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We've all seen threads spin out of control and locked by moderators; usually there's a "closed for moderation" comment tacked to the last post, made by the moderator, so people know who closed it and why. Sometimes it's closed for other reasons, and again, the moderator usually posts a little note saying why. Sometimes it's just a simple matter of redundancy "This thread has run its course."
All's well with all of that. However, sometimes, threads are closed with no note, and no hint of who closed it. Would the head admin consider making it policy that any mod who closes a thread, post on the last post of that thread, so people know who closed it, and why?
Even if it's just a "Boring subject. Closed." is better than showing up to see responses to your posts only to find out no one was allowed to respond, no idea why, and no idea which mod to ask.
You can DM one of the assigned mods in that forum for an explanation. There's a sticky thread at the top of the FAQ forum with the list of moderator assignments. If you want to ask about a thread in a forum that's listed there as "team moderated," you can ask the question of any moderator that you're comfortable with approaching. The unassigned moderator may not be able to tell you why the thread was closed, but s/he can tell you which mod closed it.
Chances are there are deleted posts you can't see that caused the thread to run its course sooner than you might guess from the posts that remain. I realize that's not a very satisfying general answer, but in my experience the violations in deleted posts are usually the biggest reason I close threads.
Last edited by Bo; 06-17-2011 at 07:18 AM..
Reason: fixed misspelling
Yes I know what the reasons are for closing threads. I know how to DM a mod, I know about the sticky on the top of forum categories. That's all lovely and ducky and what not. But it is abrupt, and can be *perceived* as rude, by interested parties, to close a thread without warning, explanation, or a signature saying who did it.
My suggestion to make a final post by the mod whenever a mod closes a thread as *policy* of the CD forum, was inspired by the desire to provide a more harmonious relationship between the membership and the moderator staff.
There's plenty of hate against the mods, and some of it is fueled by this "oh yeah they deleted three of my posts in _that_ thread, and locked _this other_ thread, but didn't say why! I know it must be because they hate me!"
Of course this is usually nonsense, but it is very easy to come to conclusions based on observations by people who do not have access to the "inside story." By the time you send a DM to ask why, it's already too late. The damage is done, you have now earned yourself another poster who can't stand you.
And this is unfair to you, it's unfair to the person who thinks they're being picked on, it's unfair to the rest of the readership who might have wanted to respond in the thread but wake up the next morning discovering that it was closed with no warning or explanation. It's also unfair to the lurkers who were following the "plotline" and just wanted to see where it ended up.
A final post in a closed thread prevents anyone from having to decide if they should spend time trying to find out which mod closed it, and why - multiplied by however many people want to know this..
If you have 50 people who want to know, and only 1 DMs to find out, then you now have 49 people who have come to conclusions that may or may not be patently unfair. Basically, when you do -not- end a thread with an explanation/signature, you have no way of knowing how many people would have wanted to know what was going on. You only know how many people actually asked you, via DM. And then you have to respond to each of those people. It'd save you a lot of time and effort as well, if you had just posted that last thread. Then no one would DM to ask you why, because you would have already stated why on the thread itself. And no one would feel hestitant to DM to ask you why (which you have NO way of knowing how many people WANT to DM, but don't for whatever reason), because they would already know why.
If you post a final thread, you have zero people who have come to conclusions, because you have told everyone, publically, and clearly, why the thread was closed. You leave no room for guesses.
Thanks for your suggestion but most of us have been doing it a lot longer than you've seen city-data.
Two main reasons for not giving a reason for closing a thread are not to bump it up on the forum or the lack of time. Whenever you're concerned, you can always DM a moderator, although they are not obliged to respond, most will be that kind.
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