It would be nice to have an all-inclusive, codified list of criteria.

my criteria:

1. devolving into flames.
2. request from OP
3. no point of discussion
4. not relevant to forum
5. unscientific posts only
6. over riding moderation

I prefer to flip a coin. /sneers

I never play dice with the Universe, especially aloft my Ivory tower.

Seriously most threads I've locked in the past have been "repeats", or circular arguments. Some have obviously been more politically motivated and potentially clash with the basic rules of Forum etiquette or policy.

my criteria:

1. devolving into flames.
2. request from OP
3. no point of discussion
4. not relevant to forum
5. unscientific posts only
6. over riding moderation

LOL I thought you were moderator of the religion subforum.. :p

my criteria:

1. devolving into flames.
2. request from OP
3. no point of discussion
4. not relevant to forum
5. unscientific posts only
6. over riding moderation

This must explain why the sections of the forum you moderate look like this:

http://www.newmexiconuts.net/catalog/tumbleweed.jpg

This must explain why the sections of the forum you moderate look like this:



I prefer it to the alternative

http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Health/Images/trash.jpg

How did you get that picture of my backyard?

Various criteria are listed in the Forum Rules, Regulations and Recommendations (http://www.sciforums.com/announcement.php?f=12).

My most common reason for locking a thread (something I don't do very often, by the way) is where any shred of a discussion about the thread topic has disappeared. Most often, this is the case where the thread has turned into a flamewar involving personal attacks. In other instances, it can just be the case that the thread has diverged wildly from its initial topic. When all trace of the original topic has been lost, it is time to start a new thread on the new topic.

There are some threads I will close immediately they are started. Those are the ones that breach site rules. Examples include offensive, pornographic or hateful content. And, of course, threads that are reposted after a moderator has closed or moved them are immediately locked, and the person reposting will often be punished with a temporary ban for overriding a moderator's decision.

Finally, there are threads where the OP consists merely of posting a link to some other site, or that copy an entire slab of text from another site without making any comment or asking any question. In that case, there is nothing to discuss. An interested reader would have to go to some other site to begin to guess the point of the thread. Since sciforums is not a list of links but a discussion forum, such threads are not of much use here.

If the OP requests the thread be close.

If the thread has degenerated into a flame war with trolling and personal insults. I such cases, I tend to allow members who participated in the thread who wanted to still discuss the valid point in the thread to re-open another thread on the topic, so long as it stays on topic and does not go the same way as the first thread had done. If members simply start another thread without consulting me first on the matter, I will close it and issue the member in question with a warning and a ban if they do it again. As such, all members who have such a request have usually sent me a PM expressing their displeasure of the closure of the thread and we have tended to come to an agreement that the thread can be re-opened or started again if it is kept on topic. In instances where threads have been closed due to flaming, insults, etc, I will give some leeway to those who participated in the thread but not in the flame wars or insults. I personally prefer to have some form of agreement between the parties involved in such matters, and it has, for the most part, worked in the past.

Advertising/spam will be closed immediately and usually deleted.

Propaganda threads are closed immediately.

If the thread has absolutely no discussion point whatsoever.

Racism.. a bit of a tricky one really. If members decide to simply wish to denigrate one race by only stating they are inferior, lack in intelligence, etc, simply because they are of a particular race, then I close it.

Pornography, hate threads will usually be closed immediately since they are in breach of site rules.

And any thread that is in direct violation of the site's rules will be closed.

In further reguard to the issue at hand rather than a general complaint, It was made QUITE clear to you that issues regarding the US cadiates should be placed in the cadiates files which are sticky threads at the top of the politics forum.

I did this both in the thread in question and in a PM that i sent to you regarding said thread

This is not an effort to stifle debate but rather to leave the politics section open to other issues that people may have while the US election is on. Members should not have to wade through page after page of threads on "obama is a muslim" "hillery is ugly" "McCain has cancer" in order to find the posts they want. We do not have a seperate section on US politics or the US election specifically so we need to keep the section functioning as a multinational section.