Nintendo temporarily suspending SwapNote/Letter Box service for 3DS

Please don't be sensationalist when picking a thread title.

The article I first read, linked in my OP, says it's a permanent shutdown. Other sources back this up. The word "kill" is verbatim from the article I was linking, I was not being sensationalist.

I know not everyone used it, but I loved it and I am aggravated. I didn't even get to say goodbye to some people I interacted a lot with on there.

edited 1st Nov '13 10:10:11 AM by occono

...Or they received perfectly legitimate complaints.

I totally support Nintendo protecting kids from creeps who would send gross pictures to them, but I wish this measure didn't punish those who just wanted to send notes to their friends from miles away.

Well, hopefully, they'll find a way to fix the latter problem, while doing something about the former one.

I doubt Nintendo is going to let this slide. Not a chance of that.

And here's why we can't have nice things.

Nothing too surprising, mostly just confirming what I'm sure everyone thought. Of course, Swapnote is hardly to blame in and of itself, but parents will be parents, and Nintendo had an image to protect.

Oh no, kids are using cell phones to trade pictures they shouldn't have. We should ban cell phones everywhere.

Same thing, smaller scale. :P

Parents should be Parents. I've always thought that banning things like this is a step back in being a Parent. Teach your kid to do the right thing, making one wrong thing impossible to do will just have them do a different wrong thing.

'course, on the other side Nintendo is doing the right thing because it appeals to their target audience.

edited 6th Nov '13 3:20:24 AM by stephanreiken

I wonder how they may fix this problem, besides either removing the ability to add pictures, or even draw using Swapnote...

^^ I wasn't aware that cell phones were designed primarily for pre-adults to use...

Somewhat more seriously, it's one service that's shut down, and it's not even clear whether the shutdown is permanent or temporary. Even if it is permanent, not being able to Swapnote does not mean the entire console is useless. The way some people (in and out of this thread) are reacting you'd think Nintendo was sending a self destruct signal out to all 3DSes in use currently.

edited 6th Nov '13 4:13:38 AM by Nohbody

I think one way Nintendo could fix it is to change their privacy policy on Swapnote, stating that images may be screened or be pulled through an algorithm before they are sent to the receiver. If it fails the test, someone might try to moderate it manually, see if it really does contain offensive text / imagery, and / or if Nintendo has to send the police over to your house.

The change in privacy policy is required in this, as people still need to give permission to allow Nintendo to actually read every message. Of course, there ight be some false positives as well as false negatives, but you'll always keep that with such a system, and the last thing you want to do is screen every image, unless you want to drive the moderators bonkers.

Whoa. Thought Nintendo just shut down Swapnote due to paranoia and just crude drawings, but if it led to child pornography and rape, I don't blame them for shutting it down at all. Good grief.

That's one of the better case scenarios, as it implies that the kids who saw inappropriate content knew exactly what they were getting, and intended to.

Alternatively, it could be "adults are sending anonymous pictures of their genitals to kids who picked up their contact info along with the promise of Friend Safaris."

Ironically, back when friend codes were per-game, Friend Safari stuff wouldn't have led to this.

Maybe separate codes for Swapnote? Like back in Black, White, Black 2, and White 2?

Parental Control option that doesn't allow children to add friends on their own?

Doesn't Nintendo already moderate Miiverse? They could do that here. I don't know if Swapnote is really worth the trouble, though.

Swapnote can't be moderated. It was essentially a prototype for Miiverse's message-sharing functionality.

If anything, when Miiverse is integrated into the 3DS it will likely replace Swapnote.

I'm rather disgusted by the attitudes of some on other parts of the net.

"Kids get preyed on over messaging services all the time! Man up, Nintendo!"

Then have Nikki moderate the 3DS Miiverse? Gives her some use, being she is (Or was) the Mascot of the Miis.

edited 6th Nov '13 11:28:58 AM by DiurnalBrocolli

I like that idea. ^_^

I honestly think Miiverse would be the best replacement, since you can't send selfies over Miiverse- and, more importantly, can post game screenshots and still doodle. Not to mention Miiverse has some pretty active moderation on it (if a bit bloodthirsy... once I got a post in the Super Metroid community deleted for using the fan term "Noob Bridge".)

I think Nintendo really did do the right thing shutting Swapnote down. I just wish I could communicate with my distant friends again.

I have the strangest feeling of deja vu about this, like I knew this was coming somehow. I should've sent more notes to my friends while I had the chance...

I hope Miiverse will protect its younger users better than Swapnote did.

I wonder if Swapnote will be even downloadable, once they upgrade their shop this week...

EDIT: Apparently, it is. But what use is it, now that I can't show my pictures to my friends?

edited 7th Nov '13 11:52:24 AM by DiurnalBrocolli

You can, but only through Street Pass. Which makes it a lot tougher to use for actual topical messages, but it's not a total brick.