The Off Topic forum needs to be reworked

I have recently heard about some members on this website saying that the Off Topic forum needs to be removed. These members have made some good points such as

- A majority of people in Off Topic forums being very low rated (under 500) signaling that they don't care about chess at all (which brings up the question on why they are using chess.com and not another social platform such as Discord or 4Chan)

- Certain posts being borderline inappropriate for kids on chess.com (such as https://www.chess.com/forum/view/off-topic/kiss-marry-slap-none-date, there are way worse ones out there too this was just at the top).

- Off topic forums serving no meaningful purpose for a chess website

However, I think that removing the Off Topic forums entirely would not be a good idea, because then these members would just start having Off Topic discussions in the main chess forums, which would result in an absolute dumpster fire. Having a place like Off Topic is great because it deters the members who don't care about chess away from the meaningful posts and discussions so we don't have to deal with these members on our actual chess posts.

But I think the Off Topic section (and the forums in general) need a few reworks, such as:

- Banning people under the age of 13. As said earlier, there are many questionable posts and content here that is inappropriate for kids under 13, such as people pretending to "lick each other" online. Additionally, quite literally every social platform besides chess.com forums requires you to be 13+ because of the dangers online (scammers, hackers, all that stuff). I know some mod is gonna be like "erm actually you have to be 13+ to join this website or have parent permission". But chess.com never bans anyone for saying they are under 13, and everyone under 13 will just say they had parent permission. What chess.com needs to do is ask people for their birthday when they sign up, and if they click under 13 they will be unable to use the forums. This would also help with the immature discussions in Off Topic.

- Stronger moderation to prevent inappropriate content, because I see many forum posts about kissing, dating, licking, a bunch of freaky stuff, mainly in the off topic forums. I think this stuff is completely inappropriate for this website, considering most social platforms (like Discord) that allow dating make it very clear that it is only for people who are 18+, because children can be exploited. Meanwhile here I see many people in off topic forums who are likely under the age of 13 talking in forums and clubs about dating and I think content like this needs to be removed. Also, hire more moderators who are 2000+ elo and are active on the forums to ensure that they are familiar with the chess community, as people who are 2000+ elo are usually responsible and are not trolls.

- Allow people to set a minimum rating for people to comment on your forum. For example people who are under 500 rating aren't really familiar with the rules of chess as their games are just randomly decided by whoever decides to chomp on the most hanging pieces. I don't have anything against people who have low rating, but if I ask a chess related question on the forums (such as what is your favorite piece), an under 500 rated player who doesn't know how the pieces move won't be able to contribute anything meaningful and will just clog up the forum post.

Please let me know what you guys think of these changes, I am open to criticism and I will keep an open mind and consider all perspectives

Your idea of having a minimum rating for people commenting is a stupid idea. It's been explained exhaustively why, but we wouldn't necessarily expect you to agree because you're 13 years old. Chesscom is a business valued at 500 million, the company didn't get to where it is via acting like an arrogant, moronic 13 year old intent on trolling large swaths of its userbase.

Yes I have listened to the criticism and I acknowledge that freedom of speech is an important right on chess.com forums. However, if there is a topic that is based on an advanced subject on chess, I would like it if the people commenting were experienced chess players rather than complete beginners, they can still read and learn from it. If you have any other questions or concerns about that topic I will be glad to answer them as I am not entirely sure what you mean by it being "explained exhaustively why". Also I don't understand why you are attacking me for personal reasons

Who the hell uses 4chan

Well maybe but i dont agree with some things

What things do you not agree with

Setting a minimum rating for people below 500

i almost agree but dont agree with the last one

being able to set ratings for commentingcan and will be abused

People can already block anyone they want from commenting on their forum posts. It can't be abused more than people can already abuse the system

Oh no people talking about kissing on the internet aaaaaaaaaaaaa

so let the forum creator block them. i agree w/ most of what you said, but people >500 can have different perspectives that <500 players dont see. your blocking out people who can actually give input because of the few that decide to give terrible input. i see your point, some >500 don't know advanced moves n stuff but mostly all players who are at least 300+ elo know how the pieces move and have a basic understanding of chess. those who join and stay at 100 are most likely the ones that dont have a good grasp on the game, but most, if not all people come with the basic understanding o how chess pieces move. some people have tunnel vision, which prevents them from seeing moves that they otherwise would have. give people at a minimum a couple of months to at least get to a decent elo rating and im sure that theyll have valid input. sorry for ranting

please point out any flaws and ill try to rectify them

Hold on, what if the creators of a forum were allowed to set a rating limit on the people who are allowed to comment? Wouldn't that be a good idea for a petition as opposed to automatically banning a certain rating from ALL forums? About the age limit, then there can also be an age limit ban option for the creators of a forum as well. That way, for advanced chess topics, there can be a "set elo minimum" option. For inappropriate (for kids) content, there can be a "set age limit" option.

I can't go on other websites. not because i'm to young, but my mother is over protective of me. plus, rating minimum does not make sense. what if you come here to learn and look for coaches of a high level? you wouldn't be able to if you weren't allowed on or with other beginners. also, what's the use of trying to change it if its been fine this way for a long time, so why change it?

I do think that there should be some actions taken on the young kids that are on forums. I have run into creeps because of my PFP many times, and I would not wish that on any one.

Now this point actually makes sense.

espcially the part where you said this:

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/off-topic/kiss-marry-slap-none-date

So disgusting bro 🤮

Bro??? That's literally in my post please read it

That is why I made an option for people to set a minimum rating on each forum post individually. Someone offering free help or coaches would probably not set a minimum rating. Also it's called improving the forums, many people think the forums need improvements

Teenage dating online is a serious problem because they can be easily exploited and extorted by adults. You picked one tiny thing from my post that wasn't that bad while ignoring the very big problems that were RIGHT NEXT to it. Also there are way worse posts on Off Topic that need to be moderated along with an entire club with 700+ people called "Blind Dating" with many children in it. So if you are talking about the forum post I linked as an example, there are way worse things, it was just at the top.

I agree. I used to be a fan of an anime and I made my PFP one of the characters (who happened to be a girl) and I got tons of weird messages from people thinking I was a girl, like it was insane considering this is literally a chess swebsite. It really shows what women in chess have to deal with (at least on chess.com)

I do have some weird messages in my chats from creeps i've blocked. its bad for people who look like targets, like me and (at one point) you