@ Sterance:
You're absolutely right. There is a point where symbiosis becomes parasitic, but I don't think NG is in any more danger of losing all its traffic than it is of banning all 3rd-party developers. I'm just concerned that Mr. Fulp's "iron-fisted... set of guidelines" might have an unintended 'cooling effect' and ultimately be more trouble than they're worth. I like Cast's ideas better than a codified set of rules that the mods would have to police.
Another alternative is to create a rating system for the "Artist News" box. Every artist would have one tread a day (or week, or whatever). If the post gets a bad rating, the artist wouldn't be allow to post again for some period of time (a day, week, month, etc.). A good rating would allow more frequent posts. The NG community is not wildly forgiving. An artist who clutters the "Artist News" box with shameless self-promotions wouldn't likely earn high scores. It would be a self-regulating system governed by the users. Isn't that what Newgrounds is all about?
SugarSimon
did you play, tom?