rogerd - 2:24 pm on Jun 25, 2004 (gmt 0)

"We're worried about the other guys, not upstanding citizens like you" is not only effective (in person, too, not just on forums) but has the benefit of being accurate in many cases. I'd guess in most forums the majority of posts requiring edits are, in fact, made by innocent users who simply haven't read the TOS. Some are obviously innocent, and others are just too difficult to determine. Since even mods don't have psychic powers (those are only given to admins ;)), having fixed rules for everyone is the only sensible approach.

Fixed rules for all makes it easy to assume everyone has innocent intentions, and avoids most hurt feelings. Indeed, I've seen cases where seemingly blatant spam posts were make by well-intentioned newbies who were simply trying to help. A gentle explanation prevents losing these members right off the bat.