How to cut down on threads that get closed.

[Major Blood]

I had a thought while looking through a couple of threads started by new people that automatically get closed... why not disable the thread making abilities of anyone with less that maybe 25 posts?

[Meister]

Because not all new members post spammy - in fact, I'd guess the majority doesn't and we just notice the few who do. It wouldn't be fair to people who sign up to plug their webcomic or something (which is allowed, as opposed to plugging businesses or scams).

Or do you mean only introduction threads? They're not much of a nuisance. (Not to mention every single one is an opportunity to point out the forum rules. :p)

[Skyshot]

How about the first five posts, then? That'd force them to be at least slightly active here, and it would give you a gauge of how worthwhile whatever thread they make will be. Most intro threads are someone's first post anyway, so after five posts, they've had an opportunity to see the intro thread in General and be told to read the rules. They could also plug their webcomic without having to be widely recognized here.

Me, one of my first posts was a thread about how the system wouldn't accept my avatar, and it turned out not to be some forum thing I overlooked like with other avatar issues. I could've waited five posts for that.

I suppose the one problem with any limit on how early you can create threads is they'll just post in existing threads instead (Wandering Wombat style), and even if those posts are deleted, there's still the risk of the thread getting derailed. More efficient to have them create a thread which can be handled effectively without backlash. Maybe we should have a limit on how many posts a person must have before they're allowed to post? :D

[Nique]

I don't like the idea myself - I'd be more inclined towards something like having to read through a (brief) page of rules before being allowed to post, with an explaination as to 'why' in some kind of preamble. Then there's no excuse, and no one has any limits based on their post count.

[Loyal]

Maybe you could apply the "No threads until X posts" to all but the Books and Comics forum? That's possible, right?

Personally, I've always thought about forcing the person to read the rules, followed by a brief multiple-choice test about it to ensure that they read it instead of just clicking on the "I agree" button.