User blog comment:Semanticdrifter/Updates to COPPA/@comment-3335785-20130624225658

I understand the implications of collecting data about anons, but surely there has to be a better way of doing this.

Has it occured to anyone to use a popup asking for confirmation of you being over 13 before editing? To avoid having to do this every time, you could add a cookie in that lasts for a month, maybe longer, because ticking a checkbox every time for a minor improvement is going to put people off editing, rather than attracting them which is surely Wikia's overall goal. Perhaps something like:

''To edit this page it is required that you must be aged 13 or over. For more information about this, see .''

I am aged 13 or over (lasts for 30 days) 

 

To me this is far less damaging and also alerts anons to the change in law and Wikia needing to comply. It can also be rolled out to all wikis and cause minimal disruption.

If someone is going to edit underage, I don't see how lying about their age when signing up is different to lying about their age when anonymously editing. Is it because once the edit has been made the new law automatically deems it a breach, despite clear warning? There are revdel and oversight (so rarely used I've only ever come across it once) tools available if there is a known breach of the law.