Why is the age requirement for an advisor 18?

Yup...says so right in on the application form.

He asked why.

I have no idea...I guess they don't like kids.

I'll venture a guess, but I really have no idea. If you are 18 years old, they don't have to worry about what your parents think of you doing this.

I am certain that their goal is not to alienate their younger members. It might be on the advice of counsel.

You have enjoyed the forums for quite some time. I would trust them and give them the benefit of the doubt. It is what you would want someone to do for you.

My guess is it's to be extra-safe from any legal problems...just a guess, mind you. It's a shame, no matter what the reason may be. I think we can all agree that these forums would not be the resource they are today without it's teenage members. And yes, my mistake: I didn't realize he was asking why.

Does anyone know how many members of this forum are under 18?

It would be interesting to know how many people are being excluded by this rule.

It is not that we don't like kids.

It is for protection of the company. Advisors become a part of the SitePoint team and may have access to proprietary and personal information. There is no way to enforce a breach of contract against a minor whether their parents sign for them or not.

Making this information available is necessary for the Advisors to do their jobs. It is also SitePoint's number one concern to keep this information confidential.

So even with parental consent someone under 18 cannot become an advisor?

That is correct. The minimum age to be an Advisor is 18.

There is no legal way to write up a contract that holds the parents of a teenager liable for anything he or she might do to abuse his or her position of power as a moderator on SitePoint? No way?

Because this isn't a paying job, I think the advisor positions should be given to those who are most capable of the job. There are some 20-year-olds, for example, that are far more immature than 16-year-olds. It depends on that - each individual case should be treated separately, and minors shouldn't excluded if they are capable of handling the duties and responsibilities of the position.