Why I think the 10 character rule kills conversations.

The 10 character rule need to die.

  • Total voters
    31
MetalSoup

MetalSoup

There's a GIF for that
For those that don't know, here's basically why the minimum 10 character limit exists:
6. Keep single word replies to a minimum. If you agree, then say why you agree rather than simply posting “+1” or “I agree” etc.
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Source

And now I'll tell you why I think it's bad:

I feel that lot of conversations going on on the forum are killed by what people perceive as a lack of interest in what they have to say.

A person can make the best argument on the internet, and people don't reply, often because they don't care, or because the person said exactly what they think and they don't feel they can add anything worthwhile to the conversation.

I think a simple "I agree" (or even "+1" for the lazy) from time to time will help posters realize that people do read their comments and that their opinions do matter, encouraging them to post more often in the long run.

There is nothing a person who posts something appreciates more than being acknowledged, and there's nothing worse than having a post you put a lot of thought into being ignored.

Obviously we don't want people spamming the forum with plus-ones, but I think people who do that will be pretty easy to spot and will be called out on it.
 
Sometimes I have one of two words that do not exceed or reach 10 character and am forced to add dots to fill the space. Other times I avoid posting altogether as I don't have any more to say but need to fill the 10 character quota.
 
even though i voted 1+ , i just think some posts deserve lesser characters but ...so far the forum is quite neat :)
 
8sh said:
Sometimes I have one of two words that do not exceed or reach 10 character and am forced to add dots to fill the space. Other times I avoid posting altogether as I don't have any more to say but need to fill the 10 character quota.
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It's ridiculously easy to bypass the 10 character rule anyway, if you have two words you can add multiple spaces between them, or just use a smiley after the word, some of them even take up 10 characters on their own, like "whistling:
 
Maybe if we add an elitism to it, like you gotta have been a member for at least a year, then you "earn" the right to be able to +1. That'll surely curb some of the potential post abuse. Also, there should still be a way to distinguish between lots of "+1 / Agree" post's and actual posts, for competition purposes. How lame might activity comps become if everyone just starts +1'ing posts :P

So, remove the 10 char limit for mature accounts, and remove less-than-10-char posts from activity data.
 
MetalSoup said:
It's ridiculously easy to bypass the 10 character rule anyway, if you have two words you can add multiple spaces between them, or just use a smiley after the word, some of them even take up 10 characters on their own, like "whistling:
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k

^ its to avoid ppl replying like this
 
Perhaps a 3 character or some such limit. "k" is a valid post albeit annoyingly and lazily short.
 
I'd agree with either a post count or duration based limit on who can do that though, don't want people coming here just for comps and posting a bunch of +1's
 
mottamort said:
Maybe if we add an elitism to it, like you gotta have been a member for at least a year, then you "earn" the right to be able to +1. That'll surely curb some of the potential post abuse. Also, there should still be a way to distinguish between lots of "+1 / Agree" post's and actual posts, for competition purposes. How lame might activity comps become if everyone just starts +1'ing posts :P

So, remove the 10 char limit for mature accounts, and remove less-than-10-char posts from activity data.
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This might not be that good of an idea, as this immediately alienates new members, in my opinion. I also think that new members are the most likely group to type "I agree" to a post an older forumite might have posted, as they are too afraid to voice their own opinion yet.

I do understand your reasoning though but I think that, as MetalSoup said, it will be easy enough to identify and call out repeat offenders. Activity comps also always specify no spam, so if people report someone for spam for posting 10 "yes" posts in 2 minutes, they will be disqualified. You won't always simply have an "I agree" post, but sometimes it is appropriate I suppose.

Then again, 10 chars is not a lot at all. I can easily type "I agree [MENTION=17]MetalSoup[/MENTION]" and that is 10 done and dusted.

I often see forumites resorting to .............. or /10chars so they can post something, which always looks strange. For myself I know I will probably always type more than 10chars in a reply or post, so to me it doesn't matter.

For the forum however, I think it can go away and we will be able to deal with people who take advantage.

TL;DR I Agree :D
 
KK
+1
"whistling:

But despite that, I'm neither here nor there on the rule. Definitely helps to keep things tidier and avoids the post-count whores with their pointless "first" and repetitive "+1" nonsense. Perhaps a solution for those who genuinely just want to say "I agree" or add a legitimate "+1" would be for [MENTION=289]Jan[/MENTION] to set up the "I Agree" feature on the forums?
Capture.PNG (this from the Project Cars forums).

Either way, as may be obvious to most from my post history, I tend to be a long-winded old fart, so the 10 character minimum is seldom a bother.
 
I agree, but provisionally. I'm not sure if it will help or not but it's worth a try to get things more lively around here. What I would suggest is giving it a go for a limited period to see how things work out without the 10char rule. If it goes well then viva la revolution! If not, the rule could be reinstated.

As a bit of fun I've got a special thread planned if this +1 thing goes live...
 
If we can have a 'Like' UI button, we could still have to 10 character requirement. Clicking 'Like' doesn't not require you to post.
Not that I wish to affect posting on the forum.
 
GregRedd said:
KK
+1
"whistling:

But despite that, I'm neither here nor there on the rule. Definitely helps to keep things tidier and avoids the post-count whores with their pointless "first" and repetitive "+1" nonsense. Perhaps a solution for those who genuinely just want to say "I agree" or add a legitimate "+1" would be for [MENTION=289]Jan[/MENTION] to set up the "I Agree" feature on the forums?
View attachment 16943 (this from the Project Cars forums).

Either way, as may be obvious to most from my post history, I tend to be a long-winded old fart, so the 10 character minimum is seldom a bother.
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but it makes people more lazy to comment but we can go with that , on facebook thats all i do.
no longer bother to share views 10 character is very small we shouldn't worry much about it though
 
Mash said:
but it makes people more lazy to comment but we can go with that , on facebook thats all i do.
no longer bother to share views 10 character is very small we shouldn't worry much about it though
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Fair point indeed. In fact I'm exactly like that as well. I retract my suggestion. Fool I am.
 
8sh said:
If we can have a 'Like' UI button, we could still have to 10 character requirement. Clicking 'Like' doesn't not require you to post.
Not that I wish to affect posting on the forum.
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Ike likes this post
 
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