Why don't people follow Rules?

[warrenisfriendly]

I was wondering why do people register to your forums, and don't follow or even read the rules and automatically start posting away?

Rules are set for a reason, so people don't check to read the rules first and automatically start posting and some even post stuff that the forum strictly forbids.

Yes in the past, I have unfortunately done that, when I can't find the rules anywhere.

But most forums have it in an easy to find area, so it befuddles me to think how can they not see the rule (or do they deliberately post without reading) when it is clear as daylight?

 

[Luke]

Rules are usually quite long and usually the same on many forums so people don't read them. If they were short, and didn't have many and easy to understand, people might consider reading them.

 

[warrenisfriendly]

Rules are usually quite long and usually the same on many forums so people don't read them. If they were short, and didn't have many and easy to understand, people might consider reading them.

Every forum has different sets of rules, for example some might say no Signatures allowed, while others would say go ahead and advertise, and then again some may put restrictions on it, like you need a certain post count.

So you see by the example I gave above, there are different rules depending on the forum.

That's the reason rules are there, especially when it has been stated READ FIRST and many people don't.

I understand if there are no rules or not easy to find, but people should always and I do mean ALWAYS read the rules first, before assuming it's fine to do that.

Let's say your forum doesn't allow Adult Content and it's stated in your rules, would you accept a user posting naked images all over your forum or linking to or uploading piracy contents because they couldn't be bothered reading the rules?

I know I wouldn't like that if my forum states it's not allowed.

 

[VirusZero]

It's simple...

A great number of people are lazy, arrogant, dense/clueless or self-absorbed/lack empathy. (Or some combination of all of them.)

I've seen cases of people acting like they don't have to read (let alone obey) rules because it might inconvenience them for 30 seconds (or perhaps they're bored and just want to cause problems). I have seen sites with rules that have 7 bullet points to cover all their rules. Rules very much like this example:

Spoiler

- Site is rated PG-13.
- Use common sense. (No spam, harassment/bullying, etc...)
- Keep graphics below 550x200
- Advertising is only allowed in signatures.

And yet even their rules get violated because, like I mentioned above, there is always that one group of people (since it's never just one person) who does not have the empathy/understanding to go "I wouldn't want someone doing this on my site... so I probably shouldn't do it on theirs."

They might feel like there are no consequences for their actions (or inactions) and that they can do whatever they want. And to cap it off, they often feel entitled to do whatever they want too.


Other people just don't care to read rules because they feel they're all the same. They rely on past knowledge to go through all situations. (Which doesn't always work since some sites have different rules for different reasons. Like for an example of this, on my own site we have a rule against cloaked urls. Which means no using bit.ly or anything like it to shorten, hide or monetize urls. I have this rule because in the past there have been enough cases of people using cloaked links to post porn, links to shock sites or malware that this was a legitimate problem. But not every site has a rule like that because they haven't had that same issues.)

But these sorts will always exist. They're just part of being an admin. The trick is to deal with them quickly and effectively and get back to enjoying your site rather than focusing on the annoying aspects.

 

[Migi]

But these sorts will always exist. They're just part of being an admin. The trick is to deal with them quickly and effectively and get back to enjoying your site rather than focusing on the annoying aspects.

Bingo.

Let's just be honest, even when we visit new sites or forums, we may not always check the rules. Why? Because rules are usually general sense. If you've been to many online forums for quite a long time, you'll learn the ropes automatically: do not spam, do not bash, respect others, watch your signature so it won't be too long or too big, no porn, no advertising links. It's common sense. Some may neglect the common sense because (1) they have never been to forums before or (2) not interested in rules at all because they are not planning to visit your forum anymore.

For forums with specific rules, you can place the rules on sections (ACP has this option usually) not in threads to make it stands out more.

My conclusion is that 99% of most times, rules are not there to be read. It's there to justify your act if a member does something strange, not according to the rules. You can't do anything about it, true. If you feel like you spend too much time worrying on why members always violate the rules, maybe you can start asking yourself if there is anything wrong with those rules.

 

[master412160]

Most people do but some don't.


Depending on the maturity of your community of course and how relaxed you are about people following the rules or not.

 

[warrenisfriendly]

So are you saying it's some form of laziness and it may be retaliation to a certain extent too?

 

[Migi]

So are you saying it's some form of laziness and it may be retaliation to a certain extent too?

I think so. It shouldn't be like that, I know, but from the way people are too lazy to check rules and only starting to read it properly when their posts are gone or when they receive warnings...

I'd say don't give a fret about it too much. It doesn't happen everyday anyway.

 

[warrenisfriendly]

So are you saying it's some form of laziness and it may be retaliation to a certain extent too?

I think so. It shouldn't be like that, I know, but from the way people are too lazy to check rules and only starting to read it properly when their posts are gone or when they receive warnings...

I'd say don't give a fret about it too much. It doesn't happen everyday anyway.

Thanks for that, it's just twice that's happened on my forums this week alone with 2 different members, it's very astonishing.

One of them left because I had to remove the signature because they didn't have the required posts limit.
Plus this person posted without reading the rules and only read it after they posted.

You're definitely right though it shouldn't be like that.

 

[VirusZero]

And there will always be people who despite having been warned or told to read the rules... they won't. I've seen plenty of those cases. And in those it again comes down to laziness, apathy (they just don't care) or arrogance ("you should change to accommodate me" type things).

It's common sense

Or at least it should be. But that's not always the case. Some people really do lack common sense. Others have a different idea of what is common sense. (So what you and I consider pretty standard common sense stuff might not be for another because of the experiences they've had.)

 

[MrSackfist]

The saying goes, rules are meant to be broken. A lot of people who go to forums and break rules are:

People looking to promote their own site

Trolls looking for people to harass.

Sadly that is all you can say. There is always people who will do that, all you can do is suspend or ban people who break the rules

 

[warrenisfriendly]

Rules are there for a reason, how would these members (Those who have forums) like it if we were to go to their forums and advertise without even bothering to look at the rules? Would they be okay with it? I think not, so why do it to others?

 

[VirusZero]

Like I mentioned in my first post, they don't care about what they do on your forum because they're only there for the 30 seconds or whatever to do what they want then they're gone. They have no empathy for you/your forum.
And in many cases even if they're caught/punished they don't really care and it won't stop them from repeating their behaviour again. (In most cases, your site was only ever a tool or temporary stepping stone to further their site and as long as they achieve that end? They don't care.)

And the second you did something they didn't like on their forum? Of course they'd punish you for it. (Because how dare you break their rules. Their rules are the be all, end all of forum rules and are NOT meant to be disregarded at all. Obvious double standards in play since they don't mind doing it to others but can't handle the thought of others doing it to them.)

 

[Beverly]

The saying goes, rules are meant to be broken. A lot of people who go to forums and break rules are:

People looking to promote their own site

Trolls looking for people to harass.

Sadly that is all you can say. There is always people who will do that, all you can do is suspend or ban people who break the rules

Link builders are usually more careless when posting as they don't really care what the rules say since they are going to get their signature line backlink and then never return. A real forum member who is interested in contributing to the forum in any meaningful way will have read the rules to start with. If you encounter someone who can't abide by the rules, give them a warning. After that, feel free to take any action from temp to permanent ban that you want as it's your forum

 

[Venom]

I could understand if someone was new to forums / foruming(?) and genuinly didnt know about rules, but others Will be warned.

 

[Finn]

If you make rules to strict, people get bored and hate being tightly restricted. After a while they don't care and give the whole idea up. Then it's rule breaking time.