Adding to the Spam definitions

[Nate]

Can we add to the definitions of spam? This is something that really irritates me; people who respond to a new picture or piece of information by just saying "great find" or "congratulations on your finding skills". No commentary, no judgement, no discussion on how it fits into the Oddworld mythos. Just two words: great and find. This is one example http://www.oddworldforums.net/showpo...2&postcount=11 but the habit seems to have been growing in the last few weeks.

This may seem like a silly thing to get worked up about but it clogs up threads and reeks of people trying to notch up their post count. Most people at least try to bring something new to the discussion with each post. In addition, once one person does this, many others copy them until you have a number of consecutive posts that say nothing.

Unless we do something this is only going to grow.

[Gretin]

Yes, I agree, another example is "Screens New and Old (But Spoilers!!!)" in the Oddworld GD. When people say stuff like that it sort of drives away the people who have actually got something to say because there's so many posts in there about nothing. So, I guess this is a job for the moderators?

[Alcar]

I'm probably guilty of that, though I try to actually discuss the images, if that is what you were getting at. I'll ponder about it, and hopefully get some opinions from Abe Babe and some Moderators

Alcar...

[Wil]

Hmmm, I'm not sure if people registering their gratitude for somebody's discovery should count as spam in my books, but I entirely see where you're coming from. I usually feel guilty if I don't at least do that, though.

[AquaticAmbi]

I think this situation is a lot like when a person's post merely says something like "That's stupid" or "That sucks". The only difference is "Great find" is positive.

I remember in some other thread where the definitions of spam were being discussed, someone brought up the "that's stupid"/"that sucks" sort of remarks. If your post says only those two words, it's most definitely spam. However, if you say "that's stupid because...", it does not qualify as spam for it contributes reasoning behind your comment.

So, perhaps people should be required to give reasons as to why they believe an image is a great find--what they appreciate seeing in the image.

[Gretin]

Good point there, AquaticAmbi. That's how I was thinking it out. Sort of like what SeaRex said about "Owned" posts...

[Alcar]

Great ideas, and more importantly, I thank Max for the initiative he took when creating the collective threads for reviews and interviews. That was a great idea

Alcar...

[Nate]

(ahem... prompted initiative)