I suspect the Mods keep an eye on these threads and maybe only lock them when the invective 'crosses the line'?
At the moment, the comments above are at teasing level (IMHO) but usually for the thread to be locked, someone makes a fairly offensive personal statement about our friend, or a slanging match erupts, and that's when the party grinds to a halt.
However, rather like musical chairs, our friend is the gift that keeps giving, and a new thread will be started, usually by someone who has not had their corneas previously burned out by the bodgernomics on display.
For me his merchandise is like a fart: vaguely distasteful but equally awfully familiar, just like an old friend....