# Explain this thread closing to me. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 1, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505 "2009-01-01T21:15:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/21 "2009-01-02T23:37:01Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Well, how many herbal panaceas given their female “inventors” last name that sound kinda like Casia spelled in reverse do you think there are? Essiac is definitely the answer to the question, no doubt at all. > [@samclem](#): > > Yeah, pretty cut and dried. Hard to imagine a more concise OP question. It was answered. Well, I’ll have to take your word for it that it was asked and answered. > [@WhyNot](#): > > And even given that there may be, it’s not like we’re limited to how many threads we can start, or threadstarting is terribly arduous. If the OP really is dissatisfied, he sure can start another. Although if there was NO doubt, then you wouldn’t even have to add this part because the possibility wouldn’t exist. I realize that I’m dancing on the head of a pin as regards this particular question being asked and answered but I think it’s the principle of the thing that **Sapo** is questioning and not this particular question. > [@WhyNot](#): > > until **QED** ’s second post. If he hadn’t pushed the jerkitude, it probably would have stayed open. > [@samclem](#): > > I don’t lightly close a GQ thread. It’s just a damned convenient tool to use, instead of going the warning, explaining route. Isn’t this **Sapo** ’s point? If QED hadn’t posted in that thread, there might have been more fruitful discussion in it. Since the closing was due to QED’s behavior, the OP may have missed more discussion, not because the OP did anything wrong but simply because QED decided to post as he did in the thread. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/22 "2009-01-02T23:44:36Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > Although if there was NO doubt, then you wouldn’t even have to add this part because the possibility wouldn’t exist. I, who have studied herbal medicine for neigh on 9 years, have no doubt. I can’t speak for the OP. I added that part because some people are idiots and will argue anything. ETA: Okay, wait…that was harsh. Let’s just say I’ve learned to never say never and absolutely avoid absolutes on this board. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/23 "2009-01-02T23:55:59Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I can’t speak for the OP. And really, the only person who counts as to whether the question was answered is the OP of that thread. > [@WhyNot](#): > > I added that part because some people are idiots and will argue anything. As to whether anyone else is an idiot and argues about anything else is moot as to that question being answered. > [@WhyNot](#): > > ETA: Okay, wait…that was harsh. Let’s just say I’ve learned to never say never and absolutely avoid absolutes on this board. Except when it’s so clear that anyone arguing the other side would be an idiot, right? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/24 "2009-01-02T23:56:22Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I don’t lightly close a GQ thread. It’s just a damned convenient tool to use, instead of going the warning, explaining route. Oh, puh-lease, you poor, poor man. Yeah, this is really rough: > [@](#): > > Hey, **Q.E.D.** , you’ve made your point, please move on. I’m exhausted just from typing that all out. Whew. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/25 "2009-01-03T00:03:18Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > Except when it’s so clear that anyone arguing the other side would be an idiot, right? 😉 Right! 😃 No, more like anyone who would come back and say, “No, actually what I was looking for was Nutmeg,” would be an idiot. It’d be like a question asking what was that movie based on that historical boat that sank around the turn of the century and Leonard DiCapria was in it, and then coming back to say that no, of course it wasn’t _Titanic_, they’re talking about _Shrek_! duh. Mind bogglingly stupid, but very vaguely possible. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/26 "2009-01-03T00:06:28Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I, who have studied herbal medicine for neigh on 9 years, have no doubt. Hm. You might wanna find a good herbal cure to clear up that horse throat of yours. 😉 (It’s _nigh_.) ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/27 "2009-01-03T00:14:48Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > Isn’t this **Sapo** ’s point? If QED hadn’t posted in that thread, there might have been more fruitful discussion in it. Since the closing was due to QED’s behavior, the OP may have missed more discussion, not because the OP did anything wrong but simply because QED decided to post as he did in the thread. Exactly. Calling asked and answered and locking a thread because one respondent is misbehaving is just lazy (in the best of cases). I don’t think this is SOP for GQ. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/28 "2009-01-03T00:15:04Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Hm. You might wanna find a good herbal cure to clear up that horse throat of yours. 😉 :smack: (Would you believe I used to make a soothing sore throat tea and I called it “Pony Tea”? You know, for those who are a little horse. :D) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/29 "2009-01-03T00:16:32Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I don’t lightly close a GQ thread. It’s just a damned convenient tool to use, instead of going the warning, explaining route. > [@Q.E.D](#): > > Oh, puh-lease, you poor, poor man. Yeah, this is really rough: Well, next time I’ll defer to you wishes, suggest to you that your usual combative responses are less than helpful in keeping a thread in GQ on track, advise you to take your drive by brilliance to another forum, note that I’m not warning anyone, and preface it with a moderator _caution_. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/30 "2009-01-03T00:19:09Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > Exactly. Calling asked and answered and locking a thread because one respondent is misbehaving is just lazy (in the best of cases). I don’t think this is SOP for GQ. Lazy? Nope. Prudent–IMHO. And I"ve done this on more than one occasion. It’s SOP for me. You’ll have to query the other mods about their SOP. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/31 "2009-01-03T00:26:02Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Lazy? Nope. Prudent–IMHO. And I"ve done this on more than one occasion. It’s SOP for me. You’ll have to query the other mods about their SOP. Ok. I am not telling you what you normally do, or the others, for that matter. I just don’t remember ever seeing it done before, although my lack of memory of something means next to nothing. I just found it unfair towards the OP that a thread 3 hours and 10 posts long would be considered to have run its course. All because one poster couldn’t keep his crusade out of it. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/32 "2009-01-03T00:36:11Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > Ok. I am not telling you what you normally do, or the others, for that matter. I just don’t remember ever seeing it done before, although my lack of memory of something means next to nothing. > > I just found it unfair towards the OP that a thread 3 hours and 10 posts long would be considered to have run its course. All because one poster couldn’t keep his crusade out of it. I probably do this 3-6 times/year. The OP was succinctly answered. There could not have possibly been anything valuable added. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/33 "2009-01-03T00:37:46Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Well, next time I’ll defer to you wishes, suggest to you that your usual combative responses are less than helpful in keeping a thread in GQ on track, advise you to take your drive by brilliance to another forum, note that I’m not warning anyone, and preface it with a moderator _caution_. I think there’s no need for such histrionics. While there may be very isolated instances that I don’t recall, I have no significant history of persisting in a train of dialog when asked to stop by a moderator. A simple and clear “cut it out” is more than sufficient in my case, don’t you think? And since you’re here, I also take issue with your apparent characterization of my posts as always unhelpful. Hyperbole, you’ll no doubt call it, but I found it unnecessarily petty and wholly unwarranted. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/34 "2009-01-03T00:47:44Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > I also take issue with your apparent characterization of my posts as always unhelpful. Where did you get that? He said: > [@samclem](#): > > your usual combative responses are less than helpful in keeping a thread in GQ on track He wasn’t saying anything about all of your posts, just the combative ones. And he didn’t even say that the combative ones weren’t helpful, just that they weren’t helpful in keeping a thread in GQ on track. Are you getting your interpretation from somewhere else? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/35 "2009-01-03T00:55:04Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > While there may be very isolated instances that I don’t recall, I have no significant history of persisting in a train of dialog when asked to stop by a moderator. A simple and clear “cut it out” is more than sufficient in my case, don’t you think? This much I agree with. I don’t remember you not following a moderator’s instructions. And your posts are usually quite helpful. I guess it’s all about what I termed as your combativeness. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/36 "2009-01-03T00:56:12Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > Are you getting your interpretation from somewhere else? Yes. The original [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10638484&postcount=14): > [@samclem](#): > > Helpful, as always. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/37 "2009-01-03T01:04:19Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Yes. The original [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10638484&postcount=14): [Quote=samclem] Helpful, as always. :rolleyes: [/quote] . Well, I was pissed at how you handled your posts in that thread. And, you’ve done it before. I’ve got a similar problem in my life. I quite often respond to people in real life with what they perceive as a condescending attitude. In my mind, I don’t realize/think I am, but that’s how they perceive it. And, unfortunately, that’s what counts. ---
**Author:** ![Klaatu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Klaatu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klaatu)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/38 "2009-01-03T01:05:15Z")
But QED, why do you take it to the point of needing a “cut it out” from a mod? Over the years, I have seen you post many hastily googled answers to GQ’s, and get your balls busted by people who know the subject. I have also seen you post well-reasoned and concise answers that make me think you have actual knowledge of the question. I have a couple questions after all these years. Why do you have to be among the first posters to answer a GQ. Do you get some sense of superiority out of it? And when one of your WAGs or googles is completely wrong, do you feel like a moron? ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505/39 "2009-01-03T01:18:16Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I’ve got a similar problem in my life. I quite often respond to people in real life with what they perceive as a condescending attitude. In my mind, I don’t realize/think I am, but that’s how they perceive it. And, unfortunately, that’s what counts. Wow, insight in a Pit thread. :eek: You’re just trying to confuse us now, aren’t you? Is that allowed in a Pit thread? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-thread-closing-to-me/479505.md?page=1)