Over 18 Chatroom with password access

I have noticed on several of the thought and emotion provoking threads, a little note which reminds us that children may also be taking part in our discussions. While I think that many of our teenagers are extremely brilliant and mature; we may not want to inflict the sometimes over-informative materail that comes out in the course of these discussions.
All of us have enjoyed these wonderful discussions; so why don't we have an over 18 Chat Room for the topics we all ready discuss like "Paying for It", "Pros and Cons of Celibacy", and others that may push the lines of political correctness.
Of course, children can learn the password; but it relinquishes the responsibility, to some degree. I have seen this approach on other forums; most of the time, the youngsters are not purposely going into these posts and avoid them once they have the passwords.

Thoughts anyone:wave:

No thanks, enough to moderate here as it is :)

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Originally Posted by Logos

No thanks, enough to moderate here as it is :)

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Thank you, Logos, for your answer. I just kind of thought the "adult room" would be kind of a "Lord of the Flies" for adults...It does have literary merit; don't you think?;)

I dont think this is required at all. Mind you I dont particularly see threads such as "pros and cons of celibacy" as being particularly thought provoking either. It may be me getting old and crabby but I have been of the belief for a while now that the standard of thread discussion has been on the wane recently and more innuendo filled than actually provoking much in the way of thought.

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Originally Posted by soundofmusic

All of us have enjoyed these wonderful discussions; so why don't we have an over 18 Chat Room for the topics we all ready discuss like "Paying for It", "Pros and Cons of Celibacy", and others that may push the lines of political correctness.
Of course, children can learn the password; but it relinquishes the responsibility, to some degree. I have seen this approach on other forums; most of the time, the youngsters are not purposely going into these posts and avoid them once they have the passwords.

Thoughts anyone:wave:

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I'd be a fan, but I don't think the size or number of us warrant it at this stage.

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Originally Posted by Logos

No thanks, enough to moderate here as it is :)

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What?

That enormous salary you're on and you're scared of more work?

Sheesh!

You just can't please some people!

:D

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Originally Posted by kilted exile

I dont think this is required at all. Mind you I dont particularly see threads such as "pros and cons of celibacy" as being particularly thought provoking either. It may be me getting old and crabby but I have been of the belief for a while now that the standard of thread discussion has been on the wane recently and more innuendo filled than actually provoking much in the way of thought.

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Do all threads need to be thought-provoking?

While I'd be the first to appreciate the joys and value of literature and thoughtful discussion, the main emphasis on any internet discussion board is entertainment, which requires variety. Some of that variety might include a bit of fun with naughty words or sexual innuendo.

Doesn't make it worthless.

All work & no play and all that.

no they dont all need to be thought provoking (I may be one of the least serious" posters on these boards) however that thread was mentioned in the OP as a thought provoking thread and reason for an over 18s section.

An over 18s section would pretty much destroy the boards as far as I'm concerened and I would be gone from them very quickly.

I would like to address some issues.

- To begin with, as Logos mentioned, such section would require further moderation for which we do not have the time (nor the will and the energy).

- We would have no way of knowing who is actually over 18 (just like we have no way of knowing that a member is really a junior - re. the suggestion of Forum for juniors). How can we establish anyone's age on the internet? A junior can claim they are a 37 teacher from London; just like a 40 year-old man claim they are a 11 year-old girl from NY.

- I find it interesting that this suggestion is coming from those who were advocating a forum for juniors.

- It is possible to discuss even the most "delicate" issues without letting them "deteriorate"; the reminders are posted, mostly, not because of the subject matter but because of the way people react or deal with them.

- Most importantly, this is a literary forum and General Chat section is merely an added bonus for people who enjoy discussing literature. Those members who would like to discuss other burning issues that are not deemed "suitable" for this Forum can always find other forums on the net where they can get things off their chests and receive feedback.

I would also like to remind that this Forum is not a democracy. It is a privately owned site where rules are determined and implemented by the Admin and the moderators and we also have agreed to follow at the time of registration.

I hope this settles this issue and now we can all move on.

Just add a little warning if you make a thread that you think requires one.

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Originally Posted by Scheherazade

I would like to address some issues.

- To begin with, as Logos mentioned, such section would require further moderation for which we do not have the time (nor the will and the energy).

- We would have no way of knowing who is actually over 18 (just like we have no way of knowing that a member is really a junior - re. the suggestion of Forum for juniors). How can we establish anyone's age on the internet? A junior can claim they are a 37 teacher from London; just like a 40 year-old man claim they are a 11 year-old girl from NY.

- I find it interesting that this suggestion is coming from those who were advocating a forum for juniors.

- It is possible to discuss even the most "delicate" issues without letting them "deteriorate"; the reminders are posted, mostly, not because of the subject matter but because of the way people react or deal with them.

I would also like to remind that this Forum is not a democracy. It is a privately owned site where rules are determined and implemented by the Admin and the moderators and we also have agreed to follow at the time of registration.

I hope this settles this issue and now we can all move on.

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You are quite right, Scher, I did advocate a forum for juniors; because I felt sympathetic when, at times, the children would make a post and the thread would go cold for several days afterwards. I know this happens normally; but for a 10 year old, it feels like a rejection.

I admit, I was not considering the extra work for you and Logos when I mentioned this extra forum; everything goes so smoothly here that I really have no way of knowing how many monitors there are.
I just felt that if there were a password, those who merely jump into these threads because they are just going down the new post site; might avoid them if they are younger or sensitive to such subjects. It would also help parents monitor; though I would think that such topics as: Blokes thread, Paying for it, or Is infedelity wrong would be obvious.

Unfortunately if you create such a thread, it will probably entice the youngsters to want to read such threads. I, being a parent of two children on litnet, am genuinely concerned about such issues. However I monitor my children whilst on litnet. (I don't stand behind them, that is) But I tell them the threads they are allowed on. They know the rules. Yet I guess we can't monitor them all the time. But I believe if you start an over '18 thread rule'. They will certainly become inquisitive. It's like leaving them in a sweets store alone and saying "don't touch"

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Originally Posted by kilted exile

I dont think this is required at all. Mind you I dont particularly see threads such as "pros and cons of celibacy" as being particularly thought provoking either. It may be me getting old and crabby but I have been of the belief for a while now that the standard of thread discussion has been on the wane recently and more innuendo filled than actually provoking much in the way of thought.

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I couldn't agree with you more Kilt. I guess I've been old and crabby for a bit longer than you. ;)

Do people even talk literature any more?

There is nothing here that children cant find on google, hear in a class room, or on a school bus... Really, I think a lot of adults need to realise that children are not near as niave as they would like to believe. Most kids know what sex is by the 5 or 6 grade and I dont really think many 4th graders are on litnet. my .02 for the day. Seriously you would be horrified of the things highschool students discuss with an elementry child in the next seat.

I have found very few threads on this forum that would be deemed inappropriate for children. There is no need to change things, because the threads in question take up less than 1 percent of the total forum. These forums ask if you are thirteen for a reason, to register. At a certain age, children should know right from wrong, and the kinds of threads they should or should not be reading. And like I said, I have seen very few threads on this forum that truly get to a level of being offensive. If a person is mature enough to be a member of this forum, they are generally mature enough to view any content on this forum. If parents disagree, they should not allow their children to view these forums.

It is not our job to censor things for kids, it's the job of the parents to instruct children of what kinds of content are off-limits. Anywhere on the internet they could view a lot more dangerous stuff, like porn, and illegal content. If a child knowingly views this content when their parents forbid it, then the parents are not doing their job, simply.

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Originally Posted by Mathor

I have found very few threads on this forum that would be deemed inappropriate for children. There is no need to change things, because the threads in question take up less than 1 percent of the total forum.

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And the moderators do a wonderful job in keeping it that way. Kudos to our mods!

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Originally Posted by Scheherazade

- We would have no way of knowing who is actually over 18 (just like we have no way of knowing that a member is really a junior - re. the suggestion of Forum for juniors). How can we establish anyone's age on the internet? A junior can claim they are a 370-year old teacher from London; just like a 40 year-old man claim they are a 11 year-old girl from NY.

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This sentence got me thinking about a certain moderator of our forum - without mentioning any names, of course - but I truly wonder now about the real age of the person.

Of course, I have always been aware that there are great minds on the literary forum who are not so uncouth as to delve on the subject of the "Pros and Cons of Celibacy"; as a matter of fact, this was a special concession for them to avoid "dashing their foot against the rock of temptation...as I have often noticed their "accidental postings" in such places as "Paying for it, infidelity and Pros...:lol:
I've noticed some of the most admirable intellectuals, such as JBI, don't seem to need such assistance; I never see him in such company:nod:

Although it has been many years, I understand the points made by parents about children looking up such sights:
The forum that I took this idea from, had each person put down there birthdate, etc: When one put up their screen, it would only show the forums which they were allowed to post on. I don't know what type of software made this possible; but only if the youngsters lied, were they able to get into such chat rooms.

The monitors do an excellent job here. It truly is difficult to monitor a website. When Harry Potter first came out; my daughter and I went looking for related books and toys. We googled and ran into some really disgusting literature on what we thought was a teenage site.

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Originally Posted by soundofmusic

Of course, I have always been aware that there are great minds on the literary forum who are not so uncouth as to delve on the subject of the "Pros and Cons of Celibacy"; as a matter of fact, this was a special concession for them to avoid "dashing their foot against the rock of temptation...as I have often noticed their "accidental postings" in such places as "Paying for it, infidelity and Pros...:lol:
I've noticed some of the most admirable intellectuals, such as JBI, don't seem to need such assistance; I never see him in such company:nod:

Although it has been many years, I understand the points made by parents about children looking up such sights:
The forum that I took this idea from, had each person put down there birthdate, etc: When one put up their screen, it would only show the forums which they were allowed to post on. I don't know what type of software made this possible; but only if the youngsters lied, were they able to get into such chat rooms.

The monitors do an excellent job here. It truly is difficult to monitor a website. When Harry Potter first came out; my daughter and I went looking for related books and toys. We googled and ran into some really disgusting literature on what we thought was a teenage site.

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But that's terrible censorship. How does one define what is suitable for a child, because we all mature at different levels. I know that at 14 or 15 it would not have been inappropriate for me to go into a thread like "Paying For It". I was not so naive that I did not know about such things. Making an 18 and above chatroom would infer that those who are 16 or 17 and understand these things, and whose parents let them view such content, are not mature enough to view such content. Things like this are the responsibility of the parent, not the moderators.

difficult task to replace parents with moderators, teachers, etc.

Well, a lot of students check this site, apparently--anyhow, I imagine it's a "selling point" that Admin is interested in keeping on the table. I think there is room on the internet for places where the parents might be able to say, "That website is suitable," without having to check the nature or name of every thread.

Anyhow, I thought the issue was that a discussion about Infidelity or Celibacy can of course exist here, for example, but it doesn't have to turn into a dirty-jokes/sex-fantasy/playground thing. Even an non-serious discussion might be expected to remain within certain bounds, for the purpose of maintaining a certain suitability of content. (I, by the way, am a great fan of dirty jokes... However, I don't think of "LitNet" when I think of dirty jokes, etc. and I can understand the moderators' and Admin's position, is what I'm saying...)

An adults-only area might as well be another website, Why not? It looks like the groups feature here requires all groups to be "public" so that doesn't seem to be a way around the problem--so maybe Yahoo or something has sufficient features to set something up?

I think the terms of use of the V-Bulletin software includes prohibitions against certain uses, such as promoting hate or pornography. I know this isn't what people are promoting. On another site that I frequented which had one of these features, the 18+ section was continuously bombarded with porn related spam.

I didn't think the penetrative sex thread was all that riske when it was locked. However, I can understand the desire of the admins to play it safe and keep the place clean and appropriate for all age groups. What qualifies as appropriate is debatable, but an 18+ section invites people to push boundaries of what is acceptable.

This may be a segway; but what I find interesting is that many people who are offended by spontaneous conversations with sexual content; are promoting "classics" that would have been considered "smut" when written;or even now.

I don't think anyone is saying they are offended by sexual content, more to the point like billl said it doesn't need to turn into sexual inuenndo and playground humor. There are things that I wouldn't say or talk about infront of my grandparents or young kids. To me that same decorum has always applied to litnet because the atmosphere of litnet - this just isn't the kind of place I could ever feel comfortable getting involved in talking about raunchy sexual humor or inuenndo. If I can't say it infront of everybody on the planet I'm not going to say it on litnet.

Now don't get me wrong I don't have a problem with raunchy sexual humor, I will gladly tell you my favorite dirty joke and I have on other forums that are geared towards adults.

Interesting idea though, thinking about the forums I visit they all have different personalities - I wonder if there are studies about forums? Anyways I belong to ~ three forums that I visit regularly - Litnet is like the overachieving oldest child. Forum #2 is like the bratty teenage daughter always talking about hair and makeup. Forum #3 is like the wild child that smokes and drinks and is always in detention.

I'm just wondering if Litnet monitors or even takes action toward behaviors that might suggest ephebophilia?

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Originally Posted by Haunted

I'm just wondering if Litnet monitors or even takes action toward behaviors that might suggest ephebophilia?

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Uh, have you witnessed any behavior of this type anyway?

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Originally Posted by OrphanPip

Uh, have you witnessed any behavior of this type anyway?

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Have you? ;)

A special section for 18+ is, at the moment, neither practical nor desirable and is unlikely to be created in near future - as it was outlined in my earlier post.

I would like to thank everyone who have taken the time to read and respond in this thread.