has anyone ever considered having a separate forum category (I don't know what they're officially called) for the under 18 year old bunch? it would give them their "own" space, and allow for the adults who respond to be more helpful, especially if they knew they were guiding/mentoring/helping someone under 18. just a thought. .
I'm sorry I didn't see this until now. There's no value in adding a section specifically for folks under 18, as they have the same questions folks over 18 do when it comes to guinea pig care, and that's what the forum is here to promote. As to your comment that it would allow for adults to be more helpful if they know people posting are under 18 ... No, we all need to remember to be more helpful, more respectful and generally more kind, period. A person's age shouldn't factor in to whether or not you can respond with kindness and tact.
Crusty (05-29-12), RodentCuddles (08-13-12)
Actually, I think an under 18 section would be benificial. Many people who have GP's when they live in their parents house experience different problems.
I think it's a good idea. I'm 22, so it wouldn't affect me at all, but a sub-18 forum would be nice. When I was in my early teens and first discovering online forums, I was sometimes shy around forums where it seemed the majority of users were way older than me. Obviously moderators would still have access regardless of age...
I like the idea. I generally don't talk to teens the same way I talk to adults. It has more to do with language I feel they will understand, or topics I'm not comfortable discussing bluntly (humping, masturbating boars, etc), than courtesy or kindness.
Edited to add: Also, I think the under 18 crowd would enjoy talkling to one another about topics specific to their age group.
The wide majority of those issues have been covered at length, already; and depending on what you're hoping for, the advice you'd get from another under-18 year old might not be the best, anyway. In terms of relating to your problems as a younger person, I can understand, but there's nothing that prevents other young people from commenting on those threads regardless of what section they're posted in now.Originally Posted by madelineelaine
Remember that this forum is first and foremost here to make sure we are providing good information on guinea pig care - and a lot of issues that affect younger folks as people with parents to deal with are issues that affect our "older" members as parents of kids that age; so a free exchange of information isn't a bad thing. And again, considering that so many of those issues are widely covered and discussed in the various sections here, anyway, the idea of adding another section just seems unnecessary, because you don't want to have a section where you can only participate if you're younger when you want to provide well-rounded, sound advice, especially for our younger members.
Yes, obviously. If the idea is to have a place where children can talk about other things in general that might not pertain to older folks, that might not be a bad idea, and in fact I think at one point we discussed having something like that. However, if the general concern is that people will be inclined to be more polite and/or kind to folks if they know they're younger, that's a moot point - you need to generally treat people the way you would want to be treated in turn, and a person's age shouldn't factor into that. I remember a thread where a comment was taken way out of context and I came along and pointed out that the kid in question was 12 or 13 (I don't remember) and everyone backed off. THAT shouldn't happen, because a person's age shouldn't have any bearing on whether or not you can be "nice" in your responses to members.
Those are things guinea pigs do. If a young person has a question about it, do you really want to exclude responses from mature adults simply because you are not comfortable discussing it with them?
I don't disagree that a section for kids might be a good idea simply from the standpoint that they may wish to discuss some issues with people their own age; however, if the issues being discussed pertain to guinea pigs and their care, we absolutely need to have folks of all ages able to contribute.
We have a "Mature Adult Chat" section that you have to be 19+ to view/participate. That is specifically for discussing things you might not want to talk about with the younger crowd. I'd not be opposed to the same type of section for kids; but if the idea of that section is so that those kids can be the only ones to offer advice on issues pertaining to guinea pig care, that won't work. Hope that makes sense.
Last edited by Paula; 05-29-12 at 08:54 am.
People under the age of 18 I think do need to be treated slightly different with some issues, but you don't really need a whole forum just to tell if the person is under 18. You can tell for the most part from their grammar, spelling, and they may also mention stuff such as "My mom said..." Though I do know some of the people under 18 would be offended being treated as such, and just want to be treated as though they are over 18. Some people, once they know that you are under 18, treat you as though you are a small child that understands nothing about life. I happen to know, seeing as I am only 15. Though I hate to be treated as such.
I agree pig, I HATE being treated that way, I'm 15 tooI still think an under 18 section would be good, it doesn't have to be about guinea pigs either.
there is an over 19s area so i think an under 18s should be available ^^
I think an under 18 area would be good, but it shouldn't be about guinea pigs because everyone can help answer that!, just about normal life.
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