Age Restrictions needed on ATS

Can we make the age limit 14? I mean that I like this website and I wanted to comment on other peoples work so I can show my point of view. I do not use this website just like that. I use this website because there are topics such as Aliens and Global Warming that really intrigue me. I am 13 and I know it was wrong to click "I am 18 and over", but come on, I do not use offensive language, or should anyone else. So... yeah

reply to post by LASTofTheV8s


Yes, I have been reading what you are saying but as pointed out, we can't assure anyones age. Secondly, the ATS staff does enforce the T&C, which makes ATS a family friendly site. We do the best we can to maintain decorum. The membership helps out too. Personally, I'd rather have my kids here than anywhere else.

I agree with the premise of this thread.

Especially regarding media input, some content is rather too graphic and grotesque for our younger members. A simple "WARNING!!" in the title will not do.

[edit on 6-1-2010 by infinite]

reply to post by LASTofTheV8s


I have read what you said and what others said.

Hey, I know some of you are going to take offense to this, but a 14 year old has no business being around some of our members.

Fact is, nobody on this site has any clue how old a member is. Just because they say they are 14 does not mean they are 14. Most certainly can not judge content or quality of post for age.

And you, nor I, can judge what another person's child should or should not be doing nor what sites they should visit. Its all opinion and personal parenting. Period.



[edit on January 6th 2010 by greeneyedleo]

Originally posted by infinite
I agree with the premise of this thread.

Especially regarding media input, some content is rather too graphic and grotesque for our younger members. A simple "WARNING!!" in the title will not do.

[edit on 6-1-2010 by infinite]

I dunno, my kids don't get "protected" from things like that. I expose them to whatever I think they are mature enough to understand. I mean obviously there are some things which I just won't subjec them to.

But nothing is hidden from them. Education is key, always has been.

~Keeper

It is not up to ATS to modify its content ..

It is up to the parents to monitor what there children (of any age) are up to on the internet.

I certainly would not let my kids read half this stuff it would scare them to death

Originally posted by mamabeth
reply to post by moocowman

 

I can't believe you posted this.This is a family(Addam's type)forum.All
ages are welcome,I learned that lesson a couple of months ago.

What the ??? M, I was adding a little humour Whether fogies like us like it or not, young people access porn far more than some would appreciate.

Now porn is all about sex ( a topic openly discussed here) whether or not it represents reality is debatable. All I was saying , in a somewhat juvenile toilet humored way is that, I would sooner have my spotty kid hang out here and be given an account of someones alleged experience or nutty news or views on drugs or informed info. Rather than hang out at some ganbang site being given misinformation.

Don't know how it works where you are M, but over here what is presented to young people as a reliable source of news and information are "Tabloid Newspapers" many of which contain nothing but outlandish schoolboy headlines and some pictures of pretty perfectly formed (in Yahwehs image? lol) girls baring their breasts and anything else they can legally get away with.


Hope that clears things up M, we can't really expect to have open debate on a conspiracy site on any topic and remain prudes at the same time.

reply to post by moocowman


I don't even let my husband read what I post.I'm afraid he would disable
this site off my computer and I wouldn't know how to get it back.I'm not
a prude,I have to really control myself here.I have only been a christian
for about 5 years and I will be 55 this month(hint).

Originally posted by mamabeth
reply to post by moocowman

 

I don't even let my husband read what I post.I'm afraid he would disable
this site off my computer and I wouldn't know how to get it back.I'm not
a prude,I have to really control myself here.I have only been a christian
for about 5 years and I will be 55 this month(hint).

Your secret is safe with us mama.

reply to post by LASTofTheV8s


I want to tell you what ATS means to me...
I was vegetating,mentally and physically,in front of my television.This
box would be on for hours with mindless shows entering my brain.A
family member told me about this site,so,I checked it out.I liked what
I was reading and joined.
My tv is off nearly all day now.I spend more time reading and posting
on threads.My grammar is slowly improving.I thumb through books and
articles trying to find what I can post,that hasn't already been done.I am
thinking now,more than what I was before.ATS,has helped me.
There are a lot of topics here that are not suitable for children.That is
your job to monitor what they see and do on the internet.I hope this helps
I don't think age restrictions are neccessary.

Originally posted by noobsauce13
Can we make the age limit 14? I mean that I like this website and I wanted to comment on other peoples work so I can show my point of view. I do not use this website just like that. I use this website because there are topics such as Aliens and Global Warming that really intrigue me. I am 13 and I know it was wrong to click "I am 18 and over", but come on, I do not use offensive language, or should anyone else. So... yeah

Noobsauce13.
You sound like a very intelligent, and decent kid.
This thread has nothing to do with you, or others like you, doing anything wrong.
This thread is about making sure this site is doing everything it can to ensure that you are not exposed to anything, or anybody that could misinform, misguide, take advantage of, or even harm you.

Originally posted by mamabeth
reply to post by LASTofTheV8s

 

I want to tell you what ATS means to me...
I was vegetating,mentally and physically,in front of my television.This
box would be on for hours with mindless shows entering my brain.A
family member told me about this site,so,I checked it out.I liked what
I was reading and joined.
My tv is off nearly all day now.I spend more time reading and posting
on threads.My grammar is slowly improving.I thumb through books and
articles trying to find what I can post,that hasn't already been done.I am
thinking now,more than what I was before.ATS,has helped me.
There are a lot of topics here that are not suitable for children.That is
your job to monitor what they see and do on the internet.I hope this helps
I don't think age restrictions are neccessary.

Thank you very much Mama. It is really good to have you here.
Your grammar is just fine.
I hope you are enjoying the ride!

I am also a parent, but I want to point out an issue that is easily circumvented.

"You must be 18 years or older to visit this site. Are you 18?"

Alternatively, you could put up a page that goes along the lines of:

"You must wish to read about what life was like before there was the internet, electricity or running water. If you agree, click YES."

I'm sure that would scare off most of the potential youngsters

[edit on 6/1/2010 by Dark Ghost]

I am a dad and agree as an ATSER this site is so cool and as of late the cooks are leading the young and causing a complete lack of factual ideas threads and lots of really wacked unfounded statements. There really needs to be some kind of filter applied to keep the young and obviously disconnected ones from being led astray its one thing to have imagination its another to try and convince a 12 year old that there government is out to get them.

I am 16 and I know that my dad encourages me to research everything. He does not know I am so interested in conspiracies but I am sure he wouldn't object. the OP is right by saying that some parents might not want their children to visit these forums but if the children are intelligent enough to see through media lies then I think they are emotionally strong enough. I first learnt about the NWO when I was 14, it was a shock and I told many of my mates. I have convinced about 20 people that the World Governments are in fact pushing a different agenda so therefore I think that these forums are a form of alternative education.

Now, my 7 year old has already experienced a ban on another site. It was for just 24 hours, and he understands what he did that was wrong (language) - and over all, was a great learning experience.

7 Years old and banned on a forum for "language"?
Seems like you ought to get off ats and get your kid off the computer and go play legos ffs

reply to post by mamabeth

I don't even let my husband read what I post.I'm afraid he would disable this site off my computer and I wouldn't know how to get it back

The truth will always find you so don't worry about that.

I'm not a prude,I have to really control myself here.(hint).

I never intended to imply that you were, apologies for grammar.

.I have only been a christian for about 5 years and I will be 55 this month(hint).

Five year ? not to worry M if Amway reps can be saved there's still hope for you, .

So M after 50 years of being an (fill in blank) what possessed you to become an xtian ?
How did you go about critically evaluating the bibles for authenticity and truth ?

Have you met or spoken with jesus ? ( the one commonly referred to by most pastors and such)

Were you happy before you became an chrisitian ?

If not, why do you feel that you could not achieve happiness without xtianity ?

What type of xtian are you ?

Originally posted by LASTofTheV8s
OK. Now, let me zoom in a little more here.

I am not talking, so much, about the input given by younger visitors.

Understood. But it's worth considering how helpful to the rest of us it can be to be exposed to the thoughts and experiences of the younger members. Keeping younger members off the site would not only "protect" them from us, it would "protect" us from them. Not sure that that's a good idea -- as a parent, wouldn't you rather have the insight into what it's like to be a teenager today that you can get from their contributions, especially since ATS members tend by and large to be more self-aware and willing to face issues head-on than average?

I am talking about what they are being exposed to. By that, I am not focusing, for now, on topics and subject matter.

As a couple of the mods who have posted have said -- by all means use the alert button if you see something inappropriate. I know that I used it once, in a thread where a young-sounding member with some concerns about feeling dissociated received a reply recommending the use of hallucinogens. The issue was dealt with very promptly, with the result that the thread as a whole stood but the drug references were removed. As is often the case in such threads, a lot of the information that was posted was exactly the kind of thing that I would want a kid to see -- people posting their ability to identify with the issue. It's easy to focus on the relatively few "unsafe" posters, but most threads here provide a variety of reactions -- including responses from people who have had similar issues and found help online or through talking to parents, friends, spiritual advisors, therapists, or elsewhere.

I am worried about the kids that are already in a vulnerable position concerning self, religion, fears, politics, sex, depression, etc. They are scared out of their wits already! Maybe even in need of real help. Then they come here, and are probably exposed to a good 500 other topics that most certainly have a component of fear involved.

So much of life has a component of fear. At least here you also get the "anti-fear" voices.

And, for the sake of conversation, let's all agree that, for the most part, an over 18 restriction isn't stopping anybody that has decided to come in here.

Agreed. So what would you suggest?

Let's also agree that many young people just are not equipped to engage in some of these conversations, with some of these subjects.

But as you point out, isn't that a matter for the children and their parents to decide, not for hundreds of online babysitters?

The internet is an "Unnatural" ingredient in life today. And, to some extent, it invades all of our lives. But, it is also an Unnatural Ingredient in the raising of our children.

Am I hearing fear?

I have trouble with the idea that the internet is "unnatural" -- it is a means for people to communicate. Nothing is more human (and natural) than communication. Like it or not, networks are a part of life today. Kids will be exposed to online communication -- including some difficult, scary, or misleading information. Isn't it better to have them exposed to the "crazies" here where there is a strong, diverse, and generally responsible community of contributors who will speak up if they see something going wrong?

Having a child or young person, exposed to hundreds of different people and their views, is a terrifying prospect under the best of circumstances. There is nothing normal or healthy about it.

Here I totally disagree. Yes, I'm sure it's terrifying. But I don't see why it should be abnormal or unhealthy. Parents can (and should) help their kids puzzle through all the information they are exposed to. But much of what people (adults as well as kids) are exposed to here is actually the process of puzzling through. Being exposed to this may help kids develop the mental tools that they need to live in an information-overload world.

Now, take those same hundreds of people, and consider that they are not taking into consideration that their are young members viewing their posts.

If they're not abiding by the terms and conditions of the website, then they should be reported. If they are, then the worst thing that happens is kids find out that people believe different things.

Or, focus on the fact that in many cases, younger people are actually going to act, or adhere to views and advice from members of this board. Even if the member is healthy and sane, getting advice from anonymous strangers is not the most solid strategy.

But one of the wonderful things about getting advice from anonymous strangers is that you get lots of different advice and must pick and choose among it. It also provides a safe place for people (kids or adults) to ask for help figuring out problems that they feel they can't bring up where people know them. If people here don't freak out on them, maybe they will gain confidence that their problems are not as overwhelming as they feel, and will learn ways to bring their concerns to the attention of the people in a position to help them.

The next possibility, is that a kid is REALLY having a problem, which I have seen in these forums. And, after airing this problem, has been exposed to, well, INSANITY from some of these members. And, the kid has taken it seriously.

As in the thread I mentioned earlier, I've seen this too. But what I've also seen is that they're exposed to sane, helpful, supportive posts along with the weird ones. I don't know what specific instances inspired this post (nor do I want to), but I would be surprised if good solid advice wasn't also offered. Another thing to keep in mind that you don't see is that there may be behind-the-scenes support given. I know that in a couple of instances when I've read a post from someone having personal issues that I thought I might be able to provide some support for, I have chosen to u2u the poster instead of contributing to the thread. Because the particular issues I've dealt with in my life that most often come up here (alcoholism, long-term severe depression) are generally problems that people don't confront until their twenties, I don't think I've reached out to any kids. But you may not be seeing a lot of more balanced input in these sorts of cases, simply because older people who have worked through similar issues may choose not to publicize that fact.

DO NOT tell me that this is ok, or nobody's business, or the way the internet works, or any other blather.

yes, sir.

For a website that seems dedicated to exposing problems, finding solutions, filled with members that (some of them) work day and night, researching subject matter, and actually CARING about problems in our world, I am feeling a lot of apathy concerning this situation.

May I suggest that you might be projecting this apathy based on your own fears?

Today, our kids are living in a "laboratory". The environments, information, obstacles, expectations, subject-exposure and tools for living, are all new and artificial. No culture alive today has any experience in the dynamics of a child growing up the way our children are growing up.

But that was true when I was growing up in the 1970s too. Kids are not living in a laboratory -- they are living in the real world, which is ever-changing, unpredictable, and teeming with characters. ATS is a sort of community, even a microcosm of society as a whole. There is good information and bad information, caring people and uncaring people, an entire array of information to pick and choose from. Personally, I'd rather have a kid exposed to nothing but ATS than nothing but Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, but then I'm a crazy New York City liberal.

And, this is fully apparent by the obvious way things are progressing.

I can't see it. You've been around here longer than I, but in my year and a half on these boards I can't say I've seen a trend toward crazy. In specific forums maybe, and certainly there are periods of time when specific crazinesses seem to take over a given forum (Blossom Goodchild anyone?)

Are you sure that it's ATS you're bothered by? Maybe it's actually that you're afraid that the kids on here don't have the support they need at home, in school, or in their social circles? That's something that worries me, but it's not something I can do much about. What I can do is report major problems that I see here and try to add my voice where I think people are getting bad information or advice.

Originally posted by LASTofTheV8s

Originally posted by schrodingers dog
Kids . . .
There is no way to say that it is good for a kid. And, if it is EVER decided to be so, that should be made by a parent. Not by hundreds of online forum "babysitters".

Exactly, the decision about what your kid sees should be made by you, not by "forum babysitters".
Yet you seem to be looking for some change in this forum that would allow you to trust it to be more appropriate for children, rather than being prepared to monitor your children's involvement yourself.

Originally posted by whaaa
So what do you propose? Lock the kid away from all outside stimuli and opinions. OK but please don't place restrictions on my kid to get all the information he can and make his Own damn decisions as to what advise to follow.
What you are proposing is censorship. No thanks!

. . .
It is not "Censorship". I am talking about filtering what these kids are exposed to. If that outrages you, you are kind of proving my point, as to how bad we need to do it.
In some cases, parents and the kids may not know what is best for them.

Filtering, censorship ... exactly the same thing. Weasel words don't change facts.

Assuming that you know better than another parent what is best for THEIR child is fat-headed nonsense. Your ego is really bursting through here.
My kids, like Whaaa's have grown up free to access whatever information they want. Kids bought up with love, respect, good examples from their parents and able to talk to their parents about everything can usually handle freedom fine.

Originally posted by Kailassa
It sounds like the only thing that will make you happy is to ban ATS.

However it's possible that ATS could be beneficial to a child brought up in an over-protective or stultifying situation. It's better for a child to have a mature adult with whom they can discuss new ideas, than to be denied exposure to such ideas.

I never said anything about banning ATS. Not sure what you mean.

Well you did say that ATS was bad for children and that an over 18 agreement won't keep them out, so what is it you want?
If you want the type of censorship known of as filtering, just move to Australia or China, and the government will make your your precious little ones don't see anything nasty.

And, who is going to be there to tell the child which posts are "fact-based" and informative or healthy, and which posts "fiction", fear-mongering, or just flat out crazy?

How about accepting that the parent is responsible for guiding their own child?

And, what "mature adult" are you talking about? Do you mean an ATS member? Are you saying that it's ok for a kid to just end up getting advise and input from any old "mature adult" in here?
I am just going to leave that one up in the air. Because, well, Holy Crap!

I would expect the parent to be the "mature adult" who is there to give your child advice and input.
But you have proved your immaturity by jumping to conclusions, so I'm starting to think it would be a "Holy Crap!" situation if your children only have you to guide them.
No wonder you want to shift off parental responsibilities by pushing for censorship of this forum.

I completely agree. We need to BAN all children from posting on our forums. I am beyond sick and tired of reading teenagers threads selling us a line of BS. Most dont take it seriously.

Make a Teenager Forum for goodness sakes. I think we all would be MUCH HAPPIER.