Grrrrr I really don't want to post this here. I prefer to post it in the Program Owners Private Folder, because of the nature of the script, and if a mod is willing, please move it there.

Before I begin, my reasoning for placing it inside the private folder is that a properly informed cheater will know how to circumvent this script's purpose and I prefer that not to happen.

No, it is not a security hole that can be fixed, because it 'depends' on the honesty of the user. The problem is that if someone were to come in here and read this, they'd know to simply lie.

Anyway.

The script modifies the signup.php page and asks for the user's birthdate. They enter the birthdate, and the script determines their age. If they are younger than 13 years old, the script will bump them out and send them to a message informing them that they're too young to signup. It also sets a cookie that will prevent them from returning.

The script employs the bump-out mechanism suggested by TRUSTe, which complies with the federal requirement of a 'good faith effort' to ensure that the Personally Identifiable Information of children is not collected.

If you wish, I can modify the script to account for people younger than 18 (if your site includes adult material), and i can also modify it if you want to require approval of parents for people 13-17 (which is actually something that SHOULD be in the script, but isn't because it really depends on how the PO wants to handle it).

If you want this script, let me know.

Hm... I have a question.

What if someone makes a mistake while signing up? I know I make lots of mistakes when I signing up for a new program

If a person puts in a wrong birthdate, does that mean that person can't return

Yes, that is what would happen. The reason being, there's no way the script can know if they're lying or not. Short of insisting that the only way people can sign up is through the postal mail and sending a copy of their photo id, there's no way to know that what the person enters is the truth.

It's not a permanent problem though; I will PM you another piece of information.

That or, this thread could be moved to the private forum

Seriously? Nobody is interested in this?

I am against this (not you, just the philosophy behind it). I have been an anti-COPPA advocate for many years, and still my opinion has not changed. COPPA simply limits a child's development in the years when they need access to that kind of information and service most. A child who is given the chance to excel will most certianlly do better than one limited by COPPA. Not to mention that today's youth are much more internet-savvy than their parents. Much more (on average).

However, if one wishes to keep things perfectly legal, buy Blue's script.

edit: spelling

Do you really think that a person who is younger than the required age would put the correct date of birth on the form?? Easiest thing in the world to add a few years to your age..................I`m at the stage where I`d like to take a few off