As you can imagine from tiffs I've had with threadclosers, I agree that it should have been allowed to continue.

We should be able to point to threads where new people who come here to sell crap are put down thoroughly and repeatedly for acting like it's okay to just jump in here, not contribute, and expect us to buy from them when they're lying to us about who they are. Unfortunately, when the proper treatment of these jerks is stopped by the moderator(s) closing threads, we end up looking like we're overreacting. What better support could that guy have gotten than the rest of us being told by a moderator to shut up? Closing the thread changes the subject from the bad behavior of the original poster to the ongoing controversy about closing threads. Surely this is not what was intended as "moderation."

Why doesn't a moderator actually act to MODERATE things and, for instance, step in and say "come on, guys, this guy is a jerk but don't let's all be jerks." The moderator does not seem to know how not to be extreme. That is, does not know how to be moderate.