FAQ: Why do we lock posts? Why don't we move them? And more.

rampage · Administrator Joined: 24 Jan 2002 Location: Redmond, WA

A common post in here askes this question: why are mods quick to lock topics? Why don't they move topics to the appropriate place? Well, this is a very good question, and one that I will cover in this post. In addition, if you have further questions or concerns about our locking procedures, please ask them here. Creating a separate topic on the matter will cause, ahem, the topic to be locked.

If you get drunk and puke on your friend's carpet, do you expect them to sigh, shake their head, and clean it up for you? Maybe the first time, but if you continue to do it, they will stop being helpful and kick you out of their house.

By creating posts that are either a) in the wrong place b) completely off topic or c) otherwise inappropriate for the forum it's a general practice to lock the thread. Not move it. But why?

Just like puking on the friend's carpet, if you're allowed to continue to do it, eventually you'll assume that it's ok. Why not just keep puking on my friend's carpet? They will clean it up. Who cares if it's a messy and arduous process that's a real pain for the friend? They will happily deal with it.

Compare this to moving topics. It's a pain to do. It's a slow process and not entirely visible to the user whose topic was moved. Many times the will assume their topic was deleted and simply start a new one. This means another topic that needs to be moved or locked because it was a duplicate.

By nipping the problem in the bud and simply not allowing the topic to live, the user (hopefully) gets the message: don't puke on my carpet and expect me to clean it up. If the user continues to puke on the carpet without any regard for their friend's feelings, they will eventually get warned, and in extreme cases, kicked out of the house.

That's not to say the system is perfect. We all make mistakes. Sometimes it's not really puke on the rug, it was just a rubber facsimile.

If you have a post that you feel is appropriate that was locked, let the mod know why. Sometimes we will lock a post by accident, or for the wrong reasons. By stating clearly why the topic should be allowed to live, the mod may choose to unlock it. I have unlocked many posts that I hastily locked or were justified in PM. It happens.

Dark Fish · Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2005 2:27 pm Post subject:

I think you guys should delete posts instead of just locking them, some subforums have 90% locked posts and 5 stickies....

Reenee · Trick Member Joined: 21 Nov 2003

diddrstrait · Trick Member Joined: 01 Jan 2004

Thomas Hobbes · Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 10:56 am Post subject:

Good job rampage. This was a needed thing for the forums.
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Radix · Trick Member Joined: 03 Jul 2002 Location: çå£«

I learned a whole lot about puking etiquette, but I fear the analogy overshadowed the point of the post somewhat.

[DMB]dman.exe · Trick Member Joined: 28 Mar 2003

Desoulman · Trick Member Joined: 25 Apr 2002 Location: Vermont :(

Thomas Hobbes · Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 7:07 pm Post subject:

Which is the whole forums. >=P
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EggsNsausage · Trick Member Joined: 06 Jul 2004

[quote="Desoulman"][quote="D-Man"][quote="Dark Fish"]I think you guys should delete posts instead of just locking them, some subforums have 90% locked posts and 5 stickies....[/quote]

...which?[/quote]

Any forum that is regulated by Cutriss

[/quote]

I second that.

Cutriss · Staff Member Joined: 24 Jan 2002

Hey - I stuck up for you, remember? Don't go throwing mud around unless you *want* me to make you my personal target.
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wolfspawn · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 2:42 pm Post subject:

umm i think this goes here....

uhm i am new and i was wondering how to put pics in the profile

Thomas Hobbes · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 2:45 pm Post subject:

wolfspawn · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 2:49 pm Post subject:

like how you have sonic in urs in the signature area

Thomas Hobbes · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 2:53 pm Post subject:

Have the image designed, host in on a website and enter that URL in the signature box when you edit your profile with the [img] tags.
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wolfspawn · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 2:59 pm Post subject:

could you give me an example?
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Edible Bondage Tape · Trick Member Joined: 26 Jan 2002 Location: Kerri

go to www.photobucket.com

make a free account

upload your picture

tell it to generate a tag

copy the code it gives you in to the signiture filed here at ddrfreak (use control X to cut it and control V to paste it)
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Cutriss · Staff Member Joined: 24 Jan 2002

And if you still have questions, read the stickies in the Imaging forum, and don't post here again, please.
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geo_android · Trick Member Joined: 27 Apr 2005

I just can't agree more about why you don't move posts, and I respect that.

Spike · Administrator Joined: 17 Jan 2002 Location: Denver