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 chick4adummy
2003-04-21 01:40
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Are you insane? The 18+ rule decreases the minors' rights in this world. Say perchance someone 18- just wanted somewhere to place their thoughts which, in all essence, is what this community is all about, and suddenly they come across this incredible journal community that Blurty has created for the people of today, but great news for them-THEY CAN'T DO WHAT THEY INTENDED TO. Why should it matter what age you are? A great deal of our society today has been taken away from the underaged as it is, why would you want to take one more thing away? Why do you want us to have nothing left that we can depend on? The internet is one of the only things we can rely on in this day and age. Dont exclude us from the things that make us so happy. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread) |
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ghaleon
2003-04-21 01:52
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Then get a LiveJournal. They're 13+. Get a DeadJournal. Make your own blog. Make some forums. There are literally dozens of other options.
I'll give you a little bit of information, though. An underaged person does not have the same rights as does an adult. An underaged individual cannot vote, cannot smoke, cannot drink, cannot view pornography, cannot gamble, and is listed as an unemancipated individual for the purposes of legal standing. I'm rather fed up with the concept of "underage rights." That term smacks of PC thuggery, and I think we can dispense with that right now. You don't have the right to an online journal, but you may have the privilege of having one. As far as freedom of speech is concerned, Blurty is not preventing them from speaking their minds, and the administrators just prefer to set a rule that requires those who join this community to be 18 and over.
Which brings me to the one right that supersedes whatever so-called "underage rights" you seem to think are so greatly under fire, here. The Bill of Rights guarantees individuals the right to assemble in organizations as they see fit. The people who run Blurty have chosen to make their assembly 18 and over, and it is perfectly within their rights to do so. It is within younger people's rights to find a legal alternative. I suggest they do so.
Finally, I have this odd feeling that the people who run Blurty would be more inclined to allow younger individuals if they presented themselves better as a group. One may have the right to express oneself (elsewhere) by saying, "d00d, i jzt w0k op n im sik lolz," but it certainly doesn't win one any credibility with a mature organization.
And, as the final trump card, if you don't like it, feel free to go elsewhere.(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread) |
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(Anonymous)
2003-04-21 13:57
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the whole 18+ thing is seriously pointless. its the teenagers, and
yes, the stupid little highschoolers who spend the most time online
and on journaling sites such as blurty. kids go searching the
internet for a site that they can get on without paying or hassling
friends for a code. yes, the livejournals and deadjournals are
supposedly easy to get and open to teens, but have you ever
actually tried to get one? if you don't have money or friends who
are just waiting to give you their last code, its near impossible.
you're right in that underage persons don't have many rights, and
the "right" to an online journal certainly isnt one, but think about
it- most of the rights adults have that minors dont are things that
could possibly cause harm to themselves or others. they dont
have the knowlege or experience to do these things responsibly.
but honestly, what harm could a kid cause by writing about his
pathetic little life in an online journal.
these journals are good for the kids. it gives them a place to
record their thoughts, and their friends can give their thoughts and
advice in response. if you recall, being a teenager is pretty tough.
it may seem petty looking back, but weren't those stupid incedents
hard on you then? wouldn't you have loved a nice little place to
write all about how you were secretly in love with your lab partner
or how much you hated your math teacher, hear what your
friends had to say about that, and not having to worry about your
mom or your little sister finding your diary? it might help them
through hard times, sad as it is, it might be the only place their
open and truely honest. it could help them through even times of
depression, or just a simple problem, but why make it harder for
them to do that?
the internet gives kids a freedom they cant get in the real world,
but the restrictions or passwords and codes and age limits
continually diminishes the one area of harmless power they do
have. why kill one more site for the kids? i'm not saying enforcing
the 18+ rule on one site will be the end of the world or anything,
but it can be really discouraging.
as for those who just want kids of the servers so you don't have to
deal with them, get over yourselves! what makes you
think you're so special that you should get rid of all the minors on
a website because a couple of teens are obsessed with their little
internet language? i'm not saying i dont hate it when someone
sends you something and it takes you longer to translate it from
"english" to english, that to actually read it, but that is freedom of
speech. i dont want to get into rights again, but if kids want to
misspell their little notes to themselves and their friends, honestly,
who's it hurting? if it bothers you that much, go find a blog site for
english professors. if you're so "anti-youth" why are you looking at
teens' journals anyway? would it be so hard to just ignore their
comments?
i find myself getting too frustrated at the idiocy of these comments,
and fear any more of this argument will cease to be logical and
may revert to simple rudeness, so as to not be lowered to the
level of my opponents, i'll leave with one last remark-
-it seems you're the exclusivist with the problem here, so,
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ghaleon
2003-04-21 17:18
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Firstly, I want to thank you for posting anonymously. It's immature, cowardly people such as yourself who cause the problem in the first place.
I'll address your points one by one. Your suggestion that "it's the kids" who use Blurty is fallacious, simply because I use it, and my case disproves your generalization. Virtually everyone on my friends list is eighteen or older, I believe, and they generate an enormous number of posts. I have "tried" to get a LiveJournal, and succeeded. Just because you're impatient, or don't ask nicely, doesn't mean that you can't get one. And you didn't address my independent blog suggestion, nor my forum suggestion, if you want a community. The Greymatter code is open source, if I remember correctly.
Yes. Adults have rights to things that children do not, and that are often harmful (even voting). That's because there's a certain amount of maturity expected of an adult. The Blurty admins are not worried about kids causing harm with their journals, they want to create a community where that maturity is largely present. And it does cause harm, if a child views material intended for viewers over 18, since Blurty could technically be liable for the content on its site, otherwise.
Being a teenager is not tough at all, and you're a fool if you think so. You likely live in North America, where even the poorest teenager still leads a life of utter luxury compared to anyone living in, say, Sudan. It may seem tough to you when your parents "just don't understand," but I have a feeling that not having clean water to drink and seeing your siblings drop dead around you might be a little tougher on your psyche. Oh, and as for the emotional outlet, I had one. It was called a paper journal. It was a "book" with "pages" and I took this neat device called a "pen" and I wrote things. Why you would want to air your "secret" desires in public, I'll never know. Is it that hard to talk to people, or to be alone with yourselves? Being here is like viewing a porn site. You're not allowed. The Blurty admins are not making it harder to do that, they're simply telling people do to it someplace else. Again, in the Bill of Rights, they're guaranteed the right to freely assemble, and that excludes minors in this case. Your argument has no factual standing, just an emotional one.
Discouraging, you say? Too bad, I say. The people who run the site and pay the bills make the rules. You get to deal with that, and that's the end of the discussion... unless you'd like to start paying for the bandwidth. Since you're likely not a child tycoon, I think you'll just have to abide by their rules.
" i'm not saying i dont hate it when someone
sends you something and it takes you longer to translate it from
"english" to english, that to actually read it, but that is freedom of
speech."
I find no Constitutionally-guaranteed right that includes freedom to be factually incorrect. I find no right to debase the language. But if you have the freedom of speech to say things in a twisted, goofy little n00b language, I have the freedom to correct you, because I actually take the time to word things properly.
" i dont want to get into rights again, but if kids want to
misspell their little notes to themselves and their friends, honestly,
who's it hurting?"
The language as a whole. The sheer number of people who do this is astounding. It represents a disturbing trend of wrongness among those who write in English, and I think that anything that stops this would be much appreciated. I don't want my eventual kids to go to school and learn that the proper spelling of "cat" is "c47 lolz omg". I do not need to "find a blog site for English professors," since most of the adults here are fairly adept at typing and spelling correctly. It's the 18- crowd that is not. And as far as ignoring them if one disapproves, that smacks of idiocy as well. The idea that one should not try to right wrongs is absurd: if a racist community existed, for example, and I disapproved, should I ignore it and go on my merry way? I think not.
Oh, one more thing. My browser blocks marquee text, thankfully, so I don't have to be exposed to that other inane hallmark of the 18- n00b.(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread) |
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serotonin_lily
2003-04-22 07:12
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Eloquently put, and indicative of how the English language can be used with depth, individuality and aplomb to make a valid point.
It's been a joy to read your comments.
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baka
2003-04-28 11:07
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www.fearthedark.net
www.needlesspanic.com
www.insanejournal.com
There's MORE and more of these open source journal hosts becoming available. Hell there's even one that's not open source geared towards teens.
Are you the one putting the time, effort, and money towards this?
No you're not.
The staff of blurty are the ones doing it. So what does this mean? They can do what the heck they want and make any rule they want and go with it. They could even set it for a certain gender, ethnic group, sexuality if they wanted to. But their main rule is 18+.
Like Angel said eariler, they could be assholes and even take back the EA's of those who are not 18+ but they haven't. Which in all honesty is a very fair and giving gesture.
Another thing I don't think ghaleon pointed out is that parents are financially responsible for kids till they turned 18.(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread) |
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blu
2003-04-21 18:41
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If the internet is one of the only things "we can rely on in this day and age," you are very misinformed. The internet can and is a very big source of crime. Have you ever heard of girls who meet their supposed soulmate online, try to meet them in real life, and then disappear forever? It's more common than you think. Sure, there are success stories. There's also tragedies that come from a teen's overusage of the 'net.
18+ rules do not decrease a minor's rights in this world, especially if there are other alternatives. By alternatives, I mean other journalling sites, in this case. You don't have to come to Blurty. Go elsewhere if you have a problem with their rule.
You shouldn't be complaining, anyhow, because I believe that cheever has clearly said in this post that they will not be browsing through EA accounts looking for under-18 people. Be grateful, because they could just as well suspend you for violating the ToS.
There are rules in life, and rules are meant to be followed. It's not right to call people "insane" because they're agreeing with the rules. You're wrong for coming out and attacking the rule as unjust. It's not. If you have a problem with it, go somewhere else. Take your friends with you. I'm sure you'll be much happier elsewhere if you have such a huge problem with the 18+ rule over here.(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread) |
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ushichan_haru
2003-04-22 03:30
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Somethings are taken away from the underaged for perfectly good reasons. Alcohol can kill them, tobacco is too easily addicting to them. Voting is too easily influenced to the less-educated.
This also is a truth, the internet is not something you can ever rely on. The internet gives kids freedom? Freedom is easily abused and mangled.
Ah, yes. Concerning the claim that it's "the teenagers, and yes, the stupid little highschoolers" that spend the most time online. Studies disagree. It's actually college students and yes, the 18+ crowd, that spends the most time online.
Back in high school I had a place to record my thoughts too. It was called paper. They sell it all bound up into books for just this purpose. If you want to share it, do something useful. Join your school's newspaper staff or debate team. I could always get my friends' advice and opinions too. That amazing invention was called a "telephone."
Of course, they require proper grammar in such school activities; so if to speak properly requires being an english professor, 99.9% of us need not apply.(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread) |
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