ATS. What do you think about a Age limit?

I had to chuckle when I read the OP because it brought back memories of several decades ago. The summer I was 14 years old I had a job that could be done at night so my days were completely free. I would go to the library on Saturday and stock up on books for the week. I had a couple of girlfriends who also had late afternoon/evening jobs so we would get together and hitch a ride to the lake for the day where we would spend the day at the beach reading and checking out the lifeguards.
When I brought home The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich my mother was appalled and said it wasn't fit reading for a kid of my age. But my father intervened and said that I should indeed read it because it presented a side of the world that it would be up to my generation to prevent from happening again.
It left a lasting impression on me.

ATS should be a "marketplace of ideas"...

If a thread or post is found to be of no value, than it will die a deserved death...

Regardless of the age of the poster...

Whew,thats a relief. I thought this was a request to put all older ATS members out to pasture.Where ever that might be...

originally posted by: TDawg61
Whew,thats a relief. I thought this was a request to put all older ATS members out to pasture.Where ever that might be...

Whatever it is I hope it includes a decent single malt.

a reply to: intrepid

Well, you know the gov't just bought all that ammunition......

There's out to pasture, and there's "out to pasture".

Age has no bearing on maturity ..
not to mention in todays world its more important than ever that people start learning at an early age to see through the lies .. propaganda and misinformation theyre bombarded with daily along with HOW to think instead of indoctrinated with WHAT to think as they are now.

One last point NOT everyone is from the u.s we dont need the nanny state bovine fecal matter nor do we need big brother to take care of us.

ats should remain free and open to members of all ages and respect members right to privacy without the "papers please" bovine fecal matter.

In short to borrow an american phrase regarding the idea : Its an EPIC FAIL

Not possible, too easy to lie online.

I can normally tell because they tend to get all bent out of shape when their ideas are challenged. Then they lash back with personal insults rather than rational discourse. At that point I have started to "lecture" them on how to comport themselves on ATS to gain the respect of other members, even those who consistently disagree with their posts.

Nah, but a good discussion though. A flag for that for sure. Another website I play/write on has an age minimum of 14, but this 12 year old joined and only I knew he was 12, and in the first few months he won several of our monthly awards and did a very good job. When I was 12 I had a very good functioning mind (I think), although not life or socially aware (today's 12 year olds aren't your father's 12 year olds), and would have loved both the internet and this site. Times change, as do children and teens.

a reply to: yuppa
I actually feel you on this one. I dont know about validating through ID, but there's a different more frank way of writing when you know you're just talking to adults.
For instance this government conspiracy,

en.m.wikipedia.org...


Is not something I feel comfortable talking about with children around. But its something that should be talked about on sites like this.

I can understand wanting mature conversation, debate and certainly when it comes to researching information on here.

That said, age is never really an indication of how mature a person will act. I've read posts by people on here claiming to be older than me (I'm closing in on the big 5 0 myself), yet in other posts I would swear they were only 8 based on how they responded to someone else.

I also believe that young people should be welcomed here. Think of ATS as being exposed to the world, and being able to ask the entire world a question about something. They'll get all sorts of answers, opinions and thoughts, instead of what their class in school teaches them.

Sounds like a parental issue to me. Count me out for anything concerning SS# or DL.!

Good gravy, they are going to inherit this whole screwed up mess anyway. Have at it!

I'd rather that people can voluntarily post their age within their avatar/profile on the side to be seen right next to any of their posts.
People could lie about their age or leave it blank, but others will figure out the lie or notice the lack of age information and respond appropriately.
Similarly, in other websites comments sections people are supposed to use their real name..Those people who use obviously fake names are not taken as seriously as the next guy who's willing to put his actual self out there and lend more credibility to himself and what he has to say.

There are exceptions, but generally speaking, the quality of posts greatly declines the younger the age of the person posting.

I think that especially on completely open and more popular forums such as youtube comments, newspaper article comments, ..even ATS as it gets more and more popular, etc.. the low quality comments are largely due to the immaturity of younger age people with internet access and a desire to troll and talk trash.

I'd say that by the age of mid to late 20's most people manage to outgrow this crappy phase. Even if it's not outright intentional trolling, during this phase these younger people are so stubborn and fixated on whatever opinion they have that it's completely pointless to engage with them on a topic. They are interested in arguing and proving that they are right,...This as opposed to DISCUSSION and LEARNING about other peoples' input and perspectives.

I get it, nobody over 50 should be allowed.

originally posted by: Bone75
a reply to: yuppa

Give up our SS numbers? That sounds like the suggestion of a 10 year old lol.

You do it every day for goverment applications and other things right? they ask for your social sec number alot of places. SO i guess there are alot of 10 yr olds running around eh? LOL

originally posted by: yuppa
Seriously i have noticed quite a few threads where the posters have seemed really immature. I think there have even been a few 14 yr olds registering here too. Some of the subjects on ATS need to not be seen by such a young aged person right?

How would ATS institute a ONE TIME age verification check? A few methods come to mind. One could be drivers license number/state id number. Another could be Social sec number. Anyway the quality of threads has suffered alot. So what do the rest of you think ATS?

Bad idea, I think. Let the youngsters come in and learn something. I don't post much, but I am here reading almost every day. I see nothing wrong with posts from those younger than me. Fact is , most of you ARE younger. In ten days I will have been a registered ATSer for 10 years. At 62 years of age, I still learn when I am here and I am sure that sometimes I learn from some of our youngest members.
I don't join exclusive clubs. I never did. I'd hate to see ATS become Age exclusive.If you are really upset that there are things that kids should not read, why not petition to have an Adult Only forum? That way you would not have to put up with "immature" posts, or me either.
If you are old enough and mature enough, you can stay and grow mentally. If you are not, you will soon be banned or tire of exercising your mind with new ideas and possibilities, and will leave on your own. Sometimes when I am reading and I come across something written by someone with less than perfect word skills, I learn the most. With all of the media and internet etc. out there, some of these "juveniles" are more advanced than I was after I was married in 1972.

When I was at age 13 I was still more advanced in maturity then a lot of elders not open minded. The moderators of this site know what they are doing. Age is a state of mind and the responsibility lies upon the parents who let them have access or choose not to monitor their usage. Young minds in these times have thought about the end result. One who would take offense at another's words would simply be childish in itself. A quote I read somewhere "Sticks and Stones are hard on bones, aimed on someone's part--words can sting like anything, but silence breaks the heart". Author unknown.

originally posted by: rickymouse
I get it, nobody over 50 should be allowed.

*shakes an angry elderly fist at rickymouse*

I knew it!

Ageist!

a reply to: yuppa

How old are you ? Can't be too old suggesting giving out your SSN...and considering that newborns are now provided an SSN its no age verification system. Drivers License Numbers ? How about people of age that don't drive ? The biggest sign of immaturity is someone who complains about someone Else's immaturity. I know many younger people who could contribute to any conversation and I also know many adults who couldn't put a sentence together. Get over it already...just because you disagree with someone or find the quality of a post to be below what you would expect doesn't mean that individual has nothing to contribute. Now if you would like to provide me with your SSN, I would be happy to verify it for you.

I couldn't agree less
It's up to us as responsible members to guide the youngsters, and indeed be guided by them.

Maturity is a state of mind, not an age thing

Cody

Just did a check on an old friend. He predates me here and was about 14 at the time. Damn smart dude. Helped this old codger. He hasn't been here in 3 years.