When you create a topic, the only button that you see below the “Reply” box and your OP is the “Unfollow/Follow” button. However, after you wait 24 hours, you finally see the close button. Why is that? Is it because the OP could be immature/impatient and close their topic after a single no support/no responses in a short period of time?

Probably that and also to prevent spam by opening and then closing topics repeatedly.

It's so a new user doesn't make a troll post and a few seconds later would close it.

LionHeart70 wrote:

It's so a new user doesn't make a troll post and a few seconds later would close it.

Yes, however I don't believe New Scratcher's have the ability to close posts at all

VideoGamerCanInvent wrote:

LionHeart70 wrote:

It's so a new user doesn't make a troll post and a few seconds later would close it.

Yes, however I don't believe New Scratcher's have the ability to close posts at all

I don't know. It could be any user though.

Probably to prevent trolling. If that wasn't to exist, people could create and close forum topics over and over again, which would get annoying.
Same with the 60 (120 for new scratchers) second rule, which each forum post, you have to wait 60 (or 120) seconds to make your next (includes comments) post.

you can report it if you want to close it before the 24 hour mark