Actions for members under age POLL

[Unown (WILD)]

Hey everyone. I need your opinions on an iffy matter that's been going on here for a long time. It's about members who join or have joined that are under the age of 18 as mentioned in the TOU.
Up until now the rule has been loosely applied. Some underage, if they can show they are mature enough have been allowed to stay. Some good members too. But it means Simon and I have to evaluate every member to determine if they should stay or not. This is a lot of work. We don't get paid either. So I need your thoughts on the matter. The poll consists of a few suggestions/ideas that may or may not be what you had in mind so just let me know if you want something added.
Thanks everyone.

 

[Im Greek]

I want to add divisions for age: 12-14 yo, 14-18yo, i think if 14-18 years old guys interested in laser theme it's cool and we must give them it and of course
with instructions about safety, but more younger guys i would probably protect from laser themes

 

[Unown (WILD)]

added

 

[RedCowboy]

How about posting the appropriate legal disclaimer and let anyone who wants to join regardless of their age, because as far as I know there is no federal law against minors handling lasers in the US or Canada, the liability for their actions falls upon their parents.
That said we always promote laser safety and adherence to local laws regulating content accordingly, so there's no need for an adults only policy, however a comprehensive disclaimer would be a good idea.

 

[Unown (WILD)]

I guess at some point Avery felt it necessary to add it. I don't think it was a part of the TOU when I joined in 2009 but I'm not too sure on that. I can see why he would do it. It prevents potential problems. A parent might want to sue the website if they got their info on here that lead to the kid blinding himself or something.

 

[RedCowboy]

So by enforcing an age policy and then failing to prevent a minor from participating, you make the case against yourself because you/we/lpf has already deemed the content dangerous for minors........a lawyer would ask " why do you have an age policy " so if we can't really enforce an age limit, we shouldn't cop to needing one.

A disclaimer and we strive to promote safety and remove dangerous/careless content would likely be better, because people can sue over anything......so the question is .......is an age policy that we can't really enforce an added lawsuit risk ?

 

[Unown (WILD)]

All good questions. At any rate I don't want to have to make a judgement call for each kid that comes in. I don't know what to do. Some people freak out when I ask simple questions about them and go on a rampage in the discord.

 

[RedCowboy]

Minors interested in lasers, who will obtain them from ebay and other web based sellers, can benefit from our teachings/preaching on laser safety.

Also we don't promote any illegal or unsafe activities with lasers.

So I expect it's to the benefit of all enthusiasts to be allowed to participate in our discussions.

As for the legal end I think a comprehensive disclaimer that people must click " I understand and agree " would be a much better lawsuit defense than ( we have an impossible to enforce age policy ).

 

[Unown (WILD)]

I'll let it go then. It seems everyone is okay with it... well only 3 people. If I find out later the age and they act immaturely, I'll just ban then. That takes a huge load off of my shoulders.

 

[Ears and Eggs]

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, just thinking out loud here.


I thought the reason that that rule was instated was due to a possible lawsuit risk if someone underage got injured, but tbh, I have no idea how likely such a suit would be. Can YouTube or TikTok be sued if some kid got hurt trying one of those stupid challenges? Could Discord be sued if someone posted how to make an explosive, then some kid did it and got hurt? Would such a lawsuit be much harder if the person injured was an adult instead of a youth? Would be interesting to know how that works.


Personally, I don't like the age restriction. Age is not necessarily a good indicator of how mature someone is and many of us, me included, started into this hobby when we were under 18. On the other hand, I don't know what the legal repercussions of that are and it should be kept at 18 if there is a legal need to protect the forum from lawsuits.


If it's not legally necessary, I'd get rid of it completely as we can already warn and ban anyone, regardless of age, who is being stupid or doing something dangerous.

 

[Encap]

As for the legal end I think a comprehensive disclaimer that people must click " I understand and agree " would be a much better lawsuit defense than ( we have an impossible to enforce age policy ).

If they are not "age of majority"/18 then their parents are responsible for them and whatever they do. It doesn't matter what they sign or click on--they have legal ability to agree in any adult sense.. They are Minors which has nothing whatsoever to do with any imagined maturity or lack of same or how anyone "feels" about it.

Someone should ask Avery ---there are legal, good, and valid reasons for having to agree to the TOU or it would not be in the TOU. IF they don;t agree to the TOU then they can not register as a member.
If they lie it is not the fault of LPF.
Evaluating people who lie to become members..really? 14 - 18 is meaningless legally so...lol
Don''t change the TOU without approval of Avery's and his legal people

I thought the reason that that rule was instated was due to a possible lawsuit risk if someone underage got injured,
On the other hand, I don't know what the legal repercussions of that are and it should be kept at 18 if there is a legal need to protect the forum from lawsuits.
.....we can already warn and ban anyone, regardless of age, who is being stupid or doing something dangerous.

Valid points

 

[Unown (WILD)]

Yeah you're right encap its there for a reason. It's too much for me to investigate every new member for their age especially when they get all upset about it so I think I'll not do that but if I find out later on about their age they will be banned until they reach 18. I'm just not going to strain myself with it like I have. Spammers are enough of a days work

 

[CurtisOliver]

I would have been banned based on my age when joining. Others started early too. Whether it’s more work or not. Individuals should be judged on their maturity on whether or not they can participate here rather than rely on a number. I chose yes, but after evaluation. The rules should be upheld for obvious reasons yet there are good exceptions. I know a lot of good members that started the hobby earlier than they probably should.
I said this before. But I work in a school. There are some students that I would trust more than some adults. However there are also some I wouldn’t trust with a pair of scissors half the time.