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I was searching for privileges one can get after a certain amount of reputation, and I ended up with this question in my mind: Why don't we allow users with low reputation to insert more than two images or links in their posts?

Is it good to make restrictions for them? Let's say someone is going to post a good question and he/she needs to insert three images to explain it properly; because this can't be done the question may become vague or incomplete to answer, and ultimately be flagged by others. Is this a rational decision for those users?

Yes, I believe that restrictions should be there to make a control over new users like for voting privileges but is it good to make restrictions on Questions and Answers?

Here is my question:

Is it decent to restrict new users in such a manner?

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    What circumstances can you think of that require one picture, let alone two, unless it's to describe a pseudo-abstract problem?
    – Makoto
    Commented Jun 5, 2013 at 3:34
  • So you think....This is good to make restrictions to quality posts
    – user222250
    Commented Jun 5, 2013 at 3:38
  • You can always link to the image, then gain enough rep and edit it to make the images display. Same for links (can be disabled with backticks).
    – nhahtdh
    Commented Jun 5, 2013 at 3:39
  • Use vertical panorama :D
    – hjpotter92
    Commented Jun 5, 2013 at 3:42
  • But what if the question get flagged before you could gain the enough rep ...?
    – user222250
    Commented Jun 5, 2013 at 3:44
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    @Ðeepak: The point is that your post alone should have enough content to not warrant a deletion in the first place. The links/images should not be the main contributing factor to the content of the answer.
    – nhahtdh
    Commented Jun 5, 2013 at 3:48

1 Answer 1

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In my opinion, links and images should be a relatively rare thing in both questions and answers. One important thing to note about both of them is that they don't contribute to searchability of content. In many cases, it's much better to simply describe things better, include relevant code, and the like. Quite often, links/images might indicate a mild tendency of a post toward being localized.

That said, they are sometimes very useful, anyway. But making good use of them can be a little bit of an art. On an average, higher-reputation users will tend to be better at this art than new users.

In my opinion, we tend to get better content when we encourage people to describe their question/answer with text, directly entered here. A tiny red light goes off in my head whenever I see links or images in a post. To me, (not as a moderator, but merely as a reader), a link/image has the burden of proving it was needed in the first place.

Links can also be used for spamming, of course, and there is a significant reverse correlation between reputation and propensity to spam (with a number of prolific exceptions which help prove the rule). But to be honest, I don't think that the number of spammy links in a post is as big a deal as the mere existence of a spammy post in the first place.

Please note it's important to parse the wording I've used here carefully. I'm not speaking in absolutes, but in terms of tendencies and relative desirability.

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    On Stack Overflow, perhaps, images should be relatively rare, but on places like Android Enthusiasts they can be crucial in sussing out the actual problem. That said, I don't think new users should be able to post an unlimited number of images.
    – ale
    Commented Jun 5, 2013 at 12:54
  • @aleverett Good point! I imagine Graphic Design might be another!
    – Andrew Barber Mod
    Commented Jun 7, 2013 at 17:50

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