This should not have been locked or unpinned.
The offending posts could have been removed insead. This is an example of a good thread being lost because some people lost the plot with each other. Lots of people do it and if it's just nonsense in the Lounge then nothing is lost.
I would respectfully ask that the thread be re-pinned and re-opened. It's how we recruit new members for the KLF room in Soulseek. A lot of work went into that, by one member, supported by many others.
There is precedent. e.g The Sharedaddy thread for movie sharing has had offending posts removed, but the thread itself lives on.