# Thread has run its time! How is decision made?



## Rusty Nails (8 Feb 2020)

We have just had a thread 'Person of Colour" closed after four days.

We have 25 pages of live threads in the N&CA sub-forum, many of which have not been replied to in more than 2 years so presumably their legs could be said to be gone.

Who decides if a thread, other than one which descends into nastiness, should be closed, and how is the decision made? Consistency should be important. 

This one had meandered a bit (guilty m'lud) but had not descended into any offensive responses, imo.


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## fossyant (8 Feb 2020)

You'll find the mods discuss threads and decide whether to close them, or clean them up. Sometimes the thread is so far off topic and/or descended into a bun fight, they are closed. They also weigh up the number of reports from members.


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## mudsticks (8 Feb 2020)

Rusty Nails said:


> We have just had a thread 'Person of Colour" closed after four days.
> 
> We have 25 pages of live threads in the N&CA sub-forum, many of which have not been replied to in more than 2 years so presumably their legs could be said to be gone.
> 
> ...



I had to report myself repeatedly, on account of uncalled for innuendo .

To be fair, we had (I think) reasonably resolved the initial issue, at least to the Ops satisfaction, and had thence wandered off into other 'recreational' topics. 

Why not start another one on another issue of your choice @Rusty Nails ??

Ah yes - you just did.


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## Dogtrousers (8 Feb 2020)

Rusty Nails said:


> Consistency should be important.


Why? 

I mean, really. It's only an internet cycling forum, not a court of law. It's not important at all. Recommended next step after a thread is closed: Get over it.


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## mudsticks (8 Feb 2020)

Dogtrousers said:


> Why?
> 
> I mean, really. It's only an internet cycling forum, not a court of law. It's not important at all. Recommended next step after a thread is closed: Get over it.



Someone will be invoking the 

"It's only Football - it's not exactly life and death" - - 

" No, you're right, It's more important than that"

Argument in a minute..


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## Rusty Nails (8 Feb 2020)

Dogtrousers said:


> Why?
> 
> I mean, really. It's only an internet cycling forum, not a court of law. It's not important at all. Recommended next step after a thread is closed: Get over it.



I've got over it now, after a period of reflection and some counselling. It was in danger of taking over my life, but I realise now that consistency in moderation of threads is not important at all.


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## Cycleops (8 Feb 2020)

Subjects like the PoC thread just get boring after a while with people repeating themselves and like a wounded animal should be put out it's misery.


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## mudsticks (8 Feb 2020)

Rusty Nails said:


> I've got over it now, after a period of reflection and some counselling. It was in danger of taking over my life, but I realise now that consistency in moderation of threads is not important at all.




That's the spirit old bean.. 

And anyway.. 

Chin up, you can now put more of your discursive energies, into picking apart the private life of a minor television personality. 

The fun _really_ doesn't stop


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## Rusty Nails (8 Feb 2020)

mudsticks said:


> That's the spirit old bean..
> 
> And anyway..
> 
> ...



I'd better get in quick as I suspect that thread will be for the chop soon.

We need a break now and then from the "fun" we get from the various Brexit threads.


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## mudsticks (8 Feb 2020)

Rusty Nails said:


> I'd better get in quick as I suspect that thread will be for the chop soon.
> 
> We need a break now and then from the "fun" we get from the various Brexit threads.



If, henceforth, we're not more careful with our p's and q's, we might even have go back to chatting about cycling.. 

Can you imagine ??


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## glasgowcyclist (8 Feb 2020)

Cycleops said:


> Subjects like the PoC thread just get boring after a while with people repeating themselves and like a wounded animal should be put out it's misery.



If people are bored by a thread then they needn’t visit it.

I find it remarkably easy to ignore threads that no longer interest me; I don’t need to have it locked.
If it’s wandered off-topic for too long it indicates a failure of moderation and subsequently locking it is an admission of that.


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## mudsticks (8 Feb 2020)

glasgowcyclist said:


> If people are bored by a thread then they needn’t visit it.
> 
> I find it remarkably easy to ignore threads that no longer interest me; I don’t need to have it locked.
> If it’s wandered off-topic for too long it indicates a failure of moderation and subsequently locking it is an admission of that.



Indeed, very much, to the first part.. 

But as to the second, we mustn't forget our dear Mr Wildes' advice... 

"_Everything_ in moderation -

- _including moderation" _


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## slowmotion (9 Feb 2020)

Rusty Nails said:


> We need a break now and then from the "fun" we get from the various Brexit threads.


Amen brother!


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## steveindenmark (9 Feb 2020)

You can only go round in circles for so long.


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## Milkfloat (9 Feb 2020)

Without criticising the mods too much, I generally hate it when a topic gets locked for anything, but especially when they feel a topic is done, knowing full well another thread will pop up in its place and the exact same points will be made again. It also seems to be done totally randomly even though I am sure in most cases they will come to a consensus before the lock.


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## Bill Gates (9 Feb 2020)

Having been banned three times since I ventured back on here a couple of months or so I think i am better qualified than most to say that the Mods are doing a very good job indeed. I would have banned myself at least twice more if I was doing their job. You need this place to be a nice cosy club so that its members can undertake temperate discussion around a whole host of non controversial subjects. Some people might say "Sanitised". Not me


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## Bill Gates (9 Feb 2020)

The trouble with being banned is that you can't announce that you've been banned. Its up to others to work it out.

Surely going forward it would be fairer for the members to know it officially.

"Bill Gates has been banned for 2 weeks because he is an arseole" Something like that.


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## Dogtrousers (9 Feb 2020)

I had a post deleted once. I actually think it was by mistake but I still bear it as a badge of honour.


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## mudsticks (9 Feb 2020)

Dogtrousers said:


> I had a post deleted once. I actually think it was by mistake but I still bear it as a badge of honour.



Only once ??

What a lightweight


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## mudsticks (9 Feb 2020)

Bill Gates said:


> The trouble with being banned is that you can't announce that you've been banned. Its up to others to work it out.
> 
> Surely going forward it would be fairer for the members to know it officially.
> 
> "Bill Gates has been banned for 2 weeks because he is an arseole" Something like that.



Perhaps we could set up a system of alerts - get our fellow forrumers to notify others when our transgressions have sent us to the naughty step ..


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## Rusty Nails (9 Feb 2020)

mudsticks said:


> Only once ??
> 
> What a lightweight



I've had thread bans bitd, when things were a _lot_ nastier and polarised than they are now, imo. 

I don't think I've had any in the new, more soft and fluffy forum, but the place is better for the changes, in great part due to the efforts of the mods.

( I hope that that last bit gets me some points for good behaviour from the mods)


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## Bill Gates (9 Feb 2020)

mudsticks said:


> Perhaps we could set up a system of alerts - get our fellow forrumers to notify others when our transgressions have sent us to the naughty step ..


Find a post of the member concerned and post a reply so that an alert is raised. reply to say "can you post at the moment or not" if no reply with on a reasonable time say 24 hours then you have your answer


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## mudsticks (9 Feb 2020)

Bill Gates said:


> Find a post of the member concerned and post a reply so that an alert is raised. reply to say "can you post at the moment or not" if no reply with on a reasonable time say 24 hours then you have your answer



Well yes, possibly - but that would require us to notice that someone hasn't posted for a while, are we supposed to keep a spreadsheeet?.

I'm not sure that i can raise to that level of organisation, or concern.

Anyhoo up - before i become the nearly-to-last-person to post on a thread just before its locked ( again) i'd better go and get on on with something sensible in the 'real' and currently very windy world ..


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## Bill Gates (9 Feb 2020)

mudsticks said:


> Well yes, possibly - but that would require us to notice that someone hasn't posted for a while, are we supposed to keep a spreadsheeet?.
> 
> I'm not sure that i can raise to that level of organisation, or concern.
> 
> Anyhoo up - before i become the nearly-to-last-person to post on a thread just before its locked ( again) i'd better go and get on on with something sensible in the 'real' and currently very windy world ..


Just apply it to me then I'm the candidate most likely to get the chop on current form. Taken your hint and removing myself from any more contributions here


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## mudsticks (9 Feb 2020)

Bill Gates said:


> Just apply it to me then I'm the candidate most likely to get the chop on current form. Taken your hint and removing myself from any more contributions here



Huh, you trying to claim all the glory as the square jawed, misunderstood, rebel without a cause, forum hardnut..??

We'll see about that..


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## Rusty Nails (9 Feb 2020)

I'm Spartacus!


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## mudsticks (9 Feb 2020)

Rusty Nails said:


> I'm Spartacus!



Nah.. 

You're just one of 'the usual suspects'.


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## Pat "5mph" (9 Feb 2020)

fossyant said:


> You'll find the mods discuss threads and decide whether to close them, or clean them up. Sometimes the thread is so far off topic and/or descended into a bun fight, they are closed. They also weigh up the number of reports from members.


Mod Note: this above is correct.



glasgowcyclist said:


> If it’s wandered off-topic for too long it indicates a failure of moderation and subsequently locking it is an admission of that.


Do you think we read and moderate all the threads?
Would you spend the time?
Nay, life is too short, as @fossyant said, we mostly wait until stuff gets reported.
I'm now going to lock this thread, it's really not a site support issue.
Cheers!


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