Development Team Age Limit?

[Garris Shrike]

I noted on one of my occasional returns to this incredible place, that many members of the development team have left, leaving us in a small quandary.
I have a small suggestion, that will probably be put down by questionable legality and other good arguments, but is a suggestion nonetheless.

Change the Development team limits from age to maturity and overall knowledge. I can GUARANTEE that that there are players here that have more RP, modding, and development knowledge than many of those far older than him. I don't know the average age of those here, but I will say I have RPed and modded for most of my teen life. This is not for me, however. This is for PlaneShift, to continue keeping it in development, and help Talad as much as possible.

/discuss.

[Caarrie]

from what i understand they had/have accepted prospects under the age of 18 if their parents approve, but there have been issues with younger devs not doing their work correctly and others having to redo their work. The age is up to talad, and unless you provide info to him i dont see the age limit changing.

[Garris Shrike]

I understand that, but when specifically applying, have not several been turned away STRICTLY because of age? I understand that if those do not do their work correctly, they should not be allowed to be a dev.

also, I would like to know, what are the legal issues involved?

[Karyuu]

If a person is talented, I always accept them and give them tasks to try out. After that, it's up to them to prove that not only are they skilled but dedicated to boot. When it comes to Settings, Xillix is a bit more strict with age limits - but it's understandable, because it's extremely rare that a person under 18 has the sort of knowledgeable grasp on the English language that is required for writing. But when it happens, I don't think there are any problems giving that person a chance. We're a lot more lenient when a young person shows promise than you think :)

As for the legal issues: in various locations minors must have the approval of a legal guardian in order to work, even if for a nonprofit organization. There are licenses and NDAs to sign, which would require the signature of that guardian as well.

[Garris Shrike]

thanks, that's what I wanted to hear.
And nice to see you're still hanging around.

I figure if alot of "young people" can successfully play this game, they have a better grasp of the English language than I did at their age.
Do you happen to know the locations? I.E. U.S. - Europe-wise?

(as I said before, this isn't for me. I have neither the time or the computer to meet with demands.)

[neko kyouran]

topic moved to a more suitable spot. 

[Garris Shrike]

thank you, Neko ^^.
Any other thoughts?

[Karyuu]

This might be helpful: Can a 17 year old minor sign a contract?

We cannot have minors voiding the license agreement and suddenly taking their work back and using it on other projects - precisely what the license is meant to prevent. That's why parental consent and the signature of a legal guardian would be important as well.

[ThomPhoenix]

because it's extremely rare that a person under 18 has the sort of knowledgeable grasp on the English language that is required for writing.

I wouldn't say extremely rare, although (much) more likely. My personal experience is that it depends a lot on the country where the person is from as well. Some educational systems still don't think English is important. Others force you to read and understand Shakespeare, at age 17, in order to graduate.

[Zweitholou]

I encountered the difficulty of age limit when approached about a position on the settings team recently. However, I have been able to participate in the city contest, which fulfilled my desire to contribute while also providing experience needed for a position on the team once I am old enough to apply for a position. IMO the contest, and hopefully future contests like it, provides a solution of sorts to this issue.

[Scarn]

* Scarn points to http://hydlaa.com/smf/index.php?topic=32147.msg369468#msg369468 and to the section of his post and the reply given.

[Garris Shrike]

@Karyuu:
so it's a problem that they take their work elsewhere? Since this was an open-source game, I didn't think that would have too many effects...but the license does make sense.

Thank you all for answering my questions

[neko kyouran]

the game code is open source.  everything else like art and settings, is copywrite.  hence, the agreement they must sign. 

[Xordan]

the game code is open source.  everything else like art and settings, is copywrite.  hence, the agreement they must sign. 

A better way to phrase it; the game code is under GPLv2, everything else like art and settings is held under the proprietary PlaneShift license. Copyright for everything is held by Atomic Blue. 

[Garris Shrike]

awsome, thanks for explaining that.
I'm not too much of a copyrights/coder person, more of a arts + storyline type of guy, so it's good to know that