Yeah, I got clipped for the "bye felicia" in that thread as inappropriate. As long as we are in 'this discussion', that is a pretty weak and honestly wasn't worth the argument. But I put it out there...if we are flagging items like "this", we are apparently heading in a boring direction. Off my soap box.
You have a choice to not read something. That's how most adults handle not liking what they read.
Bad threads end when people stop reading and stop replying. If some people keep slogging away in the lounge without violating rules leave it be.
I run a forum elsewhere. If the kind owners of this forum don't want this kind of lounge forum that is a more open ground for discussion it's a very real choice to remove it and only allow product discussions.
This community has about 700 active weekly users. Some of the lounge stuff enables more community bonding and culture. Not everyone cares. For those that do I support it. Lots of retired folks and others find it enriching.
How can you not like what you read if you don't read it? 
Also, what is this "kind of lounge forum" are you referring to? Mind elaborating?
Aaiyar stated that a member was displaying ignorance by discussing a 3rd party app on a paid-for-by-Hubitat forum, as part of his thread.
I'm simply stating that that member certainly was not being ignorant at all.
I don't understand why this is becoming such a long back and forth discussion to be honest. It's pretty clear there's been some pointless wielding of forum power from certain people. Not just this time, and probably not just that one person.
Have the mods moderate when necessary. Quit closing topics based on someone's opinion that they've ran their course. Instead... Don't close threads. Easy. As another member said in this thread - boring topics will die on their own.
Personally, if I view on online forum and see a stack of closed threads, I see that as a negative.
Loosely, if you start to read something and it's not your thing you stop. I mean, the internet is a super example. We make split second choices on content and tone multiple times a day. I know you are just baiting me a little
You have a forum area called "lounge". Based on the other forums with lack of explicit rules it's inferred that it's an open discussion area. In other forums it's called 'off-topic'. I run another forum elsewhere on unrelated products. Ours is 'off-topic'. Threads start there and threads are moved there. I often move things there when 99% of the discussion goes off the topic and people want to bond over their disagreements.
So if not ignorant, then explain how discussing the installation behavior of Controller for Homekit on OS X benefits the Hubitat community?
Because this is not the first time the idea has been raised that closing threads is done with the intent of suppressing inconvenient truths.
In reality, threads are closed when discussions drift significantly from their original topic, become fragmented across multiple unrelated issues, or stop being productive. The goal is not to silence feedback, but to preserve clarity, focus, and usefulness for the broader community.
I understand why seeing a number of closed threads may feel negative at first glance. That reaction is not uncommon—especially if you’re more familiar with platforms like Reddit, where conversations are intentionally free-form and rarely moderated.
However, we use Discourse specifically because it’s designed for long-term clarity. Think of it like a library versus a crowded coffee shop; we close threads to keep information searchable and easy to digest for people visiting months from now. When a conversation gets too tangled with different side-topics, it loses its value. Closing a thread isn't a "no" to the conversation—it’s an invitation to start a fresh, focused topic where new ideas won't get buried in the noise.
TL;DR Closing threads isn't about shut-downs; it’s about keeping the "signal" high so the forum stays useful for everyone.
In keeping this thread on topic, by keeping this topic going discussion as the topic, I requested a quick AI overview for your consideration as a TV Sitcom:
- Users want moderation to be more like a bartender: cut off the truly drunk guy, but do not kick everyone out because the jukebox changed songs.
- Mods want moderation to be more like an air traffic controller: if every plane starts freelancing, nothing lands and everyone dies.
- The Lounge wants to be a backyard BBQ, but sometimes gets moderated like a courtroom.
- And the thread itself proves the core problem by wandering into dashboards within like five minutes.
Isn't that what the REPORT > Off-Topic flag is for? I'd rather see that mechanism used (and offending content re/moved) vs locking entire threads before they've even been seen by other active members, who may want to contribute replies.
When threads like this one get marked as "Solved" (does that even make sense?), we get warned This topic has been solved! Only reply here if.... I'd rather have one long, cohesive thread to browse than multiple new topics started due to closures. (If this Forum is to be a "Library", I'd prefer textbooks over pamphlets.)
Again, just my $0.02 and I'm already feeling vulnerable for speaking up. I'm not here to challenge Forum rules, just asking that those rules get applied consistently and spelled out clearly, esp. when they are far from the industry norm.
No.
My black and white point was, it's not ignorant. It was however, another great example of staff/mods/whatever treating the general public with contempt. And seemingly having this deemed as acceptable.
End of story.
As this thread progresses it's becoming increasingly clear where everyone stands. I don't fight battles I can't win. I can't force people in power to behave appropriately.
At least it's generated a bit of discussion, if nothing else.
Folks, let’s all take a step back and calm things down a bit.
I’ve explained several times why I believe closing the original thread was a mistake and why it sent an unfortunate signal. I want to thank everyone who expressed their support — it clearly helped, and the fact that the thread has now been reopened is what really matters.
Behind this forum are people. People can make decisions others disagree with, interpret things differently, or simply have a different view of forum culture. Whether that was intentional or not isn’t something I want to speculate about.
What counts is that the discussion can continue. Let’s move on and keep things constructive.
This is not your thread.
There is no fight here, I thought we were all adults reasoning on the best ways to receive constructive criticism.
And I certainly hope you don’t “force people” to behave differently in real life—that would be just awful. Adults influence behavior with reasoned arguments, not coercion.
This thread was started because my original thread was closed, not independently of it. So while it isn’t my thread, it directly relates to that situation and the discussion around it.
That said, given the tone of some replies here, I’m actually glad I didn’t start this follow-up thread myself. I’ll keep my participation limited to clarifying my position where relevant.
Sorry, but this is absolutely hilarious.
This whole discussion is taking place entirely because someone in power (and I use that term loosely) effectively using force to control others.
If you want to treat this forum as a library, I don't understand the logic. If I was searching for a way to accomplish a task, I'd search the forum. If the only link to an appropriate thread was from 4 months ago, I'd probably add a reply, asking if there was any more up to date advice or ideas. I certainly wouldn't expect to create a new thread to ask the same question, where, let's face it, the reply might be someone just pointing towards the old thread, then having me reply back again saying "yeah, that was ages ago... Anything new?".
Bang. Two threads instead of one.
Another 6 months down the line, someone else does the same. Same result. Now we have 3 threads. Far from neat and tidy, it's a mess.
In my vbb days, a question would be asked. A helpful mod might reply (or add a mod edit) pointing the poster towards the existing old thread, advising to use the search, and locking the new one. Probably wouldn't even bother locking, just advising to continue the discussion there, kthxbye.
The forum isn't a FAQ. It's a collection of meaningful conversation. As I said, I really don't follow the logic and much of this is beginning to feel massively academic.
Once more, the reason for my post in the first place was simply to highlight obvious censorship/power tripping. And to hope that shining a torch on it might actually, maybe, just maybe quietly deter the behaviour in the future.
However, this feels very much like an us versus them situation. Which is absolutely pointless.
That was the intended purpose.
I've never had an issue with you, bobby. I really don't understand the logic or the train of thought throughout this thread.
This thread took a hard left the second the “solution” box disappeared. We should absolutely talk more about why removing the one thing that ended arguments turned into an argument generator.
That makes two of us. You are calling out “obvious censorship/power tripping,” and I am trying to explain to you that it is not. But agreeing to disagree is part of participating in the community.
From my POV, that's not how it feels. When threads that I've participated in (or started, i can't remember) get force-closed, it feels like a parent saying "no, because i said so." It feels like a more than a "you know, this has wondered off from its stated topic intent, start a new thread if you want to continue this line of discussion." Maybe its because I was all ready with a response, thought out over a period of time and... nope - force closed.
Ha, I thought i had stated something before. This was my post about one reason why force-closed felt bad to me. I dislike force closed topics. And, it was force closed.
This is just a home automation forum, and with all the issues in the country and world right now, this just seems like one of the very least of things we should be spending time on debating and complaining about.
I just don't get it, nobody should feel censored because a thread was closed, which is much different than it being totally removed, as that would clearly be censorship to hide what others have already said. I've certainly told people in real life to move off a topic when conversations devolve into arguments.
I applaud you for reopening the thread, even though I feel your original decision to close it was the right one in my view. The tone of this thread became a put-off for readers, at least for me. I don't see this post as constructive, have we gained anything from this?