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Turkish scholars launch petition against possible Minecraft ban
[Hurriyet Daily News] ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's leading academics on game studies have launched a petition against the Family and Social Policies Ministry's controversial initiative to ban Minecraft, a popular videogame. "Computer games cannot be reviewed as if they are bonzai," said the petition launched on change.org on April 18, referring to a synthetic illegal drug. Turkish media reported last month that the ministry's Children Services General Directorate contacted its legal affairs department with an instruction for the legal process to ban the game to be started. Minecraft is a videogame that allows the player to make designs with cubes in 2D or 3D. The game has several modes and in some of the modes, the player needs to survive in order to proceed. The ministry had originally launched an investigation into the game in February on grounds that it encourages violence, especially against woman. Last month, however, it concluded the investigation with the suggestion of a ban to protect children from violence and "social isolation." Initially signed by 24 academics from Turkish universities and published by the Turkish branch of Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA), the petition demanded "the report and the data that it used as source be publicized immediately." Posted by: Fred 2015-04-19 |
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