# So, that was a pretty quick thread closure there... **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 5, 2014, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699 "2014-11-05T02:53:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/21 "2014-11-05T21:27:14Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > So, open a new one, asking substantively the same question. I CAN tell you that we don’t have any equipment that can peek inside a letter or a package, so the answer given in the linked thread is accurate. USPS uses x-ray routinely. This is related to inbound foreign mail [DRUGS IN THE MAIL: HOW CAN IT BE STOPPED?](https://house.resource.org/106/org.c-span.157389-1.raw.txt) "Mr. Turner. So every package that comes through the postal service goes through this x ray that’s coming from abroad. Ms. Durant. It goes through, but it goes through fairly quickly; and it does enable us to select from those packages, and our inspectors are pretty astute who work in the mail facilities in doing that. But we do believe having to do it on the spot and in that kind of manual mode severely hampers our ability to select as many as we probably need to inspect for drug smuggling." ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/22 "2014-11-05T21:44:02Z")
I’m just wondering if Czarcasm reported the OP before or after he hit “Submit” on his brilliant reply. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/23 "2014-11-05T22:56:36Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > USPS uses x-ray routinely. > > This is related to inbound foreign mail [DRUGS IN THE MAIL: HOW CAN IT BE STOPPED?](https://house.resource.org/106/org.c-span.157389-1.raw.txt) Sure, but this bears no resemblance to what the OP asked - automatic scanning of letters for flagged words. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/24 "2014-11-05T23:14:46Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Can you find any of his other posts that would back up this theory? He’s been here since August. Why would we need any other posts? His OP was more of an invitation to a debate than a question. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/25 "2014-11-05T23:19:18Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Sure, but this bears no resemblance to what the OP asked - automatic scanning of letters for flagged words. I didn’t read the OP very closely, just focused on the “does it use x-ray” part ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/26 "2014-11-05T23:45:37Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > I’m just wondering if Czarcasm reported the OP before or after he hit “Submit” on his brilliant reply. To answer your snarky question, **Czarcasm** did NOT report that OP. No one did. I had just read the OP on the Easter Bunny started yesterday morning which I moved because it was somewhat incoherent as a General Question. As others in this thread have offered, the answer to his OP was clearly a NO as to reading someone’s mail thru x-rays. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/27 "2014-11-06T00:03:43Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Why would we need any other posts? His OP was more of an invitation to a debate than a question. Well if that’s the case, he’s just guilty of posting in the wrong forum. That and a career troll tends not to wait two months before they start troll’n. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/28 "2014-11-06T00:54:36Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > To answer your snarky question, **Czarcasm** did NOT report that OP. No one did. I had just read the OP on the Easter Bunny started yesterday morning which I moved because it was somewhat incoherent as a General Question. > > As others in this thread have offered, the answer to his OP was clearly a NO as to reading someone’s mail thru x-rays. Horse shit. The only clear no was the useless post from the ever-useless Czarcasm. Nothing substantive has been offered in this thread to support a no, and your unsupportable closure served no purpose but to piss people off and discourage asking questions. Are you happy with your action? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/29 "2014-11-06T00:56:32Z")
I guess I’m just a little too easily amused, because that’s one of the funniest threads I’ve seen in a while. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/30 "2014-11-06T01:14:56Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > Horse shit. The only clear no was the useless post from the ever-useless Czarcasm. Nothing substantive has been offered in this thread to support a no, and your unsupportable closure served no purpose but to piss people off and discourage asking questions. Are you happy with your action? **Moderator Warning** **Crotalus** , you’ve been here long enough to know that insults and personal attacks are not permitted outside the Pit. Comments should also be kept civil in ATMB. This is an official warning. Don’t do this again. Colibri ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/31 "2014-11-06T01:25:29Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > Horse shit. The only clear no was the useless post from the ever-useless Czarcasm. Nothing substantive has been offered in this thread to support a no, and your unsupportable closure served no purpose but to piss people off and discourage asking questions. Are you happy with your action? 🙂 Couldn’t he have just sprinkled some graphite on it? ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/32 "2014-11-06T01:50:05Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > As others in this thread have offered, the answer to his OP was clearly a NO as to reading someone’s mail thru x-rays. Ok, just for a second assume not everyone on this board is an Ivy League graduate and doesn’t have an IQ of 450 and that some people like it here because they learn new things. What was wrong with leaving that thread open until it was explained, with cites, because that was in GQ after all and this board is supposed to be about fighting ignorance, why the post office doesn’t have some machine or machines that can scan mail like described in the OP? I guess if we are going to play the pedantic nitpick game and say, “Well he said ‘x-ray for letters’ so that’s all we are going to consider.” then shutting the thread down ASAP is ok, I guess, but as mentioned above the Post Office does have scanning machines for mail. What’s wrong with leaving the thread open until someone like **RaftPeople** comes along and says, “Yes they do have scanning machines but not for the purpose you are thinking of. Here is a cite for what they are and what they do.”? Boom, ignorance fought. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2014, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/33 "2014-11-06T02:39:17Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > What’s wrong with leaving the thread open until someone like **RaftPeople** comes along and says, “Yes they do have scanning machines but not for the purpose you are thinking of. Here is a cite for what they are and what they do.”? Boom, ignorance fought. Now there’s this thread for that. Win-win! That thread had several invitations to off-topic inflammatory issues. This thread doesn’t, and a new thread asking for clarification likely wouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/34 "2014-11-06T03:06:18Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > **Moderator Warning** > > **Crotalus** , you’ve been here long enough to know that insults and personal attacks are not permitted outside the Pit. Comments should also be kept civil in ATMB. This is an official warning. Don’t do this again. > > Colibri Colibri, that seems a bit like the Hall Monitors in Junior High. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/35 "2014-11-06T03:31:26Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Colibri, that seems a bit like the Hall Monitors in Junior High. Were they fucking hall monitors?😉 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/36 "2014-11-06T06:18:08Z")
For consistency’s sake, all yes or no questions In GQ should be promptly closed once answered so succinctly. Makes for interesting reading. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/37 "2014-11-06T07:14:07Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > For consistency’s sake, all yes or no questions In GQ should be promptly closed once answered so succinctly. Makes for interesting reading. They could probably get an app that did that, and save all that extra work. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/38 "2014-11-06T12:16:38Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Ok, just for a second assume not everyone on this board is an Ivy League graduate and doesn’t have an IQ of 450 and that some people like it here because they learn new things. > > What was wrong with leaving that thread open until it was explained, with cites, because that was in GQ after all and this board is supposed to be about fighting ignorance, why the post office doesn’t have some machine or machines that can scan mail like described in the OP? > > I guess if we are going to play the pedantic nitpick game and say, “Well he said ‘x-ray for letters’ so that’s all we are going to consider.” then shutting the thread down ASAP is ok, I guess, but as mentioned above the Post Office does have scanning machines for mail. > > What’s wrong with leaving the thread open until someone like **RaftPeople** comes along and says, “Yes they do have scanning machines but not for the purpose you are thinking of. Here is a cite for what they are and what they do.”? Boom, ignorance fought. I suspect that this is **Crotalus** ’s basic point, too. What is the harm of GQ thread like this? Why not let it happen, let Dopers post to it, cute and factual, and let it drift to the bottom? Happens all the time. I tend to avoid kerfuffle threads like this, but the actions of the Mods in this particular thread don’t seem okay, and seem to be part of a pattern of late. I just want to add my voice to the list of folks who are saying quick shut-down seems, to me, to be jerkish and against the basic “mission” of the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/39 "2014-11-06T13:11:15Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > What is the harm of GQ thread like this? Why not let it happen, let Dopers post to it, cute and factual, and let it drift to the bottom? Happens all the time. It encourages people to post humorous, mocking responses to naive questions, and this isn’t the right forum for that. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699/40 "2014-11-06T13:19:46Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > It encourages people to post humorous, mocking responses to naive questions, and this isn’t the right forum for that. So you are advocating a forum change, not a closure? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-that-was-a-pretty-quick-thread-closure-there/703699.md?page=3)