It's not the closure of threads but the leaving of people who used to make a significant contribution to the quality of the forum that worries me. Both Joe Lerch and Bill Ellis have taught me things that helped me a lot. They have an above average knowledge of matters concerning straights. Their contributions will be missed. Of course: everyone is free to come and go as they like but if it is due to unnecessary agravation it just makes me sad. That's all.
Democracy is not only about free speech but also about self-censorship. With the latter I mean it is sometimes better to remain silent if you get the impression that your opinion causes someone offense.