Closing threads at OP requests. Agree or disagree?

[Miss Jasmine]

I agree with you on this--my prob this morn was being abused by other posters because I disagreed w/posters about being cavalier about aids.
As for being cruel just to be cruel I don't believe in that at all--I would never intentionally answer someone to be hateful or to increase my number of posts. I don't have a lot of posts and only answer on a thread if I honestly feel I have something to benefit the OP

Oh please, you weren't being abused, you were questioned because you weren't being consistent. And you weren't benefiting the OP by citing a scary study that was quite irrelevent.

As for OPs being able to ask for threads to be closed...I don't agree with that. Yes sometimes threads take on lives of their own, sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad.

Woo hoo, let's hear it for buffoonery!!!!

Hmm I do wonder if it has a #11 meaning (formerly #10). That's just for you T&B!

 

[DVC Sadie]

I second the motion--aye aye for buffoonery! Is that an actual word? I like it, but I'm terrified to look it up in urban dictionary.com

Why? Are you afraid of the word "snarky"? I love the word " Buffoonery".

 

[phorsenuf]

A Here's a good example. A very interesting thread has been closed (I"m sure at OP's request) but I don't think it should have. There were no personal attacks or anything, just alot of questioning to get facts straight and an understanding. I think this is an example of letting a thread run its course.

Truthfully I found the whole thing fascinating and I'm bummed its closed. It made for some interesting reading.

So, in this case do you agree or disagree it should have been closed at OP's request

**MODS** I'm not questioning your actions, just curious of opinions.

 

[CheshireVal]

A Here's a good example. A very interesting thread has been closed (I"m sure at OP's request) but I don't think it should have. There were no personal attacks or anything, just alot of questioning to get facts straight and an understanding. I think this is an example of letting a thread run its course.

Truthfully I found the whole thing fascinating and I'm bummed its closed. It made for some interesting reading.

So, in this case do you agree or disagree it should have been closed at OP's request

**MODS** I'm not questioning your actions, just curious of opinions.

Shouldn't have been closed, because now we'll never really know the truth. There were definitely a lot of questions in that thread that really needed to be answered.

 

[cardaway]

I say keep the option. I have seen situations where the thread should have been closed, but wasn't until the OP requested it.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I agree. If you can't stand the heat don't enter the kitchen!

Which I'm sure is why some people go the alias route. I've thought of doing that before to ask a sensitive question, but know that I would screw up and forget to sign in on the alias, I'm so clueless. So I either just ask and take the heat or I don't ask.

And yes, I'm careful what I type into urban dictionary, especially when my kids are in the room!

 

[Maleficent13]

Shouldn't have been closed, because now we'll never really know the truth. There were definitely a lot of questions in that thread that really needed to be answered.

But here's my question: who cares if we ever know the truth? Who cares that there are questions unanswered? The chances that we were EVER going to hear the truth about that thread are non-existant. The only purpose the thread was eventually serving was to lambast the OP without technically breaking posting guidelines. Does anyone really think he was going to say, "Oh, I've seen the light...I'll tell the truth now?" Closing the thread wsn't the OP winning anything anyway...we have all formed opinions about the topic now, and we have loooooooong memories on this board.

Giving the OP the power to have the thread locked, like this sometimes seems to legitimize poor conduct.

Huh? I don't see this at all.

 

[bicker]

I was becoming uncomfortable with some of the responses.

When I get that feeling, I unsubscribe from the thread.

When I started to receive some nasty PM's

If that happened to me, I'd block the specific member.

It also disturbed me that posters started to attack other posters, and I was just afraid the tone was going to get nasty.

When that happens, I click the red triangle icon and report the nasty message to the moderators.

 

[CheshireVal]

But here's my question: who cares if we ever know the truth? Who cares that there are questions unanswered? The chances that we were EVER going to hear the truth about that thread are non-existant. The only purpose the thread was eventually serving was to lambast the OP without technically breaking posting guidelines. Does anyone really think he was going to say, "Oh, I've seen the light...I'll tell the truth now?" Closing the thread wsn't the OP winning anything anyway...we have all formed opinions about the topic now, and we have loooooooong memories on this board.

Well, *I* care if we never learn the truth, because I'm naturally curious about things like that. I like having closure and having everything wrapped up all neat and tidy-like.

But, I agree that the truth probably never would have come out on that thread.

 

[RadioNate]

I see it both ways. As a poster I feel a responsibility not to abandon my threads even if I am no longer interested in them. In some most cases they just die so it isn't a problem but I like to have the option to close them if I want to.

I had a thread closed on the trip planning board once. I had asked for some very specific planning advice and got royally flamed by a pretty new poster. Then some people helped with the advice I was looking for. After a while the thread became a debate about whether or not it was appropriate to ask for that kind of planning advice BUT people were still putting time and effort into suggesting plans for my trip. So I had the thread closed. My main motivation was because I didn't want people putting in the effort for me when I was abandoning the thread. I just felt it wasn't fair to them.

My thread from Sunday was another one I thought about having closed. Mainly because *I* was done with it. BUT in that case I just announced to the posters that I was finished with it and if people wanted to still debate it that was fine. It died not too long after.

So I do see a need for the 'closed at OPs request' but I do think people should be honest about why they want the thread closed.

 

[anut4disney]

I did close a thread one time. The orginial thread was just, I thought, a want to make people feel good thread and boy did it go wrong. Posters were attacking each other and it really upset me so I requested it to be closed.

I am actually afraid to post anything that I think will be warm and fuzzy because it might be taken the wrong way. I try to stick to the funny stuff and give people a laugh.

 

[Nancy]

When I get that feeling, I unsubscribe from the thread.

If that happened to me, I'd block the specific member.

When that happens, I click the red triangle icon and report the nasty message to the moderators.

That what all those functions are for....just like the ignore feature if there is a particular poster that irritates you. You can also send the mods an e-mail about nasty PM's. I really don't think a thread should get closed unless it violates board policies.

 

[phorsenuf]

I had a thread closed on the trip planning board once. I had asked for some very specific planning advice and got royally flamed by a pretty new poster. Then some people helped with the advice I was looking for. After a while the thread became a debate about whether or not it was appropriate to ask for that kind of planning advice BUT people were still putting time and effort into suggesting plans for my trip. So I had the thread closed. My main motivation was because I didn't want people putting in the effort for me when I was abandoning the thread. I just felt it wasn't fair to them.

.

Yes, but it's possible that somebody else could have benefited from the advice that was still being given.

 

[luvflorida]

I see it both ways. As a poster I feel a responsibility not to abandon my threads even if I am no longer interested in them. In some most cases they just die so it isn't a problem but I like to have the option to close them if I want to.

I had a thread closed on the trip planning board once. I had asked for some very specific planning advice and got royally flamed by a pretty new poster. Then some people helped with the advice I was looking for. After a while the thread became a debate about whether or not it was appropriate to ask for that kind of planning advice BUT people were still putting time and effort into suggesting plans for my trip. So I had the thread closed. My main motivation was because I didn't want people putting in the effort for me when I was abandoning the thread. I just felt it wasn't fair to them.

My thread from Sunday was another one I thought about having closed. Mainly because *I* was done with it. BUT in that case I just announced to the posters that I was finished with it and if people wanted to still debate it that was fine. It died not too long after.

So I do see a need for the 'closed at OPs request' but I do think people should be honest about why they want the thread closed.

Very well said. ITA.

 

[phorsenuf]

I did close a thread one time. The orginial thread was just, I thought, a want to make people feel good thread and boy did it go wrong. Posters were attacking each other and it really upset me so I requested it to be closed.

That's when you walk away and let everyone carry on. If you (generic you) started a conversation in real life and it went astray, what would you do? Would you tell everyone to stop talking about it or would you simply walk away. Even if you did ask everyone to stop, they probably wouldn't anyway, so off you go. It's really no different to me whether its real life or a message board.

 

[BoyLovesBuzz]

Threads are by definition topics. Once a Thread goes off the OP topic, it no longer serves the purpose for which it was created.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Threads are by definition topics. Once a Thread goes off the OP topic, it no longer serves the purpose for which it was created.

OMG...if you used that logic for closing threads 75% of them would be closed.

 

[Tigger_Magic]

Shouldn't have been closed, because now we'll never really know the truth. There were definitely a lot of questions in that thread that really needed to be answered.

It is still open on the Gay and Lesbian Board.

 

[Tigger_Magic]

When posting on the Internet or writing an email, I try to remember two things:

1) "If you give me six lines written by the most honest man, I will find something in them to hang him." -- Cardinal Richelieu

2) Would I feel comfortable explaining a 4 x 6 foot blown-up version of this email, post or document from the witness stand in court?

 

[bicker]

Giving the OP the power to have the thread locked, like this sometimes seems to legitimize poor conduct.

Huh? I don't see this at all.

First: There are often time when folks ask the same question several times, seeking a forum where they'll find folks willing to support their poor conduct. Second: Well-timed requests to the moderator could result in the OP or someone sympathetic to that one side of the issue getting the last word. Recently, there was a thread that got locked, and just as it was getting locked, I posted a reply. A very polite, convincing reply, supporting my position. Evidently the OP complained, and had my individual message deleted (a few hours later). I rarely complain to the moderators about their actions, but I felt that one was truly unfair.