We can't prevent downloads - and not everyone is here for downloading, some enjoy the chat just as much, maybe more.
The one liners and single words in the clip & pic posts are not all just from new members trying to gain enough to make a request . We discourage any simple thanks messages as much as we can and insist on the thanks button instead.
The rule is as much about socialising on the board as anything else, rather than just joining to make requests, which would happen without the rule. We do like our members to become involved a little .
We remove a lot of them but you'll have to ignore some as a fact of life !