Poll For Younger Peoples Forum

[The Phoenix]

I'm all for it. If it provides a place (just like the women forum) making teens feel more comfortable and more independant I'm all for it... heck... I'm 19... key on TEEN!!! (a little biased perhaps)

When I was 14 I was into dope, stealing, and raising hell that is 10^10 beyond the trouble a 14 year old should raise.

This seems productive... somewhat healthy... though hiking is healthier than typing about hiking

I love the wise old vets... I want a lot of what they have (though I may leave some)... but no harm in the young bucks gettin a little love.

Though everyone had good points above... I perhaps am naive to some of the dangers???

keep on keepin on youngin and geezers alike!!!

God Bless

[Rain Man]

But a forum for stupid questions now that's an idea, god knows I've asked enough of them!

Remember, there's no such thing as a stupid question.

Stupid answers?! WB has a surplus of those and we could use a forum just for keyboard junkies who like to post stupid replies! Lord knows, we have an abundance! LOL

RainMan

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[Chenango]

I voted No because I do not want WB to get too fragemented. Older and younger folks interact just fine on the trail. Let's not get splintered.

[JAK]

Separatists Unite!

[David@whiteblaze]

hear me out guys, speaking as an early teen, i think it's a great idea.

Exceptions:

Thread starters should be less than 30 or wahtever is deemed young. i know there are weirdos who would get themselves banned w/ something for under 20 y.o.'s

Moderaters, Lone Wolf, Wise Old Owl, Ranc0r, and anyone else who thinks that they can offer some advice for teens+ should be allowed to start threads.

There should be someone who can discern a post not pertaining to hiking/thruing and put a poll w/ a link to post if they think people should deem it unneccessary and remove it (Example:a post by a guy about girls)

Anyone is allowed to reply to posts and offer their advice.

(btw, i respect the aforementioned people and think that they are some of the greatest advice givers around.

[Gaiter]

no, some people are tooo paranoid, if you want to protect the young ones then tell their parents not to let them get online, or at least not allow them on google, yahoo, any e-mail for that matter, facebook and other social networking sites and any thing else where one can post a comment like any newsite or blog..... basically don't let them online if you are that paranoid

[jesse]

I voted "no" because you ain't takin away my Social Security.

[David@whiteblaze]

Since I am actually a dog, in people years I am actually only 6 going on 7. Do I qualify?

wouldnt that make u 315 or so, u r in ur teens again!!! Welcome!!!

[OldStormcrow]

I voted "no" for a forum for young people for the same reason I would vote no to a forum for gays that hike, a forum for blacks that hike, a forum for whites that hike, a forum for men who hike, a forum for women who hike, a forum for yankees that hike, a forum for funny looking people from England who walk funny while hiking, etc. I'm for forums for hikers......period.

[emerald]

I voted "no" for a forum for young people for the same reason I would vote no to a forum for gays that hike, a forum for blacks that hike, a forum for whites that hike, a forum for men who hike, a forum for women who hike, a forum for yankees that hike, a forum for funny looking people from England who walk funny while hiking, etc. I'm for forums for hikers......period.

But would you vote for a silly-walk forum, provided posts be permitted without prejudice due to age, gender, ethnicity or nationality?

[BobTheBuilder]

I voted NO because apparently they don't teach spelling anymore to young people and the darn thing would just be unreadable.

[Rocket Jones]

Voted No. The kids here are hikers, period. I haven't seen any hostility towards them in my short time here. Unless they own a dog.

If you want to start threads just for the youngsters, then preface your subject lines with "Whippersnappers:" or something. If nothing else, the various spellings could be entertaining.

[The Weasel]

Ok, I voted against kids. I say "send them back where they came from." They look funny because they smile too much and they think they know everything (which they might).

-- "But I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now." - Bob Dylan

Seriously, while I think it is a good thing if it can be done, speaking from a lot of experience in Scouting with websites from almost the inception of the Web, there are several serious issues:

- Confidentiality of email addreses. There is an email option in PMs, which while anonymous, can result in youth responding with their actual email. This would have to be disabled.

- Prevention of adult involvement. The Female Forum was initially supposed to be only for women, and thru-hiking class forums just for those years. These rules are routinely ignored. They would have to be strictly enforced.

- Identification of youth correctly. There is no way here to insure that a registrant is a youth upon registration.

These problems are fairly minor when there is no dedicated "youth" area. But when the population of such a forum becomes identified as involving youth, there are some serious administrative problems that will require a LOT of admin/moderator effort. I'm not certain everyone will think it worth the effort.

TW

[Blissful]

Predators is a biggie also. The Weasel also makes good points.

[CowHead]

A hiker, a hiker nothing more needs to be said.

[kanga]

I voted "no" for a forum for young people for the same reason I would vote no to a forum for gays that hike, a forum for blacks that hike, a forum for whites that hike, a forum for men who hike, a forum for women who hike, a forum for yankees that hike, a forum for funny looking people from England who walk funny while hiking, etc. I'm for forums for hikers......period.

ummm, yeah...

[Shutterbug]

This is a poll for younger peoples forum Dont vote no if your concerned for the safety of younger people from predators. I will be able to figure something out.

yes
NO

I voted "no" because I don't believe a forum for younger people will last. I have a lot of experience with online forums and have tried to get younger people (teens) to participate. So far, I have been unsuccessful.

The Facebook type of discussion fits teens a lot better than an online forum.

[Many Walks]

I can understand why the younger hikers would want their own forum. When I was 15 I was bullet proof and knew everything, while the geezers were clueless. As I gained some life experience the geezers seemed to gain wisdom. Hmmm, imagine that!

I see no need to further partition this site. Aside from all the garbage and egos that enter into the threads, the site is a fantastic resource for sharing information and knowledge about hiking. If desired, a straight forward thread is easy enough to start for kids topics only.

I also must add, it's great to see so many young people enthusiastic about the outdoors and hiking. We geezers welcome you!

[sheepdog]

I voted yes because I hate following the crowd.

[Foyt20]

I voted no in February, due to the reason, the board should not have to police itself, parents should take responsibility for their own children, and the PARENT should police what the child/tween/teen is doing on the internet.