Also apologies to some of y'all for bringing up some cringe memories that probably haven't been thought of in a decade or so.
This is what’s happening? The parent or guardian has to be a member and give permission for the minor.It could be as simple as parallel membership for a parent or guardian (and probably limiting the minor to novice/recruit),
Include a “if someone does something inappropriate…” statement in their welcome message and that any inkling of untoward behavior would result in severe consequences.
If there is an influx of teenage members could there be a specific area for them? Like a training ground type thing, but more heavily moderated? Could their access be limited as far as OWaH or other areas that tend to be a bit less moderated?
We've already made changes that require members to be 18 to move from Novice/Recruit to Accepted/Soldier rank as seen here: https://www.tarvalon.net/index.php?threads/updated-raising-requirements.50349/
So the way I see it, we already require most of our membership to be at least 18. Only Citizens to Novice/Recruits would even be at risk of being a minor already, so minors already don't have access to any Tower Sworn places.
But that being said, since we do require members to be at least 18 to become Accepted/Soldier, this change really only means registered members, Citizens, and Novice/Recruits must also be at least 18.
Would there be any legal statements that could be included to indicate that while the possiblity isn't zero, there is some infintesimal chance of interacting with possible creeps? That by using the forums you take that into consideration and understand that reporting inappropriateness is highly encouraged and expected?
I think this is just... the rule of the internet, I guess? On the internet as a space, no matter where you go, the chance of encountering creeps and negative experiences may even be infinitesimal (depending on the community), but it's never zero and I can't think of what could be done (that isn't already being done, at least here) to make it zero. I think - or I hope - that everyone who is on the internet knows this and accepts it as a possibility.
Sometimes there are rumors for YEARS about members, but no reports were ever made. Without reports, it’s hard to act. I speak from experience on this, unfortunately. And we can’t expect inappropriate behavior to be 100% reported when it happens, leaving Creep Gaidin to continue to take advantage of underage folx.
Some of y'all weren't here for the mid 2000s where there were a number of teenage girls and almost all of us (I turned 18 a few months after joining) were creeped on and didn't fully understand it or feel comfortable reporting it. I can think of at least 10 of us without difficulty who faced that issue.
All of that being said, I am sad that it is felt by the Board, or whomever made this decision, that the possibility for harassment is so great the need for age restriction is even a thing. I have been incredibly lucky that 99.9% of my interaction here has been great.
I know that this has been a safe place for many people during my membership. As I was reading the previous comments and seeing that some have been harassed/groomed/abused, I was thinking, well, is it a safe place then? If something like that occurs even once, that's way too much.
Also the optics to be seen of the creep; every time it's been mentioned; being made male.
Also the apparent prioritization of a member who would have been here long enough to have made Gaidin at all continuing to be raised with "vague rumours" etc. I understand these are generalizations but if even the way we're discussing this hypothetically is so charged...
But these days you aren't going to have the kind of teen representation as back in the day. The regulation of the internet and distribution of liability is different as well.
The demographics have shifted to be much older than it was back then, and there's a difference between teens joining a place with many 20-25 year olds and teens joining with many 30+ year old adults.
Sure, have more adult oriented activities. But a thriving community cannot deny or ignore the vibrancy of its younger demographic. Any community needs ideas to keep them engaged, too, whether online or one’s own local neighborhood.
Our neighborhood has lots of young families move into it all the time. The subdivision tries having a yearly pool party that always involves alcohol and enforces a 21+ year age requirement. How many families miss out getting to know people from even a quarter of the subdivision just because a handful of people are adamant about drinking? Do these families wait until their kids can left at home? Absolutely not. They don’t participate and end up moving away once the kids graduate high school. Who are they replaced by? Another young family and the cycle repeats itself. Even our local neighborhood would be so much closer if the Homeowner’s Association would understand having activities for the entire family in addition to adult activities is much more beneficial than solely adult-oriented activities.
Regardless, teens don't need to be in an adult space. It's why many social media sites also have also have limits. This is an adult space, run by adults, with a focus on adults that is not specifically equipped or trained to handle those under 18. Thus, to be responsible, us rando adults on the internet should not be inviting them into this space.
Removed my earlier, less caffeinated response. Now that I've had coffee, a better one:
I'm okay with this, and agree it makes sense. I was groomed by a creep when I first joined, he visited me in person when I was 15, and it's only by luck and my friends not leaving me alone with him that nothing terrible happened. 18+ seems like a wise move to me. I do worry about people lying about their age and then us not knowing who's underage and that creating issues, but I suppose that's not really something we can do anything about. It does make me sad we need to do this -- I benefited a lot from being a member here as a teen -- but I also know a lot of us who joined early were put in very vulnerable positions as a result, and I don't want that to happen to anyone else.