There was a local LAN cafe I go to when I feel like playing some multiplayer fun that my own computer cannot accomplish. I really liked the place; most of the people there were my age, the manager was this assertive no-bullshit kind of guy who readily booted out people trying to pick fights/antagonize/disrupt others. Unfortunately they closed down and I had to go to another LAN cafe.
This particular one had a younger demographic. In fact, the place seemed more like somewhere parents could leave their kids to be babysat for cheap (kids would be there from after school until 10 PM closing time :eek:
That aside, the waiting policy for a computer is stupid. If there are no available computers to play on, you put your name on a list. Fair enough. The manager is able to tell how much time people have left, so he knows exactly how long it is going to be until someone runs out of time and leaves. That is also reasonable. However, what burns me up is the fact that a large proportion of people there are AFK, talking with their frirends, out getting a hamburger, etc. Their computers are logged on, burning their time, but nobody is using it! And the managers balk at giving up an empty seat when the original user has been gone for 20+ minutes! :mad: So I have to sit there for half an hour staring at a row of ‘empty’ computers which are merely waiting for their occupants to return. I can’t actually get a computer until someone logs off, but since the parents of these kiddies throw wads of bills at them before they drop them off, a lot of people there have 6+ hours of play time! :eek:
Well, I don’t really see the problem with that, actually, since they’ve actually paid for their time. Maybe they went to take a crap, or buy a soda, or whatever?
The LAN I used to frequent had a similarly lax owner, I lost count of the number of times I went in on a Friday or Saturday and half the computers were booked out to people who were chatting to their mates outside. He had a system whereby you book time in advance for a computer on a sheet on the wall, which was good in theory but a pain if you were in the middle of a game when you time was up and the next person hadn’t bothered to show up.
I have to say it was a good laugh, even if I was a bit older than most of the kids there, and the people my own age took it waaay too seriously for my liking. Rather worryingly, some of the kids there used to play counterstrike overnight for 12 hours solid!
I wouldn’t have a problem if they had to use the restroom or get something to eat/drink there (they sell snacks and beverages there). But I am talking about people who log in, play for 20 minutes, decide “I feel like a hamburger”, then walk three blocks down the street to the hamburger place, spend 30 minutes there eating while their time is tick tick ticking away, then come back.
It really makes me miss the old place. This place is neat in terms of rates (only $1 an hour if you buy your hours during 5-7 PM!) and games offered, but there are tons of little kids who are perpetual beggars. I was playing World of Warcraft, and I had a kid behind me asking me if I had two accounts, so that he could play. When I said no, he asked if he could use my account when I was done. I sarcastically remarked he would have to pay me to play on my account, since unlike him I actually had to pay a monthly fee for the game. Discouraged, he moved on to the guy to my immediate left, and gave him the same spiel :rolleyes:
It’s the player’s fault if they leave the computer at a LAN cafe ticking their time away… because they’re wasting their money and valuable play time. So really, you have to wait a half an hour, but their losing a half an hour of play time that their parents paid for.