# Poll: Should we retire the Quarantine Zone? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 16, 2024, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-should-we-retire-the-quarantine-zone/996173 "2024-01-16T16:49:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-should-we-retire-the-quarantine-zone/996173/61 "2024-01-19T13:17:08Z")
> [@Mikkel](#): > > Is it possible,in Discourse, to have underfora? Yes, but it doesn’t work super well. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-should-we-retire-the-quarantine-zone/996173/62 "2024-01-19T16:22:21Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Yup. I don’t feel like it is behind us. It’s still all around us. We’re just managing it differently; and the hospitals are no longer overflowing, and I’m a lot less likely to wind up intubated without sufficient anaesthesia. So it’s not nearly as terrifying as it was – but it’s still there. This is about where I am as well. There are some parts of my life that are permanently different. I work from home most days, whereas before I had a long commute. When I do go in to the office, no one is there. Our office culture is mostly gone or changed drastically. I still mask some places. I worry if I’m around someone who is not masked but is coughing, etc. I have two school-aged kids. I still don’t know all of the effects it has had on them and their peers. I know that some kids were profoundly affected. Kids who didn’t have caregivers available to help them do remote school, or who had to share a computer with siblings or parents or both. Kids who disappeared from schools and haven’t reappeared. Kids in abusive homes who got trapped there with no one to see them on a daily basis. A lot of kids have fallen behind, while some privileged ones stayed on track. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-should-we-retire-the-quarantine-zone/996173/63 "2024-01-19T16:38:56Z")
Is it possible to leave current threads in the QZ open but not allow new threads to be created? If not, I’d say make it read-only and move it down in the forum list to after the BBQ Pit. But as others have said, do whatever makes life easiest for the mods/admins. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-should-we-retire-the-quarantine-zone/996173/64 "2024-01-19T16:39:15Z")
Given that Covid-19 is still very much with us (with cases/hospitalizations recently on the increase), misinformation is rife, and pandemic-handling measures are a significant issue in upcoming campaigns for President and Congress, I support maintaining the forum as is for now. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-should-we-retire-the-quarantine-zone/996173/65 "2024-01-19T16:46:50Z")
**Every thread in #The Quarantine Zone should now also be tagged #covid-quarantine.** This would be step one in whatever we do next. Renaming the tag is fairly easy if covid-quarantine is not desired. But I believe 25 characters including the spaces (dashes) is max. Only lowercase letters allowed. * * * * * * @Ed_Zotti @engineer_comp_geek @Chronos @puzzlegal @Aspenglow @Miller @Loach @raventhief @RickJay ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2024, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-should-we-retire-the-quarantine-zone/996173/66 "2024-01-21T16:48:24Z")
This. Covid isn’t over. Sadly. ---
**Author:** ![Ed\_Zotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ed\_Zotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ed_Zotti)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2024, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-should-we-retire-the-quarantine-zone/996173/67 "2024-01-23T20:39:21Z")
A plurality of respondents (45%) thinks QZ should be retired, but the comments suggest few are passionate about it, and the argument that Covid is still with us and is often in the news has hit home with us. It’s also been established that users can easily hide forums they don’t care to see. Accordingly we’re going to keep QZ as it is for now - we can always revisit later. In the meantime, **What\_Exit** has tagged all QZ threads in case we decide to make a move. Thanks to all for participating in the poll and for the many wise comments. ---
**Author:** ![Ed\_Zotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ed\_Zotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ed_Zotti)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2024, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-should-we-retire-the-quarantine-zone/996173/68 "2024-01-23T20:39:30Z")
Closed on January 23, 2024, 8:39pm UTC [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-should-we-retire-the-quarantine-zone/996173.md?page=3)