your* responsibility to see to it that your kid doesn't act in such a way to incur the wrath of others.
If not true, and you kid was truly spoken to this way out of the blue and for no reason, then I'm sorry. Really. No sarcasm intended.
-----------------snip------------
As you described it, it sounds like your kid got swore at by a jerk for no real reason, and that's a shame. When I usually hear folks laying into a kid, however, the kid has been pressing everyone's buttons for a while by acting like a brat, and I have no sympathy for the kid in these situations, and I hope you as a doting parent are objectively looking at what your kid was doing when someone laid into him.
But when all is said and done, this is really a game populated by adults that just happens to have some kid players, not the other way around. You should have known what your kid might be exposed to in this game and probably should have even talked to him/her about it beforehand. Asking people to "be nice" only gets you so far, and reporting bad behavior doesn't prevent your child's Virgin Ears from hearing this in the first place.
-Llama
