AKA, "back seat modding"
We all know that while there are noobs who post ridiculous topics,there are people who post and suggest they do not post it here, it is the wrong section etc. But the thing is, not many members actually report these posts. Simply posting an telling the original poster this or that does not help at all since Mods/Admins don't have the time to go through all the noob topics.

A few examples of "bad posts"
This one is currently still open
This post and the one after it
http://forums.mcleodgaming.com/viewtopic.php?p=932008#p932008

NO POSTS!


and yeah don't Cry about the topic if you're not going to report the post

I have seen a bunch of these

I think this is mainly a problem with new members so other members want them to realize there mistakes instead of getting punished for it so they do better in the future.

I don't see an issue with telling the new members what they did wrong.
How about I tell them that and then report it? Because you seem so uptight about it.

Well most members seem to tell them what was wrong, but not report it

Yes, because its a second-chance kind of thing.
By reporting, you're pretty much stating to a mod/admin that you think this person should be punished.
By just telling them what they're doing wrong, you're giving them a chance to correct themselves.

They've broken a rule, they should get some sort of punishment, either through a "pre-warning" or a warning/ban

I expect the mods to patrol the forums and lock topics because that is their job.
Instead they waste their time chatting with everyone and not doing what a moderator is supposed to do.

The report system is merely a way to allow them to be passive in their job, which is reinforcing bad habits.

Not my fault we have bad mods.

I really don't see a reason to warn the user for something so trivial. Maybe a PM from a mod would suffice? Getting auto-banned for something like that would be pretty dumb