Hi everyone!
It has come to my attention that we need to change the off-topic post rule. There are four main reasons why I need to do this, and I hope it makes sense to you!
So, the rule is as follows:
From now on, the rule will no longer be that the thread should go back on topic in 5 consecutive posts. Instead, each user will get 3 off-topic posts per thread per 24 hours. This is non-consecutive. If it is clear that you have posted off-topic stuff 4 times in a day on the same thread, your fourth post and every other post after that will be flagged.
So, what is the reason for the change? Well, I have noticed a few different things:
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Some people are constantly posting off-topic stuff. However, other people posting on topic in between their posts have been shielding them from punishment for a while now. Basically, I’ve seen people post 10 off-topic posts in a row, but they have on-topic posts in between their posts, so there has been nothing the staff has been able to do about it. This new rule changes that.
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I hate the idea that the unfortunate person who accidentally posted the 6th off-topic post gets punished, even if they never posted anything off-topic before. The staff members are usually quite fair about this, but I think that fairness needs to be written into the rules going forward.
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Up until now, people have been able to get others in trouble by posting the 5th off-topic reply before them. You could have even had an off-topic conversation with yourself or one other person! Now, you have personal responsibility. If you screw up and post more than 3 times off-topic, that’s your personal problem.
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It is impossible to control how other people post off-topic in the post. So, we’re changing the rule to make sure that you just take responsibility for yourself and don’t get in trouble for others.
Hopefully, that gives you all a little bit more freedom and personal responsibility. The reason we changed it to 3 is because @passionfruit made an awesome point: could you imagine the stress on the staff if they had to police 5 posts per person per post per 24 hours? And we have over 700 users. If you could all have 5 posts each, that would be INSANE!
I hope this makes sense! The rule goes into effect from now.
