Forums » Suggestions & Development Discussion » Age verification badges

If it was done that way, I very much doubt the badge itself would be givable. Just a pre-payment to have a chance at being approved. So with your example, Lucree would not be buying you the badge itself, but rather paying for you to have your ID checked. Whether you got the badge or not would depend upon you passing the check.


As many people as there are willing to help others pay for it, if this whole thing gets implemented, it does seem like a good idea to figure out how to streamline that. Maybe via giftable items as suggested, maybe as a sort of "scholarship" thing that can be earned based upon need or merit, etc.

It could function exactly like the masquerade masks that let you change your username. Using it unlocks that section of the site for one use. That way you can gift a name chang to anyone, but that person still needs to go through the whole process of making sure their username is available and etc.

Whatever the item is that offered age verification would just unlock the form to submit your information for the one use.

Thank you for suggesting this!! I am 100% on board for this feature. I prefer to rp with adults for many reasons beyond the obvious one of content, but maturity level is a big one. Please, please, please don't think I am trying to imply that younger members are immature. What I'm trying to say is, personally I just connect with people in my own age group (I know I'm not alone on that one) and seeing that tag on a page would be a load off.

This. This right here is a big part of why I would love this feature. I no longer search for rp in the AO forum because I don't trust that it's solely populated by adults. Not recently, but I'm 99.99% postive that I've turned down games with underage players, only to recieve a message a day later with the exact same proposal just with an anonymous character.

Dear gods! I feel AWFUL for whoever has to verify all the licenses...just reading all the protocols for this idea kicked up my anxiety and gave me a slight headache.

Despite all that...and I feel bad for saying this...I feel this would put a LOT of minds at ease. I've had a few incidents where a minor decided to PM me for smut and the age on their profile showed they were above 18 yet over further conversation "Oh yeah I'm sixteen lol." Um, I'm sorry...no...I will not Rp smut with you kid.

I'd pay 10$ for my peace of mind as well as that of others I Rp with.

Ozzie is in support of this idea *throws up peace sign then leaves*

Right there with you buddy
If you want my driver licence, ok, I can photograph it and draw a picture on the side or hold a thumb someway or another or whatever, might cover up the picture or something or my name or something. Pretty much when you see the year it's obvious I've got it covered

I've 99% of the time told and used my actual age, never considered putting in myself being 'just above 18' or anything just to get on a site. I was never that interested in 'the adult stuff' to get to it so badly, so my overall relations to it are 'meh'
(The only time I did change my age was when I was trying to join a fan site for an anime I liked as a kid and I had to be 13 but I was 12 and I really wanted in so I think I made myself 13 for it? But I didn't make myself any older than that. I never sought those things & it was sooooooo long ago, that site has actually died at this point x2 )

Anyway, if you want the whole verification thing, fine, but I don't interact with said subject matter that often. If anyone doubts my age I can proof that I'm over 20

I do think this is a good idea. I've had my own concerns. And I feel bad when I don't know the truth, and accidentally call out a real adult. I, personally, like this idea. I probably wouldn't show my Driver's License, cuz it shows where I live, and a bunch of stuff like that. But, I can gladly show my college ID card.

depending on how the data is submitted, accessed and stored etc. it would also make the site a bigger and more enticing target for hackers. even if you have nada in your bank, your personal data is hugely profitable.

many people don't even trust banking apps or online banking for identity theft reasons, we see valve, Yahoo and other big websites suffer attacks and leaks; my main concern is that if the site or relevant process was compromised and player's identities stolen the community wouldn't recover from the impact.

The information would be kept for an average of 1-30 days and no longer.

awesome! a prompt in the process to remind the user to securely delete the data off their devices after submitting could provide additional local security.

What about the new upcoming EU regulations - GDPR - ?

this is important too especially for a website used all over the world.

We'd likely comply with these. I've done HIPAA secure sites before. Would want to speak with a lawyer about some of this

it's definitely an interesting concept

the only age verification example I've personally encountered in a similar community was on IMVU, as far as I know, there was a larger demand for it in that community and they outsourced the actual management of age verification to a trusted industry leader

even then, I believe minors were able to purchase verification to match the age on their profile.

(ahhh im gonna be lazy and copy paste something I said on the RPR server)

hm. I'm still deciding whenever or not this is a good idea.
I'm all for the age verifcation. It would ease my mind a lot more knowing that someone has checked and confirmed the user isn't lying about their age.
but then comes my doubts.

I'm not sure how big RPR's userbase is, but I'm certain is pretty big by now. I can only imagine the amount of true adults wanting to prove their age flocking to this honestly. As a result, I feel like perhaps they might be underestimating just hiring a single person to do this work.

Secondly, the cost to do so. While people are definitely in their right to ask for payment, I fear this is a factor that will scare a lot of users off, like myself. I don't earn a lot of money as it is, and my constant paranoia makes me not wish to spend it unless I absolutely have to/want to. But I can also see the upside of charging folks $10 for a check, it will immediately put off any younguns trying to fake it. Well, younguns without a credit card at least.

I mean the alternative could be me showing my drivers license to my RP partners as proof. But again, that stuffs private, and I don't really wanna be flaunting around my license all happy-go-lucky.

I dunno. This is a good idea in theory. But in practice, I feel like there might be a lot be a lot of controversy and problems to be had.

I mean. Don't get me wrong, the fact that RPR is considering such a option really does make me worry about how many cases of minors/pedophilia related problems this place has had here in the past. I have no idea how it works behind the scenes, and nor do I doubt the mods here at all (they're some of the best moderation teams I've seen in a while), but I can't help but worry a little bit.

I know this sentiment has probably been expressed in many ways and several times but I'd chime in for being in support of the idea as well. I feel uncomfortable roleplaying with anyone underage and it is all too easy to lie about your age. Explicit roleplays are pretty common and I would hate for someone to get into trouble because a youngster decided to leave their computer open with explicit materials and a parent found out.

I understand the need for privacy, especially amongst trans people, but I compare it to all the times I have to show my ID out in the world, like for job interviews and cold medicine and etc. Just a quick verification and I move on.

I see a lot of valid arguments, pros and cons, but ultimately is it really necessary?

I know first hand that from the age of ten I was roleplaying on Neopets and other sites and that both young and old players. In fairness they sites disallowed any cursing or any inappropriate wording, but all in all if somebody is that determined to do it they will find a way around it. Whether it means getting an older friend or sibling to make an account with their details.

For me i'd be uncomfortable giving private information over, no matter how short a period it was held for, and the price also would be an issue for many people.

This doesn't mean that I don't see it as being non beneficial, it may very well weed out a lot of minor issues that comes with not knowing the age of your roleplay partner, something that is very important considering how much it could influence a minor. For now though my opinion is that it may cause more problems than solutions and it would most likely not run smoothly for a long period of time. I usually can tell the maturity of a person/player through interaction and their intentions, but I can completely understand why people would want this verification

I really want to make sure I address this and say that it is much more about being committed to prevention, safety and helping people to keep to their comfort levels than it is a reaction to any particular thing that has happened.

Pedophilia? SUPER rare. Almost non-existent in our 7 years. In the rare cases where we find people who knowingly seek out smut with someone vastly younger than themselves, they get removed from the site. I monitor for them and re-remove them if necessary.

But people accidentally RPing with minors because the age was either blatantly lied about or artfully implied to be different than it is? That's rampant across the internet, because minors lying about their age is rampant. Oftentimes, people's parents even tell them to lie and say they are older than they are "to avoid pedophiles," which of course means the minor then has access to the sexy parts of sites and end up in sexual situations with people who are NOT pedophiles but are being lied to.

Whether it was parent sanctioned or not, almost everyone on the 'net will have at least one story of lying a out their own age when they were underage themselves, and a whooooole lot of those people will also have stories about experimenting with smut. It feels like such a victimless crime to most under 18ers (especially if they, are, say, 17.5,) and indeed, there are almost no consequences a minor can suffer for doing so (other than getting a ban on a specific site for lying.) But then as you age, you realize OH MY GOD there can be severe consequences for adults, even if I've obviously just been tricked into doing this against my will.

It is VERY hard - essentially impossible - to protect people from something they do not want to be protected from.

So it's more of a preventative/comfort-level thing than it is a response to predators. Age verification will not assist with real predators, it will only assist people who want to be 110% sure they have done absolutely everything humanly possible to make sure they AREN'T being one, or else people who have professional codes of conduct that prohibit them from having private interactions with unrelated minors (Cacophony has given us a great example of this.)

Sure, but you probably move on quickly because that quick flash of your driver's license doesn't give you severe panic attacks or lingering feelings of dysphoria. If it did, you might do things like choose to go without cough medicine, and you might also choose to go without having your age verified. That's really the feeling that people are wanting us to understand.

I'd be for this, because I am uncomfortable rping with minors. Most of my rp's involve violence, gore, and all sorts of other topics that are adult related that I wouldn't let my son see/read anymore than I let him watch rated R.

I have to flash my ID when I use my debit card, go to buy liquor, cigs, for job interviews they've required the number off my license, at my child's school when I pick him up, at the pharmacy when I get scripts, my bank, Walmart for certain games... it isn't unusual to have to flash my ID on a weekly basis just running basic errands and I don't see the big deal of a more secured setting like Kim mentioned, compared to the local associate working the checkout counter handling it. To me, this is a safer option compared to the every day usage outside of perhaps, my bank.

Plus as she mentioned, it would most likely be a option, not a mandate. I'd feel a lot more safer in choosing my rp partners if there was a little badge basically saying "This chara is adult played" and would be fine scrounging/saving up $10 for my own badge to support it to help keep myself safe from potential risks and make others feel more comfortable as well in roleplaying with myself.

This verification process may be optional but I agree with the users voicing their fears of it potentially being a way for those users under 18 to be dissuaded from RPR in general. Or to feel excluded even. And I know this is being discussed with the best of intentions but beyond the personal feelings of others, is such a feature even within the scope for RPR's small team to manage? Considering how large the community has become and continues to grow.

I, personally, wouldnt buy the badge. I am very upfront with my age and post it publicly on my profile for everyone to see and it has been that way for as long as I can remember.

I actually do understand because I am transgender and my ID was not correct from the time I hit legal age of 18 until the age of 25. I understand completely but I also realized that I would not get employment, or the cold medicine, or even the booze I'd love to enjoy without it. I understand the panic, the dysphoria, the absolute horror of the situation more than most because each job interview would fill me with crippling depression afterwards. But those were all necessary things.

An Age Verification Badge would be optional. From what I'm reading, no one would be forced to get it but it's also personal preference, I guess? If a person doesn't want to RP with someone who doesn't have the badge, I feel like they're just trying to cover themselves.