RP Party finders being reported AGAIN without so much as a reason.

[Awha]

The problem with your proposal and constant crusading are that it is excruciatingly difficult to legally reason. As far as the law is concerned, and as far as many individuals are concerned it is well reasoned that if you understood the act you were committing, then you are wholly capable of understanding the consequences of those very actions. The only reason you wouldn't is largely down to neglect of the law. Now, I will highlight a difference here before you start another crusade. Is that developmental milestones are far as the brain is concerned are empirically proven, and largely universal, through significant and rigorous research as far as children are concerned. On the other hand, disabilities are largely varied in the impact on the individual- If we even remotely tried to treat these as similar cases then the burden of proof lies with the person making the claim.

Though if I am being frank, if you knowingly and willingly engaged in potentially illicit activities and especially with someone not of appropriate age, then you more than likely understand the consequences behind such activities as an adult. If you've gone to the age of 27 (arbitrary) without a single conviction then it is very probable you're capable of understanding the difference between right and wrong- Which is all these acts come down to; is being able to distinguish between right and wrong.

The reason you won't find a child being held equally or more culpable than adults in these situations is that the child and the activity/context itself has demonstrated that the adult holds, without a shadow of a doubt the willingness to engage in illicit activities with a minor. Thus it stands to reason the adult should still be treated as whole culpable as there is a risk that the adult could do this very same activity with someone- a minor that doesn't necessarily have the intent to engage in such an activity. So they should be punished, and still are. You see this nonsense occur all the time on Discord, not specific to the XIV community, are lured and baited into situations they otherwise wouldn't be.

It comes down to the ability to distinguish between right and wrong activities and situations. Whether this is cruel or not is irrelevant. It is a system that works very well. Society itself and the internet with the plethora of resources are more than capable of educating the adult as to why it is not appropriate to engage in activities, they just need to be capable of searching for it- Which they are, if they use the internet.

But as far as I am concerned though you've more than aptly yourself given enough reason as to why 18+ material should not exist within a public and easily accessible place that one is able to find merely on a whim..

In the end you are saying it is hard. I have accepted that fact but even so you still everything you mentioned can still be possible for non neurotypical individuals. I have granted the notion that it would be difficult and even went one step further it does leave open the door to abuse as a potential loophole for people to abuse.

In genuine situations that willingness it engage in illicit behavior with a minor may not even be present.

The point remains while manipulative and deceitful adults exist that pray on vulnerable individuals the same can be said for minors. Yet our laws and society rarely reflect this possibility and some even have a tolerance to it and treat it as a learning experience.

I like I said in other posts a non neurotypical may understand the difference between right and wrong. What I am saying goes beyond that. In someone cases functioning non neurotypical individuals who have jobs live alone etc . . . May still very well fall pray to advances of someone that shows interest in them, and if they ask the age and told something different or maybe just assume given the venue they are is meant for adults then I think society and the law should put in the effort to understand the context.

This goes beyond the whole erp thing. In the end just because something is hard and more difficult does not mean we as a society or legal system should not try and adapt with the times. More and more non neurotypical individuals reach adulthood and some may live extremely sheltered lives and have atypical behavior when to comes to social boundaries or understanding social norms and cues and could very well be deemed capable enough of generally taking care of oneself while having some of these slight differences in development. It is time we accept that age it in self is no a proper marker for development and come to terms with the fact that minors are capable of manipulation and deception when it comes to people and we should also want to protect vaurarable adults from possible predators be them adults or minors.

I believe the same standard should apply across the board. Is that crazy?

That you consider that a child should potentially be judged as harshly as an adult for intentional deception shows that you have a fundamental misunderstanding of how children's lies often work.

Willful deception does not automatically equate to intentionally trying to ruin someone's life. A 15 year old lying by saying they're 18 could simply have the goal of getting someone's positive attention. This doesn't mean they want the attention for malicious purposes. They may just want attention because they want the other person to think they're mature, cool, desirable and so on. Some get so caught up in the excitement of someone older than them showing an interest that they will lie so that the person doesn't lose interest. This can easily happen to a child because they very much live in the present. Due to lack of life experience and brain development they often don't have the capacity to realise how a situation like this can eventually snowball into an uncontrollable mess.

And even if they do lie with malicious intent in mind children often lack the life experience and brain development to understand what they thought was a fun prank could destroy someone's life. Very few children lie with the intent to absolutely ruin someone to the point of having them sent to prison.

Whereas an adult is at an age in which they have a far better understanding of how lies can lead to finding themselves trapped in a bad situation. Sure many adults lie, but those that do are better at it now than when they were a child because they're actively looking ahead to make sure they don't get caught. Children often aren't able to look ahead enough to properly envision consequences. Especially if they're treading in unfamiliar territory such as a relationship that only adults should be having.

And this is why the burden of responsibility lies chiefly with the adult. They're in a far better position to understand the situation they're in, and better know how to prevent illegal deeds from happening. Sure some adults are naive but this doesn't change the fact that they had more time to learn how the world works than a child. At the very least they would be aware of what the age of consent is, and it is their responsibility to make sure that the other person is at that age. And if a person is evasive about proving it, then they should know something is wrong.

As for people who are not neurotypical, there is a big problem. Not only are mental and developmental issues attached to a very negative stigma, many people who are neurodivergent do not get diagnosed early in life, so then they lack an educational background that would truly help them navigate the world. But this particular issue is pointing to another problem and that is society's lack of understanding as to how differently a neurodivergent person processes their experiences.

What I am saying is context matters. If a 15 year old gets a fake ID and gets into a bar I do not think they should be thrown in jail though I also not think think the bar or person at the door should also be held 100% responsible when digging deep into the context. How good was the ID based off video footage of available how did they carry themselves could another adult reasonable not see through their lie.

Sure in some cases it is prank, though I have seen other cases where minors have done things just to ruin the lives of adults. It is not unheard of, and that is what worries me that for some reason people think it is so far fetched to see a minor capable of doing something for the sole purpose of ruining the life of another. Sure in some cases that was not the intent but say they lied then when the person found out they were lying they tried to break everything off. Said minor does not take it well, and plays up the victim card. This person's life is over since rarely people look at the context.

General messed up notice is if someone is non neurotypical they could easily be egged on to plead guilty for an easy open shut case cause often they do not have the money for proper representation and proving such a thing would take a lot of resources. Hell you do not even have to be non neurotypical to be talked into just taking a plea that admits full guilt. Cause the social stigma alone pursing it via trial is just not wise.