We have made special membership arrangements for children and young adults under the age of eighteen. An adult member may sponsor and add Junior Members as sub-accounts under the adult’s membership. Until the age of eighteen, a junior member will be able to post his or herr own stories. At eighteen, an option will be made available for the junior member to convert to an adult membership.
Adding a New Junior Member
Go to your Control Center/Sponsored Junior Members/Add a Junior member.
User id: This is the log in id name for the junior member. It will appear as one word in lower case. Example: simplesimon. It may not be changed. The user id will be shown publicly in the URL for a junior member’s profile page. It is suggested that the legal name of the junior member not be used.
Email address: Many children do not have individual email addresses. You may use yours for as many sponsored junior members as you need. Keep in mind, however, that any notifications by email that are requested for the junior membership will be sent to the email address of record. If you have several sponsored junior members, your email account could be kept busy. Review the notification settings under the Edit tab next to the junior member’s name in your My Sponsored Jr. Members in your Control Center.
Password: This along with the user name is how the junior member logs in to utilize junior membership benefits. Only a sponsor may change a password. It is case sensitive.
First & Last Name: This will not be made public. It is for internal use.
Pen Name: This required information is made public. It is the name by which the junior member will be known and shown on the site. It will show exactly as entered. While many adult members use their actual legal names for a pen name, it is suggested that junior members use fictitious names for protection of identity. It may be the same as the user id name or different. Only a sponsor may change a pen name.
Date of Birth: This will not be made public. It is for internal use.
Biographical information: This is optional. It can present information of interest but the young person’s identity should be protected. If information is entered, it will be made public.
Changes to a Junior Member’s Account
Only the sponsoring adult member may make changes on a junior member’s account. Changes are made by clicking Edit next to a junior member’s name in the My Sponsored Jr. Members portion of an adult member’s Control Center.
Avatar: For the sake of a junior member’s internet protection, Avatars are not available.
Responsibilities of a Sponsor (these include but are not limited to the following)
- Being a minor, a junior member is not asked to agree to the terms of the Membership Agreement. The sponsor should review those terms with the junior member and shall be responsible for any postings by the junior member.
- A sponsor should consider sitting with the junior member and visiting some of the links for Internet safety as shown in the Tools/Internet Safety section on the toolbar.
- Only an adult sponsoring member may make changes to a junior member’s account. The only thing that may not be changed is the user name.
- A sponsored junior member will automatically show as a Favorite Junior Author for the sponsoring member. This will alert the sponsor to each time a story is posted so that it can be read.
- The default option for a junior member’s message center is Private. A sponsor should think about whether Public or Private provides the most Internet protection for the junior member.
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