I'm torn.
On one hand, it's never right to start enforcing rules without properly informing everyone they might apply to in advance, and I generally consider more rules to be a bad thing.
On the other, it
was getting pretty stupid how everyone and their lupe were putting their 5-10 rarest possessions up in 'Display Trades' to show everyone how cool they were. We have galleries for that. Certainly, people look at those far less often, but that is because people are often (rightfully) disinterested in otherwise useless displays of wealth. Views gained by putting your items were they'll be found by people that are looking for a service you don't intend to offer are hardly something you can complain about losing.
It depends where they go from here. As long as it's ok when you put "Reserved for X' or 'Private Trade' in and make an effort informing people on their sudden change of policy, it won't be one of their worst rules.
Scythemantis wrote:
Not sure what you want explained, this rule is pretty clear. You are not allowed to make boards for pretending you're at a party, which idiotic kids like to do on the internet, i.e. "I'M DRUNK LOL" "LETZ ALL PLAY STRIP POKER!", etc.
Yeah, people that have fun in ways you disapprove of are such
idiots!
Anyway, there's plenty to explain. Not all parties are loaded with sex or alcohol related references; a party is technically just a recreational meeting between a group of individuals; a term you could apply to a great many of the things we're allowed to do on the site. A timed group effort to refresh at the meridel rubbish dump to make it 'stock' better items while chatting in a board on it could easily be called a party, for example, and what about threads concerning a pet's birthday? In cases like these, it is merely the word 'party', and not any of its practical implications, that are forbidden; and that rightfully raises questions about those activities. All in all, it's a rather stupid rule; they banned the type of thread because it 'often led to rule breaking', when they already had rules against the things they
actually wanted to forbid. Outlawing stuff simply by association is draconian at the best of times, and unmanageably arbitrary at most.