I just thought I’d let everyone know aboug the magic of sinking threads (an additional ability the admins have in the forums). If a thread is sunk, then it can no longed be bumped. While people can still post on the thread, the the thread will no longer be moved to the top every time someone does so. This allows discussions to die without the need of a forceful close. When I believe a thread should be closed:If a heated argument is going on in the thread (no change there). When I believe a thread should be sunk:If a really old thread is bumped (esp. for Village Pump, Collab Corner, and Bug Reports), versus a close. That way people can still post on it if they’d like to, but it won’t be bumped back up. I also have noticed that occasionally a person requests a thread to be closed if they believe the discussion. I suggest sinking takes the place of closing in these situations as well.
Neat-O. It sucks that users mistake the “let it die by not posting” sinking for the admin tool sinking.
If a thread sinks, it just means it’s being stacked under threads with newer postings. The admin tool is just a “force sink”, where people can still post but the thread will not make any upward movement.
Closing a thread once discussion is agreed to have reached a point where the dead horse has been beaten and then ran over with a truck is to prevent offtopic things that seem to be rather… rampant in these forums. To be honest, I’m personally not a fan of the sink tool. I’ve posted in some sunk threads and it’s confusing. You have to go to your forum profile to find the thread or dig through pages. Whilst it discourages chatter because obviously, nobody will see it, I believe closing is easier.
Ttrimm
5
Closing also gives spammers and trolls fewer threads to attack.
Have you asked any admins how they currently manage this and whether they see the need for change or not?
If a thread can’t be bumped, how can a troll attack it?
Why would you be posting on a sunk thread if it would normally be closed anyways?
I’m not asking for a change. This is mainly just for the people who are like “CLOSE THIS THREAD NOW BECAUSE I DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT RAINBOWS ANYMORE!”
