# Please have content in your thread



## Morrus (Jul 14, 2014)

EN World isn't a link directory, and it isn't Twitter; it's a discussion forum.  Please make sure your new thread actually has content in it, not just a link.  Threads with just links in them will be deleted by the moderators. Please don't try to game the system; that will just annoy everybody concerned. If you're linking to a news item, summarize it and_ offer an opinion_. 

Why is this?  It's not personal, and it's not to annoy you. To be mathematical about it, this site gets downgraded by Google for pages which have no actual content or which simply duplicate content elsewhere, and that ultimately costs me money.   Nobody wants that, especially me, so let's all try to keep to the spirit of the rules and create threads with content.  Thanks!

Other guidelines:



Embed YouTube videos rather than links which take people away from the site.  There's a button in the posting toolbar for that. 

Thanks for your understanding!


----------



## GameNightLife (Mar 27, 2015)

Morrus said:


> EN World isn't a link directory, and it isn't Twitter; it's a discussion forum.




I actually sighed with happiness upon reading that.  

I'm also glad that my mostly vacuous reply here doesn't really count as an infraction of the rule I so dearly like.


----------



## CapnZapp (Dec 10, 2015)

Morrus said:


> Why is this?  It's not personal, and it's not to annoy you. To be mathematical about it, this site gets downgraded by Google for pages which have no actual content or which simply duplicate content elsewhere, and that ultimately costs me money.



Another way of explaining this; the one I myself favor, is:

By posting only a link, you force the readers of EN World to leave the site to understand what your thread is about, even before I know if it's a subject I'm interested in. That's annoying. 

Don't do annoying things.

Instead, include a short description of your linked article, enough to tell me whether I'm interested or not. Just repeating the title or article header or even the first lines of copy is not enough, especially in these linkbait times. Including something you wrote yourself also tells me you're invested in the subject enough to bother, which is a good sign.

Also, include at least a short summary of what your own reactions are. "Discuss" is not acceptable. You don't get to be impartial moderator; if you post something, we expect you to share your opinion, take sides or otherwise get personal.

Note: I'm not a moderator. All of the above are my personal opinions. 

Consider this a completely informal proposal to extend the official post by Morrus, brought on by my opinion that "mathematical reasons" are perhaps not the best motivator in this case.

Best Regards
Zapp


----------

