[iScience]

all i do is post questions, i rarely if ever post answers for other people, so maybe that's why i'm getting so many snacks taken away? i don't recall being rude or anything.. but what happens if i get too many of them taken away? do i lose the privilege of posting on chemforums?

[Archer]

Generally snacks are taken away if your questions / posts violate the forum rules.

However if someone takes an unexplained dislike to you they can simply take a snack.

Personally I don't like the negative aspect to these, I would prefer it if one could only give snacks, not take them away.

When I hadn't posted much on here I had snacks taken away for no apparent reason while I was trying to help someone.

[Dan]

what happens if i get too many of them taken away? do i lose the privilege of posting on chemforums?

No, it does not have any practical effect.

[billnotgatez]

I do not think I have ever given a negative snack
that being said
you may get negative snacks for violating forum rules from others

even for this forum rule

follow netiquette –  be nice, use plain English, pay attention to formatting of your posts, use informative thread subjects.

so a snack may be lost due to a trivial act
like forgetting to capitalize at the beginning of a sentence
The Staff here does not control who, why, or how  snacks are dispensed
and negative snacks have no system effect, but others seeing lots of negative snacks will take note

I have received negative snacks for asking people to follow forum rules and I consider those negative snacks a badge of positiveness.

[DrCMS]

When I hadn't posted much on here I had snacks taken away for no apparent reason while I was trying to help someone.

You may have lost them for being too helpful.  If you give someone the answer they want without making them do some work to solve their own homework I'd have taken a snack from you.

[Arkcon]

I do like to think that many negative snacks on a profile, especially with no positive snacks, let people know at a glance that a person has been annoying, or improper, or incorrect many times in the past.  This can help people -- when someone has many negative snacks, there's no point in taking more away.  Or arguing with the person.  It lets them know, when answering that persons question -- speak carefully, because people on this board has had problems communicating with them before.  Or maybe we just start to ignore their posts.

[Corribus]

Since there are no guidelines offered for the taking (or giving) of them, they really mean nothing whatsoever.

[Arkcon]

Since there are no guidelines offered for the taking (or giving) of them, they really mean nothing whatsoever.

And yet another benefit -- someone taking a snack gets to think they've done something, when really they haven't.    Much better than getting daily moderator reports of the sort "I cam 2 your website 2 get much helpings for great inventoin of makings the big monies and the Corriubs: jerk just told me to do work.I dont have 2 work I cam 4 answers I have a brilant chemical ideal and Ill make money with it u wait and see but u should ban that guy anyway hes not helpf. HaHa."  I'm not kidding, we get those from time to time even with the mole snack system allowing people to do the anonymous venting.

[Archer]

You may have lost them for being too helpful.  If you give someone the answer they want without making them do some work to solve their own homework I'd have taken a snack from you.

I would never intentionally breach that particular rule, even if it wasn't specifically a forum rule. As a former academic I am very much against spoon feeding. In some cases I wondered if it is because I was not giving the person the answer they wanted.

At the end of the day, who knows and as Corribus says:

Since there are no guidelines offered for the taking (or giving) of them, they really mean nothing whatsoever.

there are more important things in life to care about

[DrCMS]

In some cases I wondered if it is because I was not giving the person the answer they wanted.

That's very likely.  I think I've lost them for that but I know I mainly loose them for being rude to halfwits.

[Arkcon]

That's very likely.  I think I've lost them for that but I know I mainly loose them for being rude to halfwits.

And you tend to gain them from me for just that reason -- it saves me the trouble. 

[Corribus]

And yet another benefit -- someone taking a snack gets to think they've done something, when really they haven't.    Much better than getting daily moderator reports of the sort "I cam 2 your website 2 get much helpings for great inventoin of makings the big monies and the Corriubs: jerk just told me to do work.I dont have 2 work I cam 4 answers I have a brilant chemical ideal and Ill make money with it u wait and see but u should ban that guy anyway hes not helpf. HaHa."  I'm not kidding, we get those from time to time even with the mole snack system allowing people to do the anonymous venting.

I moderate another forum on the web, so I'm well aware of the stuff you have to put up with. Difference is that there I'm moderating disputes about religion and politics. It gets ugly.  So I have to get ugly.

[curiouscat]

I moderate another forum on the web, so I'm well aware of the stuff you have to put up with. Difference is that there I'm moderating disputes about religion and politics. It gets ugly.  So I have to get ugly.

Out of curiosity, what forum is that? Maybe I'll lurk there, not out of a strong interest but "religion and politics" sounds as fun as sitting on a keg of gunpowder. Fun fun! 

[Corribus]

So as not to off-topicify this thread too much, I answered you via PM.

[curiouscat]

So as not to off-topicify this thread too much, I answered you via PM.

+1 for being a nice forum denizen.