There is a wide variety of people who play Toontown: kids, families, teens, and adults from a wide variety of backgrounds. But all of us are restricted to the same form of chat, which can make it difficult to communicate when sometimes even the most minimal phrases get blocked.

It is understandable to have a chat system like this when you are speaking to others in public, as you don't know who is behind the toon and there have to be safety measures for this, but this doesn't account for friends speaking to each other in private.

Toontown Online was able to solve this issue by offering an option for a less restrictive chat for people who know each other, called Speedchat Plus. The idea of it is that unlike Speedchat or Speedchat Plus, it is intended for people who know who is behind the toon, and therefore can chat with each other and be a little more relaxed in their communication style. 

With of course some drawbacks, this form of chat made it easy for families and friends far and wide to be able to connect and chat directly in Toontown, without worrying as much about who is behind the screen. The safety features in place made it very successful, allowing the game to win multiple awards for internet safety. Accounts that chose to have it enabled had clear parental controls in place, allowing concerned parents to choose who and if these chat features were enabled on their account. This allowed child safety to be addressed by the first and foremost person who should address it: the child's parent/s.

Even though features were in place that easily allowed a parent to use them, there were some drawbacks of Speedchat Plus. For one, the system was set up so that codes could easily be shared in game. In the days of drop and click Speedchat, codes could be shared by using the first letter in every speedchat phrase, as well as even spelling out the code with furniture items. When speedchat plus was released, it became even easier, allowing codes to be shared with a few alterations of the spelling. However, this could completely be avoided by using a non-numerical form of code, such as a QR code, which is used in their Two-Step Factor Authentication to verify accounts. This way, it would have to be sent to the users and scanned on their phones, which would be impossible to do in-game. 

Now couldn't they just mention their social media website or Discord in order for the other person to receive the code? Well, yes. But there is no way to avoid all instances. By taking an extra step, TTR would send the message that they are doing all they can to ensure user safety, but we must recognize that part of this relies on user responsibility. They may provide us the door to safety, however we must be the ones to walk through it. People who are going to break the rules are going to find new and creative ways to do so. And with that, the moderation's tools and abilities will improve as well.

So what about those too young to engage in responsible practices? Well, to that I say we bring the parental features back. Accounts can have parental features enabled if they choose to. Parents can make that decision based on the maturity of their child. And if they don't, they cannot logically blame TTR. 

By not only having the exact features that Disney did, but even improving upon them, the executives at the Walt Disney Company and Schell Games will not only be confident in the safety of TTR, but more open to the game as a future business model for the family-oriented content they deliver.