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What's with the [new ?] policy of closing threads with no explanation ?

Twice in the last few days I've tried to reply to something only to find it closed - with no explanation or indication of why.

Which threads paul?

tbh, I can't remember the first one now, it was 3/4 days ago, this was the other one ;

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=103921

The user was unlicensed and there was clearly no point for that thread to carry on, now was there? :)

That probably applies to about 50% of the threads on vb.org, why single out that one ?

More to the point, I wasn't really questioning the reason - but why was there no explanation or note that it has been closed. It's really annoying when things are just closed without even any explanation or even a quick note to say closed.

Just because you don't see a note does not mean there is not one - Some staff close sensitive or useless threads anonymously to the general public ;)

Chris

For that one at least, the reason seems pretty obvious to me.

Do you realise how daft that sounds ? whether you can see one is irrelevant - if members can't see one, then to them there isn't one. promotion really does seem to have clouded your view. Try and remember you were an ordinary member not so long ago.

Promotion has nothing to do with my view being "clouded" as you suggest...

If the person is spamming, the answer is obvious - If the person is flaming, the answer is obvious - If you aren't alerted, then theres usually no need for an alert to be made, or for non-staff to know any reasoning...

Chris

Hum, i think that Paul M passed too much time on vB.org these last weeks, maybe it's time to rest a little and calm down ?! it's christmas time, and there is no panic button here actually...

the thread you are referring to that was closed just after my own post have the REASON in my own post... it is clear, and if you don't understand this, maybe it's because you wanted only to add your own 2¢ and it was not really necessary...

people wants to have all rights in all situations, but i don't think it's good... i would, as an experienced site admin, have closed and hard-deleted that thread myself, instead of closing it... because it was obvious that nobody was in need to answer this, and the user would have been banned... and internal rules have not to be announced and advertised to all just because it's a public site... does Bill Gates call you at home to tell you that a client was not happy with Windows ?!... no, even if you have the right to know... that's all.

I leave a note everytime I close/move a thread, but sometimes it can be pretty self-explanatory, like in that thread you linked to, Paul.

Yes, it is annoying to some, but if you truly need to know why threads are closed all the time, take the time to read the thread and figure it out for yourself. Otherwise, just trust that it was closed in great moderator judgement.

I dont particually think you have the right to go and judge someones actions based upon their activity of late, granted, the example thread provided was closed probally for the user being unlicensed and not having an intention to purchase one, henceforth making the thread void - but i can relate to Paul as i too find it extremely annoying when viewing a thread which has been locked without any explanable issue. And to say that a reason is dispirsed to the thread starter really isnt sufficient to allow the majority usergroup a informative description as to why a particular thread has been locked.

Oh, and nexialys again i dont see how Bill Gates is relevant to the situation of a vBulletin.org forum moderator closing threads without a reason as to why? And lets be honest when would Gates do anything generous to a customer anymore, as long as he is still making money he probally couldn't care less about his personal customer support provided - and thats the difference with vBulletin.org - which, i am assuming, has a main objective as a forum moderator to provide coherant and accessible customer support which all licensed users have access to. Not just the thread starter.

Most of the time they do.... Otherwise do you REALLY care? Seriously man, some of the threads are really asinine.

I know you didnt have the other thread to link, but an example of the topic would be nice.......

Dumb question. Do you guys like it when your forum members question every moderating decision you make and try to micromanage your forum for you?

Paul, I notice that your complaints and feedback forum isn't visible to the general membership. Perhaps that is something vb.org should consider to avoid this whole management by committee thing that seems to be going on as late. And, it certainly makes it harder for me to point out the times your members thought you made bad moderating decisions ;)

There are times when staff members blow it and make bad choices. But, I think the climate around here lately is for some people to blow some minor things out of proportion. Staff needs to communicate better at times, but some of you all need to take a step back and realize that you don't need to be involved in every action the staff takes on minor daily moderation.

What really gets under MY skin is when a perfectly valid argument gets closed because one or two people find themselves unable to keep it mature.
Example: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...6&page=8&pp=15
I was having a mature and on-topic discussion with Brent, and this got closed because someone else ruined it.
Yes I could have continued the thing through PM, but then we wouldn't get others input on it now would we.
If I had started a new thread, I would have gotten it closed due to the trolling rule that was taken in effect upon the unofficial HOTM poll threads.
To me it seems like really bad judgement to just close threads like that. Why not delete the off-topic posts? Why ruin a whole discussion?
Yes I know the thread was threatened with the lock-stick yet it went on, but my point is that locking threads NOT completely filled with spam should rather see the deletion of spam posts than locking the entire topic.

Now now Amy, thats not very nice........ ;)


I dont see Paul making a big deal here. It seems more of a general concern then a judgement call complaint.

There are different ways for moderators to handle cases like that. Here at vb.org we prefer the 'friendly method' (you might disagree on that term):

Friendly:
- If a single post is causing problems, edit post or remove from public view
- Warn in thread if it is not an isolated post, or if it can be used as example on what will not be tolerated to others
- Close thread if it continues to be abused (for discussion on the real topic a new thread could be started, without the "burden" of previous emotions in the closed thread)

Unfriendly:
- Delete every problem post on first sight (post would not be viewable anymore, so we would get the same kinda reaction as the first post in this thread, "why was the public not informed")
- Ban the member(s) causing problems (and i know some respected members would be faced with this approach soon)

Revan, I apologize if you feel that I derailed the thread. I didnt mean to shut you up or interrupt your debate. Honestly, I would love to engage the subject more however every thread regarding that subject gets trolled by Brent. I dont mind someone giving his opinion, but he repeats himself over and over. He is also very closed minded. I agree with your thoughts in that thread. I honestly feel that you could of posted a book of your thoughts there and no matter how logical they are or not, Brent would not agree. Some people are just too argumentative to even try to have a decent conversation with.

It will be a long, long, time before I ask for advice from you.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "your complaints and feedback forum isn't visible to the general membership". We have a website forum that is viewable by all members - and believe me, it has had plenty of complaints about what we do over the years. We also list ALL reported posts and what action was taken - this also is viewable by all members. Neither is viewable by Guests if that's what you mean.

As usual there seems to be a massive over-reaction and everyone has to jump in and wildly try and defend themselves over a very simple question. FYI, whenever we close a thread thread we put a simple note as to why, any that don't have this are a mistake. This seemed to be the case here until the last two I came across, hence the question.

I didn't question why it was closed - all those responding with "it's obvious why" are wasting their time - though I suppose it does prove once again that people don't actually read the thread. I asked why no reason was posted in the thread - Nothing more, nothing less.

Sorry Paul, at a glance this morning I mistook the top link for a forum that had invisible threads. I posted before I had coffee. :)

I really wasn't trying to be rude, and I have nothing to defend. I'm not a mod ;) My point is just that I'm not certain every thread needs a public post as to why its closed and I don't think it's necessarily our business to gripe if a public reason isn't given in a thread that doesn't involve us.

Amy

Well I differ in my view - I think it's good practice to post a note when a thread is closed - many of ours may say little more than something like "Nothing more to add, Closed".

There might be a little less bad feeling around the site if more of this was done, instead of threats like this from staff members;

( What this had to do with my topic I really don't know :confused: ).

I do think it is good practice just to post a quick note anyway regardless, especially if there has been a reply before it was closed. There are times when it's quite obvious why a thread was closed without a note as mentioned. But it's still better just post one anyway for the sake of it to make things clear.

To Paul, I did notice that you wasn't a happy bunny at all over the commercial hacks in your post made there - were you were pretty upfront. I think your unhappiness right now is spilling over into this thread without you knowing. Have a break away for a while and chill out, as you just seem a little frustrated with things to me right now here.