Mods in AH very Trigger Happy with Locking Threads

Size=everything

Is it just me or are the mods in AH getting extremely trigger happy with locking threads? Just something I've noticed time and time again over the past couple of weeks. Mods essentially locking threads so they can write a witty comment at the end before people even have a chance to discuss it's content its extremely annoying.

meditraitor

Size=everything wrote: »

Is it just me or are the mods in AH getting extremely trigger happy with locking threads? Just something I've noticed time and time again over the past couple of weeks. Mods essentially locking threads so they can write a witty comment at the end before people even have a chance to discuss it's content its extremely annoying.

What threads?

Size=everything

Heres just a few quick examples

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055681101

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055681085&page=2

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055681090

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055681044

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055680504

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055682321

meditraitor

Size=everything wrote: »

Heres just a few quick examples

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055681101

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055681085&page=2

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055681090

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055681044

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055680504

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055682321

Ah, looks like house cleaning really. Those threads were locked pretty quick but I also dont think any of them were going anywere..

Oryx

In fairness, most of those threads were going nowhere even when they started. Particularly the race one, which looked like a car crash about to happen. It depends what you want AH to be, it does have a tendency to be a bit inane at times. Looked to me like Sharpshooter was clearing some of the more obvious chaff.

Size=everything

Oryx wrote: »

In fairness, most of those threads were going nowhere even when they started. Particularly the race one, which looked like a car crash about to happen. It depends what you want AH to be, it does have a tendency to be a bit inane at times. Looked to me like Sharpshooter was clearing some of the more obvious chaff.

Whatever about the race one explain this one

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055681101

or this one

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055681090

plenty of replies on this

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055680504





I mean these were just quick examples in the last day or two I am not bothered trawling through all the locked threads from the last few weeks but there are plentiful examples of needlessly locked threads. Its very annoying

meditraitor

Size=everything wrote: »

Whatever about the race one explain this one

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055681101

or this one

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055681090

plenty of replies on this

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055680504





I mean these were just quick examples in the last day or two I am not bothered trawling through all the locked threads from the last few weeks but there are plentiful examples of needlessly locked threads. Its very annoying

Personally I would have let them die by themselves as they were all rubbish by After Hours standard.
It does seem like a different approach is being taken to threads of low(er) quality.....:o

Oryx

Im only replying to you, Im not going to defend another mods decision on a case by case basis.

Why not take it up directly with the mod/s in question?

Size=everything

Heres another thread needlessly locked from a few days ago that I wanted to contribute to

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055678743&page=2




Oryx, I have seen a good few threads in feedback about the strictness of mods in AH as of late with bannings and lockings but it seems nothing has been done. I reported the needless locking of my recent thread in AH.

At the end of the day AH is AH and the mods are trying to turn a forum known for light hearted and occasionally inane banter into a serious forum for serious opinions.

Handsome Bob

I noticed that the Darren Sutherland and Patrick Swayze threads were locked but I just reckon that maybe the AH mods are just trying to help out the forums that those threads in truth belong to. I could be completely wide of the mark though. You just can't let AH run wild staking a claim to every topic under the sun while other forums are suffering.

Insect Overlord

Those are all examples of rubbish threads, tbh.

Size=everything

An File wrote: »

Those are all examples of rubbish threads, tbh.

Thats your opinion I disagree as did all the posters who took the time to post responses. You can't simply lock threads because your not interested in it's content.

Cabaal

Size=everything wrote: »

Thats your opinion I disagree as did all the posters who took the time to post responses. You can't simply lock threads because your not interested in it's content.

nah I agree with An File, LZ5by5 &Oryx they are all pointless rubbish threads that add nothing and require very little thought.

Locked for a good reason imho, you can't just leave after hours go totally wild

So did you PM the mods and ask why they were locked?
Better yet if your not happy with the mods why didn't you post in helpdesk?

Size=everything

Cabaal wrote: »

nah I agree with An File, LZ5by5 &Oryx they are all pointless rubbish threads that add nothing and require very little thought.

Locked for a good reason imho, you can't just leave after hours go totally wild

So did you PM the mods and ask why they were locked?
Better yet if your not happy with the mods why didn't you post in helpdesk?

Actually LZ5by5 was referring to the locking of the Sutherland thread which I have no problem with. An File and Oryx are both mods so no suprise they are backing up the mods in AH along with you.

Tell me how the 3 examples I posted above and the Irish language thread were going nowhere?

Oryx

Size=everything wrote: »

Actually LZ5by5 was referring to the locking of the Sutherland thread which I have no problem with. An File and Oryx are both mods so no suprise they are backing up the mods in AH along with you.

Ah, so this is a mod conspiracy? My five years as a regular poster has nothing to do with my opinion then?

Did you consider that the mods of AH probably have a wider view of the whole situation? They will also have been consistently removing spam, insults, fighting, deleting threads and other crud you didnt even know about (which will have been so ott rotten.com wouldnt host it), and generally keeping AH a safe place to play in. A thankless task, believe me. They have been chosen to mod not because they are power hungry or like to spoil threads, but because they are familiar with the forum, how it should ideally run, and boards in general. If you have a problem with a thread being closed, particularly if its your own thread, then pm the mod who closed it and request, with a valid argument, why you think it should remain open. Mods do make mistakes, and might go back on a decision if you convince em.

Insect Overlord

Size=everything wrote: »

Actually LZ5by5 was referring to the locking of the Sutherland thread which I have no problem with. An File and Oryx are both mods so no suprise they are backing up the mods in AH along with you.
Tell me how the 3 examples I posted above and the Irish language thread were going nowhere?

I only became a mod a week ago, and even now I only moderate one small forum. It has no relevence to my opinion on the subject of this thread.

However, I've been reading and posting in After Hours for two years (was scared to post there for ages! ) so I appreciate what a difficult forum it is for the mods to run. Sharpshooter, Dr Bollocko, Javaboy et al do a fantastic job. Part of that job involves having an instinct for knowing which threads are likely to cause trouble. Nearly all of your examples come under that umbrella.

Cabaal

Size=everything wrote: »

Actually LZ5by5 was referring to the locking of the Sutherland thread which I have no problem with. An File and Oryx are both mods so no suprise they are backing up the mods in AH along with you.

Tell me how the 3 examples I posted above and the Irish language thread were going nowhere?

your kidding me right?
You know mods are normal users outside of the forums they actually mod.. this is a basic boards.ie rule.

If I agree with somebody it doesn't matter if they are a mod or not, if I disagree with someone it doesn't matter if they are a mod or not.

I sure as hell won't agree just because somebodys a mod, suggesting such a thing is like saying all users with an A in their name agree with you by default.

Nonsense of the highest order.

Perhaps you should post in conspiracy theories?

Size=everything

Those threads had discussion in them yes some of them were a bit light hearted but that is what AH is for there was no reason for them to be locked and in nearly all the cases I suspect they were locked so a mod could get his/her 'hilarious' last comment in

dr.bollocko

Size=everything wrote: »

I suspect they were locked so a mod could get his/her 'hilarious' last comment in

I can assure you 100% that a thread is never locked so we can get a hilarious last comment in.

Insect Overlord

Size=everything wrote: »

Those threads had discussion in them yes some of them were a bit light hearted but that is what AH is for there was no reason for them to be locked and in nearly all the cases I suspect they were locked so a mod could get his/her 'hilarious' last comment in

Out of the 10 or so examples to which you've posted links, only one of them has a funny final post. Have you PM'd the AH mods about this yet?

tbh

modding a contentious thread is a pain in the ass sometimes. Well, actually, it's a pain in the ass all the time.

like for example, say in radio, someone starts a thread about a certain dj, slating them. Most people put hardly any effort into those type of threads, everyone is a fat this and an oily that, and it's just personal abuse about that dj. Next thing, someone else will come on and start slagging off the op and then the op will state that they have a right - a right! mind you - to state their opinion, and it all becomes about having the last word. Poster a will report poster b and poster c will thank all of poster a's posts because he has a grudge against poster b because poster b said something one time in this one thread.

And a mod has to look at every feckin post and decide - "is this ok? is my personal bias influencing me here? would I like it if someone said something about me? and what if the DJ reads it and reports it? Will we get into trouble?" (that has happened btw, more than you'd think). And all the time I'm getting emails about reported posts about a thread where someone is slagging off someone else, and adding very little to the forum, and certainly giving people less of a reason to spend their browsing time on the site and filling it with stuff I find interesting to read.

And ultimately you'll end up infracting or banning someone for a stupid remark over a stupid topic, because if you don't the person who reported the op will start making noises along the lines of "well how come he can say I hate x but I can't say y is a prick?".

so I just lock them.

Kinetic^

Size=everything wrote: »

Is it just me

Yes.

Rev. BlueJeans

Well, that's helpful :pac:

I was only thinking this today too, I mean I can understand contentious stuff being locked down, but in all fairness, when you have mods acting in a quality control role, where do you stop. AH seems to be a fairly laid back spot on this site, why spoil it?

I assume the guy came here rather than PMing people, because he wanted to get opinion from everyone openly. Sarcasm doesn't say much tbh.

orestes

Bloody hell, is it that time of the week already?

Dudess

OP, do you genuinely think a mod would think to themselves "Right, that thread doesn't actually deserve to be locked but I really want to make a witty comment that nobody can top so I'll lock it and use that as my opportunity"...?

And mods don't always back each other up here - however they do tend to when it comes to stuff they've all encountered as part of their moderating, which is fair surely.

Pointless threads get locked because they're pointless - that's what the "padlock" facility is for.

dr.bollocko

OP We are listening to what you have to say. I think many people have echoed that the specific examples you posted don't necessarily make the bones of a solid argument but your underlying point may have some validity to it. Now I know you said you weren't referencing the death of Swayze or Darren Sutherland but the reason why they were locked is that they had a more natural home on boards for them. Ditto the reason why we locked Lisbon threads. The EU forum in politics has the kind of posters and mods that are better equipped to deal with dubious claims. The problem of threads being made in AH when they should perhaps be made elsewhere is a difficult one to address because many of our regulars are just that, AH regulars who don't post in many other forums around boards. So when we stop a discussion on a certain topic they think that we are censoring discussion when in fact we are trying to push it to the right or relevant place. People have mentioned that trainwreck threads maybe could be left to die a natural death. That is perhaps true in some cases.
But certainly there is no hidden agenda in locking any threads. No mod is locking threads for the chance at a witty last word.
On the big topics, they are locked if things are going around in circles or AH is not the best place for them. On the small topics, after being around on AH for a while you begin to spot and notice how quickly dumb threads can become troublesome threads and the call to lock early is often the right one. Not always. I think it's something we can discuss together and have done before also. There are few hardfast rules on AH but we do take feedback on board.

AckwelFoley

Most threads in AH are locked because,

a. its contravenes the forum charter

b. the thread is nonesence - the same nonesence thread that was posted by another user recently

c.The topic being discussed has a more suitable place in an alternate forum on boards

d. the thread is a duplicate thread of a topic already being discussed

e. Its a spammer

f. Its a thread about the creation of, delivery, size or texture of poo


Thats about it really.

Rabies

I think posters forget we have the tCN.
It needs to be used more and more.

Rev. BlueJeans

dr.bollocko wrote: »

...stuff...

I'd thank you for that if I could. Good to know someone's listening.

dr.bollocko

Rabies wrote: »

I think posters forget we have the tCN.
It needs to be used more and more.

Yup TCN and the dublin forum :pac:

AckwelFoley

Rabies wrote: »

I think posters forget we have the tCN.
It needs to be used more and more.

Id suggest it would be if it were moved from the system category to a sub heading of AH like coolvids and teach na gealtacht, or to the rec category at the least

Rabies

I'd be up for that. Although, not sure if the Cush would like all the reported posts

AckwelFoley

Rabies wrote: »

I'd be up for that. Although, not sure if the Cush would like all the reported posts

The cusheon of medicore might will do as the chief button pushers want.

..if he doesnt - they shall pronounce the 3 wolves t shirt as uncool and end the love affair

:pac:

Borneo Fnctn

I agree with the OP. I also feel he made a good, diplomatic argument.
I don't think a mod should lock a thread because they don't like it. None of the threads had offensive material posted. Some of them had no potential whatsoever to even go down a bad road.

If a thread is going nowhere, it will fizzle out. If it takes off then what of it? Some mods are so eager to let everybody know who's in charge.

AckwelFoley

jackpalance wrote: »

If a thread is going nowhere, it will fizzle out. If it takes off then what of it? Some mods are so eager to let everybody know who's in charge.

True, however, by locking it, it discourages posters and shows others that "these type" of threads get locked. AH is bizzare enough without adding more pointless threads.

fullstop

dr.bollocko wrote: »

I can assure you 100% that a thread is never locked so we can get a hilarious last comment in.

The OP has given very poor examples IMO, but it has happened several times recently when a thread has been locked and the mods continue to post in the thread after it has been locked, trying to be 'witty'

Sharpshooter

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=62110574&postcount=1

^^^^
That is your opening post.

Now that is akin to going on Facebook and asking why boards is not working.

All I did was close the thread and advise you to join Facebook and ask there.

It made sense to me.

Terry

Dear admins. I'm too drunk to go through this now.
Please keep this open until about tomorrow afternoon so that I can give a proper reply.

Do do do dum duu (3rd encounter)

Japanese girls puking in each others mouths (Stan Marsh).
I'm just typing stuff from soputh park.
The spooky ghost slimed me.

Fink Goddie

Terry wrote: »

Dear admins. I'm too drunk to go through this now.
Please keep this open until about tomorrow afternoon so that I can give a proper reply.

Do do do dum duu (3rd encounter)

Japanese girls puking in each others mouths (Stan Marsh).
I'm just typing stuff from soputh park.
The spooky ghost slimed me.

Oh look its Uncle Terry having another special moment, uuggggh my names Terry and i do stuff. :pac::pac::pac:

ibarelycare

snyper wrote: »

True, however, by locking it, it discourages posters and shows others that "these type" of threads get locked. AH is bizzare enough without adding more pointless threads.

But surely AH is what it is BECAUSE of the pointless threads??

I have to say I agree with the OP to an extent. I don't agree that mods just lock threads to get in a witty comment, but I do think that some threads are being locked unnecessarily quickly. Shouldn't the mod close a thread WHEN trouble occurs, not because they foresee it? Of course there are some cases where I understand why they would lock them straight off, but in some of the OP's examples I really don't see valid reasons And it does seem to be happening more and more often.

I agree with jackpalance that just because a mod deems a thread pointless, it doesn't mean they should lock it. There were replies to them threads, so obviously not everyone considered them pointless. Unless they're causing offence to anyone (or contain poo references) then leave them die/flourish by themselves.

Rev. BlueJeans

Some people clearly have too much time on their hands. What's the big deal with someone asking a question?

Seems to me like people are attempting to define what constitutes off topic in answer to a query that no one raised in the first place.

If it aint broke, don't fix it. Hopefully when Terry emerges blinking from his fug filled place of slumber (;)) he'll probably say the same thing.

_blank_

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Yup TCN and the dublin forum :pac:

Keep your shíte out of Dublin tbh

dr.bollocko

Des wrote: »

Keep your shíte out of Dublin tbh

Further clarify your comment or withdraw it entirely.

_blank_

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Further clarify your comment or withdraw it entirely.

Stop moving AH'd threads to the Dublin Forum.

dr.bollocko

Des wrote: »

Stop moving AH'd threads to the Dublin Forum.

Hang on a minute while I just clarify this policy decision with your co-mods.

_blank_

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Hang on a minute while I just clarify this policy decision with your co-mods.

Please do, but I find it rude to move threads full of crap into other mod's forums, leaving them to do the clean up.

Rabies

Generally if the thread is complete sh!te, it stays in AH, goes to tCN or gets locked.
I don't think any AH mods would move a ruined thread to the Dublin forum. If anything, its saved from ruin by moving it to a specific forum, be that Dublin or any where else..

Ah sure isn't the Dublin forum a sub forum of After Hours anyway

dr.bollocko

Des wrote: »

Please do, but I find it rude to move threads full of crap into other mod's forums, leaving them to do the clean up.

thread des. One thread.
In which you moved it right back, I asked you politely if I could clean it up more for you and you said no. Weren't in the mood for the thread.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055670961
Refresh your memory for you.

Fink Goddie

A mod fight, well i never!!!
I'm up for Des, go Des go Des go Des :pac::pac:

arybvtcw0eolkf

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Hang on a minute while I just clarify this policy decision with your co-mods.

Its cool with me if you continue to move threads with a Dublin these over to us.

If you can clean 'em up so much the better, but if your too busy thats cool too. Usually I just go along with the craic, and tbh - the AH crowd very rarely follow a thread over to us anyhow.

This has went on for years, so the precedence has been set I guess.

.

Hank Scorpio

Is there any script which could show the amount of threads locked in say a 2 month period before sharpshooter became a mod, and after?

Would be interesting indeed