I was hoping they would just delete the threads the minute they spot one starting up, since the two sides are diametrically opposed and will never agree on anything. But retaining the locked threads serves a good purpose. It shows that dissent is allowed here, that there is no "amen chorus" or group-think fallacy in operation, and that there are no new ideas being presented, hence the need to lock these repetitive threads before they degenerate into personal attacks.