# What makes a thread 'Pointless'? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 7, 2001, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-a-thread-pointless/71623 "2001-07-07T20:26:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-a-thread-pointless/71623/1 "2001-07-07T20:26:14Z")
I’m not sure if this is a criticism, but why did Manhattan just close the thread in General Questions called, “Why do Union Workers make so much?” It was active, people were regularly posting to it, and in fact I had just left a fairly long message on topic. Then Manhattan declared that it was a ‘pointless thread’ and closed it. Shouldn’t the participants decide if it is pointless or not? If people posting, their posts are on topic, and the thread is in the appropriate message board, why should it be closed? If it’s pointless, it’ll die on its own. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a thread closed for what I considered to be dubious reasons. It can be pretty frustrating to spend half an hour composing a message only to have a moderator decide for whatever reason that the thread should die. Could I please ask what the reasoning is behind this? A thread with many messages in it represents an awful lot of effort by a lot of people. The decision to shut it down should not be made lightly. ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-a-thread-pointless/71623/2 "2001-07-07T20:46:37Z")
I’m not trying to hijack your perfectly good question here, **Sam Stone** , I’d just like to add something to it while we’re on the subject- Why is **Manhattan** being a moderator when he said he quit? _Is_ he a moderator? Yes/No? I thought he wasn’t anymore. Finally, how do we know if he’s in moderator mode or “Regular joe” mode when replying to him on the board? ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-a-thread-pointless/71623/3 "2001-07-07T23:24:27Z")
Well, I’m not claiming to have ESP and be able to read Manny’s mind, but it seemed to me like the OP’s question not only wasn’t really getting answered, but IMO wasn’t really capable of being answered. I thought it actually sounded more like a borderline rant than an actual question. Hence the boot in favor of more worthy, search-engine-friendly questions. Just a WAG. To answer Chris’s question: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=65291](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=65291) > [@](#): > > _originally posted by Ed Zotti, 3/27/01:_ > \*\*JillGat has generously agreed to co-moderate General Questions on an interim basis. She’ll be filling in for manhattan, who’s taking some time off. Manhattan will still be around but plans to focus on Staff Reports. He’s been a mod for a long time and we thought it best to get him out of there before he started to drool. \*\* So evidently Manny’s got the drooling problem under control. WTG! 😃 IIRC, I don’t think they ever did take down the GQ sign that said “moderated by: Manhattan”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2001, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-a-thread-pointless/71623/4 "2001-07-08T02:32:22Z")
The official position on **manhattan** is that he was on a “temporary leave of absence”. Not only is that the official position, it also happens to be true, as shown by his renewed moderatorial presence here. ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2001, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-a-thread-pointless/71623/5 "2001-07-08T02:52:53Z")
So, kinda, the other moderators don’t know either? That’s nice. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2001, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-a-thread-pointless/71623/6 "2001-07-08T03:11:47Z")
**Sam** You made a sincere post to a thread which was out of control. Manny rightly had chimed in _many_ times before he closed it. He kept asking the OP to back up the rediculous statements(OK, exagerated) that she made. She was obviously ranting from the hip. {b]Chris\*\* I would assume that if the SD didn’t want Manny to be a mod any longer, they would have removed his tag that says “moderator.” When he closes a thread, you can be pretty sure he is being a moderator. If he cracks a joke, we can assume his cape is in the wash. ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2001, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-a-thread-pointless/71623/7 "2001-07-08T03:21:45Z")
When, exactly, did he return to his duties, **Coldie**? I’m kind of curious. Was it before he called some girl a c\*nt in the pit? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2001, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-a-thread-pointless/71623/8 "2001-07-08T03:49:46Z")
er, uh…I think he called someone a “worthless cunt-sore.” I’ll leave it for you to decide if that is calling a girl? a cunt. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-a-thread-pointless/71623/9 "2001-07-09T01:23:56Z")
Moderators aren’t allowed to call people “cunts”? 😕 Especially in the Pit? ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-a-thread-pointless/71623/10 "2001-07-09T05:32:50Z")
That’s really an ugly word and I would prefer not to see it anywhere . . . and especially here. Bottom line: Manhattan is back working for us and we’re fortunate to have him. He’s not always been perfect (although he’s come close!) . . . for that matter I’ve said and done some bonehead things on this board, in this forum and elsewhere. All any of us can hope is that we’ll do better in the future and that y’all can overlook our all too human failings. your humble TubaDiva Administrator ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-a-thread-pointless/71623/11 "2001-07-09T23:35:28Z")
Oops. Sorry. :o