A question here from a new person.

[SherriWittler 1]

I have noticed when reading some posts that they are CLOSED and have a lock by them ...... why are they closed and who decides to close them?

[Alexandra 55]

Hi Sherri,

There are four moderators whose job it is to maintain some semblance of order here, and from time to time that means closing/locking/moving/deleting threads or posts. In the FAQs section we have moved some of the perennial "reference" threads that are evergreen in value, but that don't really need to be continually "bumped" with new posts. Those threads are locked to new posts, but the information in them is still valuable.

Anyone is always welcome to start a thread at any time. That's sometimes preferable to putting a new post on an old thread, because it can confuse people who don't pay close attention to the dates.