Locked post unexpectedly? Feedback

Hey, I'm currently using C2, I was subbed to C3 but I was disappointed by the way things were handled at points, but I'm trying to convince myself to move back to C3 but after lurking the forum I keep seeing things that just scream unprofessional.

Why was the below thread locked?

construct.net/en/forum/construct-3/general-discussion-7/ios-export-stuck-loading-154229

It is really annoying that we are forced to register to github to begin with (I reluctantly did this to post bugs when I was subbed to C3 and then my bugs were not bugs in the end, so should I have posted in the forum? Should I have not?), but now I see a thread where people are discussing a possible bug, sharing solutions and people thanking each other, then it gets locked? What if there's a further solution to share, would someone making a new topic get banned for dodging a locked thread? L

This sort of thing pushes me away from wanting to spend monthly money on C3 because of unexpected outcomes when trying to communicate on the forums or towards Scirra.

I unlocked the thread again so discussion can continue. However I have to point out that nothing can be done until an issue is filed following all the guidelines - we need that information to be able to investigate, which is why it is required. I've also noticed in the past a tendency for such forum threads to be counter-productive as passers-by come in and throw in some other issue that may well be unrelated, which only serves to confuse the issue and make it even harder to help or find a solution to the problem. It's important to keep information clear and on-topic to be able to solve problems, which is another reason our bug report guidelines say to only describe one issue per report. Otherwise it ends up with different issues each with their complications and circumstances being mashed together, confusing the circumstances of one issue for another, when issues are often already complicated and difficult enough to begin with. So while the forum thread is unlocked, I would warn you that continuing vague discussions about bugs on the forum may well make it worse, not better.

Thanks for that, Ashley, I appreciate the response and respect the reasoning; I agree, it can even be frustrating for the OP if their own topic gets derailed with other people's separate issues. I'm glad you see the benefit of allowing people to continue discussion of the forum too (unless of course it got chaotic and out of hand).

Most of the time, when I check an issue based on a brief comment or forum post, it works fine. It's because there is usually some specific circumstances or details that cause the issue but were omitted. Unfortunately this means most such "just mentioning" reports of issues are useless. Repeatedly checking dozens of things every day which all work ends up wasting lots of time, and time is by far our most limited resource. This is why we ask for bug reports to be filed. We also have carefully crafted bug report guidelines written up to help people file useful reports.

Ashley, I am certainly not asking you to monitor the forum for mentions of bugs. I'm taking about situations when you see a post where several people are reporting the same serious bug.

As I understand, still nobody has filed a proper bug report for this issue with minification..

As I said before, threads with lots of people talking about a bug are often actually a mish-mash of different issues, and they all get confused together making it even harder to do anything about it.

Besides, it is impossible to do anything unless we have a sample project and reliable steps to reproduce the issue. So even with a thread with lots of people who really are talking about the same issue, there's usually nothing that can be done until that information is provided.

The bug report guidelines on the issue tracker are specifically designed to solve both problems.

I do understand all this.. But I also think many people here are "scared" of github, or can't bother registering there. It was so much easier with C2 bugs, because we could submit them right here on the forum.