Sorry to have my first post as a rant but....

I've recently gotten into learning XNA and wanted some help with getting a joypad controller to work with it... So I decided hey they have that app hub forum on microsoft?
An XNAer's dream one stop support forum... So I registered and bam you have to be 18 to register (just on the forum)...

How lame is that? Even more so that XNA is meant to be for 'hobbyists'... So I made a thread in the msdn forum about it, and I'm guessing a moderator of whom erm I spoke to posted it in the app hub forums about this: http://forums.create.msdn.com/forums/t/88889.aspx


Rant over!

So hello everyone I hope I have more luck here..

I guess there is no other solution to you then to settle with this forum, atleast until you are 18 years old. Or you could...

XBLIG is, as the name implies, for indies - and as any business agreement it requires that you be eighteen years old at the time of signing. I don't know why the forums require that though, never checked really.
Anyways, it's not really a big deal at all; there are plenty of forums if you want to use XNA for non commercial purposes (like the one we have here locally) and anything not involving an XBOX360 deployment.

Forums have an agreement like everything else and, like DarklyDreaming said, "any business agreement it requires that you be eighteen years old". Strictly speaking this applies to clicking "I agree" when installing software, too.

However this is one of those things where if you don't cause any trouble, folks will look the other way.

Way back when I first moved out, I was 17, and I got this bitchin' studio apartment in a basement that used to be a morgue. I had Comcast come over to set up cable internet, and while glancing over the contract, I noticed it said I had to be 18. I asked and the service dude just - like above - "look the other way". Wink wink, nudge nudge, enjoy your internet.

(Incidentally, I got the apartment after the landlord accepted my say-so that I had my parent's permission. I hadn't actually mentioned this scheme to them yet.)

Fun times.

Forums have an agreement like everything else and, like DarklyDreaming said, "any business agreement it requires that you be eighteen years old". Strictly speaking this applies to clicking "I agree" when installing software, too.

However this is one of those things where if you don't cause any trouble, folks will look the other way.

Way back when I first moved out, I was 17, and I got this bitchin' studio apartment in a basement that used to be a morgue. I had Comcast come over to set up cable internet, and while glancing over the contract, I noticed it said I had to be 18. I asked and the service dude just - like above - "look the other way". Wink wink, nudge nudge, enjoy your internet.

(Incidentally, I got the apartment after the landlord accepted my say-so that I had my parent's permission. I hadn't actually mentioned this scheme to them yet.)

Fun times.

Ok I see what your saying (I think). That it's only a 'legal thing' to be there. Possibly... But when last did you sign up to a forum that required you to be 18?

(If anyone want's to know why you have to be 18, there isn't any reason. It just states it in the Agreement. And 'they' don't plan on changing it).

It is a fact of life that a minor cannot enter any legal agreements. A parent or guardian can usually consent to an agreement on their behalf.

Even gamedev.net:

2. Age

a) Customer certifies that he or she is at least 18 years of age. If the Customer is not at least 18 years of age, then he/she has been granted the permission by his/her legal guardian to act on that guardian's behalf. Under these circumstances, the underage Customer has been granted permission to use Provider's services and enter into this agreement on behalf of the legal guardian.

b) Provider's software and services are not directed to children under the age of 13. Provider's software and services will not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under 13
[/quote]

It is a fact of life that a minor cannot enter any legal agreements. A parent or guardian can usually consent to an agreement on their behalf.

Even gamedev.net:

2. Age

a) Customer certifies that he or she is at least 18 years of age. If the Customer is not at least 18 years of age, then he/she has been granted the permission by his/her legal guardian to act on that guardian's behalf. Under these circumstances, the underage Customer has been granted permission to use Provider's services and enter into this agreement on behalf of the legal guardian.

b) Provider's software and services are not directed to children under the age of 13. Provider's software and services will not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under 13

[/quote]

So then they surely could add that snippet:

If the Customer is not at least 18 years of age, then he/she has been granted the permission by his/her legal guardian to act on that guardian's behalf. Under these circumstances, the underage Customer has been granted permission to use Provider's services and enter into this agreement on behalf of the legal guardian. [/quote]

Ok I see what your saying (I think). That it's only a 'legal thing' to be there. Possibly... But when last did you sign up to a forum that required you to be 18?

(If anyone want's to know why you have to be 18, there isn't any reason. It just states it in the Agreement. And 'they' don't plan on changing it).

Microsoft is a pretty large corporation. No doubt they are just overprotecting themselves from any legal blow back. It could be argued that they shouldn't care, but supporting people under 18 really brings nothing to the table for them as they can't release products onto their market anyway.

It sucks, but thems the breaks as they say. I'm not going to tell you to do anything illegal, even though the odds of any action being taken against you are small, but I know terms of service on a forum wouldn't really slow me down much at all

[font="arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif"]

[color="#1C2837"]But when last did you sign up to a forum that required you to be 18?[/quote]

[color="#1c2837"]They all do. It's implicit whether they mention it or not. Some will opt to mention it so that if there is a "situation", the website can show that they made it super crystal clear and it was the other party (in this case you) who lied.

[color="#1c2837"]Just stay under the radar, and don't raise a fuss with admins. This is law. It may vary by state but it does not vary by website.[/font][font="arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif"]
[/font]
EDIT: Oh, and the other reason not to raise a fuss with mods is so that you don't put them in a spot where it looks like they're condoning it.

[font="arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif"]

[color="#1C2837"]But when last did you sign up to a forum that required you to be 18?

[color="#1c2837"]They all do. It's implicit whether they mention it or not. Some will opt to mention it so that if there is a "situation", the website can show that they made it super crystal clear and it was the other party (in this case you) who lied.

[color="#1c2837"]Just stay under the radar, and don't raise a fuss with admins. This is law. It may vary by state but it does not vary by website.[/font][font="arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif"]
[/font]
EDIT: Oh, and the other reason not to raise a fuss with mods is so that you don't put them in a spot where it looks like they're condoning it.
[/quote]

Ok ok I get it... I'm still gonna stay here though.

At least you guys had better answers than they did