About Locking Threads

[Ceroria]

Hi there everyone!

Recently I've been noticing something that has kind of been bothering me. There have been a lot of threads that have been prematurely locked, for not the best reasons. I have seen, on multiple occasions, mods locking threads for "Question Answered; Thread Locked" when the answer was very vague and even I probably wouldn't be able to fix my problem with such an answer as given on the thread. This has been happening especially with the newer mods, who haven't been on the forums for very long and haven't been around long enough to understand the ongoing forum ettiquite, therefore they are sometimes locking threads for reasons, that even though it may be right to lock the thread because of a necro or something, the thread is still completely on-topic and the necro only brought back something fun or useful to talk about.

I also wanted to talk a little more about necro-posting and double posting. I understand that necros can bring back unwanted topics that are old, like if you necro'd on a thread about Lost Ridge (a removed map), then that thread would deserve a lock. But if you necro on a thread like "what is your ping" or "share your settings" it shouldn't be such a big deal.

Anyways, I'm simply trying to raise awareness for this, and send a message out to all members of staff that they should pay attention and read the whole thread and measure the relevance of the thread before locking it, because sometimes really cool, interesting, and helpful threads have been locked due to necros or the fact that "questions have been answered", or "there is already a thread like this" when in reality, the mod just didn't take the time to read the whole thing. Thank you!


*if you want an example, go to the General Support section, you literally can't help anyone because mods answer as soon as the thread is out and immidiately lock it, putting it away for good*

 

[Redwash11]

This is magic.

 

[Captain Dak]

Might be a good idea to PM a mod who's been a mod for a little longer as well and request that the thread be unlocked, stating a good reason why.

 

[Kennyrulez]

Hmmmm, I do agree

 

[Scott]

Hi there everyone!

Recently I've been noticing something that has kind of been bothering me. There have been a lot of threads that have been prematurely locked, for not the best reasons. I have seen, on multiple occasions, mods locking threads for "Question Answered; Thread Locked" when the answer was very vague and even I probably wouldn't be able to fix my problem with such an answer as given on the thread. This has been happening especially with the newer mods, who haven't been on the forums for very long and haven't been around long enough to understand the ongoing forum ettiquite, therefore they are sometimes locking threads for reasons, that even though it may be right to lock the thread because of a necro or something, the thread is still completely on-topic and the necro only brought back something fun or useful to talk about.

I also wanted to talk a little more about necro-posting and double posting. I understand that necros can bring back unwanted topics that are old, like if you necro'd on a thread about Lost Ridge (a removed map), then that thread would deserve a lock. But if you necro on a thread like "what is your ping" or "share your settings" it shouldn't be such a big deal.

Anyways, I'm simply trying to raise awareness for this, and send a message out to all members of staff that they should pay attention and read the whole thread and measure the relevance of the thread before locking it, because sometimes really cool, interesting, and helpful threads have been locked due to necros or the fact that "questions have been answered", or "there is already a thread like this" when in reality, the mod just didn't take the time to read the whole thing. Thank you!

We lock threads when the main, original question has been answered.

Might be a good idea to PM a mod who's been a mod for a little longer as well and request that the thread be unlocked, stating a good reason why.

True statement. If a mod locked your thread and your question wasn't answered, PM the mod who locked saying that your question was unanswered. The mod should then unlock it accordingly.

 

[Ceroria]

We lock threads when the main, original question has been answered.

True statement. If a mod locked your thread and your question wasn't answered, PM the mod who locked saying that your question was unanswered. The mod should then unlock it accordingly.

I still feel that it would be a good idea to let the thread run for a little while longer in case someone else wants to elaborate on the question because the answer might not have been good enough. This goes back to my point, I think mods should make sure the answer to the question is understandable and fully answers the question, as stated in the OP. I understand someone can request an unlock, but what if the mod doesn't feel like the thread is worthy of an unlock, when it really may be, and says no? What if there are, and I hope this never happens, no staff online at the time? Sometimes it's better to let the community help and discuss instead of just locking after an answer has been given.

 

[JoelJCE]

I agree completely.

It's been happening much more frequently; threads are locked where the original poster's question clearly hasn't been answered. While I can understand that common threads such as donor problems, profile pictures and ban disputes are immediately locked with an email/URL, it's frustrating to see a thread locked where I know there's somebody in this community who would have willingly contributed to the thread.

I think there needs to be a review of what constitutes locking a thread. If a Staff member would be willing to bring this up at the next Staff meeting, many of the regular forumers would appreciate it.

And honestly, the worst thing that could happen by leaving a thread unlocked is someone necroposting on it three months later (and then it's rightfully locked). I feel like there's a bigger benefit of leaving the thread open and potentially having someone respond in a way that genuinely helps out people more.

 

[jonnysurvives]

We lock threads when the main, original question has been answered.

True statement. If a mod locked your thread and your question wasn't answered, PM the mod who locked saying that your question was unanswered. The mod should then unlock it accordingly.

No, you (plural) lock threads when an answer has been given. Whether or not the answer is correct or satisfactory for the asker is not considered.

 

[Ceroria]

No, you (plural) lock threads when an answer has been given. Whether or not the answer is correct or satisfactory for the asker is not considered.

I'm seeing this more and more often.. ;-;

 

[darkai202]

We lock threads when the main, original question has been answered.

Question asker: hi my computer is lagging what do i do
Question answerer: install optifine
Mod: QUESTION ANSWERED THREAD LOCKED THERE MUST BE NO OTHER SIGNIFICANT CONVERSATION ABLE TO BE PULLED FROM THE THREAD AND THE USER MUST BE ABLE TO FIX THEIR PROBLEM FROM ONE SIMPLE ANSWER

I don't mean to be offensive in any way, but this is what I seem to think goes through the new moderators heads.

 

[masond123]

Look, I don't see why this is such a big issue. We are simply trying to do our job. Staff members are trained to lock threads for certain reasons, and it is up to our discretion to decide if the thread fits under one of those categories. If you think your thread was locked prematurely, as Scott stated earlier, simply PM the moderator who locked it, provide a legitimate reason for it to be unlocked, and we will be more than happy to do it.

Although this may sound ironic, I am going to lock this thread as it is beginning to cause flame towards the staff team. If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me.

EDIT: Unlocked after further discussion. Please try to keep the flame to a minimum, or else I will be forced to lock it for real.

 

[Ceroria]

Look, I don't see why this is such a big issue. We are simply trying to do our job. Staff members are trained to lock threads for certain reasons, and it is up to our discretion to decide if the thread fits under one of those categories. If you think your thread was locked prematurely, as Scott stated earlier, simply PM the moderator who locked it, provide a legitimate reason for it to be unlocked, and we will be more than happy to do it.

Although this may sound ironic, I am going to lock this thread as it is beginning to cause flame towards the staff team. If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me.

EDIT: Unlocked after further discussion. Please try to keep the flame to a minimum, or else I will be forced to lock it for real.

Now I'm not saying this to start flame or be rude in any way, but I created this thread to address the training of mods and their locking threads and that sometimes threads can still be relevant. Therefore I think the locking rules could be tweaked slightly and benefit everyone