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Minors......

DAND

DAND

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Is there some way to have minor's screen names differ from that of the rest? I have noticed a few instances where some people are finding out after the fact that they are/have dealt with a minor. Actually, I don't think minors should be allowed to post classifieds in the first place but at the very least if the site is going to continue to allow minors to place classifieds and sell items the site could help by showing who the minors are.
 
Anyone can lie about their age though. I know that for a fact. :D How could we prevent that?
 
I agree with Maia. I usually ask how old are they, and if the information doesn't jib with their style of communication, I pass (singing..."if you don't happen to like it pass on byyyy")

Now, I do realize that a lot of people talk "txt" speak and not all of them are minors; I avoid dealing with them, too.

For those that have raised children, there's a lot of ways that minors reveal their general ages through emails or on the phone. :)
 
I agree on this as well.
That's a good idea, considering the fact that doing buisness with minors can be risky. Legally, a minor can back out of deal at any time, or if they buy something and their parents get mad and decide to sue you, you would have to give the money back.
I definatly think they should be identified in some way.
 
I think if you somehow make it obvious that certain users are minors it will make it very difficult for them to buy or sell anything on Fauna and that will drive some of them away. Bad idea in my opinion unless that's exactly what you'd like to see done, ban minors from trading.
 
Ramiro said:
I think if you somehow make it obvious that certain users are minors it will make it very difficult for them to buy or sell anything on Fauna and that will drive some of them away. Bad idea in my opinion unless that's exactly what you'd like to see done, ban minors from trading.
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I think that may be the point.. would you want to purchase an animal from someone, only to have an issue with it, and find out that the person was 16, and you can do absolutely nothing about it because they are a minor? You are then stuck with either taking the loss, or working with the kids parents. Neither of which are fair to anyone.

If a younger person wants to sell.. fine.. but the parents then need to be involved.

Personally, I think anyone that is buying an animal, should verify that the person/seller is above 18. I know I would never want to deal with an under aged person, and I will not sell to someone under the age of 18 without the parents consent.
 
Miss Tuniwha said:
I think that may be the point.. would you want to purchase an animal from someone, only to have an issue with it, and find out that the person was 16,
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IMO you're not always going to have an issue with sales that are done with minors. If you don't know the seller or buyers age then ask and then take it from there and chose what you want to do.


Miss Tuniwha said:
If a younger person wants to sell.. fine.. but the parents then need to be involved..
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If it is a must where a parent or guardian needs to be involved they'll most likely end up being the middleman / communicator as most parents will only know certain basic things about the reptile or reptiles that are being sold/bought.

At most minors should have to post/add to their classifieds that they are a minor and have a legal guardian willing to be involved if necessary. And if you're willing to deal with that then reply to the post, But banning minors entirely is a bit far.
 
I don't really agree with this 100%. I have been selling animals (in the hundreds I'm sure) since I was 12-13 and reptiles since I was 16-17. I'm now 19. I've never once had a problem with a buyer. I know it's not always going to go that way, but it isn't with dealing with adults either.

I think what matters is how someone presents themselves and does their business - age doesn't really guarantee anything. In dealing with minors it's probably a good thing they've got parents you can go to - with adults you can't really do the "family peer pressure" thing :rolleyes:

Really though I think it's up to the individual to decide who they do business with. It isn't the responsibility of the site to police that IMO.
 
Age is a number given to us by the government to define maturity levels based on the majority of the population, it does not by any means define actual maturity levels of individuals. I am 16, a Junior in High School and I dont have the typical etiquette, behavior, or maturity levels found in most kids my age. I have sold a few animals here and bought a rack. I have been told I behave and look like a person over the age of 20. Ultimatly I have little say in what happens on this site, but I can only hope that I have disproved the whole "immaturity in minors" thing.
 
Abby said:
I don't really agree with this 100%. I have been selling animals (in the hundreds I'm sure) since I was 12-13 and reptiles since I was 16-17. I'm now 19. I've never once had a problem with a buyer. I know it's not always going to go that way, but it isn't with dealing with adults either.

I think what matters is how someone presents themselves and does their business - age doesn't really guarantee anything. In dealing with minors it's probably a good thing they've got parents you can go to - with adults you can't really do the "family peer pressure" thing :rolleyes:

Really though I think it's up to the individual to decide who they do business with. It isn't the responsibility of the site to police that IMO.
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:iagree: :thumbsup:
 
Ramiro said:
I think if you somehow make it obvious that certain users are minors it will make it very difficult for them to buy or sell anything on Fauna and that will drive some of them away. Bad idea in my opinion unless that's exactly what you'd like to see done, ban minors from trading.
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Run them off, no, but they have no place selling without parental support especially when not doing so without disclosing their age. I'm sorry but the internet has made it difficult to know who you are dealing with. The Chris's and Pat's notwithstanding you don't know if participant "X" is 16 or 46. Yeah you can get some sort idea when corresponding with them but short of them disclosing their age you do not have any idea if you are dealing with a minor or not.
 
DAND said:
Run them off, no, but they have no place selling without parental support especially when not doing so without disclosing their age..
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You mean like have parental control on accounts of minors, which then when minors have consent to open a classified the parent has to be involved when requested? What if they lie? Possibly restricted from the classifieds till it is resolved. If a minor has an inquiry about and animal he/she is selling it should be let known from the start of his/her age, it should be a given. How this would be enforced is beyond me and if you have doubts about the posters age simply do not go through with the deal.
 
DAND said:
Run them off, no, but they have no place selling without parental support especially when not doing so without disclosing their age. I'm sorry but the internet has made it difficult to know who you are dealing with. The Chris's and Pat's notwithstanding you don't know if participant "X" is 16 or 46. Yeah you can get some sort idea when corresponding with them but short of them disclosing their age you do not have any idea if you are dealing with a minor or not.
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It kind of sounds like your comparing minors to criminals who need a parole officer to watch their every move. I know you were a kid once too. Didnt you hate it when people said kids were immature when you are probably just as mature as the person saying it?
 
Pythonbreeder99 said:
It kind of sounds like your comparing minors to criminals who need a parole officer to watch their every move. I know you were a kid once too. Didnt you hate it when people said kids were immature when you are probably just as mature as the person saying it?
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Ones maturity is not the issue here. We're talking about the fact that a minor probably has limited criminal responsibility. To put it bluntly, it would be more difficult to seek reimbursement if a minor rips you off, than if an adult does (no, I'm not claiming minors are more prone to committing fraud...I'm only stating the ones who do might get away with it with fewer problems). Although I believe that an adult can enter into a contract with a minor...a minor is allocated more protection. You'd probably have to jump through quite a few hurdles to take a 14 year old to court (they would need a guardian to oversee their defense, for example). I'm not sure about this, though (Lucille...drop some knowledge on us :) ).

Having said that...I think that (in most cases) implementing this would be a lot of work and/or money. Rich would probably have to create a new usergroup which would encompass minors. Once the minors turn 18, though, they would then have to be placed into the default usergroup. I don't know if vBulleting has a Mod for that, so either Rich would have to do this manually (staying on top of a task of that nature would be ridiculously time consuming), or he'd have to commission custom coding which would do things automatically (but that obviously takes money).

Requiring that minors add a disclaimer would be more plausible. However, that would also be time consuming. I'd have to check the private info of every single user who posts an ad (to verify their age)...and there's no way I would have the time to do that. Rich would probably have to bring in another mod who's only job would be to check the OP's accounts.

Enforcing such a thing manually would be a ton of work. Doing it automatically, however, should be no problem if there is some sort of auto option for that (I'm not too familiar with vBulletin nor programing, so perhaps there actually are auto options for this). The EASIEST way to do it, however, would be for Rich to disable the option that we all have to hide our birthday. Then, all you'd have to do is check the profile of the individual who you're interested in doing biz with and you'll have their age (or at least the age that they listed).
 
Sorry, but vBulletin doesn't have some sort of lie detector built in. I believe I already have the site set up to just reject anyone under the age of 13. But how does the system KNOW that the person is actually any particular age it puts in the prompt? Well it doesn't. It CAN'T. And quite honestly anyone who is likely to cause issues with a transaction is likely not going to be too worried about the truthfulness of stating their age here.

Sorry, gang, but it is up to YOU to determine who you are dealing with and make your own decisions about it. I'm certainly not going to do that for you, even if it were remotely feasible.
 
WebSlave said:
Sorry, but vBulletin doesn't have some sort of lie detector built in. I believe I already have the site set up to just reject anyone under the age of 13. But how does the system KNOW that the person is actually any particular age it puts in the prompt? Well it doesn't. It CAN'T. And quite honestly anyone who is likely to cause issues with a transaction is likely not going to be too worried about the truthfulness of stating their age here.

Sorry, gang, but it is up to YOU to determine who you are dealing with and make your own decisions about it. I'm certainly not going to do that for you, even if it were remotely feasible.
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:thumbsup:
 
There are exceptions, ifs ands and buts, but in general minors can disavow their contracts. And unless the purchase is for necessities,(and there are ifs ands and buts there too) in general you cannot go after the parents.

There are exceptions as I said, but best practice is to avoid dealing with minors unless you know them or unless you are prepared to lose your money. Make a deal with their parents.

It's like anything else though, you see a kid with a great rep and a string of good deals, you can feel easier about your own transaction. Just use caution and common sense.
 
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