Thread Locking Policy

[derrick]

Who locked the "Mazda 3's Being Broken Into..." thread? I want to know why the thread was locked and am requesting that the thread be unlocked. I found the thread to still be useful although there were a few off topc or partially off topic posts.

Also, what is the policy behind locking a thread? Is it decided by a single person? Is it decided by an administrator? Or does there have to be an agreement between "staff" before a thread is locked?

I personally believe that a thread should not be locked unless somebody uses the "Report to moderator" link on the bottom of each thread. Or if there is a blatant violation of the board rules.

Even then, there needs to be a set rule about how each violation of the rules is handled.

If a post is off topic, then the post should be deleted.

If a post is partially off topic, it should be edited.

A thread should not be closed because of a few off topic posts.

[Pennyville]

OHhhh MY GOD....

so true. the thread might seem to have a lot of arguments amongst members.. but i think that's what the forum is for. everybody has their comments and opinion, why lock a thread simply because members are expressing their own opinion? isn't thats what a forum is for?

and its now again ... Penny's English Lesson Time. Today we're going to learn the word Forum.
The definition of forum is an assembly, meeting place, television program, etc., for the discussion of questions of public interest. A public meeting or assembly for open discussion.

anways... yeah i'd like to know if the decision on locking a thread is an agreement between staff or if its' just based on one person's thought. I think you staff should have more communication and be more transparent.

[M Speed]

Well the thread in question is a heaty discussion. It is recently the hottest topic if not the most concerned topic. None thinks alike, and this is the fun part of a online community, hearing from different sides. Sure some will disagree, but we are all adult and can judge what is right and what is wrong. There are rules and boundaries, it is listed clearly listed on the Announcements sub forums. So now what called for the lock? It is not a question on right or wrong to lock or overturn a ruling but a guideline for members what is a violation. If there is no clear cut on rules, then members are left in the cold.

[rancid]

To answer your questions.? I locked it cause the discussion got out of hand.? Everyone was jumpin in on the flame war after I had posted for people to STOP.? Not only that, it's been asked multiple times in the previous post.? It was locked so things would cool down and if it becomes heated again, will be locked, again after it's reopened.

It's not that members are being left out in the dark, warnings were dealt and none of them ever taken seriously.? We are all well aware of what a forum is for.? Why don't we all look up the word STOP and try to figure out what that means?? Seems to me, some people just don't know the meaning of the word even after the warnings were put up by other members as well as staff.?

[derrick]

As I said, the thread should not have been locked because of a few heated post. I see that you do not understand the situation at all. Because of the topic of the thread there is no way around a heated discussion. This is a sensitive topic we are covering here. People will get emotional about the subject and because of how important that subject is the thread should be allowed to continue.

Did any member of this forum make a complaint about the content of this thread? I personally did not find any "flaming" going on at all. I found a few people whose comments disagreed with that of another member, but at no time did they become imflamatory. They were worded strongly as to let the member know how they felt, but are we all supposed to be robots with no emotion? People have feelings and those cannot be locked by a button.

Did you discuss the situation with the other administrator of this site or the moderators? I would think that locking a thread is just as big a deal as banning somebody since you are taking away their right to post on this forum. As such, taking such an action should not be taken lightly and almost to the point of being a last resort. The posts in question, which I might add seems only you objected to, should have been edited or removed. The thread should have stayed open.

I take this time to remind you that your job as Administrator is to serve the community. Your position holds certain responsibilities, not only privileges. As these forums grow, as an Administrator, you have the responsibility to adjust the policies accordingly. I believe we have outgrown the carebear, deal with it comes, attitude. We need not only boundaries, but also what set action needs to be taken when said boundaries are broken.

By the way, the thread is still locked.

[Elder_MMHS]

I think a couple days of no-post is fine.  When people are pissed at each other, sometimes the best thing to do is just not say anything for a bit... let things cool down.  It's true - the quality and posture of posts increases with passion/emotion to a certain threshold... but in excess, the talk just goes downhill like a snow boulder.  I think as a whole, we had passed that threshold and the posts were getting overly personal and full of attacks.  In an open forum, it's logistically unfeasible to tell everyone to calm down.  The topic moderator would typically adjourn the topic of discussion for a day or two to let everyone cool down.  I think the locking has served that purpose.

Having said that, I think it's been a good couple days and the topic should be reopened for discussion.

[M Speed]

A few days of cool off will ease the heat. But when one make a post then directed to a member and then locked; it won't help the situation. A better way to handle the situation is edit the questionable post(s). It will take more time to moderate, but sure not to leave anyone in the cold. (ie, one posted "A is stupid" and thread is locked, what can A do to rebuttal when the thread is lock. But post is still there to see)

[rancid]

as i've said before.  It was locked so things would cool down and mesages have been sent out.  The thread has been cleaned up and is re-opened which was the intention anyways.  The thread wasn't locked because of one comment.  It was because of previous comments that led up to the flare up. 

I'm very well aware of what responsibilities I have on the forum.  I can only do so much after suggesting something for changes and for preventative measures.  If others don't agree on it or aren't willing to enforce the suggestions to update the rules, it makes my job a lot more difficult. 

[derrick]

I found that even in the posts where there may have been personal attacks, they also included good arguments for the topic at hand. Why not edit a post to remove the parts that are not appropriate and leave the rest that is contributing to the thread intact?

Nick, so you can only make suggestions on something like forum policy, but you are free to go locking threads as you please? This is what I mean when I say forum policy, and I don't only mean locking of threads. There have to be clear rules set and also what actions are to be taken when such rules are broken. Where exactly is the boundary between fine and locked?

In the case of said thread, I also did not see any official warning that the thread would be locked. I suggest that any kind of policy warning/enforcement must be clearly marked in at least bold letters, colored advised, when needed so that people cannot miss it.

[Username]

I'm very well aware of what responsibilities I have on the forum. I can only do so much after suggesting something for changes and for preventative measures. If others don't agree on it or aren't willing to enforce the suggestions to update the rules, it makes my job a lot more difficult.

I must have missed the memo. Please direct me to where said suggestions for changes and preventative mesaures were made. I don't appreciate Tony, Hidz or myself being implicated as a hinderance to the progression of the site.

As for the topic, I did not lock it. Typically thread locks are done at the discretion of the moderator/administrator as the time taken to wait and discuss a course of action would typically take too long and the situation would brew out of control.  I'm of the opinion, however, that cooler minds prevail and will generally re-open the topic after a nice sleep.

As for the topic in question, the discussion has evolved tremendously from the original issue. From that however, some meaningful discussion has taken place along with some personal mudslinging (I'm guilty of joining in as well). I wouldn't expect anything less due to the levity of the situation. I do agree, however, that off-topic posts should be removed or edited rather than punishing the entire group with a thread lock and halting all future discussions, experiences and updates related to a very hot topic.

We are re-examining the policy in regards to off-topic posts and welcome your input regarding how we should treat it. Sometimes the off-topic stuff can be funny too, so it's with some regret that we would have to edit/delete. Any ideas?

  Kev

[derrick]

Off topic posts that are thrown in for entertainment value and do not degrade the worth of the thread should of course be allowed.

When a thread begins to bring down the status of the entire thread, be it flaming or derogatory remarks, only then should somebody step in.

Here are my suggestions:

1. If it is a minor infraction a warning could be issued to the poster to let them change the post themselves. The line between a minor and major infraction must be found by the moderating team and be enforced equally between all posts.
2. If there is a major issue with a particular post, an administrator or moderator should edit or remove the post.  Posts should be edited so that useful content is left intact, and only materials in question are changed.
3. If a post is edited or removed, the editor must post their reasons for why the post was modified. This lets everybody know why such an action was taken, and helps prevent future problems
4. All administration or moderation related actions should be clearly stated, preferably in the post in question. I recommenced using bold letters, even better if it is in another color rather than black.
5. Locking a thread should be a last resort, and should be discussed between administrators and moderators before any action is taken. Of course points 3 and 4 apply here.

Of course the moderation team are all human, and each will have their own standards and react in their own way. But by putting out how certain situations will be handled out in the public, nobody can question the actions taken when necessary.

[rancid]

I'm very well aware of what responsibilities I have on the forum. I can only do so much after suggesting something for changes and for preventative measures. If others don't agree on it or aren't willing to enforce the suggestions to update the rules, it makes my job a lot more difficult.

I must have missed the memo. Please direct me to where said suggestions for changes and preventative mesaures were made. I don't appreciate Tony, Hidz or myself being implicated as a hinderance to the progression of the site

didnt' come out right the way i wanted to say it.  I'm simply stating we all make decisions based on our judgement and sometimes we dont' all agree. 

[rancid]

way i'm looking at this situation.  I'm getting flamed for locking the thread on a judgement call to let it cool of as it got out of hand.  Maybe I should have left it and let it proliferate....oh...but then I'd have been flamed for not taking any actions.

I think someone needs to relax a little.

[tonyzoomzoom]

This is first board that I have moderated and as laid back as this forum is, I often find the job of moderating to be a difficult one.  Mistakes happen especially if one does not step back from the topic at hand and see if any generally accepted rules are violated.  But it is hard given you are most often part of that discussion as well.  A lot of it involves judgement calls, which can be an error at times.

Personally, I welcome suggestions to assist in the moderation of the forum.  However, I would also expect that the development of rules, if any, would be left to the mods and admins to finalize.

[M Speed]

way i'm looking at this situation. I'm getting flamed for locking the thread on a judgement call to let it cool of as it got out of hand. Maybe I should have left it and let it proliferate....oh...but then I'd have been flamed for not taking any actions.

I think someone needs to relax a little.

I don't believe this is flaming on you. It is just an experience that all can learn from to make the site better. In the process, there might be mistakes, concerns, suggestions, or criticisms. But posting with a "if/and/or/but" won't help.

[niteron]

All points are well made, I think the administrators and moderators should take derricks suggestion into consideration as well as far as rules are concerned.

[need4speed]

To err is to be human.

[niteron]

To really screw things up yu need a computer.

[derrick]

To really screw things up yu need a computer.

But in the end, a human controls the computer.

It is too late to make a comment to the current state of affairs. I don't want to say anything I did not mean to say or word incorrectly. I will write something in the morning/afternoon depending on when I feel like getting out of bed. Hoho!

[Absinthe]

So much for forum rules.  Nobody read them!

True, the rules says that posts containing subject matter as listed here will be removed/deleted without question.  As discussed, a few members have violated the subject matter, so admins/mods have the right to delete the posts and possibly ban the members.  So yes, posts should have been deleted, without locking the thread.

It's a free forum, internet discussion board, online community, or whatever you call it... but just like any other community out there, freedom of speech is limited here.  Saying something like, most ***** are *******!!!, is not helpful, and how amusing you might think it is, such statement is completely rude and offensive.  Please keep that to yourself, or at least off the board.  You may be a hitman, but please think twice before you post... think whether you're doing it for your own satisfaction by sacrificing your reputation, or it's for the benefits of the community.  On the other hand, like someone said here before, it's just the internet, don't get offended too quickly.  The staff will take care of it

Back to topic.  Generally, deep in the jungle where admins and mods like to meet up, we discuss things and make a decision together.  I'm usually the one who often come late and jump in without warning, especially now that I live outside the jungle.  So I wouldn't blame Nick for making such decision.  He had to make a decision quick and I guess he thought the only way to stop the "war" from spreading is by locking the thread until we, in the jungle, decide what to do.

With that being said, the thread has been reopened for everyone to enjoy