rogerd - 4:16 am on Jul 20, 2004 (gmt 0)

Interesting point, vkaryl. Sometimes that may be the mod's intention, i.e., after wrestling an errant thread back on topic, a "stopper" post may let everyone move on.

If the mod wants to keep the discussion going, the best way may be to lead it back on track by making a suggestive comment or posing a follow-on question.

It may be a natural thing. In real life, if someone barged in on a conversation and told you to stop talking about specific things, it might have a rather chilling effect on continuing the conversation.