Well look it’s a pointless thread in a pointless forum, closed for being pointless.
People were participating, and appeared to be having fun. Why closey-closey?
Is there any defined boundary between pointless and too pointless? Could it be illustrated?
You closed this thread because, in your words, it was a “thread without a point.”
Isn’t that in the very definition of that forum?
Whassamatter, got your grumpy britches on? Sometimes a stream of conciousness, id-driven, random mutterings thread can be amusing.
As far as pittings go, this is about as minor as it gets, but everyone was playing by the rules. Why piddle in the cornflakes?
Critisism of mod actions now belongs in ATMB.
Moved from The BBQ Pit to About This Message Board.
Gfactor
Pit Moderator
I really hate when this happens, because there’s just no good argument I can make about why you shouldn’t close threads like that.
So I’ll make a bad one… Dude, I really wanted to talk about fish.
I was going to make a bid to switch up the discussion a bit later on, and declaim, “Tea, Earl Grey, Hot.”
I dunno, it was pointless, but… wasn’t it supposed to be?
These are my favorite threads.
When the search function was a bit friendlier I even made a collection [2007’s “too mundane and pointless” collection!].
But it’s sort of like “if a tree falls in the woods” thing. In order to rank as completely pointless they have to be *closed *for being too pointless.
There are limits, as explained in the forum rules:
I close threads that are just song lyrics being completed one poster at a time, or TV show quotes, or sometimes abstract randomness unless people are really getting into it. Threads for sharing your favorite lyrics and quotes pop up all the time in Cafe Society, they’re fine there.
If there was just one rule I could change, it would be this one. You get a bunch of people enjoying themselves, and then some kill joy moderator storms up and thinks to himself ‘Hmm, these folks are really having fun. That’s just not on. They’ve got to be serious, like me’, and stomps on them. No babies are being killed, no tulips being crushed underfoot, so what on earth is the purpose of this?
I know it’s in the rules. But why?
Sometimes there’s nothing to say but :rolleyes:
That’s me, Mr. Serious About Everything.
For the record, though, if that thread had continued it was going to kill a LOT of babies. Really cute ones. One of them was going to cure cancer. You see the position I found myself in.
People can and do post all kinds of pointless and picayune stuff and that’s the idea of the forum. I think it makes sense to have a little bit of a limit because otherwise a lot of that stuff tends to pop up, and things that might actually interest people get crowded out.
Well, I would say two threads about the same closing could safely be called too pointless. 
link
And now they’re merged into one.
I do want to add that I’ve been locking threads of this type since I became a mod about a year ago, and I haven’t redefined anything. Here’s an example of a similar thread locked by SkipMagic.
If that was to actually happen, I would agree. As it is, I think it would have been fairer to let it run its course. If many of that sort actually did crop up, then that could be dealt with at the time. But I don’t think they would. While (bearing in mind recent events That Shall Remain Nameless) this board is owned by others, the tone is decided by what is posted. When that tone is cheerful and uplifting, it seems criminal to squash it. There’s enough suffering in the world (and in my life at the moment) that I value any attempt at levity very highly.
Don’t kill it Carol.
Oh Carol oh, won’t you let this flower grow,
Don’t kill it Carol.
(I couldn’t find a relevant song with Marley in it.)
They don’t crop up very often because we close them. . 
I think most people know about this already, because we usually don’t get questions about these type of closings.
I’m not sure these threads (or most other ones) really uplift anybody. I don’t think we’re immolating nuns by locking them either. Basically I see most MPSIMS threads as conversation (“funny news article/pet pics/kid story/blimp attack”) and these other threads putting your finger up to your lips and going “beebadeebadeebadeePHHHHFFFFT!”
Perhaps you could find a musician with that name.
Well, you’ve just been told by at least four posters that they do (in so many words), and I haven’t really noticed any objections from the rest.
You piddled in the popcorn. Not nice.
Those are exactly the kinds of threads I enjoy the most, because they can become so creative and funny. I think it’s a shame that people can’t be a little goofy in threads like that, while at the same time having a forum dedicated to bitching and whining.
That.
I’ve said it before; I’ll say it again: closing threads in which participants are enjoying themselves in the absence of any egregious rules violations is retarded. The whole point of threads is for people to enjoy participating in them and if you think it’s pointless or you’re not interested in it, then go away and find a thread that does. If it annoys some people, so what? A thread which really is too stupid or pointless will stop garnering replies and will effectively close itself by falling off the page.
Try it for a little while and see what happens if you think I’m blowing hot air; what’s the harm in that? The universe won’t end because a silly thread isn’t closed. Really.
Anyone say it would?
You know, if all you have to say in response to a reasonable suggestion is to dismiss what is obviously a mere figure of speech (and a common one, at that) then, please, just don’t bother, thanks.