Because the op of that thread is no longer active and doesn't moderate off topic postings and as such it's now mostly full of idiots discussing alt coins day after day. Sick of seeing dozens of reports from that thread every day. Plenty of other pointless threads in Speculation to talk shit in. If you want to talk about alt coins then do that in the alt coin section.
Another idiot moderator's opinion ... just do your fucking job and clean the thread up (if you can't handle the heat in the kitchen, get out, and no winging on the way out either).
There are lots of spamming and trolling. Mods have to leave good portion of their time just for that thread. They are also moderating other threads. If you feel like you can do the work, you are free to start a self-moderated thread. But, it has already been done by someone else. Now you can move the discussion to that thread.
How could it be "another pointless thread" if it is getting so much attention from the trolls and spammers? Not to mention the massive number of views it gets daily.
It has become a pointless thread because it is getting so much attention from spammers and trolls.
You moderators are ruining bitcointalk as much as the spammers and trolls that you are letting run amok.
Maybe all that money spent on the forum software (where is that by the way?) would have been better spent on moderator attitude training?
It is easy to say, but hard to do!
I understand some of your views. I have also checked it, before - frequently and now - not so much. There are good posts there and honestly, it "was" a great discussion thread! But now, a majority are spams and trolls now. It was self-moderated and when OP was active, he is also doing his work and spams were less iirc. Anyway, now there is a new self-moderated thread. So why make a fuss over this? If you are unsatisfied or hard to accept this, come up with better ideas/propositions.