Since today is apparently the day when I need to remind people of that, yes they are minors on Mastodon. Even minors who are posting selfies of themselves.
Please, before commenting on their selfies, take a time to think what you are going to say to them is appropriate. Would you say that to a teenager IRL?
First, because it would be mostly pointless since they could come back here or on another instance without saying they are minors. I’ve been a minor online too, I know how this work. Second, because they are persons too and they are entitled to have space online where they can socialize and be themselves. And third, because they are minors, and it’s the role of us, adults, to make sure they can do so in a safe environment.
I’m not going to punish teens because some adults don’t know not to flirt under their selfies. But behave yourselves or face the consequences…
@Sylvhem Good policy
@ghost_bird Thank you. We try.
But it’s not easy, since we can’t see every thing that’s happening. I’m not going to lie, sometimes it’s scary to know we are responsible for a space where some minors interact.
@Sylvhem You can’t control everything and I think that’s okay. It’s enough to do the right thing when you can and set expectations for everyone else
@ghost_bird Thanks for your kind words ^^.
And no, we are not going to prevent minors from posting pictures of themselves publicly online (as long as they are appropriate), nor are we going to ban them.