How old is everybody?

[R7038 XX]

Yeah it's really hard sometimes to read the posts from some of our youngest members

hey, i consider that an offense, i'm 12, so do you think that my posts are unreadable?

anyway, i personally think that there should be a limit to 10 and older on MDB.

[Tianna]

I started going on forums at 11. That was 10 years ago. I quickly learned that people find younglings annoying and figured out what was acceptable and what wasn't.

Some do, some don't. Some think they're acting grown-up, but really they're not. You sound like the kind who did learn, and a lot don't and start getting up in arms about being treated like a kid, but can't actually handle being treated like a grown-up. I spend a lot of time on a kid-friendly site (the site may be centered on something generally child-loved, but it was made by an adult for herself and her adult friends who wanted to play with something nostalgic), and there is an obnoxious amount of BAW'ing about how anyone under 16 can't do certain things or be a part of the art team or whatever. The term "age-ist" gets spat out a lot. It comes entirely out of children who think themselves mature, so they decide that it's not fair that they are not allowed to join things that are being run by adults. The kids there that are truly mature, most of the adults on the site had assumed by behavior that they were older, and they don't complain about being too young to join the adult forums or be on the MOD team. They know that in time they will be old enough and they don't have to scream about how mature they are.

You sound more like the actually mature kid, rather than the one who would carry on about how mature they are while in the process being the "obnoxious kid" that the adults find annoying. The kind that would accept that the problem is probably themselves instead of blaming the adults for being age-ist.

[HYRUL3]

Aww thanks Tianna. I think the concept of "age-ist" is stupid. There are many things kids can't do in society, and with good reason. Being a child and arguing against that really just shows how childish they are.

[Thunderchin]

hey, i consider that an offense, i'm 12, so do you think that my posts are unreadable?

Yup. You sound like one of those people who think others are just being age-ist, like Tianna said above.

[Zynux]

Hey guys, do you think we shouldn't allow any age groups here? For example: no one under 12?

As much as I agree with an age restriction policy, don't bother. As everyone said, it is extremely easy to lie about your age on the internet; it's virtually impossible to enforce. Hell, I remember when I lied about my age when I first joined Youtube because I noticed idiots were flagging videos that didn't need to be flagged, but I was still locked out from because of my age.

Look at what happened earlier this week in the Awkward Moments thread.

To be fair, I was laughing my ass off the entire time.

[HYRUL3]

It was funny. But I still felt bad haha

[Toxsyl]

I started using forums at 13. Even at a young age I was always a grammar nazi, so my first posts were never hard to read. I was just a nicer guy back then. Nowadays, I just a dick to everyone.

[HYRUL3]

I just a dick to everyone.

Lulz grammar nazi fail

[Toxsyl]

I just a dick to everyone.

Lulz grammar nazi fail

You caught me, arrest me. I was caught drinking while posting.

[HYRUL3]

I just thought it was funny that you labeled yourself a grammar nazi and then typed that. Was only joking around.

[Mayan Mystery]

I'm 15, and I always worry about what I say and if it is going to end up being an embarrassment to myself later. This is mainly due to OCD, I admit it, but I'm also worried that I may say the exact wrong thing, everyone thinks I'm a dick, and I can't recover. Which may ALSO be OCD, but still, you get my point. In fact though I think it might be better to start posting on forums relatively early so that one may be able to get experience on what is appropriate to say, and what is not. One reason I like looking at locked topics a lot.

I hope what I post isn't "hard to read" as infinity's end stated, but I try my best to be mature and make sure that I don't give anyone trouble, and hopefully I'm doing a good job.

Sorry if I have though, I had no intention of doing so.

[Tianna]

I don't think you're too hard to understand, Mayan. And I think you're old enough to fit into the "mature enough" category. Saying the wrong thing or miscommunication knows know age limit. I have a tendency to mix my words all around and think that I'm getting my point across but the responses I get make it clear to me that I didn't. I'm going to be 29 in a few months. It's actually a lot of the reason why I get kind of long winded in some of my posts when I'm trying to make a point. The more I give an explanation with examples and describing what's going on in my head, the more likely that I'll be understood.

It's surprising how much a few years can change how a person behaves when they're young. The maturity level of a 15 year old is much greater than that of a 12 year old, generally speaking.

[Naner]

Yeah, I can understand you just fine.

I started using this here message board five years ago, when I was 13, and I have to say that starting so early had a major influence in the quality of my writing today and what makes me so much more understandable than even many native English-speakers.

And it's inevitable: If I start digging through my old posts, I'll certainly come across a few that make me go "Darn, I sure did write some stupid stuff back then". But try not to think about it too much.

[Zeroº]

Age: 27

Late to the discussion about age limits, but here are my thoughts: It shouldn't so much be an age limit as a competency test. For instance: You know how when you try to watch a redband trailer, and it asks for your age before it can play? And you know how most of-age people simply scroll to some random year (usually in the early 1900s, because those years tend to show up first) that lets 'em watch the damn thing? It's my theory that the few people who answer honestly for those kinds of things are not quite ready for the internet.
The solution: Put one of those birth date-requesting forms on the registration page, and only allow people who answer with a year of 1940 or older to hold an account.

It weeds out the (irresponsibly honest) kiddies, the stupids, the idiots, and the spam-bots in one fell swoop.

The heavy amount of sarcasm in this post should be noted...

[Tianna]

Age: 27

Late to the discussion about age limits, but here are my thoughts: It shouldn't so much be an age limit as a competency test. For instance: You know how when you try to watch a redband trailer, and it asks for your age before it can play? And you know how most of-age people simply scroll to some random year (usually in the early 1900s, because those years tend to show up first) that lets 'em watch the damn thing? It's my theory that the few people who answer honestly for those kinds of things are not quite ready for the internet.
The solution: Put one of those birth date-requesting forms on the registration page, and only allow people who answer with a year of 1940 or older to hold an account.

It weeds out the (irresponsibly honest) kiddies, the stupids, the idiots, and the spam-bots in one fell swoop.

The heavy amount of sarcasm in this post should be noted...

Wait, I thought it would be the other way around. I'm definitely of age, and I always put my actual birth year in when asked.

Dude you have officially broken my brain.