# I feel criticized when the Site tells me I've posted "too often" to a certain thread and should "invite others to join" **URL:** \ **Category:** Site Feedback\ **Created:** [June 23, 2020, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484 "2020-06-23T18:29:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/1 "2020-06-23T18:29:28Z")
I don’t know how to “invite others to join”, and I don’t think I’m doing anything to prevent them from posting to the threads I like the most. In case anyone else does want to “help”, please comment on Books A-Z, Speak to Me Only in Science Fiction, Speak to Me Only in Disney (all in Thread Games) and What’s the First Line in the Book You’re Currently Reading? (In Cafe Society). ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/2 "2020-06-23T18:40:07Z")
If I recall, this is built into the codebase of Discourse. Culturally, Discourse “encourages” more conversation by preventing anyone, even an original poster, from dominating. They do that by not letting you post again until someone else has posted. Coercive encouragement, in other words. I just now logged back in after the transition, so I haven’t tried much, but I think you can edit your original post if you have more to add. (But if the SDMB carried over the 5-minute rule, then you’re stuck between Discourse’s biases and the SDMB’s biases. Sorry.) ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/3 "2020-06-23T18:51:15Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > If I recall, this is built into the codebase of Discourse. Culturally, Discourse “encourages” more conversation by preventing anyone, even an original poster, from dominating. They do that by not letting you post again until someone else has posted. Coercive encouragement, in other words. Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/4 "2020-06-23T18:53:57Z")
I don’t want a web platform reading our posts or butting in to our conversations. It really is none of Discourse’s business what we do here. We have our own moderators. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/5 "2020-06-23T18:54:59Z")
I’m not happy with this either. I have lots of words in me. I’m playing 20year catch-up on some of you jokers. 😊 There must be some kinda work around. Hopefully. I mean, we put a man on the moon, and all. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/6 "2020-06-23T18:56:51Z")
It looks like this is a controllable setting by the admins: > **[Allow only (x) consecutive replies in the same topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/allow-only-x-consecutive-replies-in-the-same-topic/69756/21)** > > Oh, i didn’t know that. Actually the user was the owner of the topic - but i’m not sure if it’s before our migration to Discourse, or not. So, i’ve changed the ownership to my account, and back to his. Hopefully it works, as expected. Thanks for... ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/7 "2020-06-23T19:01:18Z")
It also forces you to write full sentences. Discourse is like a school marm from a 60s Western. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/8 "2020-06-23T19:01:30Z")
I am feeling extreme guilt pangs over “dominating” Sequential Threads over in MPSIMS. So please, PLEASE post in that thread everyone. I can’t bear the stigma any longer. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/9 "2020-06-23T19:03:16Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > It also forces you to write full sentences. Discourse is like a school marm from a 60s Western. nm I need to add some more characters ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/10 "2020-06-23T19:04:45Z")
There are lots of settings here that are different than what we are used to. Many have not been evident until the new site went live. Many issues have been fixed. I will make sure this is brought up. Remember we have only one Admin and she has been putting out fires, tweaking the board and helping individuals connect non-stop since the switchover. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/11 "2020-06-23T19:30:14Z")
Yeah, it’s annoying, but this is what Discourse is, at its core. Most of what makes it not like other forum software is its attempts to automate moderation. The other half is one man pushing his ideas of what people want in a forum, rather than just letting the communities decide. If you’re just getting notices and not being forbidden to post, that suggests that the admins have already nerfed it all. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/12 "2020-06-23T19:43:39Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Remember we have only one Admin and she has been putting out fires, tweaking the board and helping individuals connect non-stop since the switchover. Huh. The way Tuba talked about it, I thought there were more people involved in fixing things. Sure, she’s the only Admin, but I thought she had the tech staff helping her out. This is just way too big a job for one person. If she can’t get anyone else to help, I hope she’ll reach out to technically savvy Dopers to help her out. Not just ask us for things to fix, but also to help her work out how to fix them. Heck, maybe she could give people she trusts some direct access. I wish I could help, but I suspect she doesn’t have direct access to JavaScript or CSS. I don’t know anything about how to administrate Discourse, and lack the money to be able to learn. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/13 "2020-06-23T20:08:12Z")
Yes there is a tech staff but they are not reading your posts. She is the conduit through which the problems are addressed. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/14 "2020-06-23T22:04:53Z")
I’m not so sure that they aren’t reading our posts. I’ve seen at least one of them has joined us and has posted in one of these threads. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/15 "2020-06-23T22:12:05Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I don’t want a web platform reading our posts or butting in to our conversations. It really is none of Discourse’s business what we do here. We have our own moderators. Yes, this. This platform has an inherent nanny-state philosophy baked into it. I hope that most or all of these “features” are configurable and can be disabled. Hey, simply eliminating Likes was a good start! So far, I’ve seen two different cases: (1) Our nanny-bot pokes me when I try to post more that three consecutive posts without an intervening post by someone else. I protest: If I’m replying to multiple other posts but making a somewhat different point in each reply, those belong in separate posts and not in one omnibus reply post. Disco-nanny would prefer that we make omnibus reply posts. (2) Disco-nanny also tweaked me for saying I’ve posted more than 21% of the posts in the thread, and why don’t I let someone else get in a post edge-wise. (3) And yes, I also got grammar-checked once when I was making a test post. So be sure to run even your test posts by your English teacher before you post it here! (Do you get a badge for earning straight-A’s after so many posts?) ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/16 "2020-06-23T22:14:04Z")
It also seems to nag if you have replied to a particular individual more than it deems appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/17 "2020-06-23T22:15:01Z")
That’s amusing! ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/18 "2020-06-24T16:01:01Z")
You’re going to love the next update when they incorporate plagiarism checking via partnership with turnitin. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/19 "2020-06-24T16:07:54Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I protest: If I’m replying to multiple other posts but making a somewhat different point in each reply, those belong in separate posts and not in one omnibus reply post. Disco-nanny would prefer that we make omnibus reply posts. And yet that is also difficult to do, at least if you want to make extended replies, because there’s a 3,500-character limit per post, which is WAY too short for this message board. When you count spaces as characters (which it does), that’s less than about 700 words. The old vB board had a limit of around 20,000 characters per post. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484/20 "2020-06-24T16:11:43Z")
I’m interested in how that prevents others from joining in. The part I tried to quote didn’t work. Point 2 in **Senegoid’s** post [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-feel-criticized-when-the-site-tells-me-ive-posted-too-often-to-a-certain-thread-and-should-invite-others-to-join/912484.md?page=2)