I am wondering wheather topics in Lounge should undercome further specifics of continuation than a very basic stuff (as quite described in the desc of subforum).

I'm not trying to neatpick on moderators of course, but I think that this recent topic in the subforum got locked unjustified, or not?

http://www.gamedev.net/topic/677629-uplifting-movie-about-a-retired-game-industry-pro-taking-up-a-job-to-teach-underprivileged-inner-city-students-about-game-development-tm/

There are many technical topics that do not fall anywhere though they still need, sometimes exhoustive, software knowledge , but unless they will be allowed to mix with any free topics... it will not be lounge anymore?

On its face it looks good. But that topic needed to be closed.

It was a troll thread by a user who has been warned multiple times about trolling and antagonizing others. The user also has a history of starting troll topics in the lounge, some getting official warnings, others getting moderator involvement but not quite official warnings.

In this case, the was openly mocking a similar thread after accusing someone of lying about their career and was actually a chat-bot, making comments like "For the record, I posted a vote of no-confidence. Ha-ha." and derailing that conversation multiple times.

The thread that was locked was intended to be a parody of the person he was attacking at the time. On review, it was not meant to be an actual discussion about a movie. It was meant as a jab against another forum member.

Taken on its own the topic looks innocent enough. But taken in consideration with the other discussions at the time, it was meant as an insult. The power of trolling was strong with that user.

As for how long people are allowed to troll, that is one of the less-visible parts of they system.

Official warnings accrue 'points'. Too many points and the warnings turn into temporary bans. If those aren't enough, a few more points and the user gets a permanent ban.

We moderators really try to foster communication even if it is unpopular, but we step in when it crosses to abuse or personal attacks. Normally the community is good about balancing these posts, but in this case the user keeps posting in the Lounge which does not have topic voting for various good reasons.

Most people stop the behavior after an official warning. The user in question has several warnings and keeps pushing the limits. I think he is on his final warning for abusive/trolling behavior, which comes with a temporary suspension.

Ultimately he's at the final step where either he will stop the abusive behavior (which is what we want and would prefer) or he will be banned for it (which is sad, but necessary for those who persist in attacking others).