The age limit - does it matter?

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   Website Examinerposted 13 years ago

   If you just found out that someone you know on HubPages is 16 years old (for example), would you report it? Ignore it? Or what would you do?

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      bayouladyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Depended on whether they seemed mature or not.I reported a 14 year old once, because you could tell from his profile that he was ultra innocent.(homeschooled,thought it was a blog, told people to email him...) I feared that he might be predator bait and too innocent to realize it.

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         thisisoliposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Maybe he did realise it

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      ankigarg87posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      in my opinion age doesn't matter in hubpages as writing skills doe snot depend upon age. But below 18 should not view adult content in hubs like adult pictures that are used in hubs.I will not report if i found someone below 18 years.

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         WryLiltposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         It's against Adsense ToS to have adult content on HP, anyway!

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      Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, I would report it.  Experience shows that eventually, they get found out.  Better they get caught early, than wait till they've put hours of effort into writing Hubs which are going to get unpublished.

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   Website Examinerposted 13 years ago

   Sounds pragmatic, thanks.

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   Lisa HWposted 13 years ago

   Well, maybe this isn't what we're "supposed to do", but if the Hubs were of decent quality; I'd just think that it's up to HubPages staff to worry about who meets the minimum-age requirement.  I guess I see the quality of the writing on the site as a "team effort" type of thing, but the administration of setting rules and making sure members follow them, as a HubPages staff/adm thing.
   
   Then again, if the kid was on here acting like a little jerk and not really writing anything, if I were irked enough I might flag his profile.  There has been a time or two when people have pretended to be kids and said stuff just to get people "all worried".  Whether they are or not, if someone sees something that seems concerning, nothing wrong with flagging it.

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   relacheposted 13 years ago

   I have no problem reporting any TOS violations I come across, and that includes underage site users.

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   Website Examinerposted 13 years ago

   Thanks Lisa and Relache, I'm not surprised to see differing opinions on this topic. It is very helpful for me to read.

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   BRIAN SLATERposted 13 years ago

   I am not so sure I would report it- it just depends-I mean how would you find out, secondly the person may have a perfectly good explanation for saying what they did. Once found out the person should be given a chance to explain why and a chance to amend what they have done.
   If Relache wanted to pretend(lie) to everyone on this site that she was 33 that is her concern not everyone else's. The only person she's really lied too is herself. Her writing is still the same in life you take everyone on face value, until proven otherwise.

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   A la carteposted 13 years ago

   If the site says 18 more older then we should respect that and report. If the site administrators want to make an exception that is their choice. I would report  because to NOT do so would be wrong. It would mean that if there were a million people online in HP making those decisions then there would be a million decisions.We would be voting by consensus and so far have not seen that on HP:)

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   WryLiltposted 13 years ago

   I had an under 18 contact me about adsense - of course it's 18+ to apply.
   
   He had quality hubs that were better than many hubs by older people on the site.
   
   My recommendation to him was to ask a parent to help him with the official details when applying for affiliates.
   
   Usually however, I'd say that 18+ should mean 18+

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   Blogheadposted 13 years ago

   I think i go through life learning more from kids than adults.

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    Stevennix2001posted 13 years ago

    is there really any policy on hubpages that prevents a minor from joining this site?  as far as i know, there isn't such a rule.  however, if that is the rule, then i would report it to hubpages if i knew any hubber that was under the age limit. 
    
    personally, i think if hubpages really wants to keep underage minors from joining, they should have it a rule where they should require the first time user to verify their age via credit card. charges should NOT be charged on that card at all.  NO, just be used to verify the person's age.  Anyways, that would be one good way to verify a minor's age.  however, i know many hubbers here enjoy the simplicity of hubpages, and how easy it is to publish and sign up.  therefore, i doubt seriously many would agree with me, but that's just my suggestion on the whole situation.

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       Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       The Terms of Service expressly say that a person must be 18 years or older to open a new account.

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          Stevennix2001posted 13 years agoin reply to this

          hmm..must've missed that part.  oh well.  it doesn't apply to me anyways as im well over that age.  lol.  however, thanks for pointing that out though.

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       alqxposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       I'm 18, but don't have a credit card. If Hubpages were to have implemented that rule, it would've been an awful hassle to register. I might not even have bothered.

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       Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Yes, the rules state you must be over 18.
       
       
       
       No, no, no please no!  If HubPages had asked me for a credit card, I wouldn't have joined.  Just think what I'd have missed out on! 
       
       A lot of people are hesitant about using their credit card online, so introducing such a requirement could discourage people from joining.

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       bayouladyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       IAh,stevennix, I  would never join a writer's site that wanted my credit card number to join.Never.

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    skyfireposted 13 years ago

    I was reading terms and stumbled onto this-
    
    
    
    
    
    What's that supposed to mean ? Most of the hubbers have content targeted at children under the age of 13 like - dora the explorer dvd's, other animes and toys. Maybe i'm getting it out of the context but really got confused with that.

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       Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       If the primary intended reader is a child under the age of 13 (as opposed to the parents of such children or such children accompanied by their parents), then this rule would apply; that is my interpretation.

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    A la carteposted 13 years ago

    You raised the topic Website Examiner..would really enjoy your viewpoint on this.

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       Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks for asking A la Carte. I found your response above very interesting.
       
       First and foremost, I think it is wrong of people under the age of 18 to sign up. Most of them know perfectly well what they are doing; they are probably used to getting around age limits all the time. If they get reported, it is their own fault. Rules are there for a reason, and they ought to respect that. Also, other Hubbers have a right to feel comfortable that they are not interacting with (technically) children on a website reserved for adults.
       
       Second, I think that any hubber who reports someone under 18 has the right to do so, and that without needing to feel a bad conscience.
       
       Third, for me personally, it is a matter of extent. I would unconditionally report someone aged 15 or younger. If aged 16 or older, I would try to consider the person's maturity; not so much whether their articles are any good, more whether they seem to be able to take care of themselves on the site - without being lured in by someone harboring bad intentions, and without bothering others with stupidity.

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          A la carteposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          good points and I had not considered the safety angle.

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    lrohnerposted 13 years ago

    I would definitely report it. By not doing so, you're just letting them know that breaking the rules is okay as long as they're not caught. Bad lesson IMHO. As adults, we're supposed to be role models.
    
    Besides, if they don't respect the rules when they sign up, why would they bother respecting them once they're a member?

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    Website Examinerposted 13 years ago

    Marisa Wright and lrohner, I find your arguments persuasive and tough to beat. I appreciate everyone else's comments as well.

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       PaulaHenry1posted 13 years agoin reply to this

       I seem to remember a 16 year old being nominated as a Hubnugget last month, so really, how strict is HP on TOS?

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          sofsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          WE I like the way you put it , I agree with everything you have said and believe that, what is a violation is a violation... whether the person is smart or not.
          I have reported the little girl who caused a lot of trouble on a  weekend and will continue to do so if the need arises!

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             bayouladyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             lol!sofs...I remember!Little twit...she had me so worried about her!

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    Lifeallstar1posted 13 years ago

    I would say to report it. They might not be able to prove the age of the person and that person stays anyway but at least you know that you did the right thing. I'm of age but I have found that there are a lot of shady people that contact me. Not just people from HubPages but from the Internet and they email me. I just ignore it but you just never know what can happen and what that person might do. If they are a legal adult and allowed to be here then it's all on them but if they are underage and you can at least attempt to protect them then I say do it. Better safe than sorry for the underage here. It has amazed me what people from the Internet do and I would hate to think they are saying things like that to 16 year old's because it is pretty bad.

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    anonimuzzposted 13 years ago

    Maturity can't be judged simply by someone's age, but the rule makes sense. Adults are legally responsible for themselves, no matter what; minors not so much. For that alone, I agree with the rule.
    
    I would not necessarily report every minor I found out, though. It depends on the person. To me, it's not like bending an age limit rule on this particular website would immediately show kids that they are free to do whatever they want, as long as they're not caught. Not every minor works at such a basic level -.-' . Again, to me it depends on each one's maturity and reasons to be here.

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    ralwusposted 13 years ago

    I report them. There are hubs and things in the forums that minors just need to stay way from, and it is TOS. I would not want my grandchildren on here.

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       alternate poetposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Yes !!!   YOU, walrus and ME being two of them

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    JayDeckposted 13 years ago

    If you found out they were 16, HP will find out in short order. There is certainly content that the very young should not be exposed to, so i imagine I would forwarn them and then report.

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    alternate poetposted 13 years ago

    Hubpages seem to have most things right, their TOS are not onerous and seem well thought out.  Hubpages must also comply with laws about publishing etc that do not directly concern us using the facility.
    
    If it against the TOS it should be reported - if Hubpages choose to ignore the report it is their business.

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    Lisa HWposted 13 years ago

    This is going to seem like real "bad attitude", and I understand, I suppose, the thinking that "we all should kick in" on the aim toward having members comply with TOS; but I go back to my thing that I think "kicking in" on the quality of writing that shows up here is one thing.  Becoming police, babysitters, or self-appointed HubPages staff seems like another to me.
    
    I don't know...    I think if a kid signs up and gets reported by someone he had it coming.  I don't think people are wrong for reporting if they feel like it either.  I just can't worry about other people's kids.  That's up to their parents.  I still say worrying about someone not complying with the age thing is up to HubPages.
    
    I've had kids (like 12-year-olds, no Hubbers, though) make comments on my Hubs; and I'm really, really, careful about what I say (because sometimes they ask about stuff that I wouldn't want my kid asking some stranger, even if a lot of it is fairly innocent (like whether a young kid should have a cell phone or not) ).  So, I "worry" about other people's kids in that way on here.  I don't know...    Maybe I'm just new to having my own kids grown up and kind of enjoying not having to worry about kids right now.      (Then, too, I'm not inclined toward wanting to be that "police-person" in a lot of situations in life.)

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