just wanted to post quickly about the early closing of a lot of the threads. I logged in the other morning and half of the threads on the first page were already locked -- and there were a few that I really would have liked to comment on. One of those being AJ's. I felt like it was closed early and I thought it was rude too. I was really annoyed by it. I didn't get any indication that it was 'done'. Just thought I'd add that-- AJ isn't the only one who thinks it's rude to lock the threads.

I moved this out of the Phase I thread.

Closing threads is one of a moderator's jobs. When we feel a question has been addressed, we close the thread. Since the moderators try to read every new post and this is a very busy part of the Forum, it makes our volunteer job much easier.

Sorry for the hurt feelings.

My feelings aren't hurt :) I'm just annoyed .

The thread on drinking vodka was closed and also the one questioning the closing of that one. (It's still on page 2.) The one on coffee was closed. But mods did not close the one on drinking wine though. How come?

Also closed was the one about the book at a bargain price and an interesting article post that had the start of a discussion. There were no questions asked and barely any time was allowed for response. The closing of both of those seems ridiculous.

I'm new here, but not to forums in general. I know that a mods job on any forum is not easy and I appreciate what you do... However, forums are about discussion and discussion is part of the support process. It isn't just a question and answer session where the gates are closed when one person thinks that the correct answer has been given.

Ohmai, Sorry you feel this way. Here is a link to the forum rules... http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/freq...rum-rules.html
and a few specifically highlighted..

12. Do NOT fight with the mods and admins. This is a large website and it's a big job for us to keep it running smoothly. If we ask you to stop doing something or change something, please just do it. We do not have the time to debate this with you. If your post or thread is deleted or locked, accept it and understand that we do not have time to send you a detailed explanation. Re-read the rules to refresh your memory as to why it happened. There will be no discussion on these matters. If you become a nuisance, you will lose your posting privileges

13. Do not complain about the rules. Any public discussion of specific cases will be removed and you will lose your posting privileges (temporarily or permanently). This is a privately owned forum and we created the rules based on years of experiences with thousands of members. Moderators and administrators are unpaid volunteers who spend a lot of time making sure our forum is safe, clean, and supportive. If we decide that your post is inapporpriate, it will be removed or locked. Please don't argue and please don't keep posting along the same line otherwise you're gone too. It is my opinion, that for the most part 3FC is a pretty smooth running operation. According to the forum rules, if a thread is closed, that's the way it is....and I accept that. There are so many positive things about 3FC and I know I wouldn't continue to stay on plan without it.

I could give you my personal opinion about why this thread was closed and another wasn't, but according to the Forum Rules, that isn't my business to do that. I'm just hoping we can move on here.

Lexxis,

Thank you! You said it perfectly. Being a mod is a difficult job and I know in South Beach Diet, they like to keep discussions in specific threads like Phase 1 thread rather than have a bunch of lingering questions in the main part of the forum. South Beach Diet is a very busy subforum and it is difficult to keep up.

Generally, we will delete any threads asking about why other threads were closed. Ruth really wanted to address ohmai's question about why threads were closed to share info. We have thousands of visitors to this website so we try to keep things running as smoothly as possible.

I really debated chiming in here... because part of me thinks it is best just to ignore this, enough said, and keep my mouth shut.

But I have a big mouth and am having a bad day so am going to say something and hope I don't offend anyone.

I love this forum. I think that the support on here is amazing. I think that the moderators are amazing. They take their time to make this possible for us all.

That said... I do believe that people have a right to voice opinions... but I feel strongly that it should be done in a polite and constructive way. I used to work in Human Resources for many years. I know that putting words down instead of saying them is risky because there is no tone or body language and a lot can get lost in translation. I would not want to ask people to censor themselves, just to be mindful of how they say things. I was honestly a bit put off by some of the recent negative comments on here because they felt a bit like attacks to me. I think we could all try to make ourselves heard and understood with a more tactful and sensitive approach.

I admit that I have never given much thought to the threads closing, but might have joined in a conversation about them had that been the approach. Or not. But I found myself on the defensive and I am not even a moderator.

This is an amazing place filled with amazing women. Women who are welcoming and supportive. Nothing is perfect, sometimes suggestions and change are good, but through it all we need to remember that we are choosing to be here as part of this community. I view it as a gift and privilege, not a right. I feel a true desire to offer support and respect and friendship back. I hope that other chicks feel the same.

Well said Karen. I also feel many new threads should be addressed in a Phase I thread rather than having dozens of new threads daily. I also think it is immature to quit posting here simply because your thread was closed. If I followed that, I would have quit posting in 3FC long ago.

I also feel if you have a personal problem with someone, it is best addressed privately by using the PM function.

I was torn on this and should probably keep my nose out of it. I don't know AJ and can't speak for her, but it's clear she was hurt. It did seem by her last post in the closed thread that she was in a better place, but maybe she needed a bit more support. Having the thread closed might have made her feel like she was not welcome to vent here any more. Of course looking at it from the outside I can clearly see that was not Ruth's intention, but in AJs shoes, if I was already having a bad day, something like that would have probably made me feel unwanted and upset.

On the other hand, I understand that being a moderator for a board like this is a huge job. I don't know how you guys keep up with reading and making sure everything is running smoothly. I'm just thankful you are willing to do it, and I am willing to follow whatever rules will keep that possible! So thank you to the moderators and keep up the good work!

I'm typically not polite, nor am I constructive, but I am opinionated, and I'm pretty vocal, and I've been hauled away from my dinner, so here goes.

Everybody needs to get off their TOM and get over the carb cravings. Be nice. Get along. Follow the rules. No crabbiness at each other allowed.

And why is there no peace-loving-tree-hugging-hippie smilie????

That is all.

LOVE YOUS!

I will chime in to say that if you don't feel your question/s was/were answered before your thread was closed, then ask it again.

But then again, I am a pain in the tuckas and have developed a pretty thick 2-D skin

Agreed. Also agreed on reading the forum's rules and abiding by those.

Wanted to pop my head in here as well - there is an easy way to bring to the attention of the moderators anything you find objectionable, and that includes a thread closure - click the egg with the red exclamation point to the left of a post. You'll be taken to a window where you can insert comments, and then once submitted, the post you're referencing, and the comments you entered, are brought to the attention of the moderators.

It's a better solution than starting public threads to discuss mod decisions (which, as was posted above, is against forum rules), but still ensures that your complaint or concern is registered.

It works great for spam, but would have also worked in a situation like this, rather than starting a whole thread to discuss whether the mods were in-line or not (which, again, is not really permissable under the forum guidelines).

My two cents...

If I'm ever offended or my feelings are hurt on this site, I decide that I'm reading it wrong. Come on... who would be ugly to ME? This is a place of support, friendship and fun. Anything outside of that is unacceptable and unthinkable and against the spirit of the 3FC.

BTW, Mods, I think you are all wonderful and underpaid.

I'm not responding to most of you because most of the posts are overboard and not really needed. I would like to point out that I responded to someone else in ANOTHER thread and did not create this thread titled complaint. I did the same as the rest of you and voiced my opinion. I'm not the only one with that opinion and even if I was, I still reserve the right to voice it. I did not intend or anticipate that it would be seen as crabby.

ohmai, obviously SB related posts would do best here, but if the topic is more general, you may find that other forums suit your style better. I rarely see the same degree of thread closure elsewhere.