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  1. #1
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    WHT rules - helping bad hosters ?

    I am unsure if this is the most suitable category for this but no doubt the mods will move it .. or maybe delete it .. if they wish to do so ..

    I have scanned through the rules of both WHT and iNet which do not appear to hold any reference to a requirement to be of a particluar age to join WHT. I realise iNet has a clause regarding operating in a legal manner but you would have great difficulty in enforcing that when a member is below the age they can legally form any contract!

    It may be an area WHT have to tighten up on. Personal experience has not all been bad with WHT members but I would say of the one that I am aware are below legal age my satisfaction rate has been around 30% ! It is even more amusing to consider the fact that the only person I have dealt with below the age of 18 that has consistently acted honestly is someone who is banned from WHT .. LOL

    I believe that the omission of the requirement to be legally liable for your actions when being a member of WHT really does bring it into disrepute as a source for reliable information or contacts within the industry. WHT has advertising forums which allow underage, non liable persons, to actively advertise services and businesses run by persons who have no liability whatsoever for their actions..

    The number of hosting company sales that spring up after "spring break" and other academic year events is due to acively promoting those businesses on WHT that are run by students who have the advantage of not having to take any responsibility for their actions.

    Does anyone else believe WHT should tighten this up and have some sort of age requirement ?

  2. #2
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    I think WHT is the greatest forum in the world the hosting knowledge you can gain are vast. Anyone can lie when registering to a forum about and and names these people actually are usually caught here for their bad activities. WHT people are good at picking out the bad apples that happen in the business know matter what business it is kids will slide in sometimes.

  3. #3
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    Hello ElyHost.

    I think you're not really making sense here. Yes age of the person who owns the company can be influential on both service and professionalism, however this is not always a bad thing. (although generally a lack of experience can affect their ability to host successfully).

    The most important point is that the people who use the forum are not only hosters, there are also people wanting to host, people trying out services, people asking questions about hosting and it is the bringing of people from all backgrounds and from all areas together which makes this forum so content rich. Should a 14 year old wanting to host a website not be allowed to join the forum? Give me a good reason why a 14 year old should not have a website and I may change viewpoint.

    The one thing which you should consider is talking to the hosting company before purchasing services, their expertise, and manner of communication will be more important than anything else!

    hope this answers your question!
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  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by ElyHost View Post
    Does anyone else believe WHT should tighten this up and have some sort of age requirement ?

    Aside from requesting Photo ID for each registration there isn't much iNet can do about it. Registering here is free and it doesn't take but a few mouse clicks to make yourself any age you wish to be.
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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by ElyHost View Post
    I have scanned through the rules of both WHT and iNet which do not appear to hold any reference to a requirement to be of a particluar age to join WHT.
    COPPA restrictions are in effect, so no one under 13 is allowed to register. That being said, many that sign up don't give their true age. Nothing we can do there.

    I realise iNet has a clause regarding operating in a legal manner but you would have great difficulty in enforcing that when a member is below the age they can legally form any contract!
    Not all under the age of entering a contract in the US are unable to where they live, as that can vary by country.
    There are also those that have parents/guardians that form an LLC with the child listed in it as "CEO" and so on. For us to try and vet every provider would be a logistic nightmare, and unlikely to succeed. More than likely it would cause some to open lawsuits complaining about some discrimination or another. We do what we can, but it still falls on the consumer to exercise due diligence. I'd be willing to bet that many of the providers that are considered trustworthy here today were minors when they started on WHT, and some still are.
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  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by bear View Post
    I'd be willing to bet that many of the providers that are considered trustworthy here today were minors when they started on WHT, and some still are.
    Me aswell, Theirs aload of hosts out their which was started by minors, Site5 is just one of them...
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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by bear View Post
    Some still are.
    3 months, 4 days!

  8. #8
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    Lot of us started when we were 14,15
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  9. #9
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    Lol yeah I'm guilty of that, I started around here when I was 16.
    Nothing here right now.

  10. #10
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    I wouldn't say we need an age requirement here at all. How would this go about being verified?

    Due diligence is key when dealing with people on the internet, from any forum, any blog, any email. Do some research, have they screwed up in the past? Have they got a decent track record? Have they got too many complaints, based on their time here? How long have they been here? What is their ad/actual post count ratio? This will help prevent you from getting taken by a 'bad hoster', or a generally bad person online.

    Above all else, when dealing with someone for the first time, ALWAYS use your credit card, not paypal, unless they're a known and trusted individual/company.
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  11. #11
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    A better idea, if you want to go far, is to require/request some sort of verification from hosters (or at least those that profess to be hosters in the offers/ads section) that they are operating a legal and legitimate business.

    Those that do not comply may remain members; those that do can get some sort of badge
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  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by bear View Post
    COPPA restrictions are in effect, so no one under 13 is allowed to register. That being said, many that sign up don't give their true age. Nothing we can do there.

    Not all under the age of entering a contract in the US are unable to where they live, as that can vary by country.
    There are also those that have parents/guardians that form an LLC with the child listed in it as "CEO" and so on. For us to try and vet every provider would be a logistic nightmare, and unlikely to succeed. More than likely it would cause some to open lawsuits complaining about some discrimination or another. We do what we can, but it still falls on the consumer to exercise due diligence. I'd be willing to bet that many of the providers that are considered trustworthy here today were minors when they started on WHT, and some still are.
    Well I have now trawled through the new accounmt signup info and read through the age stuff.. I must admit I do like the advice of keeping an eye on them young uns in there ..

    I suppose you could say im ageist .. but i have just had quite a few annoyances with people i have bumped into .. maybe its just my luck ..

    I just found it strange , bearing in mind th number of other forums I have hung out on which do at least *try* to keep their main userbase as adults .. I find the idea that its too hard so we wont bother to even try as a poor policy really.. even fleabay and paypal have official age policies..

    I have no grudge when it copmes to posts, lurking, hanging out or chatting ... but when it comes to advertising as a business and selling services its a different kettle of fish ..

    I must admit at one point I spent a nice 6 weeks trawling .. or maybe stalking .. someone around the web and forums as he ripped me off .. an SEO expert with 7 years experience according to his numerous profiles .. but i eventually found out he was 15 and falsely registered on numerous places as over 18 .. I got him banned from so many places he eventualy gave most of the cash back ... LOL

  13. #13
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    I understand the OP's point here but when dealing with people online, it becomes much harder for someone to enforce age without requiring some form of Identification which will be unrealistic for a forum to request. Also, they can try asking for CC information which will also be unrealistic for a forum to enforce.

    Even consider your own business. There are youngsters who will register on your site to try to obtain hosting or maybe a domain name etc with their parents CC and then when their parents find out, they do a chargeback and *poof* money is gone.

    I should also point out that not all youngsters are imature and childish. Same goes for Adults as well, not all of them are smart and provide informative advice! So to just condem all for just a few would also be hash in addition to unrealitic.
    If you're the smartest person in the room then you're in the wrong room

  14. #14
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    I'm pretty sure Bear lies about his age. He doesn't look a day under 80.

  15. #15
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    I agree on some of above. (specially when advertising for stuff and not being a registered company / freelancer or whatsoever which makes a mess of the invoicing for expenses
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  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by WII-Aaron View Post
    I'm pretty sure Bear lies about his age. He doesn't look a day under 80.
    Oi!!
    I'm barely past COPPA
    (Crochety Old Persons Prevaricating their Ages)
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  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by ElyHost View Post
    I believe that the omission of the requirement to be legally liable for your actions when being a member of WHT really does bring it into disrepute as a source for reliable information or contacts within the industry.
    No. It puts the responsibility for your actions in purchasing a product from a member fairly and squarely on your shoulders. It's up to you to do your due diligence before you decide to buy, and it's upon you to suffer the consequences if something goes wrong down the line.

    WHT is a forum, not the next BBB (heaven forbid). The limit of their liability is as stated in the rules...

    Any attempts to defraud or deceive our members may result in your account being suspended.
    If WHT were to go further than that they could become liable as a party to a legal action if you bought from "a vendor duly vetted by WHT". We have a quaint expression for it here in the UK - "Joint and several liability". Just as an example, in the collapse of W2Servers or RapidSpeeds, if WHT had followed your suggestion and pre-vetted all advertisers, a good barrister could paint a picture of them being liable for a percentage (maybe just a small one) of the damages caused to customers by the collapse of the vendor because their vetting permitted the adverts to be placed and lent some weight of credibility to those advertisers.

    At the end of the day it's you that takes the risk when you make a purchase - If it all goes pear-shaped you can blame (and sue) the advertiser, but you can't blame (or sue) the advertising medium.

  18. #18
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    Not able to see the point in this thread. Check if they are a properly registered business, check the whois and search their name. Takes less then 30 minutes and should tell you everything you need to know about the host.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by cpoalmighty View Post

    Even consider your own business. There are youngsters who will register on your site to try to obtain hosting or maybe a domain name etc with their parents CC and then when their parents find out, they do a chargeback and *poof* money is gone.

    I should also point out that not all youngsters are imature and childish. Same goes for Adults as well, not all of them are smart and provide informative advice! So to just condem all for just a few would also be hash in addition to unrealitic.
    I think after checking round my main haunts, forum wise, the only one that does not require a certain age is actually WHT ..

    I agree that everyone is different, but I have personally had enough dealings with younger customers/suppliers which caused major issues that I would regard age as a risk factor .. A little like avoiding selling to people from China ..

  20. #20
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    It's a bit late and I may have misread the information in the original post, but if I read correctly, the OP believes it would be a good idea to restrict account registration to minors. If what I read is correct, here's my opinion:

    The idea is terrible.

  21. #21
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    All these "I started when I was 15 ..." posts make me feel ... old.
    What's your budget?

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  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by RossMAN View Post
    All these "I started when I was 15 ..." posts make me feel ... old.
    It's the WHT distortion field.

    Haven't seen you around in a long time!

  23. #23
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    Age isn't a massive factor. If we're talking about a 12-13 year old, then you may question his/her age. However, some users start learning at the young age of 10. And to add on to that, kids learn a bit faster. In fact, a lot of these hosts that are created by adults, hire older teenagers.

    A better question may be, what's the age limit?

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick Ace View Post
    Age isn't a massive factor.
    It can be. Legal agreements and bank accounts along with merchant accounts and so on. Most have trouble getting those legally, or without a parent's help. Many fake it, I'd suggest.

    And to add on to that, kids learn a bit faster.
    And generally speaking, have a really short attention span. School, dating, friends, gaming...
    A better question may be, what's the age limit?
    Legally, none.
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  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by bear View Post
    It can be. Legal agreements and bank accounts along with merchant accounts and so on. Most have trouble getting those legally, or without a parent's help. Many fake it, I'd suggest.

    So happy to be 18 in a few months.



    Finally going to go for it for reals!

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