I would also like to point out, that when threads start to get censured, people complain about the forum being "over moderated"
This. I think TPF is more than a little too far on the side of over moderation. Threads routinely get locked just because mods don't think they are sufficiently close to being on topic or something like that, sometimes even when the OP is participating in the change in topic, and other times even though nobody is complaining about the derailment and discussion is being productive and interesting and civil (just not about the original thing).
Or two threads about the same thing, so long as they were not started by the same person or right at the same time, why are we locking those? That's just annoying and micromanaging.
Locking is IMO something that should
only be done when people are actually being spiteful at one another or name calling or being otherwise aggressive/hurtful, or headed directly toward that (like bringing up hardcore partisan political ideologies would be a reason to lock, even if nobody has responded in an insulted fashion yet, because it's obviously going to happen soon)