In the current development version of Ubuntu (13.10 Saucy) the power settings do offer a choice "When the lid is closed: Do nothing". So I'm marking this as fixed. (The behavior is broken, but that's a different issue; see bug #990908.)
** Changed in: gnome-power-manager (Ubuntu) Status: Confirmed => Fix Released -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Desktop Bugs, which is subscribed to gnome-power-manager in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/736606 Title: "Do Nothing" option not available for lid closing in Power settings To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-power-manager/+bug/736606/+subscriptions -- desktop-bugs mailing list desktop-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/desktop-bugs