Yes, you're right. Off-topic posts are tolerated more when they are posted by a regular member than a new visitor to the forum. As you probably guessed, someone who has proven that they are a worthwhile contributor does tend to get a little more wiggle room than someone who we've never heard of or consistently is off-topic.

I also agree that this probably seems unfair to some, and it might be. I've considered, on several occasions, the possibility of having an "off-topic" forum. Said forum would still not be for flaming, but off-topic posts could be posted there in recognition of the fact that we are a community and sometimes the community want to discuss something that is off-topic.

In the past the members of this forum have seemed to not like the idea of two forums so I haven't done anything with it. But if there's support for such a secondary forum I could certainly create it and we could move off-topic stuff there, regardless of who posts it.

Regards,
Craig Steiner
8052.com Webmaster