Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-3026053-20130621001540

If there already is a discussion about this, please direct me to it, cause I couldn't find one. If not, I'm starting one ^^.

I am here on behalf of the Avatar Wiki, though many other wikis have undoubtedly received the same message that they will be locked down for anonymous users. On said wikis, all editing by anonymous users will be restricted in order for wikia to comply with the COPPA-law. I am aware that it is a federal US law, and as such I am not contesting the fact that you want to enforce that. However, what I am contesting is the manner how it is done. Now, all we got was a message which basically said "hey, your wiki caters for a young audience, so from July 1, no anonymous user can do anything on your wiki".

If this truly was all about enforcing COPPA on wikis, then why are only some wikis singled out? Where, and by whom, was it decided that only those wikis should be chosen, as opposed to any other? Segregating them from those that are not restricted is not going to have any desirable effect whatsoever, and will serve only to perpetuate the myth of certain wikis being elitist, cause why would those anonymous users understand why they are blocked from editing from wiki A, but not from wiki B?

So my issue with this entire COPPA-enforcement policy is that either it should be done globally, and thus really say "everyone needs to follow COPPA", or it should not be done at all, but blocking out only certain wikis based on whatever criteria is just unfair and will give those "selected" wikis a bad name of being elitist to not allow anonymous users. 