SAY 'NO' TO AGE LIMIT!!!

People, men, women and most of all - kids. - if there are any of you left...
What does rhp mean to you? is it a site for grown up talk? is it a site for tea party chat? is it a grandmaster 'exclusivo' chess site??

or is it a site for ALL - old and young - to get together - LIKE EQUALS - whatever their status?
I joined this site a couple of years ago, because it gave me the opertunity to talk, meet and play other people like myself.
i believe most of you - yes you - out there, joined for the same reason - to play chess and have a good time, against ALL others...

now, as some of you have asked before - 'how old are you'.
I am 14. i'm in year 10 of an english highschool.
i hang around with a group of kids who are, like YOU, just average, normal people.
but i can remember what it was like when i was 13.
i can remember what it was like when i was 12
i can remember what it was like when i was 11
heck i can almost remember what and why i did things when i was 7.
and i KNOW - i honestly do - that if i had gotten kicked of the site at any one of those ages, Just because i'm that age, i would have felt BAD. i didn't friggin well join this site to act like an adult but I don't want to be reminded that i'm 'younger' than others either.
i certainly didn't join just to be kicked of.
I joined because it gave me chance to PLAY CHESS against Anyone - oldies, youngies, grandmasters and newbies.

and.. to play against other kids.

2 more things before i end this flow of passionat speech -
first- my apologies go to you, russ - you have worked hard at this site and it is technicaly your final call. i don't want to disagree with you, unless i realy feel i must - as is the case now.

second - again to you, russ - a suggestion. i'm not sure how hard it would be to instal this or whatever - but i say you let the kids who are currently ON the site stay. they have done nothing wrong. in fact, kids are some of the most frequent posters in the forums - and i don't mean spam.
and you would have kicked me of too, if i'd been 2 years younger, right? lol.
i would not have returned, let that much be clear.
i would have felt insulted, and, trust you me, so will all the other kids who DID get excluded...

anyway - say 'no' to age limit...

One thing I must say is that right now there are a helluva lot of "prodigies" out there, basically kids under the age of 13, who are very good at chess, probably better than a lot of us here, and I don't know if it's right to deny these kids access to maybe the best chess site on the web. At the same time, I also see Russ's side in this issue, but I just wanted to point this out. Ta then.


-Kev

Originally posted by padfoot
People, men, women and most of all - kids. - if there are any of you left...
What does rhp mean to you? is it a site for grown up talk? is it a site for tea party chat? is it a grandmaster 'exclusivo' chess site??

or is it a site for ALL - old and young - to get together - LIKE EQUALS - whatever their status?
I joined this site a couple of years ago, ...[text shortened]... u me, so will all the other kids who DID get excluded...

anyway - say 'no' to age limit...

I know where padfoot is coming from. I've spent my whole life being too young and this was the one place where I could be accepted no matter what my age. I am over 13 now but I can't imagine how my friends feel. Kids have rights too!

I sympathise with anyone under the age of 13 who is now excluded from the site but due to the content being posted in the forums that is clearly not suitable, what is the alternative?

The only options open would be to either exclude users under a certain age from accessing the forums altogether or to moderate them more agressively. What's the lesser of the two evils?

I have to say that I am very uncomfortable with this restriction. I can understand that the forums have not always had a climate that seems appropriate to younger kids, but I am not convinced that disallowing younger members entirely is the optimal solution. Perhaps the forums should be restricted and not the playing. On the other hand, I would venture to guess that by the time someone is capable of and interested in participating in the forums, that person can probably handle it.

I don't know. This isn't a democracy, but I don't think I favor this solution either.

Best Regards,
Paul

i encourage anyone who feels strongly about this to post in the 'offensive or provocative usernames' thread. perhaps if we all cleaned up our act, Russ wouldn't feel the need to ban under-13s.

Originally posted by Exy
I sympathise with anyone under the age of 13 who is now excluded from the site but due to the content being posted in the forums that is clearly not suitable, what is the alternative?

The only options open would be to either exclude users under a certain age from accessing the forums altogether or to moderate them more agressively. What's the lesser of the two evils?

I've alerted the 'offensive or provocative usernames' thread more than once and nothing has been done to moderate it. I'm perplexed.

Originally posted by Exy
I've alerted the OFFENSIVE USER NAME thread more than once and nothing has been done to moderate it. I'm perplexed.

The *stabbing* and abuse between the various users going on.

Originally posted by chancremechanic
There is clearly NOTHING written in the forums that is any worse than the crap that comes out of Hollyweird (Hollywood) that anyone < than 13 years of age sees on a daily basis!! 🙄

Originally posted by Exy
The *stabbing* and abuse between the various users going on.

Originally posted by dfm65
technically, that's what the rating system is supposed to prevent. i agree with you though, if you mean that under-13s see stuff rated higher, regardless of the system.

I don't know how much Russ will thank me for saying this, but basically he's covering his own ass, which has to be done in this day and age of litigation.

Any under 13 can easily say they are over 13 and continue using the site. What Russ has basically done is covered himself against an angry parent reading the forums and seeing discussions on marijuana use, the effects of cold on the penis, and extreme left/right political opinions. These are obviously not topics for a 7 year old to be reading about.

He's put in a 'only proceed if you're over 13' message, and if a kid decides to do it, then that's the kids own fault, not Russ'. I agree that its a terrible thing to have to do, but in this day and age, you have to cover your back.

D