How about implementing it where u need to scan ur passport number into a Admin, and then they can use a service like this
http://www.world-check.com/passport-check/ to verify the passport?
Uhh... did you actually read what the product does?
All it does is validate that the information on the machine readable zone of the passport is correctly encoded with appropriate check digits and the proper ICAO font (all of the info to forge this can be found online) and checks the info against lists of known terrorists & criminals, as well as possibly flagging passports reported stolen or misused.
There is NO SUCH THING as a central database of all passports issued worldwide, furthermore, many passports, especially "temporary" travel documents, and those issued by foreign embassies & consulates are NOT MRZ encoded which would make the whole thing useless.
As for my opinion about "kids" ruining the forum... The age of a person does not matter, much like other factors, such as race, religion, nationality, etc. do not affect whether they are able to make mature and intelligent posts.
I am 24... I dont care if the posts are made by a 70 year old or a 15 year old, as long as they bring something of value to the forums. Frankly, I have seen people in their 40s showing behaviors in the "real world" that belong at the high school level.
For those that have proposed some kind of "age verification" scheme... this will be a COMPLETE and utter waste of time, and raises the following implications:
- Do you think that 16 year olds have never heard of "photoshop"? When I was that age, I could knock up IDs that would fool virtually anyone, and am sure that many others could do the same.
-Whats stopping them from using their friends/relatives IDs?
-Ever heard of "privacy"? I am sure many adults would object to sending ID documents to some screen name in a forum. Furthermore, if the info was to fall in the wrong hands (this site was hacked several times already), it can be used for identity theft and other devious purposes. Implementing this might prevent someone who could share something helpful from doing so.
In my opinion, the solution would be to simply enforce the forum rules.
If someone acts immature (insulting behavior, pointless posts, etc), regardless of age warn them. If they continue, they are banned. Simple and effective.
I have also seen on some other forum a seperate section where all the spam / stupidity / flaming goes. Might be possible to do such a section here as well.
