Category: Zone BBS Suggestions and Feedback
Here at the Zone BBS, we serve a wide variety of users. But unfortunately, as the site grows, it is important that we play by the rules as far as the law is concerned.
Here in the U.S., this means that all users must be at least 13 years old. We will begin enforcing this rule shortly. As far as how it will be done, we will basically have you check a box agreeing that you are at least 13. We are going on the honor system, but will be using this as a legal safeguard. This all revolves around the Childrens Online Privacy Act (COPA). There's a lot of sources online for this, but not abiding it, simply put, could put myself in a ton of legal trouble. It's unfortunate, but it's not a chance I'm willing to take. I'm going to read on this more about provisions for people under 13. There may be some outs involving parental consent. But if we did this, it would most likely only be available to current members as a grandfathered agreement. I can't make any promises on this, though. If you are under 13 and premium, we can process a prorated refund.If you have any questions or know more about the application of COPA and how it affects us, please post it here. I encourage open discussion about ways that we can allow people under 13, if it is feasible, while protecting their rights and our legal obligations. Thanks for reading.
I think this is a good idea. It does not strike me much though as I am 18.
hmm, how can this really work though? I mean, thirteen may be the legal age in the US, but will you need to take other countries in to account? Are there other ages in other countries even? Im ignorent, heheheh. I hope we can allow the younger members we already have to stay. I dont' know many people under that age, but can think of one in particular, it'd be a shame to lose her, smile
Yep J I think you're doing the right thing here. don't want to get yaself into trouble! Lol now the thing is to read up on other countries as Sugar suggested.
I think the legal age is 13 over here as well but can check as I know someone who works for an online gaming site, or used to before they went bust, lol. I actually don't disagree with this idea since I think some of the content that is available say on some of the grafiti boards and also some of the discussions which happen in quicknotes are not, I think, suitable for children, (no offence to any of you), how does this stand re the boards though? after all, these are available without having to log in - are there not issues surrounding this as well?
The law only pertains to people that we collect personal information from. As we don't collect information from people who don't log in, it doesn't apply.
I do think this is a good idea. I see really young people on here and sometimes I wonder what they're doing. Yes I know some people are more mature than their age but they really shouldn't be exposed to some of the content we have. And staying within the law is of course always a good idea.
especially in the litigious society that america is, grin
I agree with this idea, although I'm 21 so lol yay this doesn't apply to me. And I agree with other posts about looking at other countries to see what the legal age group is. I truly respect this idea cause God forebid if one of you admins get in trouble all we need is the site going downhill and we don't need that kind of drama.
hmm, agrees, though I am 14 it does not apply to me but yeah do the right stuff so the site won't go down
this is a very good idea, and should be done to all websites.
On my boards a person who registers has to click on one of 2 links. The first stating the person is over 13 yrs of age and the second link younger then 13. If the person clicks on the second link they cannot register, or their registration is denied and the person will be sent a email with a permission slip that a parent or gardian has to sign. I think the time limit for this before the membership is blocked perminately is 24 hrs. The only personal info that you'd be gaining from a new member is: email address, age and optional info for the person's profile. I agree, this needs to be put into place because of the content that if I were a parent would certinally not want my child to see. Such as the sex board on grafitti where it's x rated or some of the language that I see on here. Or the content I see in quick notes etc. Those who are 13 who are still young in my opinion to be seing some of the content on some websites with adult material should be advised that if they're offended they really shouldn't be on here. So in agreement it should be put up for the admin's protection. My site has a small ammount of members but it's up for my protection to cover all angles.
So JJ I'm 14 does that mean I hafta check the box 'cause I'm turning fifteen in august...
it's 13. not fifteen.
The reason for the law is for privacy and personal information. It has has very little to do with questionable content and the like. As for the permission slip thing, I really don't want to get into a logistical nightmare, but for the couple that are on here now and regular users, we may be able to make an exception with some sort of document.
That's cool. I think this is a good idea.
Blindvi, i like what you do with your site as there'd be less chance of lying since the person initially wouldn't realize what they are agreeing, or not too. and about the privacy, even though it's a different issue on the surface, I think at the end of the day it's all linked in with the questionable content that may be on the site that parents should know if their "children" are reading.
I think all new zoners should have to pass a Constitution test to prove that they have been through seventh grade.
yesss..safe. just had my 14th birthday few weeks agoe.
good thing i'm 14. smiles.
I don't think there are many people who are 13 on here, yet.
ok, I have done my research and here's what I've come up with ... in this country there is no COPA in force which specifies the age of people who log into any specified website. of course any website can make users check a box saying that they are of an age that the administrators of said website specify, but that's site specific. As per whether similar rules apply in other countries, this is not of consequence, as the hosts of any site need to abide by the laws in the proximity of the web servers, (in this case the US), after all, another country cannot tell the US what they can and cannot do with their own sites. hth
yeah, so that's why we'll have to institute this...it's only one extra step for new users to go through, and well, a way to save Admin loads of paperwork, cause yes, he could get into a lot of trouble...especially because some of the things said on this cite whether it be on the boards, or public and private QNs, or even private messages...
I also think there should be a warning sign when people sign up to the zone that there are no language restrictions here. Not only for parents who want to monitor the websites their children use even when the children are 13 but not yet 18, but also for users who don't want to be in sites where certain langauge is used. Star
star. it says this on the main page. It may not say it in plain english. But it's made very clear as to what a user may find on this website.
yes Liam but that's not until you sign up, so star has a point. and, by you saying "It's not in plain English" should automatically suggest to your good self that this statement should be in plain English to show its' profesionalism.
I think anyone under 13 should be banned whether they are premium or not!!! We don't need kids on here and there is explicit content not only on the boards and graffiti but many people send quicknotes mentioning perverted things. I also think these things should be kept in private notes or posted to the boards with a tag indicating what it is. I think that if someone posts in offensive public note, they should recieve 1 warning and then be banned. Same goes for posting it on the boards without labeling the topic with an explicit marker. These are very important to keep Zoners safe and comfortable while surfing here. I own an msn space and if a comment is posted on my space without being noted, i delete it immediately!
firstly, there is a paragraph under the link to the zone users mailing list on the front page that says that the zone believes in freedom of speech and that there are ignore features in place to give users the option of ignoring content they perhaps might find offensive, so .. no, users do not have to log into the site to see that. With regard to banning people for posting offensive quicknotes/board posts, who exactly would be the one to police all quicknotes/board posts and enforce the warnings/bannings. after all, what might be offensive to one might not be offensive to another and vice versa. Everyone has their own level of tolerance, and their own view of what is and is not acceptable content, and that is why we have ignore features ... if people don't like what they read, they are free to ignore it.
hey SB, you're right about ppl not having to log in to see it, but during the signing up process it should be more emphasis placed on this I think. and since this site is freedom of speech, I don't think policing these boards will serve any purpose here.
We are going to redo the sign-up process with the new 13 and over thing and other guidelines soon, so this process will be more clear. And, it's 13 and over that is OK, not over 13.
I m all' good' fo sho' cuz i m 18 so holla
Lol damn that's half the site it seems! OK people yeah for you! :) Lol yeah for me! yeah for admin and J! yeah for us! :)
lol.... well, I had an idea... just a thought that if you were under 13 you could block the going to graffity boards or something like that, but i know it would take some coding and stuff....
yes i thinks this is a good ida. This is som thing i don't have to weary about because i am 13
I think the idea of sensoring quick notes, and board posts is a little overboard. This is a freedom of speech site, and if that disappeared, so would I. Sorry, just being blunt.
Hm yeah, well ... I agree that some areas are maybe not really educational for younger people, more desturbing.
well, i just don't get this. This is a freedom of speech site and well by sensoring or restricting access to stuff is... umm, denying the freedom of speech, i just don't know.... well
Yes Lou but some people, some younger people, should not read some things, honestly. Those who are 13 or 14 or something like that.
this isn't a god idea how are you going to kknow if someone is 13 or not just by a box that is checkeed. Hell they could be lying aobut their ages.
Well ... that is also true, Lablover.
I have to agree with lablover. You never really know. I mean someone could lie about their age just to get away with it and get on the zone. The point is you won't really get rid of the problem as long as you have people getting on who lie about there ages. Just stating a fact.
Yeah, many people do that.
Ok, so there’s no point enforcing this rule because people will just lie and get on the site anyway. There’s no point, therefore, having a legal drinking age, or a legal age to have a drivers licence, or a legal age of consent. After all, people will just lie about their age so we might just as well declare the world a free for all and to hell with the consequences.
The reality is, this law is not there just to make things difficult for kids, it’s there to protect them! Whether we like to believe it or not, young children sometimes go online and are taken advantage of by people with lesser morals than ourselves, and by not allowing them on to sites such as this one we are trying to lessen the chances of that happening. The rule is not being enforced because admins don’t want young kids on here (that’s a debate for another topic) but because legally, children under 13 should not have memberships on this site, and if such children were found to be members the admins could find themselves in a lot of legal trouble. Yes it’s true that some will lie about their age, but by putting a check box on the site the admins cover themselves and if a child lies about his/her age, that child is liable for the consequences.
well said SB! thank you! :)
Man there you can see how naive I am. I state a total naive opinion, and if somebody writes a grown-up opinion, I suddenly realize they're right. Man, how old do I have to become to have gron-up opinions.
Although, Claire ... drinking age: People who control young people who drink or drive can see them and can estitmate the age. On the zone they can't see them and have therefore no reason to believe that this person is lying about his/her age.
Well the theory is that you can tell if someone is under age, yet every weekend 16 and 17 year olds go into nightclubs and drink, even though the legal age in this country is 18. Not being able to tell someone’s age online is all more reason to have a limit. After all, as much as you can’t tell if a 13 year old is lying about his/her age, a 13 year old doesn’t know that a 31 year old who tells her he is 16, honest, is lying about his age.
That is true but still, not everybody can get through with that. 16- and 17-year-old, yes, they can. but no 15-y<ear-old for example.
oh don't believe it! you see them coming out of the clothes shops round by us dressed in the most revealing outfits they can find and wearing more makeup than they can plaster on to make themselves look older, and believe me, it works. I've known girls as young as 14 go into nightclubs, and sadly, girls get away with it far easier than guys do, because the bouncers look past it.
hM; YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT: tHAT IS THE THINGS WE MISS WHEN WE CAN NOT SEE A THING:
Yes people do miss a lot and sadly they don't care, but if there's a checkbox on this site and the child who is yonger than 13 checks it, then its no longer theb admin's faults and if somehow the parents go after the adminis, they can just show the courts that the child did infact lie about his/her age. Don't want to get yonger children in to trouble, but if they lie about their age, if they want more grown up things, then they should be able to handle it. If they cannot, than that's their fault, not the admin's
I agree. As I say alot, this place is like a second family, and I understand about the 13 and older thing, but really, I liked it the way this web site was before.
If you can find a way to include everyone on here, then please find a way. A
well, i think this is good, well im 17 going on 18 so, it doesn't apply to me, but if the law says so, than it does have to be done. well, would hate to see the zone bbs have a downfall.
Same here.
my mom works at an elementary school and she sees som 12 year olds dressed very skimpy or revealing. especially girls. jee, why are girls growin so fast and developing so much very early these days. im 18 and mot even too close. anyway, what is put in there food.
um? what the fuck was the point of post 54?
In some cases, I think that those who use the sight should be at least eighteen and no younger!!!
I agree bt seriously stop going to last year for topics please people.
Oh god we'd lose a third of our users <grin>
Jenny, people who are new to the site have every right to look at old topics and post comments. After all, is it there fault if they didn't join a year ago? And besides, reading old posts is a good way for a new member to make sure they don't post a topic about something that was just posted a month ago.
and half the mindless fucks on this site, *points at all, are unable to get it through their heads that topics come up, over, and over!
ok...maybe not all of us are mindless fucks, just most
yes 14 going on 15 next month