Bad news of the day: They're thinking of merging the Teen Grid into the main one

Uh. No. You are just some freaked out curmudgeon that does not like children.

Saying "kids don't belong in public" is one of the dumbest thing i have ever seen posted on an SL forum.

I am a parent of 2 children, and I do not "forget" any such made up nonsense like that - nor have i ever heard of such tripe.

Please do not ever have kids because you will raise some seriously repressed crumb munchers. Such thoughts like "kids are to be seen and not heard" is just total bullshit. Put your kids to bed at a proper hour and you don't have to worry about prattling off something so stupid sounding. Kids are PEOPLE - HUMANS - LITTLE VERSIONS OF US IN THE GROWING PROCESS - you do not ban them from public places and relegate them to silence around adults unless you really do not know how to CARE for children.



With the sentiments you expressed here, i really hope you do not have, nor ever have children.

just wait till she checks his past posts in these forums...

And what BizarroWorld town would this be?

I figure it is some made up bull crap.

What town in the U.S. of A. can you NOT take children supervised to restaurants, Home Depot's, Grocery Stores or coffee shops.

Total crock of shite if i ever heard of it.

Tell me what town this is. I wish i had the money to move there JUST so that I could set some legal precedence by suing every single business to tell me that my 7 & 9 year old are not allowed with me inside their premises.

Whatever. That just pisses me off to no end. He basically compared children to crapping in a bag and feeding it to a house guest.

Obviously Mister Baloo was born fully freaking grown out of the belly of a bull or something and has never experienced childhood or any other bold faced discrimination.

Pfft.

Baloo, how are you defining "kids?" Sure, maybe taking a 2 year old to a fine dining restaurant isn't the best idea, but we're talking about 13+ here.

Whoa. I've missed out not reading this thread recently.

For the record, Home Depot says they have a kids program in ALL their stores. I've worked on a few college campuses as an instructor and none, repeat, none have such a policy (what, they suspend the policy for arts and sports, or are the college campuses in your town not believers in arts and sports?). Starbucks can't have such a policy - prohibited at the national level - and Caribou Coffee for another, the one I stopped at today - has kids all the time. Don't they let local managers screw with their image.

I haven't said this before in the forums, but I simply don't believe you. You are making this up and it is pretty sorry even as make believe. But it isn't the truth and you know it. So does everyone else, with even a moment's reflection. Even if you modified that with 'unaccompanied' or 'unsupervised', it wouldn't hold in all cases, but you specifically say 'supervised or not'. Simply made up on your part. Name the town. Any town like that.

For the record, do you have any idea what a pain it is for a seniors only business to ban all children 'supervised or not'? Do you have any idea the stink when one grandparent gets the boot because they are spending the day with their kid? And this is at places like restaurants in retirement homes.

Whatta maroon...

Salem, Oregon. Childfree establishments are a feature, not a bug.

Good luck with that. Drop the parental entitlement complex, you selfish moo: There's no law that requires any private establishment to serve anyone who walks into the door. They don't need any reason at all to tell to you that your money's no good there.



I don't think anybody disputes that childhood sucks. Life starts at the age of majority.

It's wrong: I've been there. "Due to insurance reasons, children are prohibited at this Home Depot location."

No, they don't, but it sure makes the owner or manager a flipping idiot to be turning away customers, and if the business is part of a national chain, the owners or franchise management aren't going to be amused by the lawsuits and bad PR.

On the contrary, establishments tend to advertise this as a feature, especially these days. Society's not required to tolerate your children's presence beyond what it takes to get them to and from school, and increasingly, there's a market for establishments that don't allow kids. Heck, in some cases, it would be against the law for your kids to enter an establishment at all, regardless of how well behaved they are (does the place serve any kind of alcohol?). It's not like you're applying to a job, so antidiscrimination laws don't apply (and even then, whether or not a potential employee has kids is NOT a protected status).

Besides, it gives Applebee's a corner on the kiddie-restaurant market. Let /them/ eat there.

Hardly a city wide policy (if true at all). The Mid-Willamette Valley Statesman Journal actually has an article on Feb 4 that mentions the Home Depots in your area do have the Kids Projects on Saturday - they were visiting a local school in a related article. By the way, the Salem city hall has no idea what you are talking about, nor does the city attorney. I left a message with the local Chamber of Commerce number provided by a really confused person in the city attorney's office that said she grew up in the city and has a family and has no idea what you are talking about (and that it would probably be a bad idea with the local colleges, as the freshmen are actually the legal def of a minor. Say what?)

Buddy, we aren't stupid and phone calls go all the way to Oregon. More on this tomorrow when the Chamber calls me back. The CoC closed earlier than city hall.

My you have a major sense of self entitlement. Not to mention a naturally abrasive attitude and demeanor.

Stores are not going to turn away parents... they are the major portion of their income. Don't believe me, then ask yourself this : why are all the shopping carts (including home depots) equipped with child seats built into them...

Why do the grocery stores and even chain stores have child friendly carts that can hold two kids in them? (usually designed as some big plastic buggy)

Most stores actually cater to parents, because they are the major portion of the market.


Oh and just a note: say it on the forums, I tend to ignore im's about being quiet from folks.

Read more of his posts sometime. They're quite entertaining.

Oh I have. Every one. He fascinates me.

Uh, actually almost all of the establishments that you mention fall under the definition of a 'public accommodation', which, in the U.S. are required to provide access and service without discrimination for a long list of attributes and age is included. While this is primarily about people over a certain age, the fact is that unless the business has a specific reason for exclusion, they are on shakey ground - real shakey, as this is Department of Justice, Civil Rights territory. Further, in most states - repeat, most - there are exceptions to the age of majority rules to contract and exchange and in the vast majority of these, shelter and food are chief among the exceptions. IOW, while a minor of 17 may not be able to sign most contracts on their own, they can sign a lease for shelter in most states. Children of any reasonable age are expected to be provided food at a restaurant (not a bar) even if it serves alcohol unless they are prohibited by law as long as they pay, even if unaccompanied by an adult. This goes back a long way, to the days of inns and waystations, and it remains law and still serves the practical end of making sure a person of any age can get food and shelter.

So, no, you are not right, you are wrong. Again.

sixty pages of nonsense.

How about we merge the grids and don't give a crap about the what and hows?

There is no risks in a virtual world, the child abusers are OUTSIDE IN RL, it's there that you are supposed to hunt them down (as long as it fits the boundaries of your country's laws, wich are entirely subjective anyway), not in a fantasy world.

OK

It's not illegal for minors to enter a restaurant that serves alcohol. It's only illegal for the restaurant to serve alcohol to minors.

And did I even talk about discrimination laws? No. My argument was entirely that it makes poor business sense to turn away parents with children. And I'm sure the Applebees in your comment would be glad to have all that business if other proprietors are that intent on NOT have customers.

Because the risk is that what happens online leads to rl meetings.

It happens in WoW, social sites, instant messaging, etc...

So it is an issue to be concerned about by anyone that stops to think about it and consider all the facets of a merge.

Fine. Since you're incapable of civil conversation, next time you have a thought, keep it to yourself.

Where do you think home computers are located? Not within the internet. But, "outside" it, in someone's *home*. But one home computer is a gateway into someone else's living room.



How do you mean this. How are laws protecting children "subjective"?



Pedophiles using the internet is HARDLY fantasy - which is why there are entire units within law enforcement to deal with it. Go check the National Database for Missing and Exploited Children. How many of those met their abductor online?

Very strange contention that the internet is safe for children. IMO, all of this is exactly why the grids should NOT be merged. But it's not the only reason.