I’ve never seen anything quite like this in the pit; I hope it’s not too milquetoasty. Granted, I’ve only been here a few times ('cause it’s scary and dark and there are monsters under the beds), so maybe this kind of thing shows up here all the time. Anyway, this query definitely falls under the umbrella of “discussion regarding administration of the SDMB.”
This isn’t a criticism, even; it’s just a question. I have looked for my answer elsewhere but have been unable to find it. My search kept timing out.
So … why do threads get closed? I have seen moderators do it, but I don’t always understand why. They must have guidelines. Wiser, more experienced SDMB members–or even the great mods–please clue me in.
Violations of the user agreement, usually. At the request of the OP, occasionally. When the question has been answered sometimes. When the OP is a troll, once in a while.
Out of spite or malice, almost never.
But there are occasions where the reason for closure is not made explicit, and someone will almost always start a thread here about it. Ultimately, it’ll boil down to one of the above answers, but the mod and admins have broad discretionary authority to uphold the general standards set by the board’s owners, and broad authority to interpret what constitutes a violation of those standards.
I’m not the most experienced/wise SDMB member, but here you go:
The original poster, or another poster, violated the rules. In most cases, they were acting vicious and/or ignorant – warnings are generally given prior to the thread closure.
The original poster asks that the thread be closed.
Most of the time, if there’s no explanation from a moderator, it’s because the same thread got posted multiple times. Other than that, they’ll usually put in a quick explanation at the end.
That one got locked down because the OP got eaten by the hamsters. My oh-so-unwitty reply (which looks like the OP) was not actually the OP. I responded to a blank or empty thread.
Czarcasm figured maybe the OP would be worth repeating in a new thread, so, using his discretion as a mod, closed it and gave her the opportunity to repost.
