Old threads.

[frogboy77]

I am becoming annoyed at the amount of responses on this site saying (something along the lines of) "This thread is 5 years old, please leave it alone.".

Then there is often the response (again, something along the lines of) "Please search the site before asking a question that has already been answered.".

Surely updating an old post regardless of the period of time since the original post, will help anyone searching the site to find the required information without starting a new thread (making the search quicker for the next person i.e less hits).

Does anyone else agree or am I out on my own here?

[zeroliken]

I am becoming annoyed at the amount of responses on this site saying (something along the lines of) "This thread is 5 years old, please leave it alone.".

I am more annoyed about the replies 5 year old threads get...
Because They're usually a question made by a newbie not checking the date it was posted
or a useless reply from a thread that is already answered, still lots of trolls lurking around the web
If that's the case I am more than happy to say to leave the thread alone :)

I'm not saying that all the responses are bad but they're rarely good

[happygeek]

I have NO PROBLEM with people responding to old threads as long as:

1. A relevant answer is provided which had not been before
2. The response is not an 'is that job still going' when the OP is 9 years old
3. The response is not a new question hijacking that old thread
4. The response is not just a 'me too' spam in order to get visibility for some links in a signature

PS. I have moved this thread to the Community Feedback forum as it is more appropriate here methinks...

THis is an old bugbear of mine. I think a contributor once referred to this as 'necroposting'. Apt IMO. The late additions very rarely add anything useful. Often a young buck, looking to show off will post a snippet that they've found elsewhere. OK, you could argue that this will enrich a thread, but chances are that the 'thread problem' will have been duplicated a good number of times in the forum since the last entry.

I was pleased to see the 'this thread is over three months old...' statement, but very few noobs take any notice of that. Mostly I find old threads cluttering up the forum with nothing of value being added to them. My 2p.

[frogboy77]

Mostly I find old threads cluttering up the forum with nothing of value being added to them. My 2p.

So are you suggesting deleting old threads? And it's tuppence by the way:)

[WaltP]

And it's tuppence by the way:)

Maybe in England. Across the puddle it's 2-cents. Closest we get to tuppence is Tupperware. :icon_twisted:

[Dani]

Sorry I'm being so hands-off lately .... Still working on coding every spare second I get. Still looking to launch late February. It might end up getting pushed back to the beginning of March but I really hope not.

Again ... just want to say that I'm still here in spirit, and I feel terrible when things are going on behind the scenes and I just don't have the time to keep up with them and say my TWO CENTS.

[frogboy77]

Across the puddle it's 2-cents.

Well if you really want to be French then i wont stop you, but it is not a trivial decision.

Edinburgh is not ENGLAND.

[WaltP]

Well if you really want to be French then i wont stop you, but it is not a trivial decision.

I feel a little green today... Think I'm going to croak... I'm beginning to like Jerry Lewis!

Edinburgh is not ENGLAND.

Well, I did say maybe... :icon_wink:
I know it's in Texas. Or are you talking about this one or this one? :icon_twisted:

[frogboy77]

When i'm talking of James Bond i mean Sean Connery. If i was referring to any of the others i would clarify it.

Little bit of an Edinburgh link too.:)

WTF? Who unravelled this thread? I put 2p as that's short for tuppence. If I was to write in my native currency it would be 2c (ceiniog not cents), but as I was writing in English, that would have been a bit odd.

ANYWAY

So are you suggesting deleting old threads?

I don't believe I ever said that. I would favour auto-closing a thread three months after the last post. I could envisage some use to asking a question relating to an old thread, but it bewilders me why somebody would come across a 3 year old thread and post a solution to it. The OP has moved on - who is this supposed to benefit? [OK, I know threads are supposed to benefit more than just the OP] I think as a rule it serves to inflate the ego of the new poster. If their idea is that amazing, perhaps they should post to the tutorials section?

[frogboy77]

Someone posting a better solution than the one previously posted, followed by an even better solution, etc.. Regardless of their reason for doing so has to be good for the thread and anyone viewing it in future. There is almost always a "better" solution.

There is almost always a "better" solution.

There is indeed, and I can't argue with you there - but they are very seldomly found in resurrected dead threads. If they are, they are often just copies that a code-bunny has pasted from another site, which goes against the house rules.
Those resurrecting dead threads with nonsense should be neg-repped to oblivion IMO.

[WaltP]

Tell you what -- do a search for this very topic and read the scores of previous suggestions that have been proposed. And their responses. Then you can curtail the need to come up with the same ideas that have been mentioned over the past few years yet again and go right to things that have yet to be thought of. :icon_wink:

[frogboy77]

Tell you what -- do a search for this very topic and read the scores of previous suggestions that have been proposed.

Would i be allowed to make a comment in those threads or would that be "reviving the dead"?

[~s.o.s~]

Would i be allowed to make a comment in those threads or would that be "reviving the dead"?

Thread bumping rule isn't an absolute. It's just that 99.99% of the times the bump is irrelevant/off-topic/spam/homework kid, making us a bit strict/wary when it comes to bumping threads. If you feel you absolutely must reply and add a new view point to the discussion in consideration, go ahead.

[WaltP]

Thread bumping rule isn't an absolute. It's just that 99.99% of the times the bump is irrelevant/off-topic/spam/homework kid, making us a bit strict/wary when it comes to bumping threads. If you feel you absolutely must reply and add a new view point to the discussion in consideration, go ahead.

Although my suggestion was to see all the other suggestions so you won't repeat what's already been thought of. Anything new can be posted here. I would question the need to revive the older threads.

Here's an example of a necroposter today in the PHP forum. The first post was in 2004. It all went quiet and it died an honourable death, BUT then it did a Lazarus for a little while in 2010, before popping back into it's coffin. Now Dracula has done a smoke into body job and stands proudly before us:

http://www.daniweb.com/web-development/php/threads/12183

This is typical, in my experience. Auto-close the blasted things... please.

[Ezzaral]

That is a random hijack. Report them as bad posts so they can be split to new threads (which I did on that one you linked above).

[~s.o.s~]

Although my suggestion was to see all the other suggestions so you won't repeat what's already been thought of. Anything new can be posted here. I would question the need to revive the older threads.

I agree, I have been around for a long time to see how useful thread bumps turn out to be. But the thing is that bumping threads is not against the rule and hence asking someone to "not" bump a thread in my capacity as a moderator/super-mod would be wrong IMO.

[WaltP]

... But the thing is that bumping threads is not against the rule and hence asking someone to "not" bump a thread in my capacity as a moderator/super-mod would be wrong IMO.

I disagree. Even though it's not illegal to play at the edge of a deep pit, 'officials' (parents/teachers/police/...) will ask (tell) you not to.

There are many unwritten rules/guidelines, and not bumping a thread is one of them. A mod, IMO, should ask others not to break even these unwritten rules. The perpetrator just can't be forced to comply. The police do it all the time. As do others in 'power'. That's where rep can come in, as a hand-slap.

That is a random hijack. Report them as bad posts so they can be split to new threads (which I did on that one you linked above).

Thanks Ezzaral. This and Walt's comment leaves me wondering what should be the general user's (i.e. me) reaction to this? I should report it as a Bad Post - I suppose, but I got to be honest, I hate doing that unless it's some sort of spam or some guy/gal is letting rip with some pretty strong language / bad attitude.
Do I downvote said post or give neg rep?
I have to admit, if it's a seasoned user, I feel like blasting them with a '-3'. Or should the finger-wagging be left strictly to the mods? After all, we plebs don't want to come across as self-righteous mod-wannabes, but I suppose we all have some responsibility to keep up standards.

How would you have it?

[Ezzaral]

You're welcome to wag your finger if you like, but if you want the hijack corrected then you can Flag Bad Post to bring to a mod's attention.

Personally pleb finger-wagging doesn't bother me at all :P

Ho ho ho. I'll try to confine it to my finger then... :)

[WaltP]

IMO, simply reporting it is best.
If it's a seasoned user, go ahead and blast him with rep, then report it.

Don't reply, though. If we decide it should be moved, we need to deal with both posts. If we decide it should be deleted, we need to delete both posts. And in either case, you probably don't want a PM saying something happened to your post via collateral damage.

[Ezzaral]

That's true. Replies to moderated posts may get whacked as well in the clean up.

Good point Walt.