Nintendo & The Internet & Swap Note?

[Eric]

Notice about service for Nintendo 3DS software Swapnote

2013-10-31
Thank you for your support.

Nintendo has learned that some consumers, including minors, have been exchanging their friend codes on Internet bulletin boards and then using Swapnote (known as Nintendo Letter Box in other regions) to exchange offensive material. Nintendo has been investigating ways of preventing this and determined it is best to stop the SpotPass feature of Swapnote because it allows direct exchange of photos and was actively misused.

Nintendo always wants to provide a positive experience for all consumers and limit the risk of any inappropriate activity or misuse of a service. We feel it is important on this occasion to take this action.

We are very sorry for any inconvenience to the many consumers who have been using this service responsibly; however this decision was made considering the point that many minors also use this feature of Swapnote. Thank you for your understanding.

Nintendo will continue to work to ensure more consumers are aware of our Parental Control features, which allow parents to manage their children’s experience on our systems. For more information, please click here.

Service stop date: Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, 7 p.m. PT
Service being stopped: Nintendo 3DS software Swapnote – Sending and receiving notes using SpotPass
Affected regions: All regions where the service was offered
Special Notes services are also stopped

I think this is just another case of Nintendo being Nintendo, they're shocked about how the Internet works it seems.

Jokes aside, don't you have to add someone to your friend list to send them Swapnotes? So it's not like kids are getting Swapnotes from random strangers. This is ridiculous. You might as well get rid of Swapnote completely because someone could just draw a pair of boobs or a penis.

Also, we haven't even gotten Flipnote in NA/EU yet and they're already removing features from it.

[M'k'n'zy]

Actually, they found that kids were getting friend codes from people on online forums and bb's and then people were using Swapnote to send them inapropriate content. It's not a moderated system like Miiverse is. My guess would be is that it's an unexpected consequence to the friend safari in the new Pokemon games. People are swapping friend codes online to help them catch new types of Pokemon in the safari, but when you friend someone on Pokemon it friends them on the system as well, so there is where the problem could be coming in. A few people ruining it for everyone else.

[Julius Seeker]

I am guessing they figured it was more trouble than it was worth. Especially when Nintendo Network and Miiverse is planned for the not so distant future... Whenever that may be!

If people like exchanging art and stuff, they can do it there; it exists in an online environment and easy to moderate; unlike Swap-pass which is an offline environment which just uses the Internet to exchange packs.

[Julius Seeker]

Apparently there was some situation in Japan involving child pornography being swapped around using Swap Note.

Fucking Japan.

[Shrinweck]

As opposed to Canada where they caught something like 350 for child pornography charges and freed over 400 children this week? Not the best week for your populace to cast stones inside glass houses :P

[Julius Seeker]

As opposed to Canada where they caught something like 350 for child pornography charges and freed over 400 children this week? Not the best week for your populace to cast stones inside glass houses

I was just referring to how they actually put that shit on Swap Note and fucked up Swap Note

Also, those arrests were across 50 different countries INCLUDING Japan, it is just that the Canadian police were in charge of the investigation.

[Shrinweck]

Lol oops.. Well good job, guys!

[Julius Seeker]

Haha, we have our ugly issues: