Thread locking—is history repeating itself?

What’s the deal with this new thread-locking policy over at the main forum?

It feels like as soon as someone posts, without even clearly defining the issue or letting others weigh in, the mods just swoop in and shut the whole thing down before anyone can even offer a helpful response! It's basically instant lockdown.

Are we really seeing a repeat of those old, nightmare management tactics and questionable policies from back in the day?

Honestly, it feels pretty much like it.

Seriously, why are threads on this site being closed so aggressively?

It’s simply because the matter has been settled. Some topics naturally demand a deeper dive and stay open longer for discussion, while others get resolved quickly and we close them out accordingly. We aren't going to keep threads hanging indefinitely when there’s nothing left to be said and the decision is final. To claim that everything gets shut down after just a single reply, or to suggest that most discussions follow that pattern—well, that’s just plain untrue.

rustydrifter10 said:It’s because the matter is settled. Some topics naturally demand a deeper dive and stay open longer, while others reach a resolution quickly and get closed out. We aren't going to leave threads hanging indefinitely if there's nothing left to say once a final decision has been made. Claiming that everything gets shut down after just a single response—or suggesting that most things follow that pattern—is simply untrue.

Well, from where I'm sitting, you've just slammed two different threads shut without giving anyone a single chance to chime in.

You're being dishonest here.

And it feels like you're leaving zero room for the possibility that you might be wrong.

Honestly, if you had just let that first thread stay open like a reasonable person would, we wouldn't even be dealing with these two brand-new threads right now. All those lingering questions could have been smoothed over elegantly.

Instead, you're just creating this unnecessary drama for no good reason. 🙄

You asked for a warning, and you got one—based on the exact same standards we use for everyone else here on the forum. But look, I’m not going to turn this into another endless debate about the rules. I've gone ahead and locked this thread because the appeal was valid, the decision stands, and the matter is officially settled. It’s just like any other closed topic around here; if we left these things open, people would just keep arguing until they were blue in the face, and honestly, there's really no point in that.

rustydrifter10 said:She asked for a strike, and a strike was issued—based on the exact same standards we use everywhere else on this forum. But look, I’m not going to turn this into another endless debate about the rules. I closed the thread because the appeal was valid, the decision stands, and the matter is settled. Just like any other closed thread around here.

If we’re really going to nitpick, let’s be honest: I was the one asking for strikes in the first place.

You handed out two 15-point strikes (making it 30 total) for those two violations and that bit of trolling, but then again, over in the Politics section, people get 30-point strikes just for forgetting to include a description in their link.

So, there’s the reality of your "consistent criteria" and "thorough checks." 🙄

And honestly, there's no need to go on a fast-track mission to shut down threads.

If you don't like what the community has to say, you don't have to reply. But at least give us a chance to weigh in on your supposed "checks" and "standardized" rules before you pull the plug. 🙄 Not to mention all the other instances where this happens. 🙄

If you’re so intent on locking things up just to look like the big boss, at least wait until after everyone has had their say.

Go ahead, though. You can lock this one now. Knock yourself out. 🙄

coppermarlin13 said:I was looking for some receipts, if we're really going there.

Look, you can search all you want, but at the end of the day, the admin team makes the calls.

just lock it right after a user's reply if you're so determined to be the "cool" moderator who closes things down.

Honestly, I do close threads immediately following a user's post sometimes; just scroll through the FBI archives and you'll see plenty of locked threads where the very last word belonged to a regular user.

coppermarlin13 said:There, now you can lock it. Go ahead, hit the lock button. 🙄

Fine, consider it done.