Please remove the option to close own threads.

[Khiinroye]

Most forums I've been to don't let you lock / unlock / override mod locks / delete posts that have been responded to.

[Raxiaz]

No forum limits a poster's ability to delete their own posts. The only kind of restrictions I've ever seen on a forum were:

Cannot post more than 2 messages per 2 minutes (prevents spam, includes topics).
Cannot edit/delete own post until a certain user level has been reached.
Cannot make more than X topics/posts per day below a certain user level.

Personally, I really liked GameFAQS's message board system. It's been heavily adjusted lately - edit feature was recently added in the last year or so. The features it provided were not what made it so good, though. The thing about GameFAQS is that you had to earn the ability to post regularly. You had to earn the ability to make more than 3 topics a day. You had to earn the ability to lock your own topics.

I think SE should follow their example and set up a similar system for their own official forums. Keep everything as is, but only give it to users who have earned it through posting enough. Users who have proven that they're 2 cents is worth taking more than 3 times a day. Personally, if they took it a step further and required that you had a job level over 30 as a restriction before having some privilege, I'd be all for it. Already getting nauseated at the numerous people hiding behind mules.

Doing this fixes a lot of issues the majority here seem to have with these forums. Joe-blow can't make an account and slap a mule on it then go spam the forums, locking every topic he creates.

[Camate]

Thanks for bringing up your concerns about this. We are currently looking into addressing this.

[Raxiaz]

I hope your adjustments come swiftly, then.

[Alhanelem]

The thing about GameFAQS is that you had to earn the ability to post regularly. You had to earn the ability to make more than 3 topics a day. You had to earn the ability to lock your own topics.

The thing is, the GameFAQs boards are massive- it's one of the biggest forums out there. They need to be strict because with more total users comes more bad users. These forums are not that big.

I'm OK with a thread lock feature, but I think the use of it should be restricted in frequency, and users should not be able to unlock threads after locking them.

[Malamasala]

Thanks for bringing up your concerns about this. We are currently looking into addressing this.

We all better lock as many threads as we can before they fix it!

[ShadowHeart]

ok for example i have made threads in the past just making casual conversations or asking a simple question and trolls start all over it for no reason derailing thread and destroying the whole point trying to be made or question trying to be asked. So I personally have deleted threads i have posted but for valid reasons to reason to have troll bashing in any forums / threads I know it will forever exist but to decide whether to delte your post is no different then to edit your own post and making it blank etc to me but u still see all the troll brigade walking on.... worrying about people deleting the post they made is one of the last things people should have to worry about lol

[Karbuncle]

ok for example i have made threads in the past just making casual conversations or asking a simple question and trolls start all over it for no reason derailing thread and destroying the whole point trying to be made or question trying to be asked. So I personally have deleted threads i have posted but for valid reasons to reason to have troll bashing in any forums / threads I know it will forever exist but to decide whether to delte your post is no different then to edit your own post and making it blank etc to me but u still see all the troll brigade walking on.... worrying about people deleting the post they made is one of the last things people should have to worry about lol

This has been brought up. No I don't believe you should do it, a GM Should. You should report the trolling posts and a GM/Moderator will come and lock the thread and take action against those who made the bad posts. Really from your point of view wouldn't this be better? not only do you get the thread locked, the alleged "Trollers' Get their posts deleted too.

After being on these forums for less than a week I already knew half of the posters here had no idea what the hell a troll was or how to take constructive criticism, They should not have the power to determine when a thread gets locked because most of them can barely have the power to understand how, Just because someone disagrees with you, doesn't make them a troll.

Also, I admit there are some positives to locking your own thread. I.E you ask a question, it gets answered, Problem solved/close. However its the Bads that outweigh the goods because not every OP can use his brain. 9/10 a thread thats locked by the OP goes like this:

OP:"I think XXX would be cool, we should add it"
Others: "I don't like this idea, for xxx reasons"
Others2: "I agree with others, it just seems bad"
OP:"You're all trolls and idiots Im closing this thread"

the problem is simply that while there are 1-2 positives for this power, its overshadowed by the fact people get "power hungry" when they get a taste of power, It goes to their head, and it easily becomes abused.

[Malamasala]

You are aware that the only one that looks like a troll, is the person who deletes his post, right? So if you have any delusions about deleting your own post to counter trolls, it is about time to wake up.

[katz]

So what you are saying is if you start a thread that is potentially badly worded and other people twist the meaning of your words to suggest it means something other than the intended point of view, we shouldnt have the right to remove that. What is the difference between editing or deleting posts or threads if someone is going to manipulate the words to mean what they think you were saying to the point that everyone else believes that was your intention in the first place. I am for moderators to be sent messages to remove these points, I just think its an awful lot of work if some people continually change the meaning of other peoples points of view to make them look like they are saying something else.