Weibo users may want to watch what they post ... now that a new point system will penalize them for certain behavior. Meanwhile, some recent microblogs that have come up on our radar include the Beijing Subway and a local comic artist.

On May 28, Weibo introduced its user-contract point system as a means of controlling sensitive content on the site. Users will all start off with 80 points. Points will be deducted if the users violate certain rules, which include: publishing untrue information, rumors, evil teachings, superstitions and calls for demonstrations or social uprisings. Other vague clauses prohibit the opposition of “basic principles established by the constitution” and anything that may harm “the unity, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of the nation.”

Any account that drops to 60 points will be tagged as “Low Credit.” If a user manages to get all of their points deducted (i.e. hitting zero), their account will be cancelled. Users can redeem themselves, however, earning back points by participating in "promotional activities." Users who display good behavior (i.e. no point deductions) for two months will also automatically be restored to 80 points.

One account that will probably stay firmly at 80 is the Beijing Subway. The transportation group launched their official Weibo page on May 28. Posts ranged from statistics on passenger numbers (6.9 million on Tuesday!) to incidents of people jumping onto the tracks to retrieve cell phones or catch missed trains. No commuters were injured but authorities have reminded netizens that "time is precious but life is more precious".

Lastly, efforts by a comic artist who started a photo project for her dying grandpa on Weibo have paid off. She's received over a hundred responses to her request to have a portrait of her grandfather photographed all over the world. Kind netizens have allowed her grandfather to "travel" to locations as far-flung as Singapore, Seattle, the French countryside and even a classroom in Indiana.