# A thread cosing. **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 12, 2019, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392 "2019-02-12T05:44:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/61 "2019-02-15T15:56:35Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > As for whether one-line links like the one in the OP will help spur growth, I’m dubious. I’m usually a fan of more content than less content as a general rule. But creating one-line links creates more work for the poster which isn’t very inviting, IMO. Thoughtful descriptions and highly intellectualized commentary do attract a certain sort of poster, whose contributions can add substantial value in a black & white way to a board focused on fighting ignorance. Some people think those kinds of posters, while invaluable and worthy of respect, are about as much fun to hang out with as a bowl of raspberry pudding. Know-it-alls have been around since there was anyone to know stuff. What set Cecil apart was his ability to dole out facts & dispel myths while having a bit of fun. This place has become not so fun, and positively overrun with Serious People who are uncomfortable with humor or unusual thinking. I only come here anymore to read a handful of determinedly unserious posters, and maybe pick up a fact or two. It’s dull, but it’s better than Facebook. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/62 "2019-02-15T18:57:20Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > You have completely missed the point of the moderation. > > No one is asking you to not post links. All we are asking is that you add a little more to say what it is about the links that you want to discuss. That’s all. We encourage you to keep posting links, if there is something there that you want to discuss. No, you don’t. Because **Darren Garrison** did post say what was in the link that he wanted to discuss. It was in the title. This error of yours has been pointed out many times, but you keep ignoring it. Even putting it in big letters didn’t help. You still have not admitted any error in your claim. So while you keep saying that he only needed to explain what he wanted to discuss, it is clear this is not the problem. If saying what he wanted to discuss was enough, then his post follows the rules and should be unlocked. As is, you keep contradicting yourselves, and so the only thing Darren can take away is “the mods may arbitrarily decide to ignore the rest of my post outside the link.” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/63 "2019-02-15T19:12:17Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > **Moderator Warning** > > Don’t insult other posters in ATMB, and don’t junior mod. This is an official warning. > > Colibri While his post may have been out of line, the poster he was responding to was clearly posting with the intent to get a rise out of him. Normally, in such cases, a mod also gives a note to the provoking poster and telling them to cool down. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/64 "2019-02-15T19:21:18Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > While his post may have been out of line, the poster he was responding to was clearly posting with the intent to get a rise out of him. > > Normally, in such cases, a mod also gives a note to the provoking poster and telling them to cool down. Not that I have ever noticed. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/65 "2019-02-15T19:31:02Z")
Ain’t no sense getting worked up about the mods. Like football referees, they tend to keep the worst from happening and good on 'em for that. But also like football referees, they sometimes bumble in the way and kill what would otherwise have been a good thread. They’re just part of the field. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/66 "2019-02-15T19:36:43Z")
Isn’t the pithiest takeaway here to add an excerpt that provides the gist, so no link-clicking is required? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/67 "2019-02-15T19:43:55Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Fair points, but I don’t think that’s the biggest problem. It’s not knowing where to even start reading it. > > Compare the Trump omnibus thread to the monthly minirants threads. If you put them all together, it would be massive, but doing it in the monthly format keeps it in nice, digestible little chunks. > > A thread with a catchy title and a rant with a good beat that you can dance to would get more clicks. You’re not going to attract many new readers to the massive omnibus thread, but people who aren’t interested in the endless circle-jerk of most ongoing political discussion are still likely to read about something that catches their attention. Besides, frothing pit rants are tradition, dammit! > > Yeah, the pit would be cluttered, but at least it would be LIVELY… The omnibus threads are there because someone likes them. There is no rule stating that you must use them. There is no rule against starting a thread on a specific topic that could also fit in an omnibus thread. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/68 "2019-02-15T19:50:10Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Not that I have ever noticed. Well, it happens all the time. Whenever one poster gets close to the line, but doesn’t cross, but the other poster does, there is usually something about telling both sides to cool it. It is unfortunately difficult to search to provide examples, but it seems weird to me that you could have possibly missed it. It is generally unfair that one poster can provoke another, but only the person being provoked gets in trouble. So I’ve always noticed that the mods here will at least tell the other person to cool it. It’s one of the things I admire about the mods here. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/69 "2019-02-15T20:10:05Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I think Bucketybuck, in a slightly snarky way, made a key point. If MPSIMS has evolved to be something different from what it was named, then maybe change the forum title. If its mission hasn’t changed, then I think this kind of moderation is particularly questionable in that specific forum. I concur > [@SD itself](#): > > For general discussion: from frivolous chatter to deep thoughts; from harmless diversions to life-changing announcements. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/70 "2019-02-15T20:12:58Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Isn’t the pithiest takeaway here to add an excerpt that provides the gist, so no link-clicking is required? Except if the the OP doesn’t do that and puts the gist in the title and link should the thread be closed? No. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/71 "2019-02-15T20:17:28Z")
As a baseline, should [this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=870797) from the same forum be closed? As Linda Richman on Coffee Talk would say, “Mods discuss.” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/72 "2019-02-15T20:31:33Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > As a baseline, should [this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=870797) from the same forum be closed? > > As Linda Richman on Coffee Talk would say, “Mods discuss.” Did you report it so that they would have something to discuss? ---
**Author:** ![expectopatronum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/expectopatronum/32/173_2.png) [@expectopatronum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/expectopatronum)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/73 "2019-02-15T22:09:57Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > No, you don’t. Because **Darren Garrison** did post say what was in the link that he wanted to discuss. It was in the title. > > This error of yours has been pointed out many times, but you keep ignoring it. Even putting it in big letters didn’t help. You still have not admitted any error in your claim. > > So while you keep saying that he only needed to explain what he wanted to discuss, it is clear this is not the problem. > > If saying what he wanted to discuss was enough, then his post follows the rules and should be unlocked. > > As is, you keep contradicting yourselves, and so the only thing Darren can take away is “the mods may arbitrarily decide to ignore the rest of my post outside the link.” Just because you state your opinion that he was wrong three times doesn’t make it true, you know. You can frantically type out your stance over and over and over but that doesn’t make it matter any righter than the first time. Also, I was certainly not trying to get a rise out of Darren. I posted my honest opinion. I did think he was acting a little ridiculous at first, and I expressed that. I did also make a sarcastic reply that I was fairly sure was within the rules, and the mods seem to agree. Are you of the opinion that sarcasm shouldn’t be allowed in ATMB, or are you simply mad that I didn’t get mod noted/warned because I pointed out that you were being a little ridiculous too? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/74 "2019-02-15T22:39:59Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > While his post may have been out of line, the poster he was responding to was clearly posting with the intent to get a rise out of him. > > Normally, in such cases, a mod also gives a note to the provoking poster and telling them to cool down. Junior modding is also against the rules, especially when you’re junior modding a mod.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/75 "2019-02-16T01:30:26Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Did you report it so that they would have something to discuss? No because (as I have been PM warned before) doing that is a warnable offense “for showing the mods up”. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/76 "2019-02-17T06:35:12Z")
Poll here: [Thread started with a single-link opening post without a comment?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=870944) ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/77 "2019-02-17T06:37:27Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Did you report it so that they would have something to discuss? Because the mods only discuss reports? As opposed to ATMB posts? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/78 "2019-02-17T06:44:52Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > Because the mods only discuss reports? As opposed to ATMB posts? All I know is if you complain why was this post modded and that post wasn’t and then you report the second post so that it does get modded according to the rules the mods set down then you’re showing the mods up. At least that’s what I was told ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/79 "2019-02-17T06:46:43Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > 1. This is the equivalent of holding your phone up to someone’s face and saying “Watch this.” I know I’m arguing about an analogy, but I’d respectfully say that is not an equivalent. A better equivalent is you have phones all around you, each displaying a title, and you choose to look at one. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392/80 "2019-02-17T07:58:53Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > As a baseline, should [this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=870797) from the same forum be closed? As I already stated upthread, we are fairly lenient with the enforcement of this rule, and, as far as I am aware, the OP of that thread isn’t in the habit of posting content-free link posts. Again, do it once in a while and it’s no biggie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-cosing/829392.md?page=5)