META: Why can't we read locked topics?

Submitted by MGoRobo on

I'm sure there's a reason for this, but I'm always curious when I see a topic that's been locked, but I happened to not be reading mgoblog so then I have no idea what happened in the thread. Is that something that is deliberately done, or is it just the way the system works?

Not looking to create outrage or anything. I'm really just curious about what happens here when I'm not online.

MGoBoard

Monocle Smile

September 21st, 2016 at 12:59 PM ^

Someone who reads the likely inflammatory comments might get butthurt and hijack other threads to either continue flame wars or start new ones. Wiping them out isn't a bad way to crack down on this.

Joined: 09/17/2009

MGoPoints: 23066

LSAClassOf2000

September 21st, 2016 at 1:11 PM ^

To answer one of the OP's questions, threads are locked typically to prevent further damage from occurring while allowing people to at least see what was posted, either as a cuationary tale or because - if nothing else - the OP was at least informative even if the ensuing comments were becoming political / offensive / less than remarkable / etc...

When I lock them, there is an option behind the scenes in the "Publish" screen called "Disable" under "Comments". If that's checked, you cannot post comments and the topic is locked. We can leave the existing comments visible with "Read Only", and that's been done as an educational tool of sorts in the past too. 

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130800