Why was this thread locked?
 

Just like the title says...

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=70737

If it was off topic, should it not have just been moved? Just curious.

In the future, please send me a PM with these types of questions... thanks :)

I removed a few off the "off-topic" posts from that thread, and re-opend it.

that's no problem, probably what i should have done in the first place. Are you gonna keep the case-by-case basis in effect though?

I think its time to lay down some actual rules, for the members, and the mods. While the idea of guidelines is nice, and the mods all have the same goal, we all take different steps on getting to that goal, hence the case-by-case basis when somebody questions our moderating skills.

I really dont like the idea of rules, they imply that all of us need to be watched, and that we are all doing somethign wrong. However, when the mods get questioned each time we close a thread, or ban a user, its time make changes.

I've found that online forums tend to work much better when there are rules, and not just guidelines. Having rules that everyone is aware of, and held accountable to, cuts down on people questioning the actions of moderators, because it becomes obvious why they did what they did. It also puts some strength behind their actions, because they then are enforcing rules that the member agreed to as opposed to carrying out their current whim. It also avoids situations where one mod would let something go while another wouldn't -- they both have to behave the same way with regards to the post. On the board where I moderate, I disagree with a few of the rules. The Admins know this, yet they still chose to promote me to Senior Moderator, because they know that I enforce all of the rules equally, including the ones I disagree with, and I don't play favorites among the members. The only members that get upset by the rules are the ones you don't want frequenting the forums, anyway.