ADULTS ONLY

[Bill Blackhurst]

How will Geobra pursue these websites, especially ones outside of Germany?  Are there E.U. laws that would either support or prohibit this type of action throughout Europe?  It seems to me that the only thing Geobra can do to a person or website (outside of Germany, anyway) is to intimidate them.  Otherwise, customizing klickies (as long as they are not represented as "original") and displaying the results, however offensive, would seem to be protected by fair use and free speech laws in most "democratic" countries. 

Bill, you are truly a good person to be concerned about the results of your actions and I believe that you are absolutely correct to decide for yourself that there are certain things that you will not post.  I also believe that you would be wise to let others decide for themselves what they feel comfortable posting.  As a moderator, you obviously have additional responsibility and I am grateful to you and all the other folks who take the time and make the effort to serve as mods.  Having said that, however, I still believe that Andi's post should not be censored.  I think that the scenario you describe of the child running to the garage with discolored klickies, while possible, is not relevant.  If a child harms him/herself with commercial grade hydrogen peroxide because he/she has unsupervised access to it in his/her home, it is certainly not our fault!

Children are exposed to many things in this world that may be harmful to them and it is the responsibility of their parents and other caregivers to protect them and to educate them about how to be careful.  If we kept our children away from everything that might possibly hurt them they would miss out on so much that the world has to offer.  Let's also remember that the minimum age for this forum is 13 years old (as Sylvia stated earlier in this thread) so we are not talking about toddlers or pre-schoolers here! 

Thank you Indianna for your kind words! I have to admit that it is a natural instinct for me to live up to my given name of William meaning protector! I would be lying if I said I didn't care if someone got injured of something went drastically wrong due to something read on this forum due to language translation problems, or ignorance, because I spent much of my younger life volunteering to help people in the worst times of their lives, & working desperately to change a life altering event! Please be sure to make decisions carefully, because sometimes the results can't be taken back!

[Indianna]

. . . .  Please be sure to make decisions carefully, because sometimes the results can't be taken back!

So true and also applicable to more than just our current discussion!   

How's this for a compromise.... I can make a special section of the How-To board which is only visible to registered members (i.e. We would all have to be logged in to view it like the PFZ section).

This would mean that the only children able to read it are either members of the forum (like seawarrior and Aine) or related to members of the forum.

Sounds like an excellent solution!   

[Klickus Mobilius]

I think Sylvia's idea is the most reasonable compromise to resolve this issue.

It's a shame that companies are so afraid these days of lawsuits.  There used to be a time when people took responsibility for their own actions and for their own childrearing.  What has happened?  Argh!   

[Tim_w]

I think Sylvia's suggestion is the best compromise and I would be happy if this was to happen.

Tim 

[macgayver]

Thank you Anne for your strong and wise argumentation

Your words may be usefull If my site gets under attack by Playmobil

[playmofire]

I think Sylvia's idea is the way to go.

[Sylvia]

Glad this meets with approval of so many!

I have gone ahead and made the new board:

http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?board=36.0

I have made it a "child board" of How-To since the subject matter is so closely related.

If you post any tips on the new board, please remember to give adequate safety warnings.

I have written a warning message and stickied it at the top of that board. I hope the disclaimer is worded clearly enough. If you think I should add anything more to the sticky, please let me know.

[Indianna]

Thanks Sylvia!      

This is a good solution and, in my opinion, your sticky explanation is perfect.  I have one small suggestion:  perhaps we should call it a "sub" board or some other term because calling it a "child" board can sound like it is a place for children (that was my thought before I read the explanation) and this may have the opposite effect from the one we want.  Just a thought.   

[Sylvia]

I have one small suggestion:  perhaps we should call it a "sub" board or some other term because calling it a "child" board can sound like it is a place for children (that was my thought before I read the explanation) and this may have the opposite effect from the one we want.  Just a thought.   

You're quite right. It does sound rather contradictory in this situation.

"Child board" is the terminology used by Simple Machines in the admin section. When I create a new board I have to put in a location. The options are "before," "after," or "child of." It has nothing to do with being a board created for the sole use of children, of course.

We did have a few other sub-boards at one time but they were merged into larger ones to make them more visible. That was before we updated. The layout of the forum is better now as the sub-board has its own separate panel whereas before it would have appeared as a small text link tacked underneath a main heading.

I don't know if I can change the wording on the index to something else other than "Child Board," but I'll look into it.

[Sylvia]

I don't know if I can change the wording on the index to something else other than "Child Board," but I'll look into it.

I found the file and edited it.