# Do you think some closed threads were closed due to government pressure? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 17, 2004, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278 "2004-12-17T04:54:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roland\_Deschain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@Roland\_Deschain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Deschain)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278/1 "2004-12-17T04:54:53Z")
For example there was a thread posted by a “guest” concerning the nature of Area 51 last week (or maybe it was the week before, it’s final’s week and my brain is spinning). Most of the replies were tongue in cheek, but I offered what I thought was a serious reply before the thread was closed. For example I offered the name of an actual mountain from where pictures of the so called “Groom Lake” facility could be taken (it’s called Bald Mountain, and it used to be on public property before the DOE annexed the land in the late 1990’s. Now you have to go out further to view the facility on public land). I even described approximately where the dirt road which leads to the facility exits from the state highway. So do you think the government ever says to “Straight Dope Management” stop allowing discussions about the layouts of secret facilities? If not, what would keep someone who actually worked for the NSA, CIA, DIA, FBI ect from coming on here and posting all sorts of information which while not Top Secret (and therefore protected under Federal Law under penalty of prosecution) was not the sort of thing that they would like in the public domain? ---
**Author:** ![Venoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@Venoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venoma)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278/2 "2004-12-17T04:59:24Z")
Hahahahahahahahah no. That description is available many places and was also described on television - it’s not exactly top secret. Even I knew about Bald Mountain and I’m nowhere near a conspiracy theorist. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278/3 "2004-12-17T05:01:13Z")
I think the only way to know is to e-mail the administrators. I am sure they will tell you. It may be a coincidence that it was closed after you posted or they may just not like topics like that discussed on the board even if there is no direct government influence. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278/4 "2004-12-17T05:06:26Z")
The admins and mods here are as clear as they can be about the subject of giving advice that would allow posters to break the law on this board- it’s a muddy subject, but the Reader definitely doesn’t want to be responsible for that kind of thing. Unless I’m wrong it sounds like you told people how to go ahead and take pictures of a facility that’s not supposed to be photographed. If so, it wouldn’t be unusual for the thread to be locked and government pressure wouldn’t be necessary. How would the feds know about a posting here anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Deschain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@Roland\_Deschain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Deschain)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278/5 "2004-12-17T05:22:45Z")
I would think that if the feds/military are even minimally competent that they would monitor boards like this to learn exactly what information exists within the public domain. Consider for instance that years before the Stealth Bomber was unveiled to the public, it was “theorized” about by aviation enthusiasts some of which may have had a certain amount of inside information. There’s at most twenty or sites on the Internet that deal with questions such as this in serious volume. > [@Marley23](#): > > The admins and mods here are as clear as they can be about the subject of giving advice that would allow posters to break the law on this board- it’s a muddy subject, but the Reader definitely doesn’t want to be responsible for that kind of thing. Unless I’m wrong it sounds like you told people how to go ahead and take pictures of a facility that’s not supposed to be photographed. If so, it wouldn’t be unusual for the thread to be locked and government pressure wouldn’t be necessary. How would the feds know about a posting here anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278/6 "2004-12-17T06:13:46Z")
Naw, the government is a lot more subtle than that. I mean, if they really wanted to, they could sneak behind me as I was composing this post and ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278/7 "2004-12-17T06:16:41Z")
> [@Roland Deschain](#): > > I would think that if the feds/military are even minimally competent Kind of a large if, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278/8 "2004-12-17T06:23:31Z")
Yes. The NSA has ten floors of employees in cubes doing nothing but reading internet message boards looking for posts that jeopardize state interests, and, when they find them, politely email the board mods and ask them to close the relevant threads. I know this because I’m one of them. It’s not a bad gig, actually. I just thank my lucky stars that I don’t have to monitor Slashdot, what with Microsoft exercising complete control over the NSA combined with the propensity of /. folks to slag MS. You have no idea how much we have to bribe Cmdr Taco for the mod points to drop all those anti-MS posts to (-1, Troll). ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278/9 "2004-12-17T06:38:14Z")
[put on sunglasses] Would you do me a favor and look into this little light here?.. ---
**Author:** ![Milkman\_Dan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Milkman\_Dan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milkman_Dan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278/10 "2004-12-17T06:44:48Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Yes. The NSA has ten floors of employees in cubes doing nothing but reading internet message boards looking for posts that jeopardize state interests, and, when they find them, politely email the board mods and ask them to close the relevant threads. > > I know this because I’m one of them. Say, you wouldn’t happen to know that FORMERAGENT fellow, would you? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278/11 "2004-12-17T06:49:24Z")
> [@Milkman Dan](#): > > Say, you wouldn’t happen to know that FORMERAGENT fellow, would you? 😉 I’ve already said too much. ---
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278/12 "2004-12-17T06:51:36Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Naw, the government is a lot more subtle than that. I mean, if they really wanted to, they could sneak behind me as I was composing this post and And what? Hit submit? ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Deschain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@Roland\_Deschain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Deschain)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278/13 "2004-12-17T06:58:30Z")
Actually, interception of electronic communications occurs somewhat openly under a program entitled ECHELON. I don’t think that the “government” monitors every post, but it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that they use sophisticated filiters to highlight communications of interest. If I post “going to Yemen next month and looking to buy some high grade Semtex along with some Stinger missles” it’s probably more likely to generate more interest than “question about erection that lasts for hours.” By the way there used to be a really good web site called the Desert Rat for those who are fascinated by the so called Groom Lake facility. I think it can still be acessed under Google’s cache feature. ---
**Author:** ![Milkman\_Dan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Milkman\_Dan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milkman_Dan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278/14 "2004-12-17T07:04:02Z")
> [@Roland Deschain](#): > > If I post “going to Yemen next month and looking to buy some high grade Semtex along with some Stinger missles” it’s probably more likely to generate more interest than “question about erection that lasts for hours.” Of course, that partly depends on which government monitor is on their shift. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278/15 "2004-12-17T07:14:06Z")
> [@Roland Deschain](#): > > “going to Yemen next month and looking to buy some high grade Semtex along with some Stinger missles” Well, they’re monitoring us NOW! Thanks a lot. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-some-closed-threads-were-closed-due-to-government-pressure/280278/16 "2004-12-17T08:59:04Z")
This isn’t even a mercy killing. At the moment I’m at a loss for a gentler descriptor. **Ronald** , there are wonderful and dreadful things out there but you might want to rethink your cosmology. The government has never bothered us. The Teeming Millions, on the other hand… Locked–by no outside force or influence. TVeblen IMHO mod