As far as confusion, you only see those great big stickied posts if you actually visit the sub or if they are shown on the aggregate page.

There's also information on the sidebar, which is on every page.

Anyway, I really don't have ability to come close to your well-thought-out arguments, but for the first question - yes. I frequently talk about anything interesting that comes to mind on other subreddits. That's half the reason I visit the comments, because I know people are probably being interesting, stupid, or a delightful combination of both. People like to talk. The things we read spark other ideas that can turn into ridiculous or wonderful discourse.

All we're saying -- literally the only thing we're saying here -- is please don't hijack someone else's thread with a totally unrelated subject. Start your own thread or use one that already exists. That is it. We don't consider that heavy-handed moderation. There are already numerous threads to discuss the changes, and there is no reason to hijack every other discussion.

If people had done that in this thread, you wouldn't have seen a comment graveyard, and you would have quickly and readily gotten to where you were going -- the comment thread about shroomguy.

I get that you're implying I'm less than intelligent for being confused by the mods approach to this whole debacle.

No, all I'm implying is that a rule saying "don't start a brand new conversation about ice cream in a thread about Maseratis" really isn't confusing. Nor does it violate the off-topic spirit of the sub. Off-topic does not mean total disorganization and chaos where nobody has any idea where any particular conversation might happen because the thread topics are totally meaningless.

It's one thing if a thread naturally evolves from one topic to another. It's another thing if the thread is deliberately hijacked. Don't hijack, it's that simple.