Warning message, or some other mechanism to limit resurrecting threads.

JesperMP · Feb 6, 2010

This is to Phil, but I think that others may want to comment.

There seems to be a wave or resurrected threads recently. And it seems that it is newcomers that do all the resurrecting. Some times the last post is totally unrelated to the original topic. I think that sometimes the newcomers simply cannot find the "Post New Thread" button. Very irritating.

I do not think that posting in old threads should be completely banned.
I am thinking that if someone wants to post in a thread that is more than x years old, then a warning should appear, i.e. "Your are posting in a thread that started x years ago. Are you sure that you want to do that".

Comments ?

PeterW · Feb 6, 2010

I'm considering my answer to this but may reserve my answer til 2015.

Then again I may ask about fish then.

Bob O · Feb 6, 2010

If it doesn’t interest me I move on and don’t give it a second thought.
So in a nut shell it doesn’t bother me at all.

PLCRookie · Feb 6, 2010

Since the can has been opened (not a bad thing), I would also like to suggest an improvement that I have seen on another site. Basically, when the OP has resolved his problem/issue, he can "mark this thread as resolved", and the "RESOLVED : [Insert topic here]" is displayed on the thread. That way, we all know that the OP has found at least one solution. Sometimes,we never get the solution to the original problem. Of course, it depends on the OP coming back with the fix......

Mickey · Feb 6, 2010

PLCRookie said:
Sometimes,we never get the solution to the original problem. Of course, it depends on the OP coming back with the fix......

That's a pet peeve of mine also.

There is usually an "Old Thread Alert" notice by someone, so that one doesn't really bother me.

danw · Feb 6, 2010

There has been a recent flurry of such activity, hasn't there?

When such happens, and the latest question/post does correspond to the original thread's topic, then I'm actually somewhat impressed that some effort was made to do a search before posting a question. Can't knock that.

Where there's little or no correlation to the resurrected thread, I, too, suspect that the new post button can't be found, because I have a problem finding it myself.

When I first stumbled onto this forum some years ago, I know that I answered a several year old post, not realizing the posts were dated.

I'm now in the habit of checking the post/thread dates.

Steve Bailey · Feb 6, 2010

I think what's happening is that the person who posts to the old thread first finds it via a Google search.

jstolaruk · Feb 6, 2010

A moderator has the ability to close a thread so that no additional posts can be made to it. Are there any other moderators other than Phil (founder))?

Mickey · Feb 6, 2010

jstolaruk said:
A moderator has the ability to close a thread so that no additional posts can be made to it. Are there any other moderators other than Phil (founder))?

I would disagree with closing it. Its sometimes beneficial to revisit old topics. Its just when the new post has nothing to do with original topic or very far removed from it.

TConnolly · Feb 6, 2010

I figure that the benefits of being able to refer to old threads and even resurrect them if germane to a question, outweigh the perceived (isn't that all it really is?) inconvenience of having an old thread surface.

JesperMP · Feb 6, 2010

Of course it should not be necessary for a moderator to moderate each and every thread.
It should work automatically.
And of course sometimes it makes sense to post even if the thread is old.
A warning message would be a modest and sensible addition.

jrwb4gbm · Feb 6, 2010

There are pro's and con's. I hope that most of the regulars on here will just continue to flag them with the "Old Post Alert". I like old threads just fine. If I can help the person that brought it back up, I will. If not , then I just ignore it unless it is obviously a spam type post where someone is trying to sell a service or product. I will report those types of posts. I know that there are good reasons for digging up old posts such as students and newcomers trying to learn and really dont know quite how to ask questions, let alone know the answer. Another reason is sometimes when english is not the posters native language it is easier for them to use an old post to convey what they are trying to say. My 2 cents worth.

HJTRBO · Feb 6, 2010

But sometimes it's a bit of a laugh when someone brings up a thread from 4 years ago and says, "Maybe you could try this..." Then we pay them out a little to make 'em look like a bit of a fool! A little peer banter usually trains the eye to the post date.

Warning message, or some other mechanism to limit resurrecting threads.

JesperMP

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PeterW

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Bob O

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PLCRookie

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Mickey

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danw

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Steve Bailey

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jstolaruk

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Mickey

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TConnolly

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JesperMP

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jrwb4gbm

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HJTRBO

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