If you are young, you may want to consider a little bit before you post something in the forum or say something in the game. There are some rather disturbed individuals out there and I do not want you to put yourself in any dangerous situations by telling someone something that you shouldn't have.

For the sake of your privacy and safety, please follow the following guidelines which I am thinking up as I type:

You may give your first name, but not your last.
Do not give out your city, zip or street address.
Do not mention street addresses or specific buildings that could be traced to the city you live in.
Do not mention what school you go to in any way.
Do not mention the names of any of your real life friend.
Do not mention your phone number.
Let your parents review your forum posts and messages from time to time.
Please only refer to your age as "minor" or "under 18" or "young".
In general, be vague. Details can be a dangerous thing to share when you are young.

Why be so cautious? Because while I have no intention of misusing your information, I can't be sure that you would not post too much information about yourself and I can't be sure of what sort of people the forum members are. Even if they are nice online, it does not mean they will be nice in real life.

IF YOU ARE UNDER 13:
I have reviewed the forum settings for my guild and it does mention COPPA which is meant to protect those under 13. It will send you an email which is supposed to be replied to via fax or mail. The point of that, I believe is to get your parent's signature to the prove that you have their permission.

More information on COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) can be found at http://www.coppa.org/.

i would also like top point out that time zones and states can also be used to trace an individual's location or at least narrow a search with the other information provided.