You know you're a spammer when...

[happydolphin]

I like this thread, it's a good idea, sorry MBP gotta disagree with you here. (unless you were just kidding of course)

I think spam comes in different flavors. I consider trolling a type of spam, in that it is undesirable. Yet, at the same time, some people have taken a liking to that flavor as it can spur discussion and lead to proof by contradiction, in which the troll gets raped.

However, there is a form of spam which smells "I want to get my post count up, so I'm saying this". That's the kind of post that kills a thread because others who at first showed interest in the OP now no longer want to be there and participate.

In the end, I think it's important not to take this too far and let people be free and feel at ease on the forum they call home. Yet at the same time, users should be sensitive to others and make posts that they consider (as much as they can, by their own judgement), as adding value and substance to the topic at hand, trying at least to find a way to say something that others may find enlightening or interesting.

Ultimately, it's about a balance of self-respect, being interesting, and being yourself and free.

When the right balance is set, there should be no more problem, at which point those who cry "spam" are the ones in error and are just not letting users be happy. They then become the primary ones to blame.

In essence, Spam should be dealt with on an individual level as much as possible, unless a group of spammers can be addressed at one time. Otherwise, locking a thread due to spammers and calling it "a topic with a lack of substance" is, in my opinion, not good moderation.

Not to say our mods do a bad job, AU CONTRAIRE, but that part of their policy I just strongly disagree with, especially when people put time and thoughts into their threads which, subsequently, get sabotaged due to the carelessness of others. To me, that's not fair.

Deal with the spammer, not the thread. Having said all that, again, I wish we all improve and just make this place even more awesome than it already is.

Thanks for a good topic.