# Category settings - unexpected solved setting change due to auto-close

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-settings-unexpected-solved-setting-change-due-to-auto-close/387583
**Category:** UX
**Tags:** solved
**Created:** [November 4, 2025, 3:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-settings-unexpected-solved-setting-change-due-to-auto-close/387583 "2025-11-04T15:38:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 1

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### Author: ![tobiaseigen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/tobiaseigen/32/539204_2.png) [@tobiaseigen](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tobiaseigen)
#### Post date: [November 4, 2025, 3:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-settings-unexpected-solved-setting-change-due-to-auto-close/387583/1 "2025-11-04T15:38:07Z")

</div>

As part of a short term experiment, I enabled the “Auto-close topic after” category setting, setting it to 30 days.

 ![Screenshot 2025-11-04 at 7.24.20 AM](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/8/6/6/8669b4e267f5aae52c7aae68f4e7a1821be0fdf6.png)

I did not realize it at the time, but making that change had the unexpected effect that a setting further down the page was cleared, the “Auto close topic (n) hours after the last reply.. once the topic has been marked as solved”.

 ![Screenshot 2025-11-04 at 7.23.55 AM](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/1/5/1/151642de87cd520a3aba628e1dee7d6182cdd13c.png)

When I decided to change it back to the previous behavior, I did not know what it had been set to previously! 😬 Moin remembered though so I was able to revert without trouble. I also found the setting changes in the staff action log.

Two thoughts come to mind:

- I can envision cases when you want topics in a category to eventually close automatically whether they are solved or not, but then to close sooner when they have been marked solved. So maybe the setting should be left alone?
- If a setting is changed automatically because of a conflict, there should be some indication in the UI that it is about to happen.

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_[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-settings-unexpected-solved-setting-change-due-to-auto-close/387583)._