# Thread cool-offs
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-cool-offs/932282
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [February 5, 2021, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-cool-offs/932282 "2021-02-05T19:39:04Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2021, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-cool-offs/932282/1 "2021-02-05T19:39:04Z")
> [@Transgender - transracial. What is the essential difference?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-transracial-what-is-the-essential-difference/932117/150):
>
> Thread briefly closed to give posters in mid-post a chance to not get warned. Will reopen in 5 minutes.
Brilliant idea, please do this as often as helpful.
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2021, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-cool-offs/932282/2 "2021-02-05T19:57:12Z")
Thank you;
and yet somehow it didn’t help this time. ☹
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### Author:  [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2021, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-cool-offs/932282/3 "2021-02-05T23:36:05Z")
I personally usually give a 24 hour cooling off period.
Sometimes that doesn’t help either.
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2021, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-cool-offs/932282/4 "2021-02-06T01:24:49Z")
I’ve seen them not help more than help, unfortunately. Any cooling off seems to be offset by people rereading what was said to get back up to speed.
Plus it’s basically impossible that people won’t get upset when they perceive one side as defending bigotry. It’s not specific to trans-related threads, and thus why having certain bigotry-related topics declared off-limits in GD helped make it a less contentious place.
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### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2021, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-cool-offs/932282/5 "2021-02-06T02:44:56Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#):
>
> I personally usually give a 24 hour cooling off period.
>
> Sometimes that doesn’t help either.
Have you tried blowing on it?
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### Author:  [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2021, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-cool-offs/932282/6 "2021-02-06T19:10:36Z")
I wonder sometimes if cool-off timeouts are counterproductive. A poster can easily recapture the heat of the moment by rereading the thread and on top of that you add impatience to say what was delayed and maybe even frustration at the delay itself.
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### Author:  [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2021, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-cool-offs/932282/7 "2021-02-07T12:02:50Z")
I like this moderation tactic - a good counter to the “didn’t see the moderation” excuse people use.
> [@gnoitall](#):
>
> on top of that you add impatience to say what was delayed and maybe even frustration at the delay itself.
And you think these toddler attitudes are something the mods should be _accommodating_? Naah, if this technique outs such petulance and stomps on it, that would be a _good_ thing.
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### Author:  [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2021, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-cool-offs/932282/8 "2021-02-07T12:57:38Z")
> [@gnoitall](#):
>
> I wonder sometimes if cool-off timeouts are counterproductive. A poster can easily recapture the heat of the moment by rereading the thread and on top of that you add impatience to say what was delayed and maybe even frustration at the delay itself.
It seems like a good idea for the stated purpose of stopping people posting before seeing the new guidance. I’ve certainly posted a reply and only then seen a mode note, and had to hurriedly review my post to check it was still within the rules (so far they have been).
Maybe longer cool-offs aren’t so useful. Depends what the purpose is.
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2021, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-cool-offs/932282/9 "2021-02-07T13:04:35Z")
I think a 5 minute one is good enough to give posters a chance to see a new modnote.
* * *
As we can see that posters are typing a reply, I wanted to stop the hijack and try to prevent a warning. So Modnote and locked thread for 5 minutes. Should have been plenty to cut off what came next.
It also bought me time to add in a note to **Riemann** and my little disclaimer about modnotes. I probably fixed a grammatical mistake too knowing me.
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### Author:  [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2021, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-cool-offs/932282/10 "2021-02-07T13:05:58Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#):
>
> and yet somehow it didn’t help this time.
**Ashtura** said he(?) was prepared to accept a warning for making the post. You can help people avoid breaking the rules by mistake or while in a temper, but it’s their choice if they want to break them deliberately.
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### Author:  [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2021, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-cool-offs/932282/11 "2021-02-07T16:59:55Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#):
>
> I probably fixed a grammatical mistake too knowing me.
Now that’s an abuse of moderator privilege. You need to suffer your poor grammar like the rest of us. 😉
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-cool-offs/932282/12 "2021-02-07T17:06:03Z")
LOL
1st: It was within the 5 minute edit window clearly.
2nd: We’ll fix grammar, spelling and coding errors for posters on request. In fact coding errors I often fix upon seeing.