One thing to be clear of - Moderators don't work for Bethesda or Obsidian. If a lawsuit ran either company out of business, it's not like it would have any effect on me, personally. Frankly, I don't see what there is for me to be scared of, here.
There are a few reasons that we lock topics, however. From the http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1120448-important-forum-information/:
9. Posting about moderator or administrator action or inaction is also against the rules of this forum.
Please feel free however to contact the moderator involved, another moderator you feel comfortable with, our community manager Gstaff or another admin if you disagree with a moderator action. Our moderators do not mind taking a second look or discussing an action with the other moderators and admin to assure they have acted fairly. So if you think you've been treated wrongly or that unfairly, be sure to send a PM. Sometimes moderators make mistakes.
Restricted Topics
Religion and Politics
Petitions
Rating Threads
Multiplayer/Official Threads
Rating Threads/What are you listening to/Who Would Beat Who threads
Threads regarding another user's account
Hello/Goodbye/How Old are you/What forum skin do you use threads
I got a star/I'm now a [insert rank here] Threads
Petitions
We do not allow the creation of petitions on the forum. This includes creating a thread for the purpose of discussing a petition elsewhere.
Creating threads about other threads, or locked threads
We do not allow threads to be created about other threads, this constitutes cross-posting or advertising. We also do not allow threads to be made about why something has been locked. If you want to know why a thread has been locked you should PM a moderator, it should not be discussed on the forums. If your thread is locked you should also not re-post it (unless you have moderator permission to do so).
Often a thread will be locked before a moderator types an explanation, so it is best to wait a few minutes before contacting a mod if no reason has been posted for the lock.