- old ones which get locked were typically spam driven; they were getting revived and we actually got lots of "reports" on old threads being kicked back up and the topics are no longer valid, etc. Our site has an automated system which locks threads after some many months of inactivity.
- old ones were sometimes kicked back up because someone is trying to stir an old pot; again, these often are "reported" by members, for good reason
- newer threads which have "lived a good life" and are just going around and around and around and around and around and ... will get locked because tempers are beginning to flare
- any thread will get locked when the banter is turning sour, and it's nearly impossible to keep up with the posts as they happen "live". To moderate a thread for any one post, it can take 5 minutes or more to properly research the offender's record, decide upon action, take that action, send a PM. In that time, several more offending posts happen, including people "replying" (quoting) the initial offending post, which then makes us have to go clean up "reply" posts as well. So, there are many times when it's easier to lock the thread and let things cool down a bit, and in that time, the Mod can send several PMs as well as clean up any illicit or offensive posts. How bad can this get? Not long ago, I had to "delete" about every 4th post by several different members. It made sense to lock that thread so I could moderate it without it sprialing faster than I can react.
And sometimes, things are so bad, the entire thread just is sent to quarantine. It may be because of an illicit topic, or it may be because cleaning the thread of all the offending posts would make the thread impossible to read with all the deleted context missing.
I have many times locked a thread, let it cool down for a day, and then reopened it.
I have many times told everyone to "knock it off" in public.
I have many times banned or blocked folks.
I have sent many threads to quarantine.
It's my job to moderate, and I do it under the direction of the site owner.
I have moderated at many sites over my years, and I quit because the wishy-washy polices and terrible behavior of many members made things unpallatable. There are only two sites I moderate for now; this and one other (same owner).
I was a cop for 25 years; I'm used to people's feelings getting hurt when I take action. But what many folks don't realize is how many people appreciate the enforcment, but never say anything; they just go on about their daily lives in the general calm provided. The same pretty much goes on here at BITOG also. Sure, some folks don't like the way this site is managed, but FAR, FAR more people do, and they just don't say anything because they have nothing to complain about.
As for how this site is run, it's the reflection of the owner's discretion, period. The owner, and the Mods, don't really care how other sites are run, or how FB is moderated, etc. We hold ourselves to our own standards and truly could not care less how other sites are managed. We want to thrive here at BITOG, but we're not going to compromise our principles and values to do it.
As wwillson has said, if you want a thread unlocked, PM a Mod and ask for it to be reviewed. Preferrably, PM the Mod who locked it, as he'll have the most knowledge about why it was locked in the first place.
