# The new rules about hijacks are not being applied seriously

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-rules-about-hijacks-are-not-being-applied-seriously/920354>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [September 11, 2020, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-rules-about-hijacks-are-not-being-applied-seriously/920354 "2020-09-11T16:19:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 14

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**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-rules-about-hijacks-are-not-being-applied-seriously/920354/14 "2020-09-14T14:52:19Z")

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> [@Velocity](#):
>
> Yet, there are some threads that are being allowed to be completely derailed with no moderator action.

I can’t speak for moderators, but I can speak for myself. I can also share this from [the thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-start-reporting-what-i-consider-to-be-hijacks-gd/846194) I made in January:

> > [@Should I start reporting what I consider to be hijacks? (GD)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-start-reporting-what-i-consider-to-be-hijacks-gd/846194/1):
> >
> > With the new rules for Great Debates, the staff are clearly calling for more focused threads with less hijacks. There are plenty of posts that I think are hijacks. Should I report them?
> 
> > [@Should I start reporting what I consider to be hijacks? (GD)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-start-reporting-what-i-consider-to-be-hijacks-gd/846194/6):
> >
> > Yes, you absolutely should.
> > 
> > I really need to crack down on hijacks and wandering threads. The boards will be better served - and threads more focused - by people starting new threads instead of hijacking existing threads.
> > 
> > Don’t worry about reporting. That’s exactly what we’re here for. It’s no trouble at all.

I’ve filed a couple reports, but not as many as I should.

Sometimes I’ve caught myself and explicitly made spin-off topics. Or asked others to followup in a new topic/private message. I can’t say I enjoy it, and I think it makes me look like I’m using bad-faith tactics to avoid answering direct questions.

In [one instance](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-conservatives-or-progressives-more-likely-to-buy-their-child-birth-control-at-age-13/919541) I took an active hijack, which I was not yet participating in but found interesting, and copied the entire discussion to a new topic. In retrospect I probably shouldn’t have done that. I’m not a moderator and what I did looks a lot like moderating. Maybe I should have just reported it and moved on - but I did want to contribute to the discussion a little, which I did in the dedicated topic. I don’t think I bothered reporting this particular instance.

~Max

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