# How many Mods does it take to close a thread?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mods-does-it-take-to-close-a-thread/148058
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [January 12, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mods-does-it-take-to-close-a-thread/148058 "2003-01-12T01:39:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mods-does-it-take-to-close-a-thread/148058/1 "2003-01-12T01:39:42Z")
No, it’s not a bad joke. I’ve seen a few instances where a Mod will post a message like, “Per the request of the OP, I am closing this thread”.
Sometimes, though, it is followed by ANOTHER Mod who has posted the same message.
Is it just a matter of timing (it has happened more than once)?
Or did the first Mod not lock the thread correctly? (I’m not saying the Mods are not perfect. No, no, no, I would NEVER say that, heh, heh, :D)
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### Author:  [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2003, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mods-does-it-take-to-close-a-thread/148058/2 "2003-01-12T02:18:02Z")
We’re at the mercy of the hamsters\* the same as everyone else. Sometimes we get that “Cannot find server” message when we’re closing or moving a thread, the same as y’all do when you’re trying to post.
\*And the Internet in general, and our ISP’s, and the Microsoft Corporation, and our own PC’s…
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### Author:  [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mods-does-it-take-to-close-a-thread/148058/3 "2003-01-12T02:21:57Z")
I’d guess it’s a timing issue. Sometimes you’ll see regular posters posting up to several minutes after a Mod has posted that they’re closing the thread. I’d imagine that closing a thread has to go through the server like any other action, so sometimes it takes a little while to register.
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### Author:  [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mods-does-it-take-to-close-a-thread/148058/4 "2003-01-12T02:23:13Z")
Err, yeah.
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### Author:  [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2003, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mods-does-it-take-to-close-a-thread/148058/5 "2003-01-12T02:33:23Z")
If the timestamps on the two “I’m closing this thread” posts by the Mods are identical or off by just a few minutes, it’s probably what **White Lightning** suggests; a Moderator simul-post. (Actually, if two of us try to simultaneously close the thread, one could wind up closing it and then the other could immediately re-open it, because the “Open / Close Thread” option is just that: it toggles the thread to closed or open, depending on which way the thread is when the command is given.)
If Mod A posts “I’m closing this thread”, other people post, and then Mod B posts “I’m closing this thread” two hours later, something probably happened to interrupt Mod A or prevent him or her from finishing the closing of the thread. Naturally, this could not be the result of _human_ error on the part of Mod A, since we Mods are far above mere humanity, so presumably the entire Internet crashed.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mods-does-it-take-to-close-a-thread/148058/6 "2003-01-12T02:38:06Z")
In a recent IMHO thread, it happened because two mods posted then tried to close a thread at approximately the same time. What happened was exactly what **MEBuckner** posted above. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2003, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mods-does-it-take-to-close-a-thread/148058/7 "2003-01-12T03:42:27Z")
That’s what I figured. Although, secretly, I was hoping it was some kinda internal battle:
“You call THAT closing a thread? HA! I’LL show YOU how to close a thread.”
😃
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### Author:  [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2003, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mods-does-it-take-to-close-a-thread/148058/8 "2003-01-12T10:25:46Z")
'T is true that some of us have more style when it comes to closing threads. But we still like **MEBuckner** just fine, honestly.