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I've seen a bunch of generic, but interesting topics on anime discussion, but they always get quickly locked because past threads already were about this. The thing is posting on those past threads are usually bumps. Another excuse that I often see for this is how the topic is too similar to the other, but usually the similarity are pretty loose and it's those slight differences that would make the topic create a different discussion than the other. For exemple, some thread about anime that you wanted to like(or that you dislike even though everyone else liked it, don't remember exact words but it was fairly similar to that) was locked due to being too similar to most overrated/underrated anime thread, except that people actually started discussing more about this idea rather than simply posting anime they think is underrated, while often not knowing the true meaning of the word. So basically, don't lock threads for loose similarities, or if the other thread has at least one month of inactivity.

No. Such threads are rightfully locked. It's fucking ridiculous how some people make new threads when a similar thread topic is just on the first few pages of a board.

You say that, but did you count the number of Christianity threads have passed and done nothing about them, (not that I care, they are a hilarious read) but when in GD or Casual chat it happens more than often that a similar thread doesn't get locked and in Anime Discussion it does.

Some mods have good Judgement, others well are questionable, but us as users we must first do research on the topic we are making and you'll be safe from any mods trying to do their job on the site.

Most mods here suck, obviously. Not enough attention given to other forum sections.

For every locked thread I've seen so far, the other similar thread was dead for at least one month. In pretty much any other forum, if that happens the tread doesn't get locked.

For an issue of this kind, you should not be opening a suggestions board topic, as it is essentially useless on both sides.

If you want to know the reasoning behind a topic being locked, why don't you PM the moderator and - in a non-accusatory tone - ask why? You're more likely to glean information that way than opening a thread saying "mods shouldn't do this". You're also more likely to actually make a suggestion by talking with a moderator and explaining your own reasoning for why it shouldn't be locked.

Moderators are always looking for ways to improve the forum, the DB, and the site in general. We volunteer a lot of our time because we want to make MAL a better place for everyone. We're open to hearing how things can be done better, but:
- making a thread, and
- PM-ing in an aggressive manner
are two actions that essentially tell us from the very beginning that you don't appreciate all the time we do put in. And if you don't, then we'll obviously be less inclined to listen to your suggestion. We're human too after all.

With that said, I don't think there's anything more to discuss, so locked.

Edit: silly grammar errors.