[Included Feature] Minimum age to register

You mean similar to COPPA. I find these kind of useful, however a user can just edit their date of birth if they are determined to register.
 
This should be removed, what a waste of database space/coding.

People will bypass any limits, no matter what age we are. Stupid and such a pointless, pointless feature!
 
I suspect you will find lots of things that you personally find useless. It doesn't mean they are useless.
 
That's really not the point - the point is that it is a feature to accompany a stated policy rather than a rule that the software is able to enforce in a bullet-proof manner.
 
My site has a age limit and we get thousands of new members per month. I tried to put an age limit on registration, by denying registration when a DoB was filled in that was to recent. But that just doesnt work. People will indeed just adapt and lie, then move trough the registration none the less.
What does work is to have a weekly cron, ban all underage members, until they reach adulthood. Then automatically unban them. This way you already have the account in the system. So if the member creates another account, then you can discover that and ban the new account.
The discovery is offcourse dependent upon the tools available for multiple account detection. Which is an even more important topic IMHO.
 
That's really not the point - the point is that it is a feature to accompany a stated policy rather than a rule that the software is able to enforce in a bullet-proof manner.
I disagree that the function should not be effective. As far as possible, the function should be effective, rather than symbolic, because a failing function results in complaints from parents, organisations and other headache.
 
My site has a age limit and we get thousands of new members per month. I tried to put an age limit on registration, by denying registration when a DoB was filled in that was to recent. But that just doesnt work. People will indeed just adapt and lie, then move trough the registration none the less.
What does work is to have a weekly cron, ban all underage members, until they reach adulthood. Then automatically unban them. This way you already have the account in the system. So if the member creates another account, then you can discover that and ban the new account.
The discovery is offcourse dependent upon the tools available for multiple account detection. Which is an even more important topic IMHO.

How does that work if the users lie about their age? How do you know if they are underage?
 
How does that work if the users lie about their age? How do you know if they are underage?
You just let them register, even when they are underage. So they need not lie about their age. Nothing stops them from registering. IME most people will not lie about their age, if they do not encounter registration blockades.
Some days after that, they are automatically banned, until they reach adulthood.
 
You just let them register, even when they are underage. So they need not lie about their age. Nothing stops them from registering. IME most people will not lie about their age, if they do not encounter registration blockades.
Some days after that, they are automatically banned, until they reach adulthood.
What's to stop them re-registering using a different email address and proxy (assuming they're on a static IP address)?
Your system is no more foolproof than any other.
If someone underage is determined to register, they will do so.
 
People do lie about their age.
Off course they do. And if you consider many thousands of registrations, then there will always registrations that slip under the radar. But that % is far higher if you block them right at registration and the number of underage members that you do find, is far higher if you let underage members register, first, and then ban them. The difference is large in my experience.
 
What's to stop them re-registering using a different email address and proxy (assuming they're on a static IP address)?
Your system is no more foolproof than any other.
If someone underage is determined to register, they will do so.
That depends upon how tech savvy the user is. Many users are not that tech savvy. It also depends upon the multiple account detection functions that are in place. IP is not the only way to recognise multiple accounts. The more detection methods are available, the more members are caught.
 
That depends upon how tech savvy the user is. Many users are not that tech savvy. It also depends upon the multiple account detection functions that are in place. IP is not the only way to recognise multiple accounts. The more detection methods are available, the more members are caught.

In my opinion, any user may register, no matter if they are 6, or if they are 90! Everybody can do what ever on the internet, there is no stopping them.
 
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