The Rayaan / Jacob(smooth) Situation

[Jackalope]

No, the first was a clear violation - and is often enough to justify a ban. It depends on the circumstances. If it was a clear hit-and-run post, it would have been. The second made it instaban-worthy.

I would agree that it is rarely necessary or relavent to investigate outside activity. In a case where a member reports that they've seen an apparent copy-pasta elsewhere, yes we're going to at least look into it, if only to add additional confirmation to what we already have learned.

Why was the first post a clear violation of the spamming rule?

Because it contained, in addition to the text of the post, a link to where the product described could be purchased. In *most* cases, we instaban people who do this on first post.