We don't mind some off topic things. We just don't encourage it. But the rules here are few, and we try to be relaxed about things in general. Is there a rule of thumb? Not officially, but we could think up a few, outside directly mtm related things, if it would provide helpful guidelines. For example.
On the down side
- no hostilities of any kind
- permission and credit arguments are frowned upon, tho we recognize their validity
- desktop-type or other transient postings are encouraged to use the main mtm bbs, where archiving is less of a concern.
On the up side
- sharing topics of interest is perfectly acceptable
- work in progress updates are encouraged
- use the appropriate forum whenever possible.
And that's about it. I recognize the flux in human nature and we tend to take things as they come rather than set hard and fast rules into which everything must be pigeon-holed. If nothing else, this site/forum should be understood as a place that encourages patience, tolerance, exploration, experimentation and anything else conducive to creativity in our game, and in general. If a news/information post accomplishes that, then so be it.
Another thing to note. Space and bandwidth force certain issues. Here and at other sites. The ubb (which was a pig for hdd space) and karf.net demanded attention to resources. That's no longer the case here at rhino/mtm2.com. I don't think we need to take anything for granted, or we should get sloppy about it, but for the time being, we have the room and bandwidth we need, and the new forum is much much more efficient than the old. Together, that translates into a further relaxing of restrictions we might have needed to imposed at other times.
The bottom line is we HAD to demand and impose focus before. 300 mbs left no alternative. But as things stand now, we can loosen the noose a bit. I'm not suggesting we want a free-for-all (I think most people enjoy the on target mtming around here), but people are people and there's life outside these thin walls. If some of it finds it's way in, hopefully that'll be okay.
Lastly, a truck forum is not far off. I'm hoping for that one, previews and reviews can be combined into one place. People need a place to show off work in progress, more so for trucks than tracks. But we'll see how it goes.
I hope that helps.
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