Regarding the spam posts, yes. I don't know how you tell that there were meaningless posts that were deleted, as I said I don't see them.

Regarding whether coming to the board to get a specific question answered rather than to "join the community" is a no-no, no. As you can see, I've been on the board for years, but I don't post much. I read posts for fun and to learn, but I often don't have anything to say because I'm not competent to comment on the subject under discussion, or because someone else has already said what I would have said, or because I'm not on the board due to life is getting in the way, or for some other reason. I can see a newbie coming to get a question answered, leaving for a few months to ride, then coming up with a new question to ask, and so on. I don't agree that this constitutes mis-use of our time and effort or that it is damaging to the integrity of these boards.

I understand the minimum post rule, to stop true spammers from flooding the board with ads. However, I also understand the frustration of newbies who come for help with a specific question but can't provide the information, due to this rule, that is needed so the forum can help. Perhaps the mods can use their judgement and let the content-free or -light posts go if it is obvious that someone is trying to get a question answered? Sorry, I don't know enough about moderating a board to tell if this is practical. (I also imagine that being a mod is a thankless job, though I have no direct experience.) I don't know the content of the posts, so if the OP was snarky, or downright abusive, I could understand them being warned. Not that any hypothetical snarkiness, IMO, would have been totally unjustified, given that he/she was treated unkindly for trying to get a question answered and for trying to circumvent the limitations of being new to the forums.