When a minor visits the forum

Former Youth Officer here.... minors are not allowed to 'declare' that they are so on the forum, nor to give out personal information about themselves.

If you see a minor post something declaring that they are indeed under 18, or post personal information (in a thread, on the wall, or on a profile), please can you report the post to be removed by an administrator, and PM the member direct.

This is for their protection.

Thanks

If you have any questions about this PLEASE take a moment and REVIEW the Youth FAQ located here.

https://www.templeofthejediorder.org/faq#Under18

I have warned many youth multiple times. If you have any questions before posting ask. Please.

Whilst I firmly believe that pesky children should be seen and not heard, and should probably be worrying about mowing the lawn or polishing their shoes rather than debating philosophy - Can anyone explain to me the reasoning for minors not being declared?

I am told the internet is full of all sorts, and obviously not giving out home addresses, registration numbers, and so on is good business practice - but for the purposes of communicating - How I respond to a 15 year old may be different to how I respond to a 50 year old or a 30 year old (There's a complex sarcasm/decade gaussian distribution I use to determine snark levels)

Is there a specific risk for a minor mentioning that they are minors? Are they prevented also from linking to their myspace, blog, or other identifying accounts?


(Having said all that, I am not sure if my age is on my profile :huh: )

Aside from the obvious "those are the rules here" bit, any piece of identifying information can be used by unscrupulous sorts to compromise someone's safety or identity. This is especially true of minors, who may lack the proper knowledge on how to keep themselves safe online, especially in an age when so much information is shared thoughtlessly.

Steamboats answer is spot on but I'll also respond here.

The internet is not a safe place. We ask our youth to not tell their age because we truly do not know who is here at any time. We need to have some level of safey and protocol for everyone.

How do you respond to anyone on the forum? This is a Church. Remember that. I wouldn't say anything to an elder that I also would not say to a youth.

Yes they are not allowed to identify themselves such as facebook etc...

Aside from the obvious "those are the rules here" bit,

Well yes, I can read, I was just curious as to "why" - Call it my childlike sense of curiousity

Sometimes I print things out on the company letterhead and stick them up on the noticeboard to see how long it takes people to question them.

It's been 14 months, and no one has wondered about the "no milk on the bottom shelf of the fridge" policy.

This is especially true of minors, who may lack the proper knowledge on how to keep themselves safe online, especially in an age when so much information is shared thoughtlessly.

And anyone else, really - plenty of adults are bamboozled by scammers every day.


In any case, I'm not a minor, nor am I the legal guardian for any, so it's not a huge area of interest for me, I was just curious to hear the rationale.

I don't necessarily think it's a "bad" rule, or should change. It just seems strangely cautious.


While we're here - I'm sure I've seen folks mention their age in Chat - what is the recourse there?

I'm checking on a few things. As I understand, if one is under 18 but at least 13 they must have a parents or guardians permission to register here. Facebook allows 13 year olds. Merely by looking at their photo's and posts about school and such it's obvious they are under 18.

There's compelling reasons why someone's age or place in school would be very relevant to a discussion, a plea for help, and tempering responses when the reader knows the poster is younger.

Surely with the vast powers and combined intelligence of us combined here we can work out something where it's OK to be under 18 and still be safe. Our mission demands it.

Br. John wrote: Surely with the vast powers and combined intelligence of us combined here we can work out something where it's OK to be under 18 and still be safe. Our mission demands it.

No offense, but not without an accompanying guardian or written parental consent it doesn't. For the safety of everyone involved--minors, older members, the corporation, the legacy of this church--we have to maintain certain policies. After all, isn't that why we have Youth Officers?

JamesSand wrote: While we're here - I'm sure I've seen folks mention their age in Chat - what is the recourse there?

Report it to Roz and the moderators so they can keep an eye out.

As I said in my post, if someone is under 18 but at least 13 they must have a parents or guardians consent to be registered here. Certainly to be a Member they do.

Facebook has no issues with someone talking about being on a high school freshman football team or mentioning they're excited about their 17th birthday coming up.

I'm looking into the laws and what other large forums do. There are some dedicated for young people. What's to prevent an old predator from lying about their age and registering there?

I see this mostly as a solution in search of a problem. Nothing will change without research, input from all involved (not just The Council), and careful consideration.

We'll still need youth officers for plenty of reasons even if we allow 15 year olds to be 15.