It was clear that I was talking about locking 'one thread' relating to the subject under discussion, RxKing. The second example you provided was locked at the OP's request, and funnily enough that very thread was the first regarding issues involving the OP of this thread, InfiniteSource. I no longer lock threads on request, and stopped doing so directly after the example you provided, so no, this whole thread would not go away if InfiniteSource were to ask me to lock it. My decision to lock a thread may be a mistake in your eyes, RxKing, and you are fully entitled to your opinion on the matter - I'm not here to be popular, I'm here to do my job. I can indeed choose to lock a thread if scout and I talk it over and come to the conclusion that the thread needs to be locked. I locked a thread in the vendor forum for the reason provided at the time, then unlocked it for the new reason provided. Don't try make me out to be a bad guy here. Again, you are entitled to your opinion. My reason for locking the thread - provided in my post when locking it - stands. It is my own personal policy to leave threads open when there is no threat to a member's security. I made an exception to that policy regarding the "forum karma" thread. My view as a member of the community is that threads should not be locked at all in a community like this. My view as a moderator with the interest of the future of this community in mind, however, are that threads that have devolved into 3+ pages of "us against them" where the members and moderators are set up to be pitted against each other are not at all beneficial to the community at large and serve only to further one particular forum member's personal agenda. I do think that moderators should stay as neutral as possible and back out of such threads to allow them to run their course and eventually die off (not adding fuel to the fire, so to speak), but I also understand that the urge to defend oneself against personal attacks and outright lies can be quite strong indeed. No, I am not locking threads that are personal attacks. I locked one thread that was brought entirely off topic as a result of people wishing to attack each other. The reason for locking and the reason why it was considered as being brought off topic are two completely different things. I have addressed all of this above (in this post). Regarding "QUIT LOCKING THREADS!!!!", threads will not be locked unless there is a clear reason to do so, nor are they locked for "personal safety or personal attacks". Again, I have explained this above. I am not arguing with farmer1 over why InfiniteSource was stripped of their vending privileges, I was addressing the points they had raised. It is not up to forum moderators to determine whether or not a vendor is genuine - we moderate the forum, and you are well aware of this. If there are issues with a vendor, that is what the 'report this vendor' button is for. If a member feels it needs to be addressed more urgently, they are free to contact a forum moderator and we will send it up to the marketplace administrators who will address the issue. Regarding InfiniteSource posting your PM's and changing your words, that is not against any rules. We cannot verify whether what was said has been edited or not, so there is nothing we can do. As long as they do not release information that may threaten your security, their posts will not be edited by us. You're asking me to ensure freedom of speech by keeping threads open whilst simultaneously asking me to change PM's that he posted. The forums are growing larger by the day, with new users posting things that force us to lock threads (looking for local hook-ups, looking to sell to people without a vendor account etc.) hence the reason that there are more locked threads. It is a simple case of a larger volume of members here now than were here before. I appreciate you realising that we do not have to defend the comments made my the SR administrator that dealt with the InfiniteSource issue, and that the blame for Silk Road is often misplaced. However, we are on the front line of the community, so I do understand why they might get the wrong impression. Regarding locking threads, and whether this would be locked if InfiniteSource asked me to do that, again, I refer you to what I have written above. Thank you for the kind words, and I understand where you're coming from on the issues you have brought up in your post. It is a fine line that we have to walk between chaos and order on a forum where libertarianism and freedom are the ultimate goals, and there will inevitably be decisions made by moderators who, by the very definition of the word, aren't exactly going to be the most popular people in a group or society that opposes moderation. It's not possible to please everyone here, and I do not wish to make people uncomfortable nor feel as though they have to "be careful what they post lest they offend someone and have their thread locked". Threads will only be locked if we consider that there is a strong reason to lock them. We will continue to do our jobs whether we are criticised or applauded for it. Every member of this community is free to say anything that they wish as long as it does not violate the policies of this privately owned forum, namely that personal information or other information that compromises a person's anonymity may not be posted under any circumstances. That is not a moderator policy, that is a forum owner policy. Regarding locking threads, that will be kept to an absolute minimum. For that you can hold me to my word, and consider me personally responsible for it. Libertas