Rusty
Purveyor of Fine Weaponry
Creating this thread for the purpose of having a recorded discussion on the issue of link spam. It's come up in chat several times in the past few days, and everyone seems to be fed up with it, so let's put our heads together and figure something out.
For the purpose of this discussion, link spam is defined as the excessive use of links in the Special Features section of submissions. The links typically lead to Wookieepedia articles or past Chaos submissions that the submitter wishes to use in their sub. While abuse of links isn't universal, we've seen many instances of technologies being included, with no more explanation than a hyperlink to an article, that would either add hidden strengths or negate weaknesses.
The general consensus seems to be that a hard restriction on the number of pieces of tech linked in the special features is probably not the way to go. That would unnecessarily punish players who aren't getting on our nerves, and as for the ones who are, they'd likely just find some other way to cram them in.
My thinking is that we should require any piece of tech linked in the special features to be explained in the description. It should be explained what the tech does for the submission, how it is incorporated, and how it's integrated with the other tech.
This accomplishes two things: firstly, it requires that any tech used in the submission has a clearly explained purpose. This will make it easier for us to review, and it'll make it easier for anyone reading the submission to understand how the thing works. Secondly, it requires just enough effort that link spam will stop being attractive to the people who use it as a cheap way to bolster their submissions. A slight barrier like that won't stop someone who genuinely is interested in the process of submitting a piece, but it will hopefully scare off the lazy bums.
For the purpose of this discussion, link spam is defined as the excessive use of links in the Special Features section of submissions. The links typically lead to Wookieepedia articles or past Chaos submissions that the submitter wishes to use in their sub. While abuse of links isn't universal, we've seen many instances of technologies being included, with no more explanation than a hyperlink to an article, that would either add hidden strengths or negate weaknesses.
The general consensus seems to be that a hard restriction on the number of pieces of tech linked in the special features is probably not the way to go. That would unnecessarily punish players who aren't getting on our nerves, and as for the ones who are, they'd likely just find some other way to cram them in.
My thinking is that we should require any piece of tech linked in the special features to be explained in the description. It should be explained what the tech does for the submission, how it is incorporated, and how it's integrated with the other tech.
This accomplishes two things: firstly, it requires that any tech used in the submission has a clearly explained purpose. This will make it easier for us to review, and it'll make it easier for anyone reading the submission to understand how the thing works. Secondly, it requires just enough effort that link spam will stop being attractive to the people who use it as a cheap way to bolster their submissions. A slight barrier like that won't stop someone who genuinely is interested in the process of submitting a piece, but it will hopefully scare off the lazy bums.