Membership Allowing junior players -- a turn-off?

[valucre 19]

2 hours ago, Elena said:

 

It is a wrong statement. A character written by a 35 years old member is in a romance arc with a character written by a 15 years old member. And it is nothing wrong with it, as long as everything remains PG-13. The writers definitely are in no romance.

Oh no, not a wrong statement at all. If an above-age player is engaging in something which could possibly be construed as a sexual interaction with another player that's underage, is specifically the situation that I'm talking about. I'm not saying that this is black and white, will always be wrong no matter what; like you said in your statement "as long as everything remains PG-13" is a very fine qualifier. But that's what I'm saying should be considered in terms of what you'll do if/when that happens and what your policy is/should be. If it never does then awesome but you should be prepared imo

Edited July 21, 2018 by valucre

[Tamir 9]

3 hours ago, valucre said:

Oh no, not a wrong statement at all. If an above-age player is engaging in something which could possibly be construed as a sexual interaction with another player that's underage, is specifically the situation that I'm talking about. I'm not saying that this is black and white, will always be wrong no matter what; like you said in your statement "as long as everything remains PG-13" is a very fine qualifier. But that's what I'm saying should be considered in terms of what you'll do if/when that happens and what your policy is/should be. If it never does then awesome but you should be prepared imo

 

This is basically why I always end up limiting my sites to PG-13 overall. People can imply all they need to without actually getting into dangerous territory (and frankly, if they really feel the need to spell things out explicitly, they can do it where no one else has to look; I have no desire to read it). While I would be uncomfortable with, say, a 10-year old being on a PG-13 site, I don't think I've ever encountered anyone that young doing this--or if I have, they could barely write anyways and lost interest after a couple weeks.

[Elena 546]

The writers aren't their characters, so the relationships between characters shouldn't reflect in the relationships between writers. This is what I am trying to highlight, and why I took a stance against @valucre's statement.

 

Writing romance, writing battles, political intrigues or anything else, is a part of being a writer and of writing a full, interesting story. Young writers and old alike, have to start somewhere. We are providing resources, we are helping writers grow. And I agree with @Tamir, I would always keep my sites PG-13, no matter if they have at x moment younger writers or not. (At the moment, my site doesn't have any, but I have met some good writers who were 15-16 years old when they joined my site.)

[valucre 19]

6 hours ago, Elena said:

The writers aren't their characters, so the relationships between characters shouldn't reflect in the relationships between writers. This is what I am trying to highlight, and why I took a stance against @valucre's statement.

 

Writing romance, writing battles, political intrigues or anything else, is a part of being a writer and of writing a full, interesting story. Young writers and old alike, have to start somewhere. We are providing resources, we are helping writers grow. And I agree with @Tamir, I would always keep my sites PG-13, no matter if they have at x moment younger writers or not. (At the moment, my site doesn't have any, but I have met some good writers who were 15-16 years old when they joined my site.)

 

I don't think you took a stance against my statement but just answered with how you'd handle the situation. My post indicated: "I started roleplaying before I was 18 so it's important for me that roleplay, and my own site, be accessible to many ages that want to engage in a hobby I absolutely love"

 

Yours "Young writers and old alike, have to start somewhere"

 

So we both agree that we want to have a site that is accessible to the young and old alike

 

My only point was, in answering the OPs question about allowing junior players, is to have a thought about how you would handle those interactions and I stand by that. Making a site wide policy to keep things PG-13 is an example of one way to handle it. Having a site that's 18+ is another way but then by design doesn't allow junior players. Not allowing romance at all is still another way. What I'm saying is "have a thought about how to handle it" and you're saying "I handle it by having the whole site be PG-13"; those two things are not opposing one another 

 

Hope that clarifies everything on my stance

Edited July 22, 2018 by valucre

[Elena 546]

@valucre, I had protested only at your statement confounding the writers and the characters. If the characters have a relationship, it doesn't mean the writers do. No matter their age. Otherwise, I agree with you.

[valucre 19]

3 hours ago, Elena said:

@valucre, I had protested only at your statement confounding the writers and the characters. If the characters have a relationship, it doesn't mean the writers do. No matter their age. Otherwise, I agree with you.

Ah. Well my example was specifically about players of that age discrepancy engaging in a romantic arc (through their characters regardless of the character age), and that one should consider how they'd address that as a site owner. I'm not saying that the players are themselves romantically involved because their characters are. 

 

It's nice to be able to say that's just their characters don't pay attention to the players at all, but I don't intend to ever need to have to explain that to a concerned parent 

Edited July 22, 2018 by valucre

[jenneral_jennson 154]

4 hours ago, valucre said:

 

It's nice to be able to say that's just their characters don't pay attention to the players at all, but I don't intend to ever need to have to explain that to a concerned parent 

 

 

All of this. So much all of this. Concerned parents and more than just. I would suggest people do a little research into why this kind of thing could be concerning to parents and other individuals. 

 

Editing to add:

 

I am not accusing anyone of anything, simply stating why it is more than just writing a "story" with another like minded individual when it comes to minors and to be aware of those things. 

[Lawman 88]

On 7/23/2018 at 5:57 AM, jenneral_jennson said:

 

 

All of this. So much all of this. Concerned parents and more than just. I would suggest people do a little research into why this kind of thing could be concerning to parents and other individuals. 

 

Editing to add:

 

I am not accusing anyone of anything, simply stating why it is more than just writing a "story" with another like minded individual when it comes to minors and to be aware of those things. 

 

Bottom line: It's less about what you're actually doing with your (underage) RP partner,  and more about how your actions might get (mis)construed by parents/legal guardians/media watchdogs. And anyone who's ever had to deal with sexual harassment/assault charges can tell you, even false charges whereby the innocence of the accused is irrefutably proven, can still ruin someone's life. Which is probably understandable why some want to limit their sites to an adults-only community. They don't want to take their chance in the off-chance they may end up in a "it's not what you think it is" scenario. 

Edited July 24, 2018 by Lawman

[jenneral_jennson 154]

6 hours ago, Lawman said:

 

Bottom line: It's less about what you're actually doing with your (underage) RP partner,  and more about how your actions might get (mis)construed by parents/legal guardians/media watchdogs. And anyone who's ever had to deal with sexual harassment/assault charges can tell you, even false charges whereby the innocence of the accused is irrefutably proven, can still ruin someone's life. Which is probably understandable why some want to limit their sites to an adults-only community. They don't want to take their chance in the off-chance they may end up in a "it's not what you think it is" scenario. 

 

As far as the law is concerned, it can be construed as grooming behaviors with a precursor to much worse things than just enjoying yourself with a bit of writing. Not a good thing. Lawman is correct. It's best to practice the old adage, "Better safe than sorry." There are places on the internet where minors can write with other minors. There's no real reason for allowing them access to your board other than you think you should be inclusive and want them to have fun. They can have fun.. With people their own age. 

[Elena 546]

And they can learn writing from people of ALL ages! Who would advance if kept only with their own age? I think only in a diverse environment people really learn and grow! 

 

And yes, these are just stories written together.  Characters' adventures, not members'. As long as they are old enough to read certain stories (I mean PG-13, YA) they are old enough to write them too!  I keep being all-inclusive, based on the love for the Age of Sail and history, not discriminating on age! I have written with people as young as 14 and as old as 75, and I found good writers (and bad writers too) among all ages. I am all for opportunities and no discrimination!

[jenneral_jennson 154]

I think about other things than that, Elena. I think about the kids my mom has to deal with every single day as a social worker. I think of the kids I work with every single day and I think of what the law sees vs. what you want to see. It will not be construed as just fun and games or a learning experience by a concerned parent or the law. There are no real shades of gray when it comes to this. It is very much viewed as black and white. I'm glad you view things a little differently, but I live in a jaded world and see some pretty horrific things, so I'll never see it in shades of gray.