Ziggy Stardust said:

Oh, I thought this thread was about the other lockdown.

It was. In a tongue-in-cheeky sort of way.

I created this so if anyone wants to talk about the locked threads they can do so here without worrying that our 'Random Thoughts' thread will be locked too, as some of you seem to be. I don't believe discussing this is in violation of any rules, and I don't see why it should have to continue through PMs.

In agreement with what some other members have said - locking Off Topic threads isn't a solution. If the mods are unwilling to read enough posts to determine the problem, you guys should leave Off Topic unmoderated as it has been, or find someone willing to moderate it to the same standard as the rest of the site. The sticky is vague and it is now unclear what we can and can't post in Off Topic. Does it mean that all the rules now apply here, or only some of them?

I would suggest simply reinstating the 'no personal attacks' rule for Off Topic, which mods can then ignore until someone who feels personally attacked makes a legitimate complaint. If it is virtually impossible to get banned through your actions in Off Topic then the 'pledge thread' and others like it should not only be allowed, they are practically necessary.