Safety for teen users of The Ledge

[LikeAWillow]

Originally Posted by tilthefirefades

Most forums don't allow guests to come and go as they please. Perhaps The Ledge should hide all posts unless you are registered.

I really like this idea, although I'm sure implementing it would be tough. I've gotten a few somewhat creepy PMs over the years, but at least I then had a username in mind to stay away from. Also, though I never received anything blatantly report worthy (just the sort of messages that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, even if you can't say why), it was always nice to know that if something really made me uncomfortable, I could report that person. If there's any way the board could become members only without crashing the server and causing Michele a lot of undue hassle....I think it would be a fantastic idea.

Somewhat side-note: I'm not a fan of the teen board either, although to clarify, I think the idea holidayroad had in mind was to have a board that only teens had access to in addition to their access to the rest of the forum. Then it could just be a place where they could feel more comfortable about opening up a little more and sharing details about school/life/etc without worrying that everyone on the internet could see it. I'm sure it would be difficult to manage, though, and even more difficult to patrol (verification, etc.) Having younger kids here and having them be able to mix with the older posters is great. I wouldn't be half as interested in politics as I am if it weren't for how active the political threads were when I first joined the board. 15 year old Marissa gives a belated thank you to disention, irishgirl, strand, etc, though none of you post any more.