# Locked Threads on MC: "Not Open for Further Replies"...



## GARDA

There is _thought stirring_, and then there is _pot stirring_. I'm okay with both as long as there is fair governance.

I say stir away... stir debate, agree or disagree without being disagreeable, judge without being judgemental, but by being as openly caustic as some have been in these threads, we all lose.

Personally, when I struggle to find some time on this site (away from stuff I should be doing) I've recently noticed that the vibe here has changed, with Admin's and Mods responding to threads well-after lockdown being just one example of what I think is not a good thing.

Why can't we still connect several generations of LE hopefuls into this 'lounge' of our currently sworn members and luckily retired ones (along with honored civilian guests ), without also apparently being asked to get used to, or deprived of, responding to compelling threads?


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## Bloodhound

GARDA said:


> I've recently noticed that the vibe here has changed, with Admin's and Mods responding to threads well-after lockdown being just one example of what I think is not a good thing.


Fully agree. Ok, lock it down (mods keep posting).


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## HuskyH-2

GARDA said:


> Admin's and Mods responding to threads well-after lockdown being just one example of what I think is not a good thing.


Agreed, been happening ALOT lately. Also alot of premature locks, IMO.


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## Goose

As a mod, I can say that a lot of what we see through the moderation queue and deleted posts (that we can see but members cannot) is stuff that doesn't need to be on Masscops and that is why it's gone. Case in point is the guy that had posted several new threads with the same (old) news story about the trooper and the harbormaster duking it out since he wanted more people to see it. I could have moved them there but since they didn't serve any purpose (he already posted the article a week prior) they were deleted. I agree that the bickering between members needs to stop, and fortunately it appears to be few and far between.

I agree with the replying after threads are locked thing is aggravating. I personally avoid doing it whenever possible even if I want to contribute some thoughts because it's over and done with.

Something I notice with new members (myself included) is they lurk for several years and start contributing slowly, or they come in hot and heavy and stay the duration, they fizzle out, or they go out with a bang. I can pick out several members off the top of my head that have done some of the above. It just seems to be the life cycle and probably is with most message boards.

My door is always open if someone wants to talk with me about something.


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## 263FPD

Garda, that one particular thread I am thinking of, either needs to stay locked down, or by all means, lets reopen the fucking thing. So I do agree with you on that completely. That thread went way too far. When I seem the original post, I should have deleted the whole fucking thing. This is completely counterproductive. We all have our opinions. You voice yours, I voice mine, we disagree and so be it. When this shit goes on among the sworn LE, it serves no good purpose. 

I originally came to this site to have fun, learn a few things from folks on the job longer than me, and escape the in-fighting on my own Job. Instill enjoy spending time here, though I have to say that there are days I like it less. I am all about kilimf someone in the nuts when it is due to them. I think anyone with a year or more here, can attest to it. I was a bit ticked off about some of the things I seem being typed in that thread. That being said, I did not lock it. I still think I should have deleted the thread at the start. But what done is done I guess.


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## GARDA

Bless all you Guys n' Gals who have keys 
to the Kingdom known as MassCops.

I have neither the time nor the desire, BUT...
I have noticed a change, and I'm not liking it.


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## Irishpride

GARDA said:


> Bless all you Guys n' Gals who have keys
> to the Kingdom known as MassCops.
> 
> I have neither the time nor the desire, BUT...
> I have noticed a change, and I'm not liking it.


+1

I've been here for a while and a long time ago I was a Mod. Got to be honest, posting on a locked thread and leaving it locked just so someone can get the last word is out of line.


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## Guest

I don't lock threads as a rule, I may have once or twice under extenuating circumstances, but I usually don't.

I've even unlocked threads to allow people to say their piece, only to have another mod/admin lock it up again.


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## Joel98

Irishpride said:


> +1
> 
> I've been here for a while and a long time ago I was a Mod. Got to be honest, posting on a locked thread and leaving it locked just so someone can get the last word is out of line.


+1


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## pahapoika

Masscops does have a "civility" lacking on other forums. Without good moderators things can turn into a real s**t show.

However one post attacking a long time member, shut down and then moderators still posting was weird and the harbor master thread "reopened" to vindicate another officer looked like favoritism.

Happy to see that officer vindicated, but what if the story was different ? And the attack on another member was shut down before anyone knew what the hell was going on.

I like this site and if that's what's necessary to keep it decent then by all means keep up the good work. However would be nice to know what's going on when your a regular visitor to Masscops.


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## Bloodhound

Hasn't been the same without Gil.


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## Pvt. Cowboy

Feedback is always good, whether it's positive or negative, to help guide the direction that we go with MC. I think there are some very valid points brought up. Personally I try to keep thread locking to a minimum, I like very heated debates. In the interest of keeping it civil here, I try to shut down threads only when they get nasty.


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## 263FPD

I have noticed a lot of lock downs too. I am not going to start pointing fingers here at anyone. Partially I will not point at anyone in particular because unless the person who did the lockup doesn't post they are locking it, I have no way if knowing who it is. If there's a way for me to see who locked a thread in Mod Tools, I have yet to figure it out. 

There are plenty of threads that in my opinion either should not have been locked, or were locked too soon. Many threads, like the one that went on yesterday, should have been removed from the first post. 

What really pisses me off besides all of this in-fighting, is the fact that participation here has seriously dropped off. I am not sure what happened and I hope I am not the contributor to the cause. It seems that people only want to jump in to the mix when there's a shitshow. 

Well, we had ourselves a shit show. I hope everyone is fucking happy. 

As for quick lockdowns, the rest of you please excuse me. I am going to address my concerns in the moderator forum, because I am not one to light up any long standing member in a public place. We aren't talking nOObs here. They may be g2g for open season, but not long standing members.


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## HistoryHound

I completely understand locking things down when they get nasty. However, I also understand why members get annoyed when they see a comment in a thread directed at them and then aren't given the opportunity to speak their peace or defend their position because it's locked. And, I will admit it is aggravating to have a locked thread pop up several more times because someone with keys commented.

I don't envy the mods here. Given the strong personalities that this board attracts and relationships here, I'm sure it's not always easy to decide whether to lock it down or let the show continue knowing that at some point it's going to go nuclear. I'll admit the site I moderate is a lot easier just given the fact that the nature of the board attracts people who consider "heck" and "dang it" harsh words. I had to give myself a break because reading the same question phrased six different ways every day was making me nuts. Had to keep saying "it's not MassCops. It's not MassCops."

One thing from the other site that I would like to see (at least for those of us who are longtime members as opposed to the one hit wonders who post and vanish like a fart in the wind) is a pm when a thread we started gets deleted. At least when they're just locked you can see what happened that led to it being locked. But, I had a thread deleted (no need to say which one here) and have no idea why. I don't think I posted anything wrong and an almost identical thread popped up shortly after mine was deleted with a comment to the effect of "if it goes the way of the other one." Now if I fucked up and shouldn't have posted what I posted, tell me I fucked up. If someone else fucked up, just let me know it's not me. A girl can use a little positive reinforcement occasionally. Sure I could have asked someone, but hey I'm not that needy. I'd being willing to bet that I'm not the only one here who has had that happened and wondered what the hell. Anyway, that's just my rambling 2 cents on the topic.


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## new guy

GARDA said:


> There is _thought stirring_, and then there is _pot stirring_. I'm okay with both as long as there is fair governance.
> 
> I say stir away... stir debate, agree or disagree without being disagreeable, judge without being judgemental, but by being as openly caustic as some have been in these threads, we all lose.


Well said. I'm all for spirited debates. They make this site interesting and I've been in a few myself. Some of the posters that I've disagreed with more than once, I find to be the most interesting to follow. As a rule, I try to engage respectfully, avoid personal attacks, and never hold a grudge. There's far more important issues in life to get all worked up over and Cops should save there throw downs for the thuggs on the streets who are trying to take there heads off. Peace.


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## Mr Scribbles

It's a very fine line indeed, and sometimes we do get a little out of control-and I don't think there's a member or troll who's hasn't gone too far OR put their pride in their pocket and backed off to keep a thread alive. Remember when you're mining for "gold" you may have to get a bit dirty to find it, BUT it's rewarding. As long as it's not personal, I'd urge maybe a caution post like a train going off the tracks (not Spain-too soon) or FOTG, just to let folks following to focus on the issue not the personality. Whether you're a cop, wannabee, noob, civvie or anything in between, try as we might, our biases (not always bad!) do come through. I don't envy the Moderators, some things ARE better off in private. If that's the case, maybe like HH suggested-a PM to the offenders, who could tone it down, edit, delete or face a lockdown.


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## grn3charlie

This place has been a source of many an entertainment. I have LITERALLY laughed out loud at much of the shit I've seen here. Yes, I have seen some threads locked down quicker than maybe they should have been, later than they should have been, or just the right time. I have also seen mods/admins doing spring cleaning on long abandoned threads. There has been a number of times I have been reading through a thread and already formulating a reply (laughing to myself because I think I'm so damn funny or I actually have something intelligent to contribute) only to discover that the thread is locked. I don't sweat it. It is what it is.This is why we so often joke IBTL. Yes it is different since Gil but it was also different sometimes under Gil for no other reason than people evolve and some come and go.

Just going to throw this out there (not as a dig) but anyone who thinks that they can effectively contribute to a positive change, shoot Peter a pm and let him know that you are interested in taking on some responsibility. Of course I have no idea what the actual process is. Let me leave you with this:

*IBTL*
* *


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## grn3charlie

I should have added that everyone seems to have really valid points n this topic. That's why it is so interesting, becuase there are many different ways to view it. 2 othere suggestions.

1) Take sme time to look at MC Gold, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (its what's for dinner)

2) From Sidney Freedman


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## Irishpride

USMCMP5811 said:


> (Shakes head)
> 1.) The mods are there for a reason and have been doing a bang up job filtering out the spammers along with the other bullshit. Yes, they can comment on a locked thread, it's one of their privileges. Don't like it, boo fuckin hoo, go cry me a river. You think you can do a better job? Toss your name into the ring and the next time there is an open spot for a mod, the Admins will toss it around. Keep in mind, all the current Mods were voted in unanimously by the Admin Staff.


 Ok, message received loud and clear. Fuck it, I'm taking a week off from this site,


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## Goose

HistoryHound said:


> One thing from the other site that I would like to see (at least for those of us who are longtime members as opposed to the one hit wonders who post and vanish like a fart in the wind) is a pm when a thread we started gets deleted. At least when they're just locked you can see what happened that led to it being locked. But, I had a thread deleted (no need to say which one here) and have no idea why. I don't think I posted anything wrong and an almost identical thread popped up shortly after mine was deleted with a comment to the effect of "if it goes the way of the other one." Now if I fucked up and shouldn't have posted what I posted, tell me I fucked up. If someone else fucked up, just let me know it's not me. A girl can use a little positive reinforcement occasionally. Sure I could have asked someone, but hey I'm not that needy. I'd being willing to bet that I'm not the only one here who has had that happened and wondered what the hell. Anyway, that's just my rambling 2 cents on the topic.


Personally speaking, I share with folks that contribute to the board when I delete threads or move them to a place that they cannot see it and tell them why. The only thread (that I remember, anyway) posting something along those lines of keep this one in check was the Rolling Stone thread, because Green Room was requested on the original thread due to posts about someone getting jammed up.

Along the same lines, I don't censor messages unless there's a damn good reason (someone asks me to, there's persec or privileged information in it, or it's going to get someone jammed up) - and if I did, I would tell someone. My intent was never to censor the harbormaster vs. trooper thread, but to keep things in line. For the record, nothing was censored. It was easier to delete two new threads that were posted that were the same exact thing than to merge them into the existing thread, and the poster was a noob digging for a response anyway.

Having someone say they thought the thread was being censored is, IMO, ridiculous. Any legitimate news story would have made it there no matter what the outcome provided it was pertinent to the thread and someone posts it. I'm not censoring anyone's creative freedom or opinions here.

That being said, if you want to test my philosophy, go ahead and post pictures of your boobs in the Green Room.


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## Goose

pahapoika said:


> However would be nice to know what's going on when your a regular visitor to Masscops.


Just because I like you, I'm going to merge the original two shitstorm threads together.


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## HistoryHound

Frank, I wasn't complaining (PM forthcoming). It was just the only example that I had first hand knowledge of. Since I have no plans on going green any time soon, I'll have to post my boobies here. Well they're more great tits than boobies, but whatever this was getting way too serious.










Note to self: Make sure to Google great titmouse birds not great tits next time.


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## Goose

HistoryHound said:


> Note to self: Make sure to Google great titmouse birds not great tits next time.


Blue footed boobies works too.


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## Guest

263FPD said:


> What really pisses me off besides all of this in-fighting, is the fact that participation here has seriously dropped off. I am not sure what happened


Oh, I know exactly what happened....


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## Goose

GMass said:


> Oh, I know exactly what happened....


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## pahapoika

thought things were slow because of the summer vacations, etc


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## niteowl1970

I've tried to do my best as a mod. The truth is to many I'll always be considered an interloper on this site because I'm not on the job. I'm not being paid to moderate so if a sworn officer wants the job then by all means give it to them. All this drama is bringing  out the worst in certain members.


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## kateykakes

I don't know what happened that caused this thread, and quite frankly, I don't give a shit. I don't want to know or even care to know. I came here years ago looking for some advice, accepted it and I enjoyed the humor, the banter between the members, the honest opinions and decided to stick around.

It doesn't matter to me who's a civilian, LEO, FF, EMS or any other profession. Hell, I'm not even from the area or a LEO. but I've always thought the site was run well and you all always made me feel welcome. To me, that says a lot about your class and character.

Even though I don't stick around on a daily basis, when I do come back - and I have been here on and off since '04 - it feels as if I've never left. I truly do appreciate the way the forum is run and those who take the time to moderate it, etc. I know for a fact it is not an easy job, because I did moderate a forum before and passed the reigns on to someone whom I felt was better qualified.

I'm not trying to be a brown noser or anything of the sort, but I just want to point out that those of you who run MC, IMHO, are appreciated more than you think.

Ok, that's my useless $.02. Carry on.


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## Guest

I miss the Gil days 

It's getting to be that time....


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## GARDA

USMCMP5811 said:


> Yes, they can comment on a locked thread, it's* one of their privileges.* Don't like it, boo fuckin hoo, go cry me a river.


Sorry bro, but how is commenting on a locked thread considered "a privilege" ???

Power of veto/locking a thread is one thing, but needing the last word is another...
It shows emotional immaturity and detracts from the value of this forum's 'je ne sais quoi'.

If taking jabs after-the-bell is someone's thing, then I suggest they may be enjoying their virtual, bully pulpit a little too much...

jus' sayin', that's all.


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## grn3charlie

Cannot believe that 2 (that I've stumbled across) longtime members are now out the window as guests. WTH is going on here people? It's only a movie for crying out loud!


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## Pvt. Cowboy

So before I shut this down (promise I won't post anything after the fact) anyone else have anything they'd like to add? Something else that's constructive? Lots of things have been brought to our attention. Begin the IBTL comments...


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## Dan Stark

I'm just here for the lols...

And the really good friends I've made.


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## Goose

Wolfman said:


> I like turtles.


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## BLUE BLOOD

I also feel the site has changed, not here often anymore but still have noticed. Hell some of the best threads, MC GOLD, have been the biggest shit shows, having been involved in a few myself. I say let the leather fly, unless its LE sensitive info. No harm no foul, all big boys and girls here.
Still enjoy popping in and seeing the MASSCOPS loyals.


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## GARDA

USMCMP5811 said:


> I agree with you however, once again, is it an isolated incident between a Mod / Admin and a single member or is it with a few members?


These are just my observations and ramblings as a long-time fan of this forum.

The Membership knows that things here aren't as bad as some are making them out to be,

but the Stewards of this site should also be aware that they are the one's who set the standard.


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## Pvt. Cowboy

Thanks for playing boys and girls. I think we're all better served just moving past this, and taking some of the ideas mentioned and adhering to them a little more. Remember, it's only the Internet, and we're all just here in our little corner online trying to have fun with other like-minded individuals.


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