BMR Approval Process?

[Hahvoc The Decepticon]

I like Rapedoll's suggestion of the time delay on using PMs. Would something like this be enough to cut back on the issue, do you think, DA? Or is something more than that needed?

I find it interesting how you people who have been on here for months/years are all "I'm so against this idea!" You're already approved, I don't see what the hell the problem is.

Are you suggesting we should hold some sort of bias because we're already approved, therefor it doesn't affect us?

yes, because in essence, it doesn't directly affect you at all. An opinion was asked because that's how DA is. She doesn't just suddenly throw her decisions at people and expect them to just deal with it. That's not how she works and it makes her a damn fine admin.

As stated before, since all of you seem to have a problem with it being like E - it's not going to be like E. I don't see why this keeps being brought up. Most sites in general involving RP have some authentication process that you have to wait out. This wouldn't be any different than that.

I think even suggesting temporary IP bans would dissuade people far more than just a small window of waiting to get the proper approval. Just in case some missed this part:

Well, there would be no questionnaire or anything at all. It would only be to make sure the registered member is of age and not a spammer.

 

[Rapedoll]

I agree that we should be diligent in keeping this site as well as another adult sites inaccessible to any minors.
And I must say I'm so please to see we can all sit and brainstorm different ideas and act like adults we are supposed to be without wiggling fingers at one and other.

like the saying goes .. "You can't please all the people all the time." I'm sure that what ever is decided will be best for the site as a whole, even if that does mean fewer people will register in the long run.

 

[As Day Fades]

yes, because in essence, it doesn't directly affect you at all.

But it doesn't affect you at all either, yet you are open about your opinion on the subject. Hypocrisy much?

An opinion was asked because that's how DA is. She doesn't just suddenly throw her decisions at people and expect them to just deal with it. That's not how she works and it makes her a damn fine admin.

Agreed.

As stated before, since all of you seem to have a problem with it being like E - it's not going to be like E. I don't see why this keeps being brought up.

From what I can see, a lot of the mentions of E's system are people openly acknowledging what DA said, that it won't be like that, and then segwaying into their specific opinions.

I think even suggesting temporary IP bans would dissuade people far more than just a small window of waiting to get the proper approval.

This would be as a response, if it's even adopted, to prevent underage people from coming back to sign up again after being banned. I doubt it's something that would be touted about up front.

 

[darkangel76]

I'll say this. I don't like the idea of temp IP bans. I think a wait of some sort is much better in the long run. Both to implement as well as to keep track of. As for a delayed access based on post count? Maybe? The thing is, some people can post pretty quickly if they're dying for access to something. So, it may only take them minutes to get themselves situated while we still haven't gotten to them quite yet as far as age verification goes. Not saying to discount this idea, but it would have to be very well thought out before implemented and I'm not sure how easily something like this can be added to what we currently have going. That's a question that would have to be brought to Vek.

As a side, I'd like to say that I appreciate the feedback. But please know that the staff here is not the staff of E or any other RP site. We are BMR. We have our own thoughts on things and try our best to do right by the place. Hopefully we've all already proven that to you. That said, positive and insightful feedback is what's needed right now to help fine tune a very serious issue. One we'd like to see remedied to the best we can make it.

Thanks.

 

[Hahvoc The Decepticon]

It does affect me. I'm on the welcoming committee.

P.S: I may be on the low-tier of the staff, but the decisions made do affect my duty since I have two people I top in a sense and have to regulate their postings depending on such decisions.

 

[As Day Fades]

It does affect me. I'm on the welcoming committee.

P.S: I may be on the low-tier of the staff, but the decisions made do affect my duty since I have two people I top in a sense and have to regulate their postings depending on such decisions.

This isn't a matter of welcoming people though, it's a matter of background checks. You may interact with new members before they're checked out, but I would think the only staff this actually affects are the ones doing the checking; the administrator and the moderators.


Anyway, my thoughts have been said. There are points on each side, but no perfect solution here. *shrug* I trust in the captain's judgement.

 

[darkangel76]

Ok. As for how this will affect people? It affects everyone. From admin to your average member. Admins need to make sure underagers are offsite and labeled accordingly, mods need to be aware of these people in case issues occur down the line. As for Welcoming Committee? Having been in that position once, it's unnerving to welcome someone and give them the tour only to find out they are 17 or, yes, younger. As for your average member? For them, I know I wouldn't want to engage in an RP with someone underaged unknowingly. I'd be upset to learn I had when revealed, albeit grateful. But why not stop that from happening at all?

Just my thoughts on the whole matter. And this is why it's been a concern of mine. That said, my above comments still stand. Let's keep the discussion positive and insightful. All opinions are welcome, just please be sensitive of others. Thanks.

EDIT:
Also, I want to mention that everyone here who volunteers to be on staff is amazing. Their hard work and dedication more than appreciated. Because yes, all the positions require work. Anyhow, without them and their help, this place wouldn't be the fantastic place it is. So, I for one am grateful for all of them. My thanks goes out to all of them.

 

[Rapedoll]

I agree there is no way to make everybody 100% happy. All we can do is try our best.. And for that I'm very happy that DA is running this forum and giving us all the freedom to voice our opinions. I know what ever discussions are made will be the best for everybody. And everybody working together to achieve our common goal helps our role play community grow stronger and more as one family.

I just offered my opinion, and suggested an idea to be tossed around not that it was in anyway perfect as no disission will be completely perfect without some kind of draw back.

 

[EnlightenedAneurysm]

I think you guys are really making a mountain out of a molehill, it's not anything big. You just get put on hold for a little bit while the checks are done, I don't really see the problem with it unless there's a sudden issue with like..a thousand members joining in one day or something.

Even if 1000 members tried to join in one day it wouldn't prove a problem. It's not like each one of them would know that there are 999 other people in the queue.

 

[razerwing]

listen DA, making an approval porcess would be extremly beneficial. Like ADF said, making it a delay before they start the rp's would bore alot of possible members away. I've gone to sites with delays like that, and i would simply press the red x at the top of my screen. A posting limit though, would probably be a good choice. Instead of 3 posts though, maybe make it...... i don't know, maybe like 15? During my first days here, i found it hard to get even 10 posts. The time the player would spend looking for partners would be spent on verification.

Unfortunately, there is a way through even the longest approval processes. On a site i was on, before this one, i found myself rping with a jailbaiter. The girl was only 14 years old, but luckily she was found before anything got too heavy. It unnerved the crap out of me, but what made it worse was the fact that the mods on the now-dead-site found that the girl had made it on because a friend had told her about the approval process. They found a way around it, and the number of jailbaiters on the site, my site, was so great, i had to shut it down. I may not have any ideas, but i do know this. Even getting credit card info for verification, like a paysite, can be easily bypassed. I post this in hopes that those who are against this might change their minds, and those who are for this to pool ideas to make a quick, effecient way to get underaged players out of bluemoon. I hope this helps, if only a little bit.

 

[Rapedoll]

I don't think anything is going to be 100% fool safe. All we can do it be diligent in our efforts. There will always be those that find a way to slip past even the best security .. just as kids cans get fake ID's to get into bars only online it's so much easier.
Sites that try to block spammers.. spammers still get through
games that try to stop scripting .. scripters still get through
nothing is going to work 100%

 

[razerwing]

well, hopefully, i think that al we can do is study the rp's. The voices of writing are a very powerful tool. This is a writing site, therefore, those underaged should be very easy to find. Some, well most, don't take their writing classes seriously, like my son. At their teenage stage they really only care about their electronics, and the few parents who have really good kids, are either very lucky or very good at being strict. I'm sorry if this post offends anyone, but it's the truth. If people have heard of the saying, 'The proof is in the Pudding', this is the most evident. Quantinty is not really important, it's the quality.

 

[darkangel76]

Now, I have a question. Those voting 'no'. Are you all against an approval process (whatever it might be) in general? Or do you just not like the original idea I put forward? If it's the latter, I'd appreciate alternate suggestions. I get that some have mentioned the post count delay as a possibility. But anything else? I'm just curious at this point regardless of the final outcome of the current poll.

 

[Rapedoll]

I voted no..
I am all for stopping minors from getting access.
But I believe that a delay in approval would cause at least half the people to look else where.

I was one who suggested the time delay for sending PM's
I would like to see restrictions .. such as not being able to send privet messages. until they have been age verified .. a waiting period.
But not a complete delay .. I think that in order for them not to get frustrated they should be able to make an introduction.. perhaps have limited posting abilities. In doing such most of the legit people most likely wouldn't even be aware of the restriction..
I don't think most people are daring enough to be messaging people within the first 24 hrs. Unless they are underage.. and then they would be blocked from contact with other members.
Recently I was just at a game site where there was an application process and a 24-48 hr waiting period. It wasn't Equity or even an adult site .. it was just a simple game site.
.. I didn't even bother waiting .. I just found something else to do. And I believe a lot of people would do the same thing.

 

[☢☢Zombies Galore☢☢]

I think a fifteen post limit in the first forty-eight hours and no PMs until the verification goes through would be good enough.

 

[razerwing]

yes, i agree with zombie. Those who are underaged wouldn't bother waiting, and although this proposal will still bore away some members, it won't bore as many as a 24 hour delay straight off the bat.

 

[darkangel76]

Well, I hadn't intended a specified amount of time for a delay. More, just the moment I got to them to verify I could then allow them to post, etc. But again, I'm up for suggestions as I know there's no one right way of doing things. The main issue for me is preventing underagers from engaging in and/or contacting people prior to being verified. That's pretty much it.

And this is why I want to understand if those saying 'no' literally mean... they do not want any sort of anything. There's a big difference there if what they truly mean is that or that they just want another idea implemented.

 

[darkangel76]

For more clarification (and I probably should've done this from the start), my main purpose for this thread was to find out if people wanted 'something' implemented. Not the 'what'. That can be discussed later and really I was only giving an example of what I thought could be possible. Right now, what I need to know is if people want 'something'. That said, if you would like to see 'something' (and something minor at that), please feel free to give your suggestions.

 

[As Day Fades]

I would like to see your criteria met, of an amount of time needed to age verify new members, while still allowing those new members to involve themselves in the site while their interest is strong.

I can only speak for myself, but you wanted clarification, so there you go.

I think ZG's suggestion is a solid one.

Another thought is, instead of restricting the post amount(or in addition to), if you don't want unverified members to be able to involve themselves in any of the adult sections of the site, you could restrict posting access to the writing portions of the site. You could encourage them to post an introduction and participate in any of the forums in the The Welcoming Center and Out of Character sections of the site, with only visual access to the Roleplays section(and possibly Shoutbox?) since you can see those without logging in anyway. Then, once verified, their first PM will be one from staff telling them they now have full access.

 

[Rapedoll]

I like the sound of ADF's and ZG's ideas.. I would agree with both of those ideas.
It was only the delay in access I was having a hard time agreeing with, Where as I feel that would discourage a lot of people from joining.

 

[darkangel76]

I understand that. And in my original suggestion though, I never mentioned delayed access. They'd be able to see things, just not post or PM until I managed to check them (which would be in less than 24 hours nearly all the time... probably A LOT less actually). But again, that's just one suggestion. I do like the idea ZG proposed, though some tweaks might have to go with that. I'll have to look into it and see what can actually be implemented vs not on the forums themselves.

 

[As Day Fades]

While you didn't say there would be a delayed access in those exact words, that's pretty much what the proposed idea is, as opposed to the suggestions of a partial access.

You can already see everything on the site without an account, minus the Shoutbox. What's the difference between being unable to PM or post anything anywhere, and not logging in? What's the difference between not being able to post or PM at all, and delayed access?

A rose, by any other name...

 

[darkangel76]

The main difference is that they'd have registered. But I'm not going to defend my original idea as I honestly don't care about that right now and am open to suggestions. Plus, I'm not an argumentative person. At all. I think I've stated my own thoughts enough so I'll just see what others have to say now.

 

[Hahvoc The Decepticon]

If people plan on joining the site and think it is worth it, then they will wait whatever time limit they have to within reason. People wait 3 WHOLE DAYS to join E after going through a shit load of checks. This is TINY compared to that. This is barely a blip on the radar compared to that.

I understand people have impatience issues, but adults, as I see it, will know how to wait for something they want. Being age verified should be a given thing to wait on since, well, if you aren't of age, you won't have much to worry about now will you?

P.S: For those of you who have been on the site as long as I have, there used to be a waiting approval period back in the day. This would be similar to that. It took any where from an hour to about four to get verified for the site from what I remember.

 

[Rapedoll]

Right, and if it wouldn't take more then an hour to four hours why even let them know there is a waiting period. During that one to four hour time frame let them make one introduction post, perhaps two. If they tried to PM somebody then a little pop up would show up saying that had to wait for X amount of time.. just like it does when someone tries to make a signature before they have made the 10 post criteria.
I just think that sometimes its hard enough to get people to pass there fears an nervousness to even join. I think if there aware of a wait time it may give them time to chicken out of joining.
But that is just my feelings.. not saying anybody else feelings are not valid. I just think we should be very settle about letting them know there is a waiting process.. let them dip there toes in with out getting in over there heads before we can verify an age.