hey guys.
we'll be permanently shutting down Stan's goodbye thread. like similar goodbye thread's by dozens of other users, these specific threads are meant as a "last-stop" and a final farewell before a person's decision to do as they wish. in the past, we've locked goodbye threads to perserve their "essence" and purpose, and to prevent the thread from being derailed. however, we treated stan's thread differently for a while now. it had already been closed and locked previously, but was then re-open again. the thread shifted from a goodbye thread, to a thread to remember stan and also share music and memes. however, it seems now the thread has ran it's course and has shifted into a completely different stage, where "we" as a community are percieved to "celebrate" the notion of ctb; while also having a spiritual belief that those who ctb are going to stan, or there going somewhere stan is.
this notion has negative consequences, where it serves to provide this "spiritual" purpose for those on the edge to ctb. we've recieved dozens of reports in regards to the thread on a daily basis for months now and continously recieve several reports from members whom are also concerned about the perception of the thread; labeling it as "cult-like". that's definitely not what it is, but it can easily be perceived and come off as exactly that.
we heavily condemn the "guidance" or "aiding" of a member in ctbing; whether it's providing a purpose to ctb, direct involvement in helping with methods and materials, etc. we'd also like to further reinforce and perserve the intentions of goodbye threads. it's simply unfair to those whom have passed and continue to pass to have their threads locked and one completely open and given permission to be derailed and permission to be more than just a goodbye thread just cause.
we've acknowledged stan's impact on the site and have done so by including his work and research and knowledge as a whole on his guide of SN as an essential resource for members interested in SN to rely on, if interested, by placing it in the resources section of the forum. the option was to either delete the thread entirely or to simply lock it, and we've chosen to officially lock and close this thread.
If anyone has any questions or concerns, feel free to message any of the staff members.
take care.