I agree it is not about being strict. Having a format and asking people to follow it brought consistency to the Hermes authentications. In particular, it made it easier for us to go back and check a seller's history and user names on various platforms (which can aid in determining authenticity), and it prevented us from having to review the same item that might have been asked about by a previous poster. So, a time saver and a way to keep track of sellers, albeit informally.
We also prefer if members contribute to threads other than authentication because we feel that as we offer free authentication service as part of our contribution to the forum, their posts in other areas are their contribution, too.
As for why we won't authenticate without a link to a live sale: there were a lot of people asking about private sales and for the most part, these were items they were selling. I think I can speak on behalf of other authenticators in Hermes, past and present, when I say we got tired of adding value to someone's business on an unpaid basis. And more importantly - if you are setting yourself up as a reseller, you should either know very well if what you are selling is authentic, or consider paid authentication a reasonable and valuable cost of doing business. Without a live link to an established selling platform, there was also the issue of people using stolen photos, and no sense of who the seller might actually be.
As for gratitude, the best way members can show that to me is by participating actively elsewhere on the forum; I don't really need to hear thanks. It would also be nice if people who are denied authentication, or encouraged to participate, didn't then unload on authenticators in ways that are, at best, uncalled for and, at worst, rude and threatening.
(in reference to the "defender" being slapped and the "offender" getting off scott free).
