Dorm Brew

[Cheesefood]

Tx should enforce age limits. Since we have to enter our birthday, it should forbid anyone who states that they are over 21. However, this site is intended for informational purposes only and does not condone or encourage underage drinking. This site has nothing to do with alcohol, it's purpose is to describe the ingredients and procedures used to create alcohol.

Freedom of speech will protect him. One cannot be responsible for the content of their site if the information being shared is legal (i.e. not kiddy pr0n or defamatory remarks or encouraging acts of violence.)

Look at all the sites that give info on how to make meth, grow weed, pick up prostitutes, etc. There's plenty more to worry about than homebrew.

 

[Evan!]

There's plenty more to worry about than homebrew.

Tell that to some dirtbag opportunist lawyer who would sue his/her own mother if the whim struck them.

 

[FrewBrew]

I'm gonna sue the bar association for turning our society into a society where everyone just looks for frivolous lawsuits.

This thread is way off topic, and completely rediculous

 

[Fiery Sword]

This thread is way off topic, and completely rediculous

Thanks for the insight, there, buddy. I think you are completely wrong, and that this is one of the more important threads that's been brought up here in a while.

Here in MA, there is precedent for bartenders getting into legal trouble for 'overserving' patrons. Now, agree or disagree with this (as I'm sure eople will), it is law. So it is not that big of a stretch to assume that if a minor is helped in doing something illegal that this site could find trouble. And I say sucks to that.....ban 'em all, let the Beer Gods sort 'em out.

 

[Hopfan]

15 years ago, would any of you have thought you would be taking the moral high ground on any issue? I can't really disagree with any of the sentiments put forth here. While alcohol can easily be made the scapegoat for all the ills in our country, it is exactly the same as in any other issue that comes to a head in our society. The root issue is that parents have to take responsibility for teaching their children right & wrong, acceptable behavior, etc. Will we all be successful at that? No. Is that any excuse to find some other "real" cause of the problem? Gimme' a break.

However unfortunate the circumstances, our litigious society has created an atmosphere of paranoia and mistrust in which you must cover your a** by any means necessary lest the moral majority take you to task. I, too, think we should have a disclaimer and/or age barrier on the site.

 

[Torchiest]

I think anyone should be allowed to get any information they want and do anything they want with it, and I certainly did my share of drinking when I was underage, but I think there are a lot of people out there who would indeed try to cause problems for anyone they thought had "aided" an underage person in any illegal activity.

It's just like at my bar. Plenty of my friends and myself drank before we were 21, but I still card anyone that looks too young, and I'm a hardcore a**hole about it too. I've pissed off plenty of people, but I'm looking out for the business, and trying to avoid liability.

In that way, I think it's valid to want to avoid directly giving information to someone we KNOW is underage, just to cover our asses. I disagree with the law, but while it's in place, I'm going to make damn sure I don't get into trouble with it.

 

[sause]

It's just like at my bar. Plenty of my friends and myself drank before we were 21, but I still card anyone that looks too young, and I'm a hardcore a**hole about it too. I've pissed off plenty of people, but I'm looking out for the business, and trying to avoid liability.

I too am an a**shole about carding people at the liquor store that I work at. I turn four or five groups of people away when one person doesn't have an ID or are under 21. Hell I've asked a a person who was sitting in the car out side to come in. That being said I originally posted here when I was under 21, one month to be exact but I didn't drink one bottle until the day I turned 21. In fact the people at the LHBS wouldn't sell me a kit or ingredients unless one of my parents were there.(Good for them) I would not have been able to post on this forum if the proposed rules were in place but when I joined this site only had 175 members. If joined now I would be able to find any question out there by using the search feature which I believe is able to be used if you aren't a member. I would be behind an age limit for joining. The only concern for me is that some places don't have 21 as the age limit, are we going to discriminate against them?

 

[Torchiest]

That's a really good point. This is an international forum, and hence, we can't really be held to any particular standard or law. That's the awesome beauty and majesty of the internet. It defies localization and constrainment. We actually have no idea where tmabbotutep lives, so how can we say with any certainty what laws are applicable?

 

[Fiery Sword]

That's a really good point. This is an international forum, and hence, we can't really be held to any particular standard or law. That's the awesome beauty and majesty of the internet. It defies localization and constrainment. We actually have no idea where tmabbotutep lives, so how can we say with any certainty what laws are applicable?

I believe that the laws apply from where the board is hosted - but I'm not sure how that relates to users in other parts of the country and world. In the end, though, if we are talking about protecting HBT then I think the 21+ age limit for posting is across-the-bar reasonable. I wouldn't see that as discriminatory to say that the rules abide by the laws from the country of origin, the US.

 

[Evan!]

That's a really good point. This is an international forum, and hence, we can't really be held to any particular standard or law. That's the awesome beauty and majesty of the internet. It defies localization and constrainment. We actually have no idea where tmabbotutep lives, so how can we say with any certainty what laws are applicable?

Unless the user has some kind of intricate obfuscation program, anyone with network skills can ping him quite easily and find out where he's signing on from.

At the end of the day, just because a website is open to international use doesn't exempt it from laws that would normally apply.

 

[olllllo]

Regardless of the "front door" control, which is Keith's end of the bargain, I think that we are obliged not to help if we suspect there is a conflict (legal, etc) that will place the existance of this site in jeopardy.

 

[Orfy]

I think it's all been said.
Off to read a less boring topic.

 

[Kadmium]

I'm 19... will you help me out? but then again, I am from Australia, where the age to brew, drink and drive is 18.. so techincally your not breaking the law as its legal for where I come from! gota love a liberal society. But, I think that a 21 year old age limit for new members is ridiculous. Just because the majority of you are American, and the age is 21 in America, does not give you the right to enforce an age limit on your boards. Rather, there should be a ban like on most adult websites, which states "you must be of legal age in your locality" IE, you must be 18 or over, unless your specific countries laws state otherwise. So rather then a blanket ban on all the other countries which do not have a 21 age limit, there should be a legal barrier to minors in the country that they are accessing from...

 

[Genghis77]

I wish my country recognized full rights of adulthood like Austrailia. Instead we give it in stages. For some things a 12 year old might be considered an adult. At 18 we can vote and also fight and die in uniform. But, we must wait till 21 to legally have a drink. And because of this sort of inequity, these laws will go mostly ignored.

 

[Yooper]

I haven't chimed in as yet, because I don't really have strong feelings about this. If I think it's a kid breaking the law, I just don't respond.

But, even at 19- the poster above is articulate and reasonable. If he didn't say, "I'm 19", I would have had no idea whether he was 21 or 41. I don't like the posts that say, "can u smel it bad if i hde it unner my bed in the dorms?" We're here to enjoy our hobby- not to run a school for illicit prison hooch. If you are articulate and passionate about the hobby, not just trying to make cheap booze, you've got my respect. And as we all know, homebrewing is NOT a cheap hobby. If I want cheap, I'd go buy a case of Busch light. Homebrewing to me is about craftsmanship, just like great cooking. It's an art and science, as well as a kick a** hobby.

Orfy is right, I've got to move on to less boring topics. I've got much more to learn about batch sparging, water ph, recipes, etc.

Lorena

 

[Pumbaa]

/snicker
Lorena said Busch

 

[covered95]

Just thought I'd point out that according to the 21st amendment (my personal favorite) STATES and not the national government set the drinking age, which is why many of you older brewers remember the legal age being 18. However, as time passed the Federal Gov't decided that they wanted a say and so all states yielded their power to set the legal drinking age to the federal government so that they could continue to get federal money. So for all of you that are worried about the dorm brewer getting brewing outlawed, it would have to be done at the state level. As this is the case, most state politicians are more apt to listen to the voting public and so I think that we can all relax and have a homebrew and not worry about this 19 year old getting us all put on the FBI's most wanted list. On another note, I am all for this guy brewing if he would enjoy the beer as most of us do, for quality, taste, etc. If he is just looking for a better way to get hammered on the weekend (what I was looking for in college) then let him go elsewhere.

 

[Genghis77]

The Feds got the states to up the drinking age to 21 by withholding matching highway funds to those that did not comply. Some states like New York used to allow drinking of beer and wine at 18 and distilled spirits at 21.

The point of raising the age to 21 was to reduce DUI accidents among those 18 to 21. But the reality is that while this idea might have looked good on paper, it didn't work because it might be easier for them to get and use hard drugs than alcohol.

 

[tmabbotutep]

The acceptability of online forums and social networking is where danger of losing THIS forum comes into play. Many forums go under because they cannot do an acceptable job of regulating content. There is the federal COPA law to consider as well.

The COPA law states that it is only illegal to make "any communication for commercial purposes that is available to any minor". This is not for commercial use and yes, I am under 21, but legally I am not a minor. If I get arrested for public intoxication, it is public intoxication, not Minor In Consumption. And because all of you are so concerned (anal) I do not think I will ever return to this site and if I can I am going to terminate my account.

 

[Ize]

<sigh>


Ize

 

[olllllo]

And because all of you are so concerned (anal) I do not think I will ever return to this site and if I can I am going to terminate my account.

You got he anal right but you forgot to call us elitist and c**ts.
Our youth are so far behind the rest of the world...

 

[Genghis77]

Gotta save the youth from this road to ruin. <heh>

 

[l3lackEyedAngels]

I hope you come back, utep. This forum is a great resource for an awesome hobby and I hope the welcome you got doesn't persuade you to abandon it. I have a feeling that your question about the smell was out of consideration for your roomate(s) given what you said about your RA. Let us know how it comes out.