Questions and answers for minors (people under 18) and their parents:

Q. Can people under 18 come to the netparty?
A. Yes, if they have their parents permission.

Q. What is a netparty?
A. Netparties (also called Lanparties) are when a bunch of people all bring their PCs, meet at someones house (or sometimes meet at an office or other building), set up and network their computers together, and play computer games over that local network. Netparties can be as small as just a few local players getting together for a weekend, or hundreds of people meeting in a hotel or gymnasium. Depending on how many semi-local doomers you know, doom-oriented lanparties may be hard to find and organize.

Q. What is the point of a netparty?
A. Netparties are more fun than playing Doom on the internet for several reasons. People who are acquaintances on the internet get to meet in real life in a reasonably safe environment, and have the opportunity to become real life friends. Also, the quality of Doom2 when played over the local network is at its highest.

Q. Are parents welcome at the netparty?
A. Absolutely. And you can even play some Doom with us if the urge strikes you. The oldest Doom player I have played was in his 50's. If you don't doom, you may wish to figure out something to go and do while the netparty itself is in progress, otherwise you are likely to get quite bored.

Q. How do parents know their kid is going to be safe at the netparty?
A. You will need to consider the whole situation and make that determination.  

As could be said for a child's safety anywhere, it involves the child's level of maturity as well as the environment. I do my best to keep my netparties a safe environment for everyone. You will need to let me know if there are certain things you do, or do not, want your child to do while he is here (such as, I have seen parents who do not want their child to ride in a car, and remain on the property the entire time).

Also, you need to evaluate if your child will follow your rules while he or she is here. A netparty can be a distracting environment, and it's not possible to supervise minors 100% of the time.

Regarding me personally, you're welcome to call me at 540-868-9458. My name is Laura. I  can also supply, on request, telephone contact numbers for personal references. Make sure when you call that you know your child's internet handle; I probably do not know (or remember) his or her real life name.

Q. What else do people typically do at netparties?
A. In the past, people have gone out to local stores, malls, and restaurants. I saw one guy who jogged 7 kilometers every other day. We also did a Kings Dominion trip one year (see http://www.kingsdominion.com/ ). A change of scenery is occasionally a welcome break at netparties.

Q. Drugs?
A. I have a no drugs policy at my netparties. An interesting note: if your kid sneaks drugs in, and is hiding them from you, there's no guarantee that I will magically know they are there. If you can't tell, I probably can't either.

Q. Alcohol?
A. I myself do not drink, and do not keep alcoholic beverages in my house. In the past, I've permitted a mild mannered adult to bring a small quantity of beer for his own consumption. If I become aware that an adult wants to do this, and I know a minor that is 14 or older is going to be in attendance, I contact the child's parents for direction. A child attending who is younger than 14 means no alcohol will be permitted at the netparty, regardless of the parents' possible approval of the situation. Obviously, no one under 21 will be permitted to drink alcohol here, to the best of my ability to enforce.

Q. So if I decide to let my kid attend your netparty, what do I do now?
A. Call me. 540-868-9458. I'll need to get emergency contact information, at a minimum.