# Yay, we've been saved from ourselves again! **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 5, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013 "2012-05-05T18:41:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/41 "2012-05-06T01:51:46Z")
> [@Measure for Measure](#): > > I vote for closing pointless threads. A contender! I’m not advocating opening the thread in question, that would be silly but I would be interested in your opinion of what is the harm in leaving them open in general. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > If you think my opinion is wrong, tell me why you think so. You haven’t given an opinion of what harm they cause, you just keep saying it’s against the rules. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/42 "2012-05-06T01:56:34Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Just my modly 0.02 here, since I’m not a Pit mod and didn’t close the thing — I would have closed such a thread in IMHO, but left it open in MPSIMS. Probably Marley would tell you the same thing. If people are having fun in MPSIMS, even though it was basically content-free, there’s not a big problem there, to me, if people are being clever and having fun with it. But the other forums, eh, it’s a bit of a problem. They’re set up to discuss stuff, debate stuff, have questions answered, and blow off steam. If there’s content-free threads allowed there, then we aren’t really upholding the standards we set out to have. > > Make sense? Yep, thanks\*\* Ellen\*\*. I did suggest in the OP that if people were having fun and participating it could be moved to MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/43 "2012-05-06T01:57:48Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > A contender! I’m not advocating opening the thread in question, that would be silly but I would be interested in your opinion of what is the harm in leaving them open in general. > You haven’t given an opinion of what harm they cause, you just keep saying it’s against the rules. Something doesn’t have to “cause harm” to be against the rules. If The Powers That Be want this place to resemble a message board where people have (sometimes) intelligent conversation, instead of a playpen, then it is their right to design the rules thusly. Personally, I see nothing attractive about “Post whatever you want, because we just don’t give a shit” type directionless boards. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/44 "2012-05-06T02:02:11Z")
Posting about cookie recipes in Great Debates “does no harm”. Posting about WWII in About This Message Board “does no harm”. Posting about your pet’s illness in COCC/SR “does no harm”. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/45 "2012-05-06T02:33:34Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The OP of the thread was “Nevermind”, as in “Disregard this thread, it was a mistake”. What the hell would you change the title to to make it match the OP? Dunno. I’m not the one with the thread titles must match OPs rule. No one is arguing that the thread should have been left alone. We’re saying, when you have a choice between moving it to the quote unquote silly forum or closing it, why not do the option that still leaves people the chance to play in it? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/46 "2012-05-06T02:39:48Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Posting about cookie recipes in Great Debates “does no harm”. > Posting about WWII in About This Message Board “does no harm”. > Posting about your pet’s illness in COCC/SR “does no harm”. Posting about mundane pointless things in MPSIMS does no harm? Because isn’t that where your analogy breaks down? And I realize the Walmarticus thread wasn’t posted in MPSIMS. But threads in MPSIMS have been closed down for having no point - in a forum that’s supposedly intended for pointless threads. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/47 "2012-05-06T02:42:04Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Posting about mundane pointless things in MPSIMS does no harm? Because isn’t that where your analogy breaks down? > > And I realize the Walmarticus thread wasn’t posted in MPSIMS. But threads in MPSIMS have been closed down for having no point - in a forum that’s supposedly intended for pointless threads. Perhaps the word “Pointless” should be removed from the forum title? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/48 "2012-05-06T02:42:52Z")
nevermind ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/49 "2012-05-06T02:52:48Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Perhaps the word “Pointless” should be removed from the forum title? Or the rule relaxed a bit. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/50 "2012-05-06T03:02:13Z")
What a stupid idea to keep a contentless OP thread open. Why not just have a bot to open threads every second with no content. Good moderation by **Miller**. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/51 "2012-05-06T03:34:30Z")
Oh for the love of- Come back when you understand our actual objections, John Mace. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/52 "2012-05-06T03:46:36Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > What a stupid idea to keep a contentless OP thread open. Why not just have a bot to open threads every second with no content. > > Good moderation by **Miller**. It’s not about the contentless OP. It’s about using the contentless OP as a reason to close a thread which had seventeen other posts in it. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/53 "2012-05-06T03:53:10Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It’s not about the contentless OP. It’s about using the contentless OP as a reason to close a thread which had seventeen other posts in it. So it’s o.k. for the mods to close a contentless OP…unless a bunch of posters gets to it before the mod does? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/54 "2012-05-06T03:54:19Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It’s not about the contentless OP. It’s about using the contentless OP as a reason to close a thread which had seventeen other posts in it. Were those seventeen other posts on-topic? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/55 "2012-05-06T03:55:32Z")
Where they off topic? Hmmmm…were they?..hmmmm?..put that in your hat and smoke it. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/56 "2012-05-06T04:07:28Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > What a stupid idea to keep a contentless OP thread open. Why not just have a bot to open threads every second with no content. I’m not sure about this, but there might still be time to ask the mods to erase all evidence that you posted this. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/57 "2012-05-06T04:11:05Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > What a stupid idea to keep a contentless OP thread open. Why not just have a bot to open threads every second with no content. > > Good moderation by **Miller**. Outstanding moderation by Miller. Top notch. Six stars. Whether the thread should get moved to MPSIMS is a judgment call. But my take is that there are plenty of diversions in that place already and frankly the quality of the responses to the Waldart thread were… appropriately ephemeral. So there truly was no loss in closing it and it was not trivially respectful of the OP’s wishes. Fun! Bah! We’re here to fight ignorance. Any “fun” I have here is purely strategic. Scarequotes are fun. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/58 "2012-05-06T04:37:58Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > So it’s o.k. for the mods to close a contentless OP…unless a bunch of posters gets to it before the mod does? The mods should only close a thread if the thread is a problem. They shouldn’t close it because one post is a problem. Now if the entire thread is only one post, then a bad post justifies closing the thread. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2012, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/59 "2012-05-06T04:52:54Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Oh for the love of- > > Come back when you understand our actual objections, John Mace. Oh, boo-hoo. We want this MB to be a playground. Sorry, but you lose. Good moderation, **Miller**. The Pit is the place for rants. There was not rant. Thread Closed. QED. Start your mindless thread in MPSIMS. Don’t expect every mindless thread to be moved there. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013/60 "2012-05-06T05:01:30Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Start your mindless thread in MPSIMS. Don’t expect every mindless thread to be moved there. It’s a dumb policy that adds nothing to the board but takes away from it. And there’s now a new pointless thread in MPSIMS as a direct result of this thread so you guys have actually increased the number of pointless threads here. Good job, brownie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-weve-been-saved-from-ourselves-again/621013.md?page=4)