Rant about private messages
 

This is just a rant. I have to do something while the private messaging timer expires so I can send out another tracking number to someone I just sent bike parts to.

Private messages are a poor substitute for email. This limitation is just one of them. (One message every three minutes? Come on man - in the semi-immortal words of John Stossel.) If nothing else, me paying for a premier membership so I can post stuff to sell should serve as at least modest assurance that I'm not just a bad actor here to spam forum members.

Rant off.

So far I don't think I've ever been inundated with SPAM via PMs.

There was a person a few years ago who wanted to give away products for posting positive reviews, and that may have been in response to something I had posted. But, otherwise, NOTHING.

Nonetheless, the limits for newbies being independent from long-term users would seem effective.

One could do the 3 minute rule for the first 100 posts on the site. After which go down to a 30 second rule or whatever.

It's a universal setting, unfortunately. We either leave it on or get flooded with PM spam. Even I am bound to the limitation.