WHTforum: Why can't I use the PM or email features?

The rule

Before you can use the WebHostingTalk.com forum private messaging (PM) or email features, you need to make five quality, counted posts.

• Quality posts: posts that contribute to discussions and are within the forum rules.
• Counted posts: posts in the advertising forums, New Members, and Social Issues don't count towards the post count total. Posts in all other forums are added to the post count total.

If you choose to make meaningless posts to increase your post count, your account will be disabled.

The reason

Some people join the WebHostingTalk.com forum to spam our members offline (as well as online). Members who join with this intent are less likely to spam if they can't spam right away. If they post meaningless posts to increase their post count, they're often spotted before they can spam.