It certainly does change the atmosphere of the community to see a lot of overt moderation happening.
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The counter argument is that it makes threads easier to follow in that they are concise, and closing them once answered/'complete' prevents them from straying into 5 other unrelated topics.
I've had to mute notifications from about 50 topics as they stray off into something completely different.
No real right or wrong answer here.
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Well you're the one bringing up Monty Python. 
Like @sburke781 I both see the wisdom and feel the pain of thread closings. Many have been appropriate, in my mind, and it's easy to start a new thread (even w/a 90% similar title to the oringal) w/links to the old thread to allow connectivity and improve ease of discovery.
However, there have been some closings of active/current threads that have felt preemptory and abrupt, not representative of the open and inclusive characteristics of this forum that have made it what it is.
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The hours old ones are in a totally different category, they are not "normal" threads in a sense. They are meant for a quick and concise answer, not a 1000 comment discussion of the merits of one thing versus another. They are not threads where an app or driver is being put forth to the community, or anything in that category.
If something does interest you, and you want to expand discussion, feel free to start a new thread in the appropriate category, and link back to the original thread.
Those hours old threads are from here: https://support.hubitat.com
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You can create a new thread linked to the old one.
It will default to being in the same “ask anything” category but that can be changed to avoid the new thread from being closed prematurely.
Despite @bertabcd1234’s detailed explanation early on, some people in this thread are conflating the auto-closure policy specific to the “ask anything” category, the auto-closure policy after one year of inactivity everywhere else (which is new, and staff have made it clear they’re willing to reopen specific old threads if asked), and threads being manually closed by staff because, in their opinion, the discussion has gone off the rails.
If the staff think a specific thread warrants closure, that’s their prerogative. No one has an unrestricted right to free speech on a privately owned web discussion forum.
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I dont think that is a point anyone is making.
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I did once see a thread closed due to what looked like annoyance on the part of one of the devs, but most usually it's done with good intentions as part of housekeeping. I am not personally keen on closed threads, but really no suggestion anything is being done on a rank-pulling basis
I'm waiting to see "Topic Closed" on this thread 
I wonder if they dare.....
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I can understand there are different scenarios covered here, but I think the general idea behind the discussion is to express the feeling when a topic is cut short, whether the thread is closed by the system or by a person, acknowledging that there are avenues to continue the discussion elsewhere, but the closure of the topic can dampen peoples enthusiasm to do so. In terms of the auto-closure of threads, many have asked for a least a little longer to be able to respond, before the system chooses to close the thread.
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I also don't dispute Hubitat staff's right to run the Community how they see fit, but that doesn't mean people can't express their opinion on how that makes them feel and how it affects there experience here.
EDIT - To be fair, you weren't suggesting people can't provide their opinion... That may be a little bit of overreach on my part....
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No one has said that, no. But my point was, if staff think there’s a reason to close a thread, that’s their right. They own the forum.
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In case anyone wasn't aware 
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Yes they do, however, let’s think about the value of the forum to both sides, the company and the users who own Hubitat products.
If Hubitat is perceived (rightly or wrongly) to be acting in an overly aggressive manner, it’ll kill the positive goodwill the forum has been generating up to that point.
Then the forum becomes a liability to Hubitat, not the valuable service it currently is.
PS I’d suggest Keeping in mind Hubitat’s stated boast for this forum:
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Exactly.... There is a balance to be struck.... Not easy.... But something worth discussing and refining over time.
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What some forum moderators get badly wrong imho is to lock a thread due to an out of hand flame war or some other offensive remarks, but leave the thread in place as it was up to that point - or worse throw in their own annoying judgemental tuppence worth as a closing remark. Then the last person to have posted is felt to have had an advantage and may have said things that the other party feels they should have had a right to respond to. That's the situation where a violent resentment to the forum owners can begin. I think it's better in that situation to either delete the thread or the posts from just before the point where they turned nasty (ie to make sure you excise the provocation along with the argument) and then lock without comment or only a very neutral one
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That happens too, but of course there's no record of such an intervention having occurred.
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Perhaps for some people that are very sensitive to that notion.
Others might be glad that more active moderation steps are taken to minimize the number of exceedingly long threads that are impossible to sort through, or to discourage extreme necroposting in old threads that contain outdated information, or any number of other valid reasons to moderate the length and content of forum threads. As Simon said:
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I have no objection to the general moderation of this forum, none at all. Everything I’ve seen has been first rate.
I do however, object to closing threads off too quickly. 12 months of no posting is sensible, closing off questions etc as soon as possible is imo unwarranted and counter productive.
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That's just one category. I'm sure your feedback is valued by the staff. But it's a decision they've decided to make with respect to the "ask anything" category.
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That is precisely the auto-closure setting. Anything less, it is at the discretion of the community moderators and often closures happen upon request from the OP or active community members.
Generally, topics get locked ("closed") if the discussion gets off track, and moving posts around would be too time consuming.
There is one exception to these rules: the Ask Anything category. As @bertabcd1234 so eloquently explained, this particular category is different and targets one specific group of customers: those who expressed an aversion to long threads as the main reason for not coming into the community.
The topics within this category are not auto-closed, and unlike other categories, the solution is accepted/vetted by Hubitat staff, and only then the topic is locked.
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