Kids running forums

[R44]

Recently I had the 'dis'honour of offering to help out a struggling forum here in Australia, by the name of Rail Victoria (Google it, wonder if their SEO is up to scratch) - Pretty much I got promoted to admin so I could do what I had to do, and was told by a moderator that everything was fine, etc etc blah blah blah. Then I woke up this morning, and I was suddenly demoted because I stated that they would

be a laughing stock if they used a site that looks like it was thrown together in Dreamweaver in 5 minutes

They opened their forums after: http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11372356.htm

So, I basically see it as a 'No, people that are young, and inexperienced should not run a forum. At all. Ever'.

What's your thoughts on this?

 

[echo89]

Recently I had the 'dis'honour of offering to help out a struggling forum here in Australia, by the name of Rail Victoria (Google it, wonder if their SEO is up to scratch) - Pretty much I got promoted to admin so I could do what I had to do, and was told by a moderator that everything was fine, etc etc blah blah blah. Then I woke up this morning, and I was suddenly demoted because I stated that they would

be a laughing stock if they used a site that looks like it was thrown together in Dreamweaver in 5 minutes

They opened their forums after: http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11372356.htm

So, I basically see it as a 'No, people that are young, and inexperienced should not run a forum. At all. Ever.

What's your thoughts on this?

Well, here we go:

Age does have its effects and its quirks (I'm 15, nigh on 16). And while I whole whole-heartedly agree with you to an extent; you have to give them a chance. At one point (for me just a year and a half ago or thereabouts), we have to learn ourselves and come to the realisation that we are not gods, nor special and nor worthy of applaud for being young and owning/running (well, I say running) a forum. To be honest, you're as much or a sheep as anybody else if you so thing this. I hate it when children get into the media and become famous amongst the technology industry for created something from a young age. For instance, creating a website that acquires more registered users than expected and becomes a small internet sensation. Because truth is, I could do it, you look at my latest project (www.headz.me) and tell me I've not done well with this. And if it does become a sensation and a news story does come of it, I will not tolerate the reported saying to me: "Wow, you've done so well at such a young age!" I will simply turn around and say to him and everybody watching:

"Age is for the most part irrelevant, if you have the love for computers, the determination and the steadfastness to get things done you will go far. I do not consider myself special in any way for being able to type out masses of code. Code is logic, and people who say 'this is all beyond me' are simply wrong. If they can understand English and and possible other spoken languages with all of the syntactical diversity that spoken language incurs, then surely you can stick to a relatively easy syntax such as that of Python. It's only when free yourself of the doubts you make about yourself and tell yourself you can do it, you will do it."

That's me done! I think that explains my point of view.

 

[Justin]

Age does not mean level of maturity. I have met people over 28 years old who would be less fit to run a forum. Dont confuse rant with actual facts.

 

[Fergal]

R44, did you post your Dreamweaver comment in a public section of the forum?

 

[R44]

R44, did you post your Dreamweaver comment in a public section of the forum?

No, staff forum. I'm not that unprofessional. At the time I was a part of their team and I was tasked with suggesting a better structure for them.

Obviously not now.

 

[OiLerz284]

I opened my first forum when I was 16, it really is about maturity. Obviously those kids weren't very mature but if another kid starts a forum and knows what they're doing I don't see a problem.

You could have a similar experience like that with a forum run by "adults" too 😉

 

[Bluezone777]

Maturity doesn't come with how many years you lived but what you did in the years you have lived. Some pick up maturity rather quickly and others take a long time. Then unfortunately there are those who never get it.

I seen immaturity and maturity come from people of all ages so age hardly plays a role in whether someone is mature or not. Unfortunately, people still get trapped in the belief that maturity comes with age due to the experiences they may have had which showed that older people were more mature then younger people. That may have been true within the small group of people you had experiences with but the broader picture says otherwise.

 

[Anorak]

To be honest, I started making sites when I was 10.

 

[Migi]

In terms of running a forum, someone should be prepared in many things. He should know how to deal with codes and other technical issues, he should know how to deal with other members, he should know how/when to make decisions, he should know how to write or spell properly, he should know how to respect people's opinions and act when there is an issue, he should know that running forums can cost money, and so on.

I'm simply unsure if kids can handle that much. An experiment, probably, but to get serious, maybe not yet the time.

It's mainly about the thinking process. Exceptions aside (there are some exceptions so we're not talking about it), kids tend to think simpler than adults. At one time it can be good, but at a time where more varied views are needed, I wonder if they can handle it.

I don't have anything against youngsters building their own websites/forums, though. It shows they want to learn something new. As much as giving them chances, I'll prefer older ones if I can choose.

 

[Pebbles]

So, I basically see it as a 'No, people that are young, and inexperienced should not run a forum. At all. Ever'.

What's your thoughts on this?

saying young people literally shouldnt be doing it, is kinda mean
i mean , let them be , right

they might not be good at it but so what

BUT if they are like at an imature level they treat others with no respect.... then yes i agree, its no use then​

 

[Zlasarma]

Doesn't matter how much old are you. We are all different and everyone of us can make something new and good, no matter how old is he/she.
If he/she fails, doesn't matter. They tried and didn't worked out. Let them try again 🙂

 

[Deleted member 1609]

For what it's worth, I see many forums run by "adults" that are much, much worse than anything a kid could create. I also see much worse behavior from many "adults" on the internet than I see from kids.

 

[death180]

So rather than taking the high road, you make this thread? Great job proving your point.

 

[R44]

So rather than taking the high road, you make this thread?

To debate the point, as I had an opinion, yes.

Anything of value to add?

 

[ForumSource]

It just depends on the person.

I started creating my own forums at a very young age and I never double crossed anyone or did anything to harm others and I always took pride in the fact that I acted more mature than my age. I don't think age determines how mature someone is to some extent, some people just mature more fast than others and I guess you encountered someone who was immature.

 

[Bluezone777]

I think the punishment came because of the insulting nature of your comments. You could have easily said it wouldn't look good with the way they wanted to do it and instead implied they were stupid for making the choice they were going to make by how they set up their site.

I looked through Metrofan's posts which I assume was you and noticed you mention claims of leaving the forum only to return at least more then once which is sure not going to win you any fans. I think their actions were more of a response to your actions rather then your age. In the topic you linked, I didn't see any reference to your age but rather your behavior. Perhaps it is you who has a problem instead of them. The fact you felt the need to bring this up after it happened over seven months suggests you have a problem with letting things go and moving on.

Unfortunately it's most likely that most of us if not everyone else was not there and will never know the full picture. You obviously have an incentive to spin anything your way and use our ignorance of what happened to your advantage. There is nothing to really debate here as there are no facts that we can use to form any sense of an idea of who is right or not.

 

[R44]

I looked through Metrofan's posts which I assume was you

I'm not Metrofan. I'm another member. I'm certainly not banned from Railpage.

Nice assumption though.

 

[TheDon90]

You have to be mature to run a forum. Period.

 

[MrC]

I've hired two teen moderators have been let down them, I'm no longer going to hire a moderator under 18. Nothing against teens but these two experinces have held us back.