hey friend(s). former admin here. probably not my place to intervene, because like it's ben a while since i've been on the team. however, i've worked with all of the current team, so i'm confident that, although it might not be my place to post, i am not misconstruing their intentions.

i think that as a site, we've forgotten what the lock a thread can really mean. we think that it's a punitive measure, especially when something cryptic is posted in response. this is especially so if we feel like we are being silenced by the lock button. however, this isn't always the case. administrators and moderators alike are able to use the lock tool as a pause button. a way to give themselves a chance to think, to process information as they receive it.

and there's a pretty direct benefit of this: having time to think and figure things out before an official response makes the official response better. it makes it so the team, in this case the admins, have a chance to discuss amongst themselves and decide how to go about things in the best manner possible. maybe this means tweaking an original idea. maybe this means taking a few minutes to regroup when they are surprised. having a pause button forces the administrators to work as a team to solve an issue. it gives them the chance to be more collected and put together in how they deal with things. locking a thread pauses the discussion so the administrators (or mods, depending on the case) can gather their thoughts without the fear that the situation, whatever it is, will escalate before they have time to figure things out.

and like, believe me. i'm the last person who would defend the admins on most cases. and i really do hear and empathize with the frustration of feeling like you've been silenced because you've had an opinion that they didn't agree with. i've been in your shoes more than a time or two. however, sometimes, locking threads and doing things like that is the best course of action. as komiharu suggested, the thread would be (and subsequently has been) unlocked once the admins got their crap together. it wasn't a "we don't agree with you, shut the heck up." They locked the thread as a way to say that they needed a second to process.

i think that's all that i've got for ya, i think.i don't actually know that any of this will mean anything to anyone, but like idk i felt strongly that i needed to say something if only because komiharu had said that the thread would be reopened and acted on that promise i feel like a bootlicker LOL


i really do hope that they consider / act on your concerns ! i hear and validate them with my own frustrations