I just had a newbie bump a 2 year old thread; admittedly to ask for help with a similar problem.
This is most often done by new users who are not yet aware of Daniweb rules.
However, unless I am mistaken, there is no way of starting a new thread when viewing an existing thread.
Since Google and other search engines lead new users to existing threads and not the forum start pages this seems like an omission.
Do you think that adding a "Start a New Thread" button (perhaps with the post and advanced buttons) might reduce such bumping by new users?
[Edit]
Just realised that there is the small link in the "Over 3 months" text that will start a new thread.
This is clearly not big enough.
Alternatively, hide the message window for very old threads with a button to open it if really necessary.