old posts

[cgeier]

Why aren't old posts prevented from being commented on. Posts from 5+ yrs ago are being revived. I think that any post that has been inactive for 6 months or more should be closed and not accept any new comments.

[Dani]

This has been an ongoing debate behind-the-scenes over the years. I personally feel like we are a discussion community that should allow ongoing discussions, and if someone has something valuable to add years later, then they should be able to, because people are still finding those pages in the search results years later.

However, we do put a big notice above older threads advising against resurrecting them.

[mattster]

You might have a question asking for a solution with jQuery version 1.9.X, for instance. But then when someone Googles the same problem 2 years later, when v3.1.0 is out, there might be a much better solution. This guy would resurrect the post with a modern solution, so future Googlers get a high quality answer.

My little story why old posts may need to be left open, to ensure DaniWeb provides the most accurate and helpful solutions to all (including one-time visit Googlers)

[Dani]

I think the strongest reasoning for leaving threads open is the realization that they help people who stumble upon the threads months and years into the future, and not just the OP.

[Hiroshe]

You might have a question asking for a solution with jQuery version 1.9.X, for instance. But then when someone Googles the same problem 2 years later, when v3.1.0 is out, there might be a much better solution. This guy would resurrect the post with a modern solution, so future Googlers get a high quality answer.

To add onto this, perhaps we should depriciate posts that are too old to avoid confusion when people come from a search engine (display a warning that the solution may be outdated after inactivity beyond 2 years)?

[Dani]

That would be 90% of all of DaniWeb's traffic.

[Reverend Jim]

Take a look at Recovering Outlook Files. The only posts in the last five years were two deleted (spam) and one that basically says shoulda made a backup, dude. The suggestion to use some sort of recovery tool is completely useless without a recommendation to a specific tool.

I think the point is just to close them to further posts, not to prevent anyone from accessing them and possibly getting solutions to problems. That shouldn't hurt the ranking in google search.

In the above case, it also doesn't help that the OP hasn't logged into Daniweb in the last four years. Perhaps that could be a parameter in deciding whether or not to close threads.

1. Has the OP been active in the last # years?
2. Has the thread been marked as solved?
3. Has the thread been inactive for the last # years (or months)

I think if all three conditions have been met then the thread could be closed to further posts.

[Reverend Jim]

One more thing that I've noticed is that most resurrection of dead threads is being done by new(ish) members.

[JorgeM]

..and unfortunately many times the new member is hijacking the thread or posting spam.

[Reverend Jim]

Unfortunately I have also seen cases where a new member has gone Rambo in a forum and posted in multiple old threads in rapid succession. This results in pushing all legitimate threads off the first page.