Dear Folks who think this is a good idea,
Go to hell you god damned cunt fucking shit-head cocksuckers. You aren’t fixing anything by putting up a system where all a widdle kiddie has to do to get around it is lie to an internet page. I will not give you the year of my birth because it’s none of your business, and if you’re going to make me then I’ll go away. It’s the internet people, the only way to really protect your kids is to keep them off it, or teach them to be smart and behave. Given how obvious it is that this system cannot actually perform its stated goals I’m going to assume that either a) the people behind it are a pack of ninny-headed morons who don’t think a 13 year old can click a button, b) their stated goal isn’t their actual goal or c) somebody else is pressuring them into doing it, in which case they’re a bunch of spineless cop-outs for whom I bear no respect.
Screw this. I am not censoring myself for the sake of mythological innocents. If livejournal doesn’t like it, they can kiss my ass. There are other places for me to go. Because, you see, it’s the internet.
Anaea Lay 
Yah, welcome to the internet. It’s called legal ass-coverage. Though it’s pretty rare to see a disclaimer like that on the written word. Usually it’d have to be pictures/music/games/video. Maybe they’ve realized that kids on the internet can read?
Though as someone who’s been entering false DOBs online since I was…online, I do think it’s silly.
Yikes. Vitriolic much?
I can see where you’re coming from and all, but I think Nick’s right. This isn’t about being actually functional; it’s about being legally functional.
A fairly logical take I saw on this the other day, that you might want to read: here. It’s very much written from the POV of the fanfiction community, because A) that’s where the author’s coming from and B) hello, adult content much? but it can be extended to LJ as a whole pretty easily.
And yeah, I think I lied about my age to get my first e-mail account when I was, like, eleven. If this were to go farther, then yeah, I’d have a problem with it, but…this is not half the worst LJ could be doing, not by far.
See, both those responses fall under objects B and C above. This isn’t about keeping kids away from harmful material, it’s about covering their asses. I don’t disagree that that’s what’s going on, I just hold it in complete and utter contempt. As far as I’m concerned making something look like its functional when it isn’t is damaging, not helpful.
In response to the response you linked to, no, I don’t want lj coming up with an functional system. I want them slapping a notice on their page that reads, “There is adult content spread around on places on this site. If you don’t like it, go away,” and leaving it at that.
If people want to flag their own journals as having adult content then that’s their choice, though I think that’s awfully silly. (There is the whole part with me having a low tolerance for the concept of adult content in the first place) Me checking my f-list and all of a sudden having to click through to read half of it, with lj going “Nanana, give us your age or our little cut tag will whine” is extremely obnoxious.
See, I don’t see what’s so wrong with covering your own ass. It isn’t Livejournal’s job to fight for the right of every underage child on the planet to view whatever material they should so choose. The government says kids should be protected–okay, fine, that’s more, or less, annoying to infuriating, based on your point of view. Conforming to appear to pay heed to government regulations, when you’re a corporation attempting to operate and make money on American soil, isn’t stupid. Maybe it’s a wussy move, not picking that fight, but y’know, it’s not a fight they need to have. I mean, Livejournal’s acting entirely in their own self-interest here. Nothing wrong with that, to me.
And I mean, if this is about their conflicting with your self-interest, fair enough. (Seriously, so give them someone else’s birth year, if you don’t want to give them your own.) I just think you’re bitching about at least three different groups of people here (Livejournal, the government, the stupid protect-the-children!!!!!! special-interest groups) and conflating their points of view. Livejournal couldn’t care less about protecting the children, Livejournal cares about protecting Livejournal from the crazies who do care about protecting the children. If they choose to do so in a way that doesn’t actually protect the children from jack shit, the only people I see that damaging are, well, the crazies. And I really see nothing wrong with that.
Yes, but giving in to the crazies validates their point of view. It also keeps the crazies from having to face how utterly impossible it is for them to actually achieve their stated goals. (Honestly, I’d suspect that at least 80% of the ptc crowd is after something not their stated goals) That enables the crazies to carry on hurting all of us with their nonsense. Yeah, it’s a little thing, but this is the kind of thing where a slippery slope argument actually applies. No giving inches to nut-jobs!
Livejournal is within their rights to give in to the crazies and cover their own asses, it’s just not right and I’m rather disgusted by it. Somebody needs to pick this fight. I’d really appreciate it if Livejournal would step up to the plate.
Mmm, fair enough, I guess. Because yeah, it is a fight that needs to be had. I just am not so nearly ready to jump all over LJ for choosing not to be the ones having it.
But I’m tired and headachy enough to not really feel like arguing with you more now. I have more points, I think, but they venture into the realm of ‘social responsibility’ and large-scale comparisons to, like, environmentalism and shit, and y’know, fuck that noise tonight.
For the sake of it, I’ll carry on.
It’s like this big mad witch hunt in this country(that’s what we’re famous for!) trying to figure out who’s corrupting the children. Now the obvious choices are:
1. The children themselves
2. The parents
3. The education system
Now, you’d think everyone would figure that out and it’d be a really short witch hunt, but the problem is:
A. No one wants to give children responsibility for their own actions.
B. The other two are the main groups leading the witch hunt.
And it’s pretty difficult to get any social group to criticize itself, especially when it’s united on a rampage. So this is a witch hunt we’re more or less stuck with.
Now LJ just wants a little sign to hang on it’s door that says “No child-corruptors here!” so that the mob will move along to the next door. They’re not stocked up on pitchforks and torches. Moreover, they’re a corporation, and those are really hard to get united on a counter-rampage, because whoever could be the next LJ would rather watch them fall.
As long as you’re not actually corrupting children you might as well throw your lot in with the competition, but if you want to get kids reading your blog, you have a handy tag now that’ll boost your youth readership.