Maximum Age For VT??

[Uranus]

So I hear we are not allowed to join if we are 20+ bit we can still join BEFORE that age and then once we become that age we are still welcome?
If so then how old after that do the administrators think would be the time to actually leave?

[Lost in the Echo]

Yes, you can stay past 20 if you joined while you were 19 or younger.
Obviously, though, there comes a point in time where you've kinda worn out your welcome, and it's time to leave.

[Uranus]

Like what age would that be? 50?

[Emerald Dream]

Other things in life usually take precedence over being on a teen forum when as people get older and into their 20s - jobs, relationships, more intense education, etc...there is just no time or interest to be here anymore. Most of the time people just "outgrow" VT and move on.

Obviously, there is a problem that needs to be addressed if someone registered as a teen and is still here after they are 30+. You wouldn't be a great influence on a teen site anymore and it would be weird...if not creepy.

[Lost in the Echo]

Like what age would that be? 50?

That's pretty subjective, but I'd say if you're regularly active past the age of like 23, 24, 25 and beyond, then it becomes a bit creepy and inappropriate.

[Uranus]

Other things in life usually take precedence over being on a teen forum when as people get older and into their 20s - jobs, relationships, more intense education, etc...there is just no time or interest to be here anymore. Most of the time people just "outgrow" VT and move on.

Obviously, there is a problem that needs to be addressed if someone registered as a teen and is still here after they are 30+. You wouldn't be a great influence on a teen site anymore and it would be weird...if not creepy.

I get what you're saying. It would probably be weird. Of course I could probably have like 50,000 posts around that age.

[ksdnfkfr]

Here on VT members who get to around 19-20 know when it's time to step away from a teen forum and i really admire them for that. On my other teen forum there's long timers who are 25 to 28 years old and it's ridiculos. One long timer there i'm quite sure is significantly over age. I mean to me staying on in a teen forum after you're not a teen would be like me staying on in elementary school.

[Broken Toy]

I see it as ive got like 4 years left here maybe 5 at a push but i think teen is teen.

[Perfectly Flawed]

Well one reason people usually leave is time constraints. It's hard to find time to be on VT once you get out of high school. The more in depth reasons are below.

I started on VT with my original account somewhere around when I was 13 years old. For about three years I didn't get on almost ever (hence the low post count on this account). It's kind of hard to relate to many of the problems people have on these forums now that I am nearly 19. Honestly I enjoy my time here usually, but as you get a bit older I think you will start to see why people leave. While I plan to stick around another couple years I don't think I could push more than that unless it was only on the news sections.

I think one reason some people stay so long is we feel a connection to the site. This site has helped me and others through so much that we feel hurt when we just drop it. When I got back after the three year hiatus I was legitimately hurt at seeing all my old VT friends gone, and now I wonder where they are today. That connection is what made me log in again after so long.

Another reason I feel a lot of us stay on is because we feel like the best way to thank those who helped us is to carry on the helpful attitude. I really love helping people who are experiencing the same problems I did in my younger years. I enjoy the discussing things intellectually with younger people because of their less biased and more open viewpoints towards certain areas of discussion.

All in all VT has been an important part of my life and I want to keep part of that with me, but as time goes on I relate less and less to the people on the forums. I feel this is what other older users experience as well and that's why some stick around for a bit into their early 20's, but usually leave by then. Some people feel so connected to VT that they may stick around past their welcome, and I believe it's because of that emotional attachment they have. Seeing friends go away is saddening so they try to avoid that. It's kind of like when you graduate high school. Almost all your friends (all of them for some people) vanish, and you are left alone in a scary world. Maybe VT provides comfort in that it brings people back to their years as a child.

I hope that clarified things a bit.