Fair enough, rendo. Still, I can't recall one thread locked that wasn't breaking the rules or descending into a flame or trollfest. Everybody makes mistakes or can be a bit trigger-happy at times, so I'm sure there have been some closed that perhaps should have continued on. I just haven't saw evidence that it is a common occurrence that needs to be addressed.

If you charge people to open threads it just encourages people to go off topic more so they don't have to pay to open a thread.

I like stof's ideas but I would amend the second idea and give the moderator the option to charge the OP based on whether or not he feels the crappiness of the thread was his/her fault. Just a little check-box next to the "lock thread" button labeled "Charge OP".

So vg$ is the site's equivalent to gamerpoints... It's funny how competitive people can be over just about anything.

It's pretty dumb don't you think?  First post count... then profile views... and now this.

Which is why I've specifically protested the VG$

I don't think it's causing too much spamming.

VG$ don't cause spam, spammers do.  Is that the line of thinking? 

I think things are fine the way they are! If we want VG$ to mean anything at all, we shouldn't take them away for doing something good. When VG$ are taken, it is usually a punishment. I don't want to be punished for making a Thread, whether it be good or bad!

The off topics thread don't even appear on the front page anymore, and thats where most of these stupid discussions are appearing from. I wouldn't worry about it.

why do some mods gained vg$ by ban fines

The Vg$ is ruining the forums. There should be a limit of the total amount of posts a person can make in a day. You get some people could just type "yeah' or "lol" on every single thread to boost post count.