Should young children be on this board.

Originally posted by Byrd
I also moderate a MUD that requires registration and proof of age to get into certain areas... and I can tell you that people DO lie. We couldn't institute an "age verification" system here in any acceptable form

Maybe instead of a age verification system (unreliable like Byrd said) maybe an IQ test would work better

www.iqtest.com...

Might even weed out bizzar interpretations of other's post like Drunk's.
I still don't see how that reply was considered Wooing...
Maybe I will go take the test and see if it's just my narrow mind leaving me behind.

I find that 90% of subjects on this board are age appropriate for the PG-13 crowd. The only things that aren't are also handled dutifully by the mods, for good taste. For instance we have had some rogue posters in the past who flagrantly post disturbing images of the war. As an adult I certainly don't like seeing tragedy in it's most de-based self-centered martyrdom.

Ohh looky what I posted, flips off good taste!

This is a great site for young minds, In fact it is a wealth of knowledge and discussion that is on a level of the collegiate. The youngins here should be enlightened, and educated, and informed on the world, supernatural and other-wise. If we don't let them contribute, are we not adding to their IGNORANCE?

-ADHDsux4me

Believe it or not, an IQ is not as 'full-proof' as some may think.
What I am not understanding is that when a member signs up to become a member of ATS (and if I remember correctly, being it has been awhile), it states that one must be 13 yo or better? Yes, yes, I know, folks can lie, but my point was that if it says that an individual must be 13 yo or better to join, then that would have obviously answered the question:

Should young children be on this board.

Eh?




seekerof

Originally posted by deaf fences hit
sometimes the youngest of children say the fondest, let alone wisest of things.

Bingo.

There are many members here on ATS who are substantially younger than me, but their input is no less important or valued. Indeed there have been numerous times when a members insight/input has had me in awe...as their mind *if you excuse the generalisation* is well beyond what might be expected from their age.

I find the youth who frequent ATS to generally be on par with any other 'older' member...their maturity and intelligence is apparent in what and how they post.


Peace,
ALIEN

Im 13 i think im mature but i do like a joke as much as the next person be they 5 or 95. I have had no complaints about my maturity. I haven't been warned and i frequently take part in heated debates without going to far or whatever you said we would do.

I find it quite offensive that because im a few years younger my inteligence is questioned. S0 i am not be great at spelling and gramma most people pver look that. Some to moan but i dont really care let them moan as long as people know what im saying does it matter.

You age isn't you IQ!

Originally posted by shorty
Im 13 i think im mature but i do like a joke as much as the next person be they 5 or 95.

It's very true, i mistook shorty for somebody older

younger board contributors often haven't been influenced by political propaganda and the media, so their views are un-influenced and truer than those who've had a life time of propaganda shoved in their face.

Originally posted by UK Wizard


It's very true, i mistook shorty for somebody older

Thank you.

Originally posted by Blaine91555
I'm talking about children 15 and under. I say they are not emotionaly mature enough for some of what takes place on this board. How can a child of that age seperate fact from fiction or hate speech from debate. They can't! Some of the things on these threads could terrify a sensitive child or lead a disturbed child to commit a horrific act using what they read here as justification. The internet is full of monsters who prey on children and I found a post by a 14 year old tonight that included an e-mail address!!!!!!!!! I was going to use an emoticon here, but none of them fit the situation.

I don't have any more to say, nor can my stance on this be changed. I'd love to hear everyone else's opinion on this.

Comment: Should 12 year old boys become chess Grandmasters, beating Kasparov in blitz chess? Yeah you just gotta put a stop to it, especially when such kids are from the number one country in the world for quality of life, Norway!



Wonder Boy

Also should such a kid be allowed on ATS when he can easily beat everyone on ATS in a chess simul?




Yeah you just gotta keep kids with more brains than you off of ATS! Let us also do a test and make sure people cannot logon with an IQ less than room temperature.



[edit on 25-11-2004 by SkipShipman]

I judge people by their posts, and as others have said there are younger people on ATS who act in a more mature manner than so-called 'adults' and vice versa.

That said, its not safe to include your email on posts, if only to avoid hordes of

I think younger minds can afford an uncorrupted take on certain subjects. Many of the young don't harbor prejudices that many older generation members pretend to not have. I have heard my own children make more profound statements than some of the posts I come across sometimes.

I do think that children lack the real life experiences to fully digest some of the content in some forum threads. Or argue things like the psychological affects of warfare. (Something probably best left to professionals and those who have lived it) (not that some children haven't experienced war, most have not)

Shorty is correct, your age is not your IQ.

Man....
Pisky, where did you find that face???
It does me in every time!

[edit on 11/25/2004 by Notme]

Originally posted by Notme
Pisky, where did you find that face???
It does me in every time!

It was on a funny pic site that I can't remember the link to.

However ... here's the Origin of the pixy baby

.
.
.
Speaking as a mom - yep, welcome kids. ...If something is outside of a kid's 'awareness range' - they just don't get it and move on. As far as the inappropriate juvenile behavior members indulge in here, well it's not like our kids haven't seen any televised election campaigns. yuk


.

I think young adults should be welcome, and as long as the MODs can keepup there shouldn't be any problems.

Pisky... I should have read your whole signature.

I agree with soficrow.
Kids will focus on issues that are interesting to them, and ignore that which is not in their interest. On an age basis, I imagine the UFO forums has more kids (in heart if not age ) than the Political philosophy forum.

I have always modded on a policy that kids are on the site and avatars, links, etc should have them in mind as well. We are well aware of the vulnerabilites of kids, and are conscious about maintaining a "safe for kids" board structure. The poster earlier who complained owes the mods and members a huge apology for his crass comments.

Unfortunalty the concept of an "adult" board is merely one that includes porn.

How about making ATS an "adult" board that instead contains well thought out, well analysed and well critiqued ideas?

Kids may learn from such posts and be able to contribute at higher levels, and we are all winners.

Originally posted by soficrow
Speaking as a mom - yep, welcome kids. ...If something is outside of a kid's 'awareness range' - they just don't get it and move on. As far as the inappropriate juvenile behavior members indulge in here, well it's not like our kids haven't seen any televised election campaigns. yuk


.

Any "child" that can type well enough to "keep up" with these dialogues is not going to be harmed here.

This forum is well-managed, well-monitored. There is no profanity here; there is no porn; there are no dirty dealings here nor a singles' meat market. In fact, we all must adhere to good manners here.

Where ELSE would you want your literate pre-teen to learn how to witness, speak his or her own truth, and adapt and tolerate other people?

Would a TV better, so the kid can stare dumbly at a screen? Would it be better if a child bored with TV should be FORCED to remain with the one-way-tube, or let that child come here and be socialized to real grown up talk?

I'm a teacher, a parent, a grandparent, a Christian-Jew. I would love to meet my grandchildren here anytime at all.

One of the reasons that I was drawn to this board was because of the diversity of the posters.

Mostly without knowledge of age, race or gender the posts stand by themselves. So, in fact, one can pay attention to what the post does say rather than place it within a category and then look at what you think that person means.

I believe that the input of the younger posters is important, and I depend on the moderators to continue to do the good work that will keep these young people safe.

Wow.

This is just the reason I do not post my age. I know that some idiots base their judgements on people in accordance with their age rather than their opinions or knowledge on certain subjects. *sighs*

I guess the originator of this thread is lucky i'm not a mod. I would have banned them for this silly accusation.

I have a lot more respect here for the teenagers than i do for certain others.

Banning was not nor was it deemed an appropriate response. The member was entitled to say what he or she felt, despite our collective disapproval.



seekerof

Originally posted by Blaine91555
I'm talking about children 15 and under. I say they are not emotionaly mature enough for some of what takes place on this board. How can a child of that age seperate fact from fiction or hate speech from debate. They can't!

Tsk-tsk-tsk!
They CAN and they DO. YOu are new here and I'd like to give you the benefit of the doubt (which you did not give to ATSers or the young poster you singled out in your link).
BTW, this has been discussed before, with similar positive responses for the younger posters.

You would be amazed at the level of some of the posts of these kids. I am regularly surprised when I find out how young some of these very knowledgeable posters are. They put some of their elders to shame
Better for our youth to learn things here than in other media. Here they get a chance to research, think, debate, and socialize with diverse groups.