CyberCafe Violence
Aug 23

CyberCafe Violence

Anti-violence rules in effect at L.A. cybercafes: Apparently there’s violence in and around “cybercafes” in L.A. I’m assuming “cybercafe” is a trendy way of saying “coffee shop with kiosk machines and wifi.”

Los Angeles is the largest of several Southern California cities to enact restrictions on Internet gaming parlors. The ordinance was proposed after several shootings in 2002 near cybercafes, two of them fatal.

A police analysis found that most of the people arrested at cybercafes were minors who violated curfew or truancy rules. Officials were concerned that the cafes were havens for gang activity.

First of all, why cybercafes of all places to center gang activity? Second, why the violence? Did someone take the “good” computer or something?

by Deane   August 23, 2004 5:05 AM    |   Follow Gadgetopia on Twitter

Comments

by Kevin,   August 24, 2004 10:59 PM  

I can't speak for LA, but there are cybercafes in San Diego that aren't much more than a fast (t1?) line and a bunch of gaming PC's in a row. I guess you get your posse and get a bank of machines and go doom3 crazy or something like that. The ones I've seen are in kind of sketchy strip malls - typically in asian parts of town.

by Deane,   August 25, 2004 2:00 PM  

Any fellow Sioux Falls residents know if we have anything like that here in town?

by Chris,   August 29, 2004 1:04 AM  

Well, I've been to a cybercafe in Buena Park, a small suburb of LA, and it's bout the same as you said in San Diego except it was four rows of gaming PCs.

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