# closing threads



## TimeHP

Hi.
Some days ago you closed the thread about the most popular sports.
It was closed because some people just made lists, without discussing about the reason for which many sports are more popular than others.  
How disappointing! I was really interested in that thread. 
Personally I'm not against lists, I think that a list can say something.
Anyway, couldn't you simply delete the messages with lists?
Many thanks.
Ciao


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## cuchuflete

Hi TimeHP,
The forum in question is called Cultural Discussions.
While some lists can be interesting to read and think about,
this forum is not about data collection.  

Just as you are disappointed at the closure of that thread,
many people are disappointed at the deletion of a thread or post.  Many people who have a thread or post deleted write PMs to moderators.  Some of these PMs are courteous requests for information, while others are venemous diatribes.  Reading and replying to these can be very time-consuming.   

Moderators are forum members first.  We would like to have time to read and participate in threads, and not spend endless hours doing janitorial services.   

If the first post in a thread requests reasons and ideas about causes, and not just occurances or preferences, this may help somewhat.  Questions such as, "What is the most popular......?" or "What is your favorite........?" tend to invite nothing but lists.   For some additional advice, please read the sticky note at the top of the Cultural Discussions Forum main menu:  Here


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## TimeHP

Yes, but 'what is the most popular...' was only the title of the thread. 
There was something more in my post and in the posts of many foreros.
I was disappointed because sometimes you delete the posts, sometimes you close the threads. Couldn't you delete the posts with lists?


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## cuchuflete

Please reread the part of my prior post about moderator time.

We could read every post of every thread, but some of us might also like to eat, sleep, and even participate in the forums.

If you give a thread a title that does not invite a list only, and phrase your question to evoke discussion, and state clearly that you have no interest in a list or mention only, then you are much more likey to provoke some interesting discussions of your topic.


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## TimeHP

cuchuflete said:


> Please reread the part of my prior post about moderator time.
> 
> We could read every post of every thread, but some of us might also like to eat, sleep, and even participate in the forums.
> 
> quote]
> First of all: I don't want to make a mountain out of it.  I just asked for an explanation in 'Comments and suggestions' forum.
> 
> I'm sorry if being a moderator is very demanding and I'm sorry if I'm demanding now, but, really, I can't see any connection between what you wrote and my question.
> No matter. We can close here.
> I'll be more careful in my future threads...
> 
> Many thanks
> Ciao


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## Alxmrphi

A list usually turns into friendly disagreement, which turns into a discussion.


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## maxiogee

TimeHP said:


> Yes, but 'what is the most popular...' was only the title of the thread.



And any deep discussion would have been off-topic - we can't have it both ways here are forer@s. We get strict adherence to topics which (though I'm an inveterate chatter) means that others who come after us to the threads can learn the collective wisdom of the forum on the topic. To have a topic called "What is the most popular… " can only lead to a list, or else some forer@s would complain to the Mods (the next time that they were deleted for being off-topic) that they were being inconsistent. If you have something deep and meaningful to say about your favourite sport I'm sure that, as a sensible and eloquent forer@, you will be able to find a way to get a valid thread built around it.

Some months back a Moderator felt obliged to delete a post of mine from a thread where it was felt that I had gone off-topic, but the Mod, feeling that that what I had had to say was worth airing, sent me the post in a PM (so it wouldn't be lost) and said that I was welcome to try work it up into a thread of its own.
This I did, and was grateful to the Mod in question — who must forever remain nameless, or else everyone will want their PMs returned


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## TimeHP

Thank you, Maxiogee. 
I'm not an expert forero, despite the number of my posts. Every day a new lesson... 

Ciao


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## fenixpollo

Alex_Murphy said:


> A list usually turns into friendly disagreement, which turns into a discussion.


 I disagree. A thread that is a list can result in a disagreement, or a request for clarification, or something more than a list. But as a thread, a list is extremely tedious to read and participate in. 

If you are going to start a thread that is asking people to list their favorite whatever, *at least make it interesting* by posing a question that asks us to consider why that is our favorite, or what our favorites reveal about each culture, or what our interpretation is about the significance of the favorites. 

The possibilities are only limited by the thread-starter's imagination.... which, I suppose, is the root of the problem in the first place.


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## Outsider

I suppose another reason to prohibit lists is that sometimes they can be disguised homework assignments.

P.S. For the record, I thought the "Favorite sport" thread was pretty neat, too.


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## geve

Most popular sports can be an interesting topic indeed! Last year we had a discussion on that topic in the class of French as a foreign language where I volunteer, and it was interesting - culturally I mean, with some 10 or 12 nationalities being represented in the group that day (with the limit that they're not very advanced in French, so we couldn't delve into it too much). Why not try to rephrase the thread topic, TimeHP, maybe with the assistance of a Culture mod?


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## TimeHP

I could rephrase the topic, but I'm not sure about the title.
It might be: 'Is it  football the most popular sport in your country? If yes, why do you all people are mad for it? Is it really the most involving sport or do you think there are many factors, etc. 
Well, I don't know...


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## elroy

How about "Popularity of Football in Different Countries"? You can then use your first post to elaborate on the specific aspects of football popularity in different countries that you are interested in discussing.


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## zebedee

I think that sport does have an important place in the culture of each country and therefore has a place in the Cultural Discussions forum. 

*However*, when you open a thread on a topic as wide as "sport", it's important to make clear in the first post of the thread what your aim is. By calling this thread "My favourite sport/Most popular sport", some people just responded by writing a list of sports and even numbered their lists! That is not a discussion. 

I completely agree with maxiogee when he says:


			
				maxiogee said:
			
		

> To have a topic called "What is the most popular… " can only lead to a list, or else some forer@s would complain to the Mods (the next time that they were deleted for being off-topic) that they were being inconsistent. If you have something deep and meaningful to say about your favourite sport I'm sure that, as a sensible and eloquent forer@, you will be able to find a way to get a valid thread built around it.



How about thinking through where you'd like your thread to go? If needs be, say clearly in your first post something like: _"Please do not just write a list of your favourite sports or make comments more appropriate to a Sports Fans Forum." _

Many times a thread gets closed not because the thread was a bad idea but because it just goes pear-shaped. By leaving clear directions in your first post of where you'd like the discussion to focus and where not, can avoid this.

If you'd like some further help in focussing your thread, just PM a Culture Mod (zebedee, Benjy, Genjen54 or Chaska Ñawi) and we'd love to help you.


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