Did this website ever allow minors to signup?

[EBEN30]

Hi all,

So was just browsing the Suicide Wiki for this website and noticed on there a link to the Shawn Shatto Radio Interview on YouTube and have been watching that.

Forgive me for asking this as from watching the video it's clear the parents are spreading a lot of misinformation and lies or have totally taken things out of context, which I understand as they are upset but even still I think they have a gross misunderstanding on what this website was about.

One of the claims they make is that membership was once open for minors and later revoked with admins posting that they had no other choice due to the latest media attention.

Is this true?

I am pro-choice but I'm heavily against minors taking their own life, I totally get it that if they are going to they are going to anyway and better a peaceful death than a painful one. I get that, but there is ample evidence that the brain is still forming even past people's 18th Birthday, the brain is still going through many changes and the chemical imbalance from puberty as well make me think that teens really shouldn't be given information to take their own lives.

I get it, it's a tricky one as banning them from here, they'll likely get the information elsewhere and as I said before they're likely to still do it anyway.

I don't know, it just makes me feel incredibly uneasy that minors would ever be welcomed here, maybe I'm not as 'woke' or 'free thinking' as some here. I am pro-choice but that does seems like a step to far for me and I don't think I'd ever be comfy support and organisation that advocates for the freedom of choice for minors.

The only time I'd agree for it is if a minor was terminally ill and suffering and a doctor were able to assist, no other method it would have to be doctor assisted as too much could go wrong and even with all those conditions I still wouldn't feel 100% comfy with the idea.

I get people are going to say I'm hypocritical and age is just a number and mental health is no different to any other form of illness and I get that I just think there's a strong case for making minors wait with the brain differences, chemical imbalances and while I am pro-choice for anyone over 18 to take their own life, I would still encourage young people to at least try and get help first and treat exiting as a last resort if possible.

I do feel hypocritical as most of my problems stem from mental health but I'm pushing 30 have been unable to hold down a stable job since leaving school, living with chronic health conditions, have tried therapy/shrinks/counselling and a wide variety of medications since I was 13 years old and nothing has worked. So I feel the chances of my personal circumstances ever changing are slim to none so only with such a bleak prospect for my future am I now considering my exit plan.

All that said, the bottom line is, I do believe each human has the right to choose when their life ends, after all it is their life and their body. I just feel incredibly uncomfortable when it's people under the age of 18 doing that and that's just me being honest, I don't think I'll ever reach a point where I can say I can accept / come to terms with people under the age of 18 being given the wealth of information this site has to offer, I don't know if each person under 18 would have the capacity to understand that there are other options and ways forward and be a certain level of maturity to make such a huge decision.

I was a very mature teenager for my age and I don't think I would have been in the right frame of mind at the time to make such a decision and realise the full implications of that decision....

 

[SinisterKid]

Read the Rules & FAQ, strictly no one under the age of 18. If we do discover anyone under 18, they are removed immediately.

 

[Santiago]

In the past? Yes.

It used to be a bit of a heavy discussion, but the majority agreed they shouldn't be allowed.

 

[KN95]

Just want to say that I agree with the views you have. But I do not know the answer to your question, though I would assume that this site hasn't ever allowed someone under 18 to become a member. Could be wrong though. I only joined a few months ago.

 

[EBEN30]

Read the Rules & FAQ, strictly no one under the age of 18. If we do discover anyone under 18, they are removed immediately.

Sorry, I thought I clarified in my original post, I wasn't talking about present rules but those of the past but it seems that has been answered in this thread already now.

In the past? Yes.

It used to be a bit of a heavy discussion, but the majority agreed they shouldn't be allowed.

Good, I personally think it's morally and ethically a grey area anyway but not to mention this website is being demonised as it is, I feel taking this stance is the best one to uphold the sites integrity as a whole.


Even that they allowed it in the past leaves me feeling incredibly uneasy, it's a sticking point as I've defended this website to a lot of people I've spoken to it about and feel like I'd happily tell anyone, incuding Shawn's parents why websites like this aren't actually as 'evil' as they're making it out to be and are infact a sanctuary for people who often feel totally alone and like nobody gets them, I get their anger and upset as parents ascertain people in my family would be unhappy to but I feel their anger is misguided.

That being said as soon as they're bringing up the press about allowing minors to signup in the past, I feel that's going to be such a sticking point. This is already a difficult topic to talk about and win people around to the 'pro-choice' cause, I feel that the fact minors were formally allowed to join, just makes that worse, I think you'll be hard pushed to win anyone over to that way of thinking.

Like you said it's changed now and that's the main thing that counts I suppose, I suppose there's always the argument as well that teens aren't stupid and know they can lie about their age with no real way to vet that. So I do see the argument from all sides, I suppose I just feel very conflicted over the issue.

 

[SinisterKid]

I know what the original question meant, I just wanted my response out there before anyone starts jumping up and down about minors being allowed on the site. I like to think its called being proactive

 

[Santiago]

It was perhaps more the fact that there were no age rules as opposed to purposely allowing minors.

This site is still relatively new so there is still a lot of work to do on a lot of different aspects. Especially as the community grows and we start to attract all sorts of people.

 

[EBEN30]

It was perhaps more the fact that there were no age rules as opposed to purposely allowing minors.

This site is still relatively new so there is still a lot of work to do on a lot of different aspects. Especially as the community grows and we start to attract all sorts of people.

Yea, I agree, as I said it's such a complex issue anyway and I do recognise that people can just lie about their age anyway, teens aren't stupid.

I think it's a very complex area and there's no easy way to tackle this anyway but I think the stance the site has taken is the best they can, sure people may argue that teens can still access the site (as Shawn's parents did in that interview) but the same is true for any 18+ site on the internet, there's no real way to vet it and stop fraud.

As I said previously as well, I'm conflicted on the issue as a whole anyway as I don't believe anyone should feel alone in their final days/months and I'm of the strong opinion that if people are going to end their life they will do so anyway, irrespective of this website being here. It's not like SS caused an epidemic of suicide, suicide has been the lead cause of death for under 30s in a number of countries for the longest time anyway. As you can tell I'm conflicted on the issue and how it's best dealt with lol.

 

[Science Is Scary]

A link to the announcement thread of the under 18 rule:

https://sanctioned-suicide.net/thre...r-be-allowed-an-account-on-our-website.17037/

EDIT: And before that, the birth date requirement with an age restriction was added to registration:

https://sanctioned-suicide.net/threads/age-restrictions-hidden-threads-and-other-annoucements.11896/

 

[Moonicide]

Minors attempting to take their lives and using resources here would make me uncomfortable as well. When you're so young you're not fully developed mentally and can't make solid decisions. I know when I was a teenager I very much acted on impulse and didn't take time to sit with my emotions or my decisions. It's a very messy thing. I would never recommend it.

 

[waterbottleman]

I certainly hope not, but anyone can lie about their age online so there's only so much you can do.

 

[Livingvsdying25]

Not to cause any kinda argument but... Question to people that say they are too young (I agree to an extent) what is the age limit then?

Bc no offense but a lot of people by 18/20 hell even late 20's dont exactly mature and become less impulsive??

Also doesn't the brain technically fully develop by 24/25?