Excluding graphics from top-rated comments?

FloatingBones said:

I would prefer if graphics were excluded from the top-rated comments of an article. Many use them to SHOUT words. One user used them today to put a graphic for b******t because the word got censored.

I'd prefer to just see text only in the top-rated comments section. Are there good reasons to include graphics there?

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FloatingBones said:

Thanks for this note on policy. I have noted your message several times when flagging frivolous messages to be taken down. I have acquired a distaste for Facebook meme-wars; I appreciate that MR has taken measures to minimize their use.

I looked through the FAQ, but I didn't see this policy called out anywhere. Could this policy be explicitly noted in the FAQ? Could the automated tools be augmented to detect this kind of frivolous message?

I am tempted to suggest a Willy Wonka image, with text, in the FAQ to note this policy.

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Useless and one-word posts. Do not bother making posts with only one or two words (e.g., "cool" or LOL) or a smilie, or post simply to have the first reply in a thread. Such posts waste everyone's time and will be deleted. Posts saying "I agree", "+1", "this", "me too", or the equivalent are also routinely removed, so don't post them. If you aren't interested in a thread, skip the thread; don't post to tell us you aren't interested. If you celebrate making the first post in a news thread, your post will be deleted.

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FloatingBones said:

I recently flagged a post with only an image, but the image contained text. The posting was not pulled. @stridemat, does that qualify as a message with text or a message with no text?

I think that text in graphics should not qualify as text. Embedding the text in graphics defeats any soft of searching on the message by their content. It also makes translation of the messages impossible for non-English speakers. Finally, allowing text-in-image creates an arms race where users attempt to trump text-only messages. If I want to see posters with words, I'd go to FB.

Is this in agreement with what the moderators are thinking? Has there been any thought to automatically rejecting messages that only contain an image? How about a middle ground where text-in-images is discouraged in the FAQ/Rules?

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