[GLLUG] more Penguicon thoughts

[Clay Dowling]

Here's a wild and crazy thought:  Let's not substitute our judgement for 
the judgement of the child's parents.  This didn't look like it was a 
place that kids could get to without their parents bringing them.  I 
didn't seem schools next door, or convenient sidewalks to residential 
neighborhoods.

If the child managed to get into the convention, it stands to reason 
that their parents know they're here.  It would be pretty difficult to 
imagine that the parents didn't know what the place was like.  There are 
warnings all over the web site and the program that stuff gets pretty 
strong.  They should also work that out pretty quickly when they see the 
cross-dressers walking around in the daylight (there were at least two).

If the parents have a problem with this kind of content, they've already 
left long before they have let their child run loose and unattended in 
the computer lounge.  The parent who does that has made an assessment 
that it's a safe environment for their kid.

You personally might not be comfortable with children seeing that kind 
of content, and in that case I would strongly suggest not bringing your 
own children if you have any.  But I don't think that it's a good idea 
to make that decision for other people's children.  As a step-father 
I've had to learn to walk that delicate line on a pretty much daily basis.

Clay


Richard Houser wrote:
> Exactly, it's all a matter of censorship and liability.  Whether it 
> would stand up in court or not, I'd rather Penguicon not end up in a 
> legal battle over something a kid did or saw while at Penguicon.  I was 
> shooting for the same type of thing, but picked 13 as that was the age 
> given in the Penguicon materials for age appropriateness.  Personally, 
> I'd be all for bumping that up to 16 or so, but I was just basing it off 
> the verbiage existing rules.  Eighteen seems too old of a limit to me, 
> as a 16 year old could legally create offspring of his/her own.
> 
> Perhaps we could get Penguicon to require permission slips and issue 
> different badge colors to minors?  I.e., someone cannot enter with a 
> blue badge (minor) unless accompanied with a green badge (adult).  Those 
>  16+ (or whatever age) with parents requesting unrestricted access get 
> an orange badge.