"Post New Thread" Limits

[ThePhantasm]

So due to the Kickstarter Project it seems the forum has had an influx of brand new posters / commenters, which is great. They've got a lot of enthusiasm for getting into discussions immediately, which is also great.

However, they've been creating lots and lots of duplicate threads in the OOTS forum, breaking the one topic, one thread rule. I reported a few of these awhile back to be merged, but after those are merged new ones pile up (some examples: multiple "death prediction" threads, multiple "familicide" threads, multiple #841 strip-specific threads). I can only really report one at a time so I gave up on that. It isn't a huge issue but sometimes it is a bit of a headache (at least for me) because I forget what I've commented where and I get confused.

Anyhow, I know some other forums have limits on new posters where they cannot post a new thread until they've been a member for a certain amount of time or reached a certain amount of posts. It wouldn't have to be a huge requirement, but it might force incoming users to read the Forum Rules and explore the forum for a while as an introductory period rather than leaping straight into thread creating. I don't know if having lots and lots of threads puts any strain on the server, but if so this could help cut down on that too.

Have the mods considered this at any point? I'm sure you guys have. I just wanted to throw it out there though given the current mess in the OOTS forum.

Until things settle down a bit I might actually take a break from the OOTS Comic subforum... I just can't keep all the conversations straight!

[Roland St. Jude]

So due to the Kickstarter Project it seems the forum has had an influx of brand new posters / commenters, which is great. They've got a lot of enthusiasm for getting into discussions immediately, which is also great.

However, they've been creating lots and lots of duplicate threads in the OOTS forum, breaking the one topic, one thread rule. I reported a few of these awhile back to be merged, but after those are merged new ones pile up (some examples: multiple "death prediction" threads, multiple "familicide" threads, multiple #841 strip-specific threads). I can only really report one at a time so I gave up on that. It isn't a huge issue but sometimes it is a bit of a headache (at least for me) because I forget what I've commented where and I get confused.

Anyhow, I know some other forums have limits on new posters where they cannot post a new thread until they've been a member for a certain amount of time or reached a certain amount of posts. It wouldn't have to be a huge requirement, but it might force incoming users to read the Forum Rules and explore the forum for a while as an introductory period rather than leaping straight into thread creating. I don't know if having lots and lots of threads puts any strain on the server, but if so this could help cut down on that too.

Have the mods considered this at any point? I'm sure you guys have. I just wanted to throw it out there though given the current mess in the OOTS forum.

Until things settle down a bit I might actually take a break from the OOTS Comic subforum... I just can't keep all the conversations straight!
The rule exists to deal with the problem you mention. I agree multiple threads on one topic can be annoying. And we can't always merge them immediately. But reporting them for merger is the way to deal with them.

Posting limits for new posters cuts against both the "post counts don't matter" and general egalitarian ethos around here. I've no doubt it would limit duplicates, but I think it'd limit far too much and be a source of frustration for old and new posters alike.