Three recent examples of rules from web based organisations.
Example 1
“Your article does not adhere to the following Editorial Guidelines:
Issue 1 (Section 3.f.i.c)
http://EzineArticles.com/
Issue 2 (Section 3.f.i.a)
http://EzineArticles.com/
Example 2
Hi,
Please don’t include a URL in the question text. Links should go in question details, preferably labelled.
Quora content team
Example 3
Account suspended. Make sure your listings meet the quality guidelines.
Why rules can be a problem
Rules are necessary in any society though if you’re trying to build a community one sure way of killing it is to welcome new users with a wall of rules and a bunch of “leaders” inflexibly enforcing them.
An interesting thing all three of the above services – Quora, eZineArticles and Google Places – have in common is they need free content from contributors to build their communities and realise their business plans.
It’s one thing to give power hungry moderators and administrators control when you’re in a position of power, but it’s silly when you need people more than they need you.