# Why are threads like this in GD not shut down or moved to IMHO? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 27, 2016, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273 "2016-02-27T05:57:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/21 "2016-02-29T16:25:39Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > So re-open it if it was a mistake. Was it violating any rules? It is obviously IMHO stuff. I can’t speak to that. It’s not my forum and wasn’t my closing. The “is this common practice” comment, I assumed was referring to not being aware of what forum a reported post was in. Clarifying what we see when a post gets reported might help answer that. If that wasn’t the question, **Reluctant A** is welcome to respond. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/22 "2016-02-29T18:48:37Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > That’s just it–it IS a quote, rather than just “Hey, guys, what do you think about this?” They keep closing or moving threads that are just linking drive-bys, saying we have to include at least a little something to make people think we care. The OP did this, so it’d be kind of crass for it to be summarily closed or moved. No, he needs to say what _he_ thinks of it, otherwise it’s just the same as “Hey, guys, what do you think about this?”. The Op needs to add some meat, some thought. Those should all be closed. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/23 "2016-02-29T19:48:06Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > So re-open it if it was a mistake. Was it violating any rules? It is obviously IMHO stuff. That thread is proof that we need a forum called “ **Are Submarines Waterproof** ” for threads of this caliber. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/24 "2016-02-29T20:57:41Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > That thread is proof that we need a forum called “ **Are Submarines Waterproof** ” for threads of this caliber. I don’t have a problem with that. And I don’t have problem moving it to a more mundane and pointless forum either. This appears to be another case of a mod reacting to a report without any objective consideration or analysis. **Mods,** please re-open that thread or provide a valid reason why it should be closed. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/25 "2016-02-29T21:03:38Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I don’t have a problem with that. And I don’t have problem moving it to a more mundane and pointless forum either. This appears to be another case of a mod reacting to a report without any objective consideration or analysis. > > **Mods,** please re-open that thread or provide a valid reason why it should be closed. Mods- please don’t. For either. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/26 "2016-02-29T21:05:00Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Mods- please don’t. For either. So you think mods should close any thread that they receive a complaint about? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/27 "2016-02-29T21:11:47Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > So you think mods should close any thread that they receive a complaint about? No, just the useless crappy ones. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/28 "2016-02-29T21:24:01Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No, just the useless crappy ones. As determined by whom? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/29 "2016-02-29T22:12:38Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > On a somewhat related topic, I have a question about [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=785399) thread. Now, I want to be clear that I’m not advocating that thread be reopened, or anything, but I am curious as to the chronology related to the closing. As near as I can tell, the thread originated in #Elections and, at some point, **Johnathan Chance** moved it to #IMHO. Some eight hours later, **tomndebb** made the following remarks before locking the thread: > > … Which is fine, except for the fact that it doesn’t appear that thread was _in_ #Elections when it was closed. As the great American philosopher Gregory Helms might say, wasupwitdat? > [@tomndebb](#): > > It was in my mailbox as a reported thread. I looked it over without noticing that it was no longer in Elections. I closed it. When the Closed message came back, I noticed that it was in IMHO, but I didn’t think it was worth the effort to re-open it. In this ATMB thread: [Why was this IMHO thread closed? - About This Message Board - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=785541) where I raised the question of why this thread was closed, this comment was thrown out > [@billfish678](#): > > First. I think closing that thread was bogus. > > Secondly, it sure looks like a left wing bias here in doing so. > > Third, I don’t have my panties in a bunch about it and am not about to get into a debate/pissing match about the whole thing. > > Finally…bogus again…said my piece…one and done. just before a mod came along and closed that thread because this one was open. Sure looks like a concerted effort to stifle a discussion about the Clinton’s current sleeping arrangements. I don’t necessarily think that’s the case, but it appears so. **Tomndebb** pretty much says that there wasn’t a real reason to close it, but after he mistakenly did, it wasn’t worth the effort to re-open it. Just adds to the reputation this board already has. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/30 "2016-02-29T22:51:35Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Is what a common practice? > > We get reports as emails that include the link to the thread/post being reported. We only get reports from our the forums we moderate. When you click on the link it takes you to the post that was reported. Assuming you got a report because it was in your forum is reasonable, and it’s not always obvious that the forum changed. Checking reports on your phone makes it even trickier. I hate to be “Well, actually” guy, but… **tomndebb** said that he “looked over” the thread and closed it, without noticing that it had been moved from #Elections. I can buy that he closed the thread without noticing that it had been moved, if he didn’t bother reading it, but I’m puzzling over how he could have looked the thread over without noticing that **Johnathan Chance** had already moved it. 'Cuz, you know… there’s that one post by **Johnathan Chance** that he said he moved it. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/31 "2016-02-29T23:04:20Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > In this ATMB thread: [Why was this IMHO thread closed? - About This Message Board - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=785541) where I raised the question of why this thread was closed, this comment was thrown out > > just before a mod came along and closed that thread because this one was open. Sure looks like a concerted effort to stifle a discussion about the Clinton’s current sleeping arrangements. I don’t necessarily think that’s the case, but it appears so. **Tomndebb** pretty much says that there wasn’t a real reason to close it, but after he mistakenly did, it wasn’t worth the effort to re-open it. Just adds to the reputation this board already has. Bingo. There are two things related to this. Impropriety. And the APPEARANCE of impropriety. Often it is more important to avoid the later, even if it is NOT true, than it is to not do the former. PS. First awhile back it was too much trouble for a mod to say “hey, we got your report about post X”. Now it is too much trouble to reopen a thread accidentally closed. Homer Simpson’s helper monkey had more spunk than that. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/32 "2016-02-29T23:08:49Z")
What will we learn from such a thread if it is reopened? ---
**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:** [March 1, 2016, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/33 "2016-03-01T00:32:45Z")
It’s IMHO. Are threads there required to teach us something? Of course, there’s always MPSIMS, too, if that thread is not “deep enough” for IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/34 "2016-03-01T00:33:37Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Sure looks like a concerted effort to stifle a discussion about the Clinton’s current sleeping arrangements As though that’s a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/35 "2016-03-01T00:42:48Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > I hate to be “Well, actually” guy, but… > > **tomndebb** said that he “looked over” the thread and closed it, without noticing that it had been moved from #Elections. I can buy that he closed the thread without noticing that it had been moved, if he didn’t bother reading it, but I’m puzzling over how he could have looked the thread over without noticing that **Johnathan Chance** had already moved it. 'Cuz, you know… there’s that one post by **Johnathan Chance** that he said he moved it. Because he had no reason to look the thread over. All he had reason to do was read the OP to see that it did not fit in Elections. So that’s what he did. JC did the same thing, probably. The only difference was that JC moved it to a forum where it barely fit, while **tom** just figured it needed to be closed. Yeah, he goofed. But instead of asking him nicely to put it back, you guys seem to be laying into him. I’m not a fan of a lot of **tom** ’s stuff, but this seems out of proportion. And, for Og’s sake, it does not in any way like he closed it in some sort of left-wing bias. He left it closed because it’s an inane thread, and he didn’t want to go to the trouble of opening it and deleting his own post about closing it. He just didn’t think anyone would care. Now that he knows, I’m sure he’s willing to reopen it. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/36 "2016-03-01T02:37:21Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > [This thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=785217) (checking) Oh, it’s not one of mine. All that talk about it being content-free had me worried. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/37 "2016-03-01T06:08:15Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > …we need a forum called “ **Are Submarines Waterproof** ” for threads of this caliber. Agreed. And on behalf of the board I’d like to thank you for volunteering to moderate it. I nominate John Mace, Miller and the person who posts after me as your co-mods. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/38 "2016-03-01T14:28:20Z")
NO! I’m too busy. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/39 "2016-03-01T17:16:35Z")
I vote MfM. Who’s with me? ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273/40 "2016-03-01T18:10:34Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > I vote MfM. Who’s with me? Awesome, now we can abuse him with regularity in ATMB. I nominate LinusK as his assistant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-threads-like-this-in-gd-not-shut-down-or-moved-to-imho/747273.md?page=3)