A thread that started at 6:22 pm last night with 58 posts (the latest at 9:13 this morning) has just been closed. It made me wonder what are the rules/parameters for closing a thread?
I did a search and found the obvious opinions/speculations. Some sound reasonable, others don’t fit a consistent formula such as “…after 6 months” or “…when there are not more posters”, etc. So I read the Talk of the Villages Website Guidelines and Rules. While it didn’t answer my question with the degree of specificity I prefer, I found the following salient points helpful.
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...p?pageid=rules
Extracts from Talk of the Villages Website Guidelines and Rules
Content: Talk of the Villages website is created to be an online community for The Villages Florida residents and those seeking information on The Villages Florida community and lifestyle.
Me: I think we sometimes forget about those seeking information are not yet insiders and so the attempt is to always present in a positive albeit some may think Pollyannish way.
Politics: Talk of the Villages presently has an unmoderated opt-in forum dedicated to political discussions. Member identification is masked as 'guest' to discourage personal attacks and emphasize discussion of topics and not personalities. The owners of Talk of the Villages retain the right to discontinue the political forum at any time.
Me: Yes, I know this has been discontinued. I didn't find the political thread until long after we had moved here. Initially I found it so disturbing that in fact, it made me wonder whether we had made the right choice. (Obviously I got over it but it was chilling to me).
Keep it PG-rated and positive: The community of Talk of the Villages is based upon "Florida’s Friendliest Retirement Hometown".
Me: See my response to Content above.
Inappropriate Word Usage: The Talk of the Villages message boards have a censor that removes inappropriate words and replaces them with ***. Do not attempt to bypass the censor by misspelling inappropriate words. They will be edited and your account will be subject to point infractions being issued and possible banning.
Me: I understand the desire to keep TOTV "clean" and avoid 4-letter words that may be offensive to some.
Chatter/Thread Hijacking: We ask you keep private conversations that appear to be "private conversations" in PM or IM so as not to exclude other members or imply a culture of cliques on the site.
Me: I frequently want to engage a little more with individuals
about their posts and don't feel it to be "exclusionary" but rules are rules.
Public Flames/Hot Topics: Please refrain from posting messages that contain potential hot topics known as polarizing arguments. A tone of "kindness" is appreciated for all discussions.
Me: Perhaps the thread appeared to be departing from that "tone of kindness"? I didn't find that to be the case but some of us have thicker skin than others.
Informational links: We allow you to add informational/educational links in reply to a support request thread only if the link goes to a non-commercial site.
Me: I guess this explains why we can not refer to that online news site that can not be mentioned? Although I can't help laughing whenever I read "that site that can not be mentioned".
Moving posts/Closing Threads: … moderators may close any thread at any time when it is deemed to be hopelessly off topic, too inflammatory, topic/question thoroughly answered, or information has become dated or debunked.
Me: Obviously moderators have a wide discretionary berth.
Freedom of Speech: Although the Constitution of the US guarantees that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, Talk of the Villages is not Congress. Freedom of speech rights do not extend to this privately owned website.
Me: This one says it all.