I’m going to be the turd in this punchbowl that says I don’t want this change. Hijack rules are already hard enough to moderate without throwing additional uncertainty into the process. “Is this too much of a hijack?” “Is the OP of this thread ok with my hijack?” Just… no.
The hijack rules came into effect because a majority of posters wanted them, and over the years as this discussion continues, the majority of posters continue to prefer them.
If I’m the mod who’s being too strict about hijacks, then I am asking those who believe this to be true to contact me privately and let me know where and when this is the case. I think all three of us would prefer to know if it’s a particular one of us causing the problem so we have the opportunity to make changes. But speaking generically about “mods being too strict” is not helpful.
My usual practice is to let hijacks run for about 10 posts before stepping in. However, there are circumstances where I will act sooner, such as when the OP of a thread flags a hijack. They are entitled to have the discussion they started. And there are some topics that nearly guarantee a lengthy hijack will ensue: Bernie Sanders and Israel are two that come to mind. I believe there are some posters here who know this and amuse themselves by introducing these topics just to derail a thread.
Similarly, posters can’t know how many flags we reject for hijacking behind the scenes. We don’t jump on every hijack. If a thread has righted itself or shows promise to right itself, I reject the flag. I don’t try to preemptively judge if a hijack is going to continue except as noted above.
I am not a fan of splitting threads, although I will do it if a topic arises organically from an existing thread. But as @What_Exit notes, it’s a lot of work and it pisses some people off. Additionally, I think it rewards posters who aren’t mindful of the rules.
I think a certain number of posters don’t like to be told they are asked to exercise discipline over their posting practices in our two forums that require it, P&E and GD. But that’s what mod notes are for.
Your theory is a pleasant fantasy. Some stupid hijacks can run to dozens and dozens of posts with no sign of abating without moderator intervention. I offer this thread as proof:
I will no longer intervene in the above thread, it’s so out of hand.