Locked Threads

[fsxar177]

Quick Poll: Just for community participation.

[Tako_Kichi]

If people would follow the forum rules and keep discussions clean, polite and without petty name calling and aggressive comments then no thread would ever be locked and everybody would be happy.

Trust me when I say the staff take no pleasure in locking threads and it's the forum members themselves who get threads locked.

[DaveSHQ]

There's a fine line between bashing and constructive criticism. Some people don't know the difference.

Assuming this is a privately owned forum like the one I 'work' for I think they should be able to whatever the heck they like. If one doesn't like it move the f*** out there are many other FS forums out there.

[heywooood]

this old cold rock will keep on spinning in space regardless of what we do - we are all here by happenstance, the very least we can do is make it as painless as possible

why people insist on being impatient, intolerant and worse to each other is a mystery to me

Happy Holidays

[jeansy]

Depends

There have been some threads where people post about piracy or plagerism etc etc yes

Hurt feelings, meh

Difference of opinon, meh

Developer issuses, with supported evidence i think not

At the end of the day who really cares what developer does, some do good work ,some rip people off, while others try to fit in

however people should be able to voice their concerns to other interested parties who might fall victim to them

[b52bob]

Didn't vote. I trust our moderators to keep order and they seem to be doing a fine job. People are warned before being locked and it up to us to keep it civil.

[Cees Donker]

Depends

There have been some threads where people post about piracy or plagerism etc etc yes

Hurt feelings, meh

Difference of opinon, meh

Developer issuses, with supported evidence i think not

At the end of the day who really cares what developer does, some do good work ,some rip people off, while others try to fit in

however people should be able to voice their concerns to other interested parties who might fall victim to them

I don't recognize this description, or at least I can't think of examples that fit the bill. Personal attacks and politics remain the main reasons why threads are closed. It's easy to categorize people or developers without naming them, but what's the point? Besides that: this is not a forum with boundless freedom of speech. 'Nuff said.

:untroubled:

Cees

[hairyspin]

When I joined this place years ago the T&Cs said the admins could close a thread for whatever reasons they saw fit. They don't do it lightly and I've never seen a lock for trivial reasons, but they're much much less trigger happy than other FS places I know.

[CodyValkyrie]

Just wanted to weigh in on this. I've been to a lot of forums (might be nearly 100 at this point) both FS related and otherwise, and there's a precedent set from the top down that determines how admin staff are. I tend to stereotype forum admin into three categories:

1) A$$holes: These are the forums where there are a million rules and the administrative staff think that they can fix every issue by adding another rule, forgetting that most problems can be solved by common sense. Because of this, they act like posteriors, and ban/lock for the most trivial things, and constantly refer to "the rules" as some magic **** fix all. Relax guys, it's a FORUM! You'll recognize these forums quickly since they often have you jump through a million hoops just to join, post, become certified, and require birth certificates, blood samples, et al. I never last in these forums because I end up wanting to throat punch the idiots who set up the rules.

2: Power Hungry: This is simple. The staff exists because they're the most vehement users. They're often known as "regs," or "regulars," and admin responsibility is often given to those who are most vocal and frequent. Even worse, it's often given to people who want the responsibility from the beginning, leading the admin staff to be full of power hungry jerks who constantly abuse their power, and push down anyone who disagrees with them. This is the worst of the bunch, since you may enjoy it at first, but when you become the new flavor of the month, the vitriol of the power hungry must feed. This results in the membership mostly consisting of very nice, but totally spineless members, as everyone else was driven off unless they seek the dark powers. On a personal note, I HATE these forums. They're the kind that make me want to throw my keyboard, because when I get banned from them, I just imagine the admin snickering like the children in Lord of the Flies.

3) The Rest: These are the normal forums. The admin staff generally only reluctantly closes threads, and a lot of decisions are done quietly and privately. Most of the time, the admin staff has been around so long that they all are on the same page, and you know exactly what to expect. Straightforward, simple, and generally friendly forums. This is where I lump SOH, A2A, and other friendly forums. Every once in a while there's a little bump, but otherwise the road is fairly flat and makes for relatively smooth sailing.

[Jafo]

Just wanted to weigh in on this. I've been to a lot of forums (might be nearly 100 at this point) both FS related and otherwise, and there's a precedent set from the top down that determines how admin staff are. I tend to stereotype forum admin into three categories:

1) A$$holes: These are the forums where there are a million rules and the administrative staff think that they can fix every issue by adding another rule, forgetting that most problems can be solved by common sense. Because of this, they act like posteriors, and ban/lock for the most trivial things, and constantly refer to "the rules" as some magic **** fix all. Relax guys, it's a FORUM! You'll recognize these forums quickly since they often have you jump through a million hoops just to join, post, become certified, and require birth certificates, blood samples, et al. I never last in these forums because I end up wanting to throat punch the idiots who set up the rules.

2: Power Hungry: This is simple. The staff exists because they're the most vehement users. They're often known as "regs," or "regulars," and admin responsibility is often given to those who are most vocal and frequent. Even worse, it's often given to people who want the responsibility from the beginning, leading the admin staff to be full of power hungry jerks who constantly abuse their power, and push down anyone who disagrees with them. This is the worst of the bunch, since you may enjoy it at first, but when you become the new flavor of the month, the vitriol of the power hungry must feed. This results in the membership mostly consisting of very nice, but totally spineless members, as everyone else was driven off unless they seek the dark powers. On a personal note, I HATE these forums. They're the kind that make me want to throw my keyboard, because when I get banned from them, I just imagine the admin snickering like the children in Lord of the Flies.

3) The Rest: These are the normal forums. The admin staff generally only reluctantly closes threads, and a lot of decisions are done quietly and privately. Most of the time, the admin staff has been around so long that they all are on the same page, and you know exactly what to expect. Straightforward, simple, and generally friendly forums. This is where I lump SOH, A2A, and other friendly forums. Every once in a while there's a little bump, but otherwise the road is fairly flat and makes for relatively smooth sailing.

Gee....you don't like too many Admins.....;)
You'd better avoid Stardock's websites then.... because I once had a Wiki entry describing me as "that fascist bastard admin from Wincustomize..."
Just to clarify....the poster was the 'arse'....hence his IP-ban which prompted the Wiki 'entry'.

OK, so I oversee 6.5 million members...people get 'removed' from time to time...


The guys at SOH do a perfectly fine job that I can see...;)

[expat]

The guys at SOH do a perfectly fine job that I can see...;)

Sums it up nicely. :encouragement:

[Alan_A]

I vote no. Agree with hairyspin - this is some of the lightest-touch moderation on any flightsim site.

[DaveB]

I wasn't gonna vote but was keen to see how voting had gone so added my NO too:encouragement:

Some threads you know early on how they're gonna turn out.. the Aztec thread being a fair example. I tend to use 'Mark Topics Read' after a time despite the possibility of missing something useful.;)
ATB
DaveB:)

[pilto von pilto]

I didnt vote. No point. However I have an idea

What about moving the thread to the no holds barred section ( cant remember the name i think it is cantina or something ) therefore the keyboard warriors that want to, duke it out, whilst the rest of us can have a more self-moderated discussion ( such as the AH piper going to steam - which has actually been illuminating ).

or

Make it possible so that the OP of the thread can ask for a hold on the lock to see if it plays out ok, of their own thread which i suspect probably already happens.

or

On another forum I have the ability to ignore posts from certain users. That might be handy if there is someone that has taken against you. I think it is the same forum software. BTW this can be done with custom CSS sheets enabled in firefox right now. You just find the name of the user's div tag and block the div tag that has the users post in it. Doesnt work with quoted replies but it can help. Not that I would do that. :173go1:

And for the normal users... can you imagine what a moderators inbox/pm box must look like ? Damn man I have a new respect for moderators!

:engel016:

[fsafranek]

The only gripe I have with a locked thread is when I get here too late to add my two cents worth.
But that's my fault for net coming by here often enough.
:ernaehrung004:

[gman5250]

The cases of locked threads that I have encountered support the evidence that admin only drops the hammer when the thread has degraded to the point where allowing the dialog to continue would be fruitless.

As a side note, this site operates on the assumption that we all behave like gentlemen and ladies. The "Cantina" will occasionally erupt into a brawl, which is typical of all cantinas that I have ever experienced. At that point an experienced doorman is usually called upon to quell the disturbance and return the cantina to it's intended purposes. :very_drunk:

IMHO...

[glh]

Sums it up nicely. :encouragement:


I say Ditto.