You would have to - as you don't have over half the posts on the forum. (Actually, no, that would imply you'd read all the posts on the forum, which is probably a little unlikely.)jrrdw wrote:Beleave it or not (to spite my post count) I read way more then I post.
It's not as simple as just concern about a post getting modded, it's discouraging to write a post and then be told that it breaks some rule that doesn't make complete sense, at least at it's façade.
I can understand the list of basic forum rules, and I can see why each is in place - and they're all good reasons which I can agree with (or at least, don't disagree with), so I stick to them.
But when there's talk about off topic posting being modded... ok, I can understand why if there's a total de-rail of a thread that was still going on, but I like to know about the people I'm getting information from.
If I know nothing about someone, it's hard to trust them, and therefore the information that they give. My subconscious doesn't care if what it knows is their height and favourite pizza toppings, they've seen fit to trust me with information about them, and it then becomes easier to trust them back.
The opportunity to talk a little helps bring the forum together.
Anyway, sorry if I'm rambling a bit, but I've got an interest in psychology, and it all ties together.
Back to where I was before that - if a rule has reasons that aren't perceived as completely sensible, it's harder to comply with, and thus more of a worry, because it's not intuitive. The changes don't seem particularly intuitive, so there's all of these new concerns that have all been implemented so fast that it's an overload.
I deliberately put a lot of effort into my posts. I check them for spelling, grammar, potential errors, things that might offend, and other things... then usually preview them several times. It makes sure I say what I want to, how I want to, and make sure that it's read that way.
It's no small task, and a lot of effort - often a significant portion of an hours work.
To have something I have worked hard on, reviewed and then edited, probably with a lot less care than I applied...
Imagine you've done a drawing, worked really hard on it, then shown it to someone, and they've looked at it, rubbed out a large section, then re-drawn it with a crayon. It's a bit of an over-exaggeration, but that's the kind of thing.
Would you show your work to someone if they were going to do that?
It's probably irrational, but although I've accepted that risk, a number of new rules thrown into the mix has made me very uncertain of what the risks are any more, so I'm more cautious about what I post.
I know that's what you wanted, but I doubt you wanted it to this extent.
I've cut my posting to perhaps 10% of what it was, mostly because all these new rules were implemented too hard and fast for me to take it all in properly.
It might work out in the end, but I'm more concerned that other members will feel as overloaded as myself, but might not have the same dedication, and won't stick about.
Anyway, you can see some of the myriad reasons why I'm edgy about the changes. I know I'm far from the most rational person out there, so I don't doubt that other people might find some of those reasons weird. But consider that I'm a person who punched through a hardened glass window because the guy on the other side was looking at me funny - if you expect completely rational from me, you're looking in the wrong place.
