Trollheart

This might seem a little draconian, but I just today offered to mentor a newbie, and then found out she was 13 years old. Now, that's of course not a problem per se, but does open up a whole lot of potential hazards, both for me and for her. In the first place, socialising (hanging around, I guess you'd say) with a 13 year old when you're a year shy of fifty is dubious behaviour at best, and could lead to accusations of "grooming" at worst.

There's also the matter of how we treat these first-timers. I'm referring specifically to the advice given by a member to a newbie about posting a picture of their genitalia to a certain member, and saying this was mandatory practice. Now, I KNOW this was said TOTALLY in jest, and no-one expects anyone to do any such thing BUT should it have been taken up the wrong way --- either by the newb or by anyone else reading that thread: anyone can read them, after all --- and worse, should that newb be considered underage, well, you can see the problem it could create.

Without a mandatory age limit here it would look as if we should be VERY careful about what we say, especially in a sexual context, or anything that could be considered sexual, particularly to those who don't know, and definitely to newbies.

I certainly don't want to restrict membership to a certain age, and yet there are some serious pitfalls that we need to think about. If just one incident --- real or imagined --- gets reported we could all be in some major trouble. What, they'll say, these guardians of decency and morals, has sending a questionable picture got to do with a forum that purports to only be interested in music? Are they trading porn too? Kiddy porn? Shut them down!

You can see how it would go.

So I'd just like to sound a note of concern, and see if anyone has any suggestions or solutions. Perhaps newbs should always be asked their age in the introductions? Perhaps we need to watch our potty mouths more? I'm really not sure. But this is a problem that ain't gonna go away, so we should really start thinking now about how to be proactive, before we find ourselves in deep doo-doo...

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Janszoon

Actually, we already have a minimum age limit to join: 14. This is in the rules you agree to when you create your account. I guess it hasn't been enforced as much lately but it could be.

__________________
A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man

Time & Place

25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die

last.fm

Salami

You beat me to it!!!!!

Salami

I was under the impression you were supposed to be fourteen at least to join this forum (although this may have been Urban trying to pull someone's leg) - but you've clearly raised an important point.

Basically, I'm sure that a lot of this responsibility lies with the parents, and although there's nothing wrong with letting your child on the internet, it really should be guided just a little.
I'm seventeen at the moment (joined here aged sixteen), and to be frank the "banter" and the NSFW content of this site is mild compared to my sixth form common room.

Guybrush

Hah, I didn't think there was an age limit and actually wrote to Trollheart there wasn't one outside of this thread. Sorry for the misinformation, TH!

I only registered that one time back in 2008 and can't remember the registration details, but I assume it's just a box you tick off where you state that you're above the required age or something. Based on this, would you (the mods) ban a member from the forum if they claim they are under 14?

__________________
Something Completely Different

GuitarBizarre

Also that rule isn't somethign the mods actually put in place. Its part of all Vbulletin registrations, inherent in the software. Kind of predictable its unknown and unenforced.

__________________

Freebase Dali

If it's an issue of legality or something, then I guess we should ban everyone under the age of 18.

Scarlett O'Hara

How can you police something like that though? I mean we have no idea for sure what everyone's age is and it's really not up to us to keep youngin's off the site, it's the parents responsibility.

__________________

Freebase Dali

Edited my post for clarity.
I don't actually think we should do it. I was making a statement.

mr dave

This is really the big issue with public discussion on the internet, regardless of location, topic, or even security measures in a lot of cases. Names and ages are simple to fake, credit card information can be stolen or forged, user accounts can be hacked.

Then again I sadly have some relatives who now have young children who will try to 'watch' what they do on the internet but get upset when 'the hackers put porn' on the websites. Nevermind that the kid has surfed onto some adult biker site because they like motorcycles. There are a lot of parents who really need to learn how the internet actually operates, and these aren't old people, they're all in their 30s, they all have smartphones and laptops, they just don't quite get it.

Very much agreed. The only hassle with that is that discussion becomes stale when all comments are written for broad general consumption. I've gotten complaints for replying to a thread with a tone that seems condescending because an individual expected a personal response and I wrote in a general style for the site.

---

Ultimately the internet is one of those places where age can truly be irrelevant. On a site like this where the predominant focus is a safe topic, if a 12 year old starts posting about their favourite bands and / or instruments and can maintain a decent level of discussion then their age shouldn't really ever come into play (didn't Alfred lie about his age - did anyone notice until he fessed up?). It's only when things crossover from the broad general topics to the personal social topics that potential issues arise.

__________________
i am the universe