- Pronouns
- They/she
It has become apparent from a number of recent events that there is a lack of understanding in our community about the legal requirements, terms of service requirements, and our admin policy relating to young users. To provide greater clarity and enable us all to address issues that arise in future more efficiently, this post clarifies current admin policy.
COPPA
COPPA is an acronym that stands for the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. This is a US Federal law that applies to our forum. The law requires both Zetaboards and the Admin team to take various steps to protect the personal information of children under 13.
Zetaboards Policy
In order to comply with COPPA, Zetaboards provides three options to forum owners. The first is an absolute ban on children under 13 accessing the forum. The other two are similar and require users who are under 13 to submit a signed parental permission form (either electronically or via mail) before gaining full access to the forum. Zetaboards' terms of use require that the admin team take steps to prevent under 13s from accessing the forum without completing the required forms.
Our policy
After much discussion a few months back, the admin team opted for one of the parental permission options. The parental permission form is handled entirely by Zetaboards (we don't see it at all). In practice, it means that when an underage user is identified, we will ban them and, if tey wish, assist them in setting up a new account and providing the required information to Zetaboards. The parental permission form is very simple, but obviously not all under 13s will be able to get a parent or guardian to sign it.
What does this mean for me?
In future, if you become aware that a user is under 13, please let the admin team know immediately. If such an individual asks, let them know that they can continue to participate if they provide the required permission form to Zetaboards, and that the admins can walk them through the process if needed.
We obviously want to be welcoming and inclusive of everyone, but both the law and the Terms of Service require us to strictly monitor this issue. We will do all we can to help those who are under 13 to participate, but ultimately, if they cannot obtain the required parental permission, we are obligated to deny them access until their 13th birthday.
COPPA
COPPA is an acronym that stands for the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. This is a US Federal law that applies to our forum. The law requires both Zetaboards and the Admin team to take various steps to protect the personal information of children under 13.
Zetaboards Policy
In order to comply with COPPA, Zetaboards provides three options to forum owners. The first is an absolute ban on children under 13 accessing the forum. The other two are similar and require users who are under 13 to submit a signed parental permission form (either electronically or via mail) before gaining full access to the forum. Zetaboards' terms of use require that the admin team take steps to prevent under 13s from accessing the forum without completing the required forms.
Our policy
After much discussion a few months back, the admin team opted for one of the parental permission options. The parental permission form is handled entirely by Zetaboards (we don't see it at all). In practice, it means that when an underage user is identified, we will ban them and, if tey wish, assist them in setting up a new account and providing the required information to Zetaboards. The parental permission form is very simple, but obviously not all under 13s will be able to get a parent or guardian to sign it.
What does this mean for me?
In future, if you become aware that a user is under 13, please let the admin team know immediately. If such an individual asks, let them know that they can continue to participate if they provide the required permission form to Zetaboards, and that the admins can walk them through the process if needed.
We obviously want to be welcoming and inclusive of everyone, but both the law and the Terms of Service require us to strictly monitor this issue. We will do all we can to help those who are under 13 to participate, but ultimately, if they cannot obtain the required parental permission, we are obligated to deny them access until their 13th birthday.