Question on TOS?

See what happens when an eight-year-old is allowed to comment on PFB?
hehe

I think the "doctor's office" letter makes a great example of how
there can be exceptions without all the bad feelings.

In this particular case, the PlanetFeedback team has explained their
reasoning behind making an exception. Few (if any) have argued that
an exception shouldn't be made.

And that's where it's appropriate to make exceptions to rules: where
the reasoning is well explained AND where the community generally
agrees.

In contrast, some of the issue with other threads (sorry, I can't be
specific) is that there was neither an explanation of the exception
(or an insistence than no exception had been made) nor was there a
general consensus that an exception was appropriate.

Despite being a diverse community, there is a general feeling that the
doctor's office letter was a good one (even if some didn't agree),
that it was written using the account (and presumably permission) or
an adult, and that PlanetFeedback had taken the appropriate steps to
protect the privacy of the minor.

I another thread, I described a mechanism whereby individual comments
could be subjected to community review. Specifically, that if a
certain number of people felt that the post should be removed, it
should be. Conversely, if a post didn't receive the required number
of "remove votes," it would stay. In my post, I said this was an idea
for the future, because I appreciated the short-term challenges in
implementing such a thing. However, the basic concept, whereby the
community is involved in decision making about
appropriate/inappropriate posts, applies here, as well.

Bottom line: there should always be room for exceptions. However,
when exceptions are made, it should be clear why. And the community
should support the exception.

Just sharing an idea, in the spirit of giving positive feedback.

With the statement that there should always be room for exceptions. I
appear to be in the minority on this one though.

How do we know the 8-year old ever came to PlanetFeedback?
Maybe he wrote the letter by hand or on a word processing program, and
his mom or whomever Debra R. might be chose PlanetFeedback as the
means to send such letter.

If the account is in the name of someone who is eligible for
membership, and under their supervision, someone ineligible send a
letter, is it that big of a deal?

I think the 13 and up rule is a result of law as previously mentioned.
This is not necessarily a "rule", but a requirement for anyone
collecting personal information online such as names and addresses. It
is not PFB specific. All websites have this same rule.

My thought is that since the TOS also serves a legal purpose, this
section was likely added to be in legal compliance and to avoid any
issues that may arise.

To the people below -
I think this part of the TOS is a legal issue - collecting information
from users under the age of 13 is governed by the Children's Online
Privacy Protection Act.

I got the impression that it was under a parent's account as well.

I don't think moaning about the 13+ rule is apples to apples with
commenting rules. One is site policy and the other one is law governed
by the FTC.

Perhaps the TOS should be revised. Many kids of the age of that
letter writer have been online for a few years and surely this site
provides a communication tool that kids can use as well as adults.

If this is done to protect kids: I feel that the level of moderation
on this provides a much safer environment for a young person to
interact with adults than other websites. If any conversation were to
get inappropriate, it likely would get dealt with promptly.

I just don't think using this site provides much risk to kids, and I
think kids have a lot to offer a site like this.

Yes, our TOS does require users be at least 13 years old. In this case
we made an exception for the following reasons:

1. Every indication is that the 8 year was using an adult account,
most likely a relative.

2. It was a great letter. We are happy to provide a way for this young
person to offer feedback.

He has written two letters so far. If this person continues to write
letters then we will certainly take another look at the situation
however we're not particularly worried about it at the moment.

Thanks for helping make sure folks use our site properly!

Good Eye, didnt catch that.

Wonder what will happen?!?!?! Hmmmmmm


Good Day