This forum has its share of questionable rules. The "Quote Wars" rule, for example, or the arguably over strict bump rule (if I recall, responses to questions in Sell/Buy section threads are considered bumps).
The staff have their mandate, and I get that. It's Guru's site to run as they please. While I find the above-mentioned rules kind of silly, the rules aren't up to me. I must, however, voice a minor complaint.
Quote:
--Do Not Abuse the English LanguageRegarding Forum Rules
A Godsend
This is a message board, not a chat room. DO NOT use "Leet-Speak", slang, colloquialisms, or chat lingo on the forums. Completely illegible posts are subject to moderation and we can not guarantee the accuracy of the 'translation' of the author’s original message. Additionally, when one punctuation mark works instead of 10 (example: ? instead of ?!?!), use one. It's all well and good to want—and, within reason, to require—that posts on your message board be intelligible. The quoted rule goes beyond that, though. You first bar "Leet-Speak" and "chat lingo." The former is entirely reasonable. The latter's a bit less reasonable, as I'm not sure a message board without the occasional "LOL" or "OMG" is a realistic or attainable goal. You go on to prohibit colloquialisms and slang. That's where I'd draw the line. Colloquialisms and slang are important to language. Slang words often become proper through popular usage, and colloquialisms can help one to express oneself when the main lexicon proves insufficient. In other words, I ain't gonna be happy if y'all give me an infraction for this sentence. It's a perfectly understandable sentence. You cannot expect kosher, formal English on a message board. This site is far from a jacket-and-tie affair.
Were the rule enforced, I suppose I'd have to keep my mouth shut and try to observe it. Like I said earlier, it's your forum to run as you please. It isn't enforced, though. Your moderators seem to read the rule as "delete posts that make no sense and warn members who \/\/r1t3 7h15 0b/\/0x1u5ly."
I simply suggest that the rule be rewritten in such a way as to better express the intent of the Guild Wars Guru staff. I understand you're not all crazed grammar nazis. When I read it, this rule just sounded so pretentious that I had to say something.
I appreciate the audience in the form of the Site Feedback forum. Good to know you're open to suggestion. Thanks very much.
Calista Blackblood
Bumps move the sale thread back up the listings,is it fair that popular threads get more time at the top of the forum when at any time there are many hundreds of items listed?
The issue of text speak and shorthand is a non-issue really. We simply don't edit or delete a lol at the end of a post,it's absurd and would take more time than most of us have spare.Entire posts written in textspeak or shorthand are a different,rarely occuring matter. I've seen 3(if even) posts this year that weren't written in English and less constructed of text speak or other shorthand.
Perhaps the wording is off slightly which we can look at.
The issue of text speak and shorthand is a non-issue really. We simply don't edit or delete a lol at the end of a post,it's absurd and would take more time than most of us have spare.Entire posts written in textspeak or shorthand are a different,rarely occuring matter. I've seen 3(if even) posts this year that weren't written in English and less constructed of text speak or other shorthand.
Perhaps the wording is off slightly which we can look at.
Cool Name
Why are you talking about the bump rule? Godsend says he thinks it is "kind of silly" (I agree but that isn't the point) but accepts it. Why is it being discussed? His post is about the fact that the written rule doesn't seem to resemble the enforced rule, which to be fair it doesn't. Personally I'm not sure if it's much of a problem. Although it might be inaccurate I think the only possible consequences of it's inaccuracies are good: people are likely to make posts in better english.