# Closed threads



## Chellemonkey (Jan 23, 2012)

I am new so please forgive me if this has been asked before, I did do a quick search but nothing extensive. Why are all but the top few threads on every topic locked? I saw something in the rules or something that said the etiquette of bumping posts but why would that be an issue if the threads all get closed? Who decides when threads are closed? is it the moderators who decided when a topic is finished being discussed?


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## rbcbob (Jan 23, 2012)

Chellemonkey said:


> Who decides when threads are closed? is it the moderators who decided when a topic is finished being discussed?



Yes Michelle, the Administrators and Moderators who close threads.


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## Kim G (Jan 23, 2012)

I think they lock the threads to keep the conversation fresh. That way a thread from two years ago doesn't get reactivated when the people who interacted in the thread may not even be on the board anymore to give further input. There's nothing wrong with starting your own thread to bring up a previously-covered topic if you feel like you could use some current interaction. When I was new to Reformed theology, I'm pretty sure I asked a billion questions that had already been asked before. Everyone was still patient with me about them.


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## NaphtaliPress (Jan 23, 2012)

Threads are closed automatically after a period of time (I forget how long; Rich knows); so it is not always the bad rascally moderators who close the threads. It's the "system."


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## Chellemonkey (Jan 23, 2012)

Ok, I was only curious because I was following a thread before I was able to get approved and it was closed before I got a chance to comment. (Not that I am particularly upset over that, I was just very surprised it was closed so quickly)


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## Afterthought (Jan 23, 2012)

They seem to close themselves around a month after the last post. I tend to notice because I bump my threads a lot.


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## NaphtaliPress (Jan 23, 2012)

The moderators can be fast when need be. What thread?


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## Chellemonkey (Jan 23, 2012)

I won't mention which thread. I can understand the closing of the one I was looking at because I feel the helpful things were seeming to just be being repeated and there was possibly the potential for the posts to take a turn for the worst. I was just surprised seeing that I had not been around very long that the thread got closed because people could maybe possibly have gotten a little bit off track in the future. (I could see the scenario changing quickly but you can't 100% predict people and I was unaware this was a common way to handle things here.)

---------- Post added at 11:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:05 PM ----------

Rereading what I posted it seems that I am saying that I disapprove of how the situation was handled and that is not at all what I meant. I am truly just seeking to find out what way the moderators deal with issues. I have been on discussions boards in the past I know where things can go and how certain boards have a tendency to act a certain way and that dictates how the moderators operate when new threads are opened.


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## NaphtaliPress (Jan 23, 2012)

The moderators aim is to only close a thread down that gets out of hand and is unedifying or crosses the board rules some way. Review the rules, FAQ, etc. for more details what you can expect here.


Chellemonkey said:


> I am truly just seeking to find out what way the moderators deal with issues. I have been on discussions boards in the past I know where things can go and how certain boards have a tendency to act a certain way and that dictates how the moderators operate when new threads are opened.


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## Weston Stoler (Jan 24, 2012)

I find when a thread I really want to comment on is closed, that you should take a good slice of cherry pie (like I am doing) and sit and eat it. It makes the day so much better. 

Don't forget whipped Cream.


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## Bill The Baptist (Jan 24, 2012)

Weston Stoler said:


> I find when a thread I really want to comment on is closed, that you should take a good slice of cherry pie (like I am doing) and sit and eat it. It makes the day so much better.
> 
> Don't forget whipped Cream.



I think this applies in virtually any situation where you feel frustrated or angry.


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## J. Dean (Jan 24, 2012)

Bill The Baptist said:


> Weston Stoler said:
> 
> 
> > I find when a thread I really want to comment on is closed, that you should take a good slice of cherry pie (like I am doing) and sit and eat it. It makes the day so much better.
> ...


Yes, but what about a triple chocolate torte?


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## a mere housewife (Jan 24, 2012)

I would like to have this one reopened: http://www.puritanboard.com/f84/iron-idiot-36186/ I feel that it was just coming to the point of a being a significant contribution to the ongoing discussion of the Reformed statement of the Twofold Economy of the Covenant of Grace as influenced by the work of Volkelius when it was closed. (I felt so at the time but didn't say anything because I was suffering from a general histamine failure.)

(I was actually trying to find one of your old recipe threads which significantly contributed to this discussion, but some of them appear to have somehow gone missing?)


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## a mere housewife (Jan 24, 2012)

:-D It was something horrific sounding with a ton of cheese, I think? I thought it was from a few years ago. A very Socinian dish.

---------- Post added at 11:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:00 AM ----------

PS. The thread has been reopened, but the forum is closed in observance of the Christian Sabbath.


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## JimmyH (Jan 24, 2012)

I am a moderator on another forum. We do not close threads unless they 'get out of hand' so very old threads are revived from time to time. Some long time members refer to this as "necro posting" (In other words,, a dead thread) and disapprove of it. I surmise that TPB closes the threads after a given period to avoid this ? I do a lot of searches for topics I'm interested in before posting questions. The threads I harvest in my search are, more often than not, closed, but I usually get the information I'm looking for from them.


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## a mere housewife (Jan 24, 2012)

I accept your apology. But I won't believe that I'm really 'insufferable' to you, or anyone else, until you reopen my thread.


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## Elizabeth (Jan 24, 2012)

As a baker, I have to say: this is very sound advice(although I'd skip the whipped cream).(in reply to Weston's post above)


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