Peanut Gallery Commentary on the Staff Log of Bannings and such like.

[Whateverist]

Must have missed the new policy regarding interaction with minors that was posted by Chthuthululu (sp?) back in March. A very nicely thought out and well worded statement of policy. As someone who takes perverse pride in not actually reading the forum rules I have to say, a nice piece of work.

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While we have always had ad hoc policies in place with respect to minor/adult interaction at Atheist Forums, recent events have underscored the need to formally publish our policy regarding the protection of minors.

Minor Protection Policy Statement

The owner and staff of atheistforums.org ("the site") take the protection of minors from predators very seriously. As the membership consists both of minors and adults in a relatively unrestricted discussion forum that also features private communications, we are immediately implementing this official policy regarding the protection of minor members. This policy overrides and replaces any prior ad hoc policies and procedures.

Staff Responsibility
The staff is committed to keeping the site free of predators.
To that end, the staff will cooperate fully with any official investigation of inappropriate contact with minors on this site.
Likewise, the staff will respond to reports of inappropriate contact promptly and in good faith, in accordance with this policy, and will conduct it's own investigation and take whatever action is deemed necessary.
Member Responsibility
Members are responsible for maintaining lawful, age-appropriate contact with minors.
Members are responsible for reporting any suspected inappropriate contact as soon as possible after being made aware of said contact.
Persons under a court order restricting contact with minors are not authorized to use the site.
Reporting Process
Any staff or member that is aware of possible inappropriate contact with minor members will notify a staff member via Private Message (PM) or via the site reporting system. It is never appropriate to do so in public forum.
Any staff member who receives a report of possible inappropriate contact will immediately post the report in the staff forum.
The site administrators will investigate the allegations, and will take appropriate action, including notifying proper authorities if necessary.
Violations

Any violation of this policy will result in discipline, up to and including permanent removal from the site and/or notifying the appropriate authorities.

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One thought. I wonder if it would be appropriate to somehow label members who are minors so that we all know to cut them some slack. Of course it is the predator angle that is clearly the impetus for the rule, and making them easier to identify could be counter productive.