Why does Atlassian community moderators close issues that haven't been resolved for years?

[Aron Trauring]

I recently ran into the dreaded "You cannot perform this operation on a draft workflow. " issue and did a search here. I found the last allowed comment was around 2 years ago and Atlassian still hasn't fixed it. The workaround proposed is ridiculous.

There are two possible approaches Atlassian can take:

1. if it's a company that pumped up the hype for an IPO and then the founders just stop caring, then the best approach is to close the issue to further comments and pretend it will make it go away. 
2. if it is a company that cares about its product and customers, it would leave the issue open to gage how important it is for the roadmap (see e.g. how Microsoft handles its customer voice)

I guess by its actions it's obvious what kind of company Atlassian really is.

[John Funk · Accepted solution]

Hi Aron,

I am not Atlassian, but I can tell you there is a working group happening that will be working on modifications to Workflows, including the issue you are referencing. 

[Monique vdB]

Hi @Aron Trauring - I wanted to address your question in the title; since the closed post is  from 2015 it was automatically closed. The more up-to-date info is in this post from Angelica a couple of months ago, providing a workaround for the issue.  You're welcome to keep commenting here or there, or both! 

I hope this addresses your question about community moderation specifically.

[Aron Trauring]

Thank you both for your answers. @John Funk I'm glad that after so many years this issue is finally being addressed. Hopefully this will happen sooner rather than later. @Monique vdB  I am referring to this post from 2018 that still had comments added to it in March, 2021. Angelica's post from just a few months later just seems a way to divert people away from the complaining.

As someone noted in that thread, there seems to be quite a bit of condescension in community moderation with people being told "there is a work around so get over it". This is the case, btw, in many issues I have encountered. Complex workarounds are suggested in the community forums, and when someone points out their time is being wasted, "community leaders and managers" telling them to get over it.

In general, I still don't feel my question has been answered. Why close threads with discussions of legitimate issues  where:

1. there might be alternative approaches suggested (e.g. there are a couple variations on Angelica's approach in the thread  I mention)

2. it gives Atlassian a way to gauge user pain on particular issues

A better approach would have been for Angelica to tack her very clear explanation to the bottom of the thread. Even if its not your intention, the impression users get is that Atlassian is trying to shut up or shut down complainers.

BTW I should note I use Atlassian products only with clients who are already using it. But this negative attitude to customer feedback and UX issues that are left to fester for years, are the main reason I don't ever recommend Atlassian tools to clients who are looking for similar toolsets.

[Monique vdB]

@Aron Trauring thank you, this is great feedback. If the "closed" note pops up without any context it's likely closed automatically. If a moderator closes a thread we will always leave a note explaining why and indicating where the discussion can continue.

I agree that automatically closing topics that are over a certain age may not make sense for topics that are still relevant/active. 

We have some ideas to help make this a little clearer and are actively working to improve our response to customer feedback. Thank you again for these great insights, and i'm sorry they were born out of frustration.  

[Aron Trauring]

Thanks for the feedback @Monique vdB  I hope these improvements come soon and that teh underlying issue gets sorted out sooner rather than later.