[Locked]...?

Every once in a while, i see a thread that is locked with no explanation. sometimes it's obvious, and sometimes not. clearly it's not to whom ever created the topic, else they wouldn't have made it the way, or where, they did. i also think it's a bit rude.

i think there should be a simple post by the mod explaining why. Tegumi usually does(afaik), though she can be a bit terse. having an explanation might help to educate, and therefore reduce some of the threads needing to be locked.

of course there will always be those few asshats who simply don't care, but i know i like to be corrected so i don't repeat my mistakes.

just a suggestion.

Youd be shocked by the number of people who make a thread, get one or two replies, don't like where it's going and subsequently lock it.

That being said I generally leave a message and I think Kaimax and Tsujoi do as well.

Why assume it's us?

we can lock our own threads? i thought only mods could lock.

You can delete them if no one posts in them and last I knew (as I'm not a user) you could lock your own threads.

We used to have a lock function.

The assumption that Mods lock the threads is because we can't lock our own threads. We can only delete them.



We did have the option to Lock for a little while but we don't anymore.

Glad he removed it.

So I'd like to address this, because I totally missed it.

Unfortunately, I am also responsible for locking threads without explanation. While I agree with you that an explanation is oft something that should be provided, that is something that takes time and is not always understood (in the case of non-native English speakers).
The main reason for me locking a thread without explanation is that I either do not have time or am lazy. I usually finish my moderating run in around 30 seconds, and then I go do something else.

Simply put, making a verbose post on why I am locking someone's thread simply isn't time-effective. More often than not the poster is a new member and they've done something clearly against the rules. While immediately locking a thread is not the nicest action, it accomplishes almost everything I want:
1.) The thread is locked
2.) User usually stops making threads in the wrong section (whether this is through self-introspection [ideal] or intimidation does not really matter)

Explanation to new members does not actually reduce the amount of misplaced threads because of 2.) and because there is no surefire method to get new members to read the rules.
In the scenario where 2.) does not pan out, I then message the user or post before locking their thread that they should not do it again. This actually solves 99% of problems, which is why I lock threads without explanation.

However, if [when locking a thread] there was an option to provide a reason for locking (i.e. dropdown box, like Wiki moderation), I would be more than happy to use it because it would maintain efficiency with the added benefit providing a reason. Unfortunately, no such system is currently in place.