Oh, There Is Hope!

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

On of my rants (which I'm sure many of you guys have read) concerning the legalities concerning minors on AFF.Net i got an amazing comment from an admitidly underaged author (anonymously posted) that pretty much nearly made me cry. This would be the first review I've recieved from an admited minor (16) that actually fully agreed with what I said..

Fine! I'm going!    2006-08-05  id # 3000017366

To be completely honest, I never knew that underage posters and readers were such a big deal. I've never worried about it before,completely oblivious to any harm I might inadvertently be causing. I didn't even know it was an issue until, out of tiredness and boredom, I began randomly reading these posts. How shocked I was!

Since finding this site when I was thirteen, I was quite aware of my deception when I clicked that statement that said I was over eighteen years old. I blew right through it. I mean, how in the world is somebody going to know that you are under eighteen just by clicking a button? They can't. I have an older sibling who is eighteen and could have very well clicked into this lovely site legally. It's completely impossible to know unless you got crazy parents who follow your every move and report you. Which, by the way, I don't. My mom can barely turn the computer on, and the mouse is an obstacle all in itself for her, so it's always been just me and my brother. And he doesn’t give a damn what I do. That's besides the point, because I know there are many other unlucky kids who's parents are more technological and uptight. And lying doesn’t make it right, and it’s wrong to pretend you’re an age you’re not even if you can get away with it yadda yadda yadda. However, I have been posting since I was fourteen, and I'm only sixteen now.

I know, you are all lighting the torches and sharpening your axes. It's clueless little girls like me that are putting the site in jeopardy, right? Let me make this clear right now; I UNDERSTAND the point you are trying to get across that teens under eighteen should just stay away, no matter how smart or mature they think they are. I get it, and ironically I agree with you. It always pissed me off when I read in someone’s profile that they are in high school, or something of an equal giveaway. And those who just blatantly state that they are underage- they deserve a good kick in the ass. I completely sympathize with you, I really do.

That makes me a hypocrite then, I suppose. But I’ve never once stated my age, anywhere, or left any links to any site, or even talked to any other member on this site. I even think my email account says I’m eighteen (I’m pretty sure I put my birthday in ’86), and anyway, that’s personal information that can't be gathered by just anyone. I even googled my account name just to see what would happen, and I came up with everything AFF related. So is someone going to go through that great of lengths to break into my unsuspicious account? I don’t think it’s even possible to prove my age, except for this anonymous admission, of course.

HOWEVER! Before you all get your arguing fingers ready to type, explaining that in truth I did not understand the post and the numerous comments supporting it- I am removing my account. I honestly do not believe that anybody could figure out I’m underage, but since you are all so deathly afraid then I will take one for the team and pack my bags. I know that it doesn’t matter that I myself think I'm inconspicuous, it’s the fact that nobody under eighteen should be here at all, no matter how well we think we can lie. If I think I’m fine, every other idiot probably does, too. I get it. I shouldn’t be here, I should wait my turn, it's the law and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. And the last thing I want to do is fuck AFF over because I think I can outsmart the system.

Oh, I am bitter- I’ve made posting here a part of my life- and I am terribly impatient so the next two years will be hard. I’m not promising that I won’t come back to read stories, I’m saying I won’t post them on any account here anymore until my eighteenth birthday. And that should be enough, I think, because this is something very difficult for me to do. I’ll spend the entire two years writing, mind you, and when I come back I’m going to rape you all with stories.

And I hope all those other underagers, and I'm sure there are many, many of them, realize that waiting a few years isn't going to be the end of all life. Take one for the team. Get another hobby. Go outside. Tune up your writing skills and come back better than ever.

So, with sadness in my heart and the longest comment I've ever written, I'm leaving adult fanfiction to the adults. I know it's in good hands. See you all in two years.

Aside from my own feelings of "OMG! I did that? Holy crap!" There's that wonderful feeling of "Look, the the little ones aren't all brain dead!"

We've been ranting and raving about the stupidity and collective lack of any INKLING of maturity of underaged posters on the site, so it's nice to know that when it's fully explained to them, there's someone who can SEE the error of their ways and pack it up to go for a couple of years.

Nice change of pace, no?

I feel all self-important now

[dazzledfirestar]

Wow, that's fabulous! That has just given me a bit more faith in the next generation (btw... when did I start saying things like "the next generation"??) Its good to know some of them have some sense of responsibility. Fantastic! And though I know the person who posted that original message might not read this. Bravo!

[Guest Mike256bit]

Truly, she is stronger than I. That's something I don't think I could have done when I was her age. (UGH?! "When I was her age?" WTF?)

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

Nothing like a 16 year old to make us all feel ANCIENT!

And I'm only 18

[dazzledfirestar]

Sixteen does seem like a lifetime ago...

And Pixagi, if you're feeling old at 18 imagine how it make me feel at 25!

[Iggy_lovechild]

Oof...I feel old now too.

I guess it's because I really got into reading and posting fanfiction late in life, I'm still amazed by how young a lot of these writers are. When I was 18, I was writing a lot of "Velvet Goldmine" fanfiction for the Pretty Boys fan site and most of the posters were in my age or a college age. The quality was filtered by a couple admins as well. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I never found so much bad fanfiction since I started posting and reading on these bigger, less specialized sites.

I don't know what I'm trying to say. While it's frusterating to read badfics by squealing fanbrats, just as many younger authors are quite promising. Ugh, I'm really trying not to be a hypocrite. That girl's got a pure, good soul. Makes me feel all black-hearted and evil. I just would have kept on posting and kept mum about my age....

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

Guess who just posted a review on that rant... Our favorite little underaged brat, qutie1!

:: stab! ::

She was smart enough NOT to not post her user name (this time) but damn..

She's 16 (at the oldest), and sadly I can't find the proof of that anymore

[dazzledfirestar]

Hmmmm

There goes that faith in the next generation I was talking about.

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

Hmmmm

There goes that faith in the next generation I was talking about.

Yeah, seriously.

It burns because I think I know who it is, but at the same time I have no real evidence besides the writing style (if you can call it that... ). There's no admittion of age and even if I could prove they were the same person, I couldn't prove she's underaged anymore.

[dazzledfirestar]

Well, the fight continues then, I suppose... *grumble*

Must always be on guard

[Guest Mike256bit]

I'm secretly in love with qutie1. Where "in love with" = "want to slap" and "I'm secretly" = "I really, really, really"

[dazzledfirestar]

Hey if anyone asks... I saw nothing, I heard nothing... I have no idea what they're talking about.

I got your back!

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

I'm secretly in love with qutie1. Where "in love with" = "want to slap" and "I'm secretly" = "I really, really, really"

I don't think slapping is enough.

I want to punt her head... off...

Not like she's using it anyway.

[polywolly]

Calculated violence and no one called me?! Now I feel all left out...and old...and a little dirty.

It's okay. I'll take a shower and write more smut because I'm...*ahem* ...get ready for it...

OLD ENOUGH!!

Now back to our regularly scheduled ranting.

[Guest Mike256bit]

I think we're all old enough to shower, Kim.

[polywolly]

Are you sure about that, Mike? Because I wasn't allowed to shower until I was sixteen. Something about drowning and no life insurance...

[Guest Mike256bit]

It must have been that pretty new waterpik!

[Nanaea]

Sixteen does seem like a lifetime ago...

And Pixagi, if you're feeling old at 18 imagine how it make me feel at 25!

Just wait 'till you get to be thirty-something....

[Guest Melody Fate]

I hope they aren't just talking for the sake of talking. We don't really have any proof. But, I would say from the tone of the post, that they were sincere about it.

In truth, they most likely would have gotten away with it. They were being somewhat smart about it.

If a parent found out their kid was using AFF and decided to take action, if the kid had never slipped, then AFF would have a leg to stand on. At this point, it's still legal to have the "I am over 18" button, which assumes that we trust the person to be honest. If the law changes and the button is not enough, then it's an entirely new story.

The problem is though, that too many of these kids are stupid. They can't keep their underagedness to themselves, they have to start bragging about it. In that case, then yeah, AFF would be in a whole lot more trouble, and wouldn't have a leg to stand on, because while the kid hit the button saying they were old enough, they later admitted they weren't. It doesn't matter that it's very hard to monitor this entire site to find confessions, the kid confessed their true age, it's now AFF's fault for not finding it and kicking them off.

I do find it ironic that it's a case of the victim is the criminal. AFF isn't luring underage kids here and would love it if everyone under the age of 18 never even considered coming here. It's the underage people who keep breaking the law by coming here. So, the ones who break the law (the kids) would get in minimal if any trouble at all. The victims of their crime (AFF) would be the ones punished.

[englishwitch]

That is fabulous and goes to show the true power that is still behind the written word. it just goes to show that if you raise a big enough fuss somthing will happen.

I am a self atmitted underage reader. I found this site when i was 16 and began reading fics. but i had turned 18 when i posted my first fic. mostly because up until that point i'd never actually thought about writing for AFF. But after a couple of years of reading i was tired of running into the occasional fic and thinking 'thats crap, i can do better than that.' so i decided to put my money where my mouth is.

while we can't stop an underage person reading the fics on the site, i think it is good that we try and make sure that underage peole don't post. More than anything its because their immaturity shines through on the text and makes for a pretty dull fic that is a waste of memory space.

[Guest Melody Fate]

while we can't stop an underage person reading the fics on the site, i think it is good that we try and make sure that underage peole don't post.

Actually, it's worse for them to be reading this stuff than writing it themselves. If someone underage writes a smutty story, that's their creation from their mind. However, if they read a smutty story, then it's someone else luring them along.

More than anything its because their immaturity shines through on the text and makes for a pretty dull fic that is a waste of memory space.

I hope you were joking with that, because if not, you've missed the entire point. AFF cannot allow underage reader or writers on this site. It has nothing to do with the quality of writing. I've known fourteen year old kids who could write fics and you'd think they were in their 30s, yet I've read fics that were written by people in their 20's that I would swear were written by ten year old kids. If you think that every waste of memory here or any other site was written by someone who's underage, then you're in for a shock.

The fact that you didn't post until you were eighteen doesn't make you somehow "better" than any other underage person who used this site. The law doesn't say that you have to be 18 to post here, it says you have to be 18 to be here. And, had someone in authority found out you were here reading and raised a stink with AFF, they would have been in serious trouble. No matter how many times you said, "But I never submitted!" it wouldn't make any difference. It's like saying "Well, okay, I was drinking before I turned 21, but I never had my own brewery, so I wasn't really that bad, was I?"

[englishwitch]

Actually, it's worse for them to be reading this stuff than writing it themselves. If someone underage writes a smutty story, that's their creation from their mind. However, if they read a smutty story, then it's someone else luring them along.

I hope you were joking with that, because if not, you've missed the entire point. AFF cannot allow underage reader or writers on this site. It has nothing to do with the quality of writing. I've known fourteen year old kids who could write fics and you'd think they were in their 30s, yet I've read fics that were written by people in their 20's that I would swear were written by ten year old kids. If you think that every waste of memory here or any other site was written by someone who's underage, then you're in for a shock.

The fact that you didn't post until you were eighteen doesn't make you somehow "better" than any other underage person who used this site. The law doesn't say that you have to be 18 to post here, it says you have to be 18 to be here. And, had someone in authority found out you were here reading and raised a stink with AFF, they would have been in serious trouble. No matter how many times you said, "But I never submitted!" it wouldn't make any difference. It's like saying "Well, okay, I was drinking before I turned 21, but I never had my own brewery, so I wasn't really that bad, was I?"

You do have a point, on some of the issues.

I do think it's unfortunate that underage people find their way onto this site, even though i was one of them. I was sixteen at the time and, speaking for myself, no one was luring me along. a person of sixteen quite often goes on the internet for one thing and if they don't get it here it will be somewhere else. below that age though, when they're still impressionable; that i protest to.

I never meant to imply that just because i waited two years to post made me better. Like you've mentioned some of the underage posters sound like their in their thirties, that's a quality and respect you can't buy. all i was trying to say was that while i was underage when i was a reader i wasn't when i became an author.

freedom of speech, displaying your work and efforts on a website for others to read and review; those are things i like. part of the reason i wrote for AFF is because of the lack of taboo's here, allowing a mind and imagination to truely be open.

what i mean't by the 'waste of memory' comment was fics by those who clearly have put no effort in at all. we've all read stuff like that i'm sure; it's half a page long and runs similar to this.

The two main chracters looked at each otehr

they said "i love you"

they took off their clothes

they had sex

the end.

Because it's those fics to me that say 'immature, underage writer.' because those kinds of crappy little fics that an immature mind would post because they think it was funny. those are the fics i protest to.

[Guest Mike256bit]

Surprisingly, though, Witch, a lot of those short fics are done by adults. Thanks to the internet, everyone wants to be a writer and people who had no reason to develop a writing talent found that they could post their fantasies, even if they are poorly written.

[englishwitch]

such a shame. a real shame. if you're going to write a fic you should at least be prepared to put in effort, thats why is called work.

[Guest Mike256bit]

Well, I mean, sometimes it's just all the effort they actually have. It's impossible to expect everyone to write a novel, especially when a lot of people have jobs that don't require knowing about prose. I'm sure at least half of the people are actually giving quite a bit in the way of ability.