Chastising a user for providing a solution?

[irritated]

Hello,

I'm new to posting on this forum but not exactly new as I've been reading here for some time.

Today, I found a question had been asked previously and as I read through the answers, I saw a post by someone (not marked as moderator) who chastised one of the good folks replying to a thread with an answer and then closed the thread. Evidently, the problem was that the question was too old to be providing alternative answers to and should not have been resurected.

I disagree with this and it "irritated" me to the point that I had to join and say something about it.

The reason I disagree is that there are usually many alternative solutions to a problem and what works for one person may not work for another. Also, as technology evolves, the solutions may change. Updating a thread with a more current solution isn't necessarily a bad thing, regardless of how old the original post is.

The post that "irritated" me is found here:
http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread84742.html

[Dani]

Hi,

It is actually not our current, official policy to close threads for this reason. We do REQUEST that members do not resurrect (bump) old threads, but it is not an official rule.

[Nick Evan]

This thread has indeed been closed for no reason. We have no problem with people replying to old threads as long as their reply is:
1. Ontopic
2. Not mentioned before in the thread
3. The reply is not another question, which is called "hijacking a thread".

I've deleted the remark and re-opened the thread. Thank you for reporting.

[edit]

I saw a post by someone (not marked as moderator)

Adatapost actually is a moderator. You can view everyone's "status" on the site by hovering your mouse over his/her avatar.

[happygeek]

As Dani says, we have no official policy on closing threads on a date basis. The only rule we have that touches on the old thread issue is "Do not hijack old threads by posting a new question as a reply to an old one" but that does not seem to apply in this case. The general rule of thumb applied by moderators (and adatapost is a moderator of the forum in question by the way) is that a relevant new post to an old thread is acceptable, while something that bumps it for no reason, adds nothing, asks a new question or simply says 'I agree' in order to expose a signature link is not.

I agree with you that there are many ways to skin a deer, or something :) and just because a thread is old does not mean it is dead. Hence there being no rule about it.

I have re-opened the thread in question.

Please accept my apologies if you felt you were being chastised here, I'm sure that was not the intention.

[irritated]

Thank you all for your responses. I feel much better now about the whole thing now.

Also, thanks for pointing out that I can hover over the avatar to see a posters status. I wasn't aware of that.

Sincerely,
"irritated" no longer.