Forums are free, have always been free. And it could be debated if it truly is as many paid to keep it running. That was people's own choice of course, and in that sense, to each their own.

As I see it the only reason this still exists is because there are no decent alternatives anymore as everything moved to FB.

In any case, I don't think a 3 line rule does much as it is all text only anyways. Especially not as there was already the automatic deletion of prior quotes so you only quoted the last post, not an entire discussion.

Some forum-based websites are indeed free to set up and they are mostly and perhaps always free for subscribers to them..... But we all know there's no such thing as a free lunch. Somebody or some organisation has to cover the costs involved when operating a website.
I'm not persuaded it could be debated sensibly without knowing details. As for me I just say kudos to anyone who has contributed to the running costs and kudos to the moderators and administrators who volunteer their time so I and many others get the benefit of being able to use this website and its many forums. :smile:
I disagree.
I think I'd already made a similar point. But like it or not the 3 sentence rule is in place and we should respect the rules of this website if we wish to continue enjoying the privilege of using it.

blessings :hug3:

Without first knowing that there is an actual problem, and without knowing what caused it if there is, taking action to achieve one outcome or another might be a fruitless and frustrating waste of time and effort. Above and beyond that, of course, is that only the individual who 'owns' this website - or their nominated representative(s) - would have the authority to undertake such an activity.

Please think on that moderators/administrators do have lives outside of SF. Spending additional time dealing with 'problems' that may not be actual problems is unfair to expect. It's also not logical.

Well, it seems that there is a data size problem.
In my experience of using hosting services, it's usually the database that is constraining. Raw space for static sites (archives for example) is usually not a problem.
The database could be used for "living" threads by the forum software, and that would save up like 95% of the space, as well as unload the server.

Sure, I'm just throwing ideas, I'm not saying who should do what and how. I don't know the IT knowledge of admins, nor the complexity with vBulletin, nor the time anyone could allocate to do any of that.
And most of all, I'm not blaming anyone! :)

reality
 

The actuality is that we members don't know if there even is a problem.

And if there is a problem we don't know its nature hence we can't know if our personal experience has relevance.

:biggrin: Then why did you just quote 6 sentences? :laughing6:

I think you need a cuppa!

The three sentence rules regarding quotes are here to stay.please do not discuss this again


Namaste

Isn't the real importance of the rule of three sentences to avoid a posting being quoted - perhaps a very long one - without responding to specific points made in it?

Wouldn't it be appropriate to quote each point you are making a specific response to, reducing the text of that section to three sentences where it's longer?

Or have I misunderstood?

The rule was brought in because some posts were long in themselves and that was before the long quotes that came with it.
it made it very long for people to read and it took up too much space



Namaste