Moderators can transform threads into private messages between all who are involved in the thread.
This was accidentally done by me some days ago while I was attempting to move a flagged post out of the thread. The touch screen on my iPad betrayed me.
It was undone, but the result is probably what we’re all experiencing now, being subscribed to “watching” the thread.
This can be changed by switching from “watching” to “tracking”.
Now, carry on… 