Moderators and thread locks

[styil]

Hi all I have two forum suggestions for mods when locking threads.

1. I think that it would be great if mods were to quote the OP of the thread they're locking. That way the OP is notified when their thread is locked. And thanks for the notification feature.

2. I also think that the moderators should provide an alternate link to a thread when they lock a thread on the basis that there is already an active thread. This would assist and redirect users to the thread that the moderator would like the person to post in.

Thanks.

[Splenda]

I cant comment on #1, but #2 should be happening if that was the reason it was locked. Sometime mods are multitasking and forget.

(Edit for clarification, if there's several threads or threads in multiple sections, a particular thread may not be linked in the event they cover different aspects of that topic so you can pick the one that pertains to you and post there.)

[Tziva]

If the thread was closed because it's duplication/overlap with another active thread, #2 should definitely be happening already. Only in the case where a thread was closed because of the topic itself (in which case we don't want other threads) and in the rare situation where there are already a BUNCH of threads on the topic already that you can see right away from opening the subforum will you typically not see it.

If a person wants to see their thread closures, they can access their profile or click on their name, and go to "view started threads." You'll be able to quickly find your own threads and see which ones were locked. I'm not sure it's feasible for moderators to quote the OP in their closing post, since that can be misleading since threads are often closed for reasons that aren't the direct result of the OP and it can be distracting to other readers who want to see the reason the thread was closed.

[Lochton]

Point one sounds like a good idea. A little extra work, but a smart tool of announcement.

Point two should always happen if the thread is closed due to being overlapped or a duplicate.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

If the thread was closed because it's duplication/overlap with another active thread, #2 should definitely be happening already. Only in the case where a thread was closed because of the topic itself (in which case we don't want other threads) and in the rare situation where there are already a BUNCH of threads on the topic already that you can see right away from opening the subforum will you typically not see it.

If a person wants to see their thread closures, they can access their profile or click on their name, and go to "view started threads." You'll be able to quickly find your own threads and see which ones were locked. I'm not sure it's feasible for moderators to quote the OP in their closing post, since that can be misleading since threads are often closed for reasons that aren't the direct result of the OP and it can be distracting to other readers who want to see the reason the thread was closed.

Perhaps a quote wouldn't be optimal in that case, but an @ mention of the OP shouldn't distract from the reason for the close.

[Darsithis]

We shouldn't need to quote or mention.

If someone posts a thread, then vanishes, they were only intending to stir up the forum, so quoting or mentioning is pointless. If they actually participate in the thread, they'll know we closed it because they'll stop being able to post in it. The extra quote can make it confusing if we close a thread because it off the rails and it can make it look like we're closing it because of the OP, as Tziva pointed out.

On the second point, as Tziva said, we usually do, or we point to a post in the thread that points to that thread. We also close threads that have a lot of similar threads open. In that case, we leave it up to the OP to seek those threads out.