In what cases may a Q&A discussion be closed?
Sometimes you might find a Q&A discussion that has been closed. This means that the question and answers are all still available to be read, but no new answers can be added.
This might happen in a number of different cases, which may include:
- the discussion has become characterized by or includes excessive disrespectful comments or personal attacks, or other behavior or content that may be considered a breach of our Terms of Service or Community Guidelines
- a number of the participants have complained about the conversation going off-topic
- the question asker has edited the question in a way that renders it meaningless or indicates that they consider it to be closed or resolved
- the discussion was causing a large administrative burden on our Community Support team, for example, because we were receiving a disproportionate number of complaints about content shared in the discussion.
We have an interest in trying to maintain good standards of civility on our platform. At times, finding the right balance between community respect and free expression can be challenging. That’s why, where possible, we prefer to close a discussion rather than delete it entirely, so the participants and community as a whole can still benefit from any valuable insights or ideas that were exchanged.