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Suggestion: auto-locking years-old threads to prevent necro-posts?

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Veraxis

Active Member
Has anyone ever discussed the possibility of locking down threads that haven't been posted to in, say, 3 years? Maybe it doesn't bother folks that much, but I'm always really perplexed by the number of really old "necro" threads that show up on the forums, sometimes so old that many of the original posters are no longer active on the forum.

It seems to me like 90% of the time the necro-ing posts are either single-line replies only tangentially related to the original conversation, or someone asking for help with a related problem that should probably be started as its own new thread.

Today I found myself looking at a thread originally from 2006, then necroed for a while in 2010 after someone posted a single-line post with a link to a blog post, and then necroed AGAIN in 2017 by someone completely unrelated to either of the two original conversations.

Even if someone related to the original conversation were the one necro-posting, I feel like giving an update after multiple years would be just as well being started as its own thread, and they could just include a link back to the original discussion for reference.

What are other folks' opinions on this? Again, maybe this isn't something that bothers people, but I've always considered necro posts to be something of a faux-pas on discussion forums, especially if the thread is so old that many of the original posters are no longer active.
 
The decision is based on two things.... If there is content within the post that bolsters the post in anyway. And whether a new post would be any less problematic.. If the old thread has run its course, then a new thread will be created. If the old post contains "no longer members" and the post is relevant, then it doesn't matter if the post is re-opened or a new one is created.. I also base this on how long the thread is, if the thread is a page or two its okay, if its 10+ then no-one wants to re-read the whole thread!!

Other mods may edit differently...
 
I am in general agreement with Ian Rogers.

I seem to remember at one time there was something in the forum software that would either lock old threads or warn when posting to an old thread.
But this feature was lost during one of the forum software updates.

JimB
 
I suppose that if the discussion is about something more general, then adding more information over time can make sense as a reference for people finding the thread with the same question, but other threads about someone's specific project or design, it may not necessarily be relevant to add new information years after the OP has probably stopped working on it.

I'm always unsure of how to approach posts to old threads. I find myself having to go back through and read what posts were made on what dates to determine what it even makes sense to talk about. More than once I have found myself midway through a response to a post, only to realize midway through writing it that most of the posts up until that point were from 10 years ago and any response to those points will fall on deaf ears. Regardless of topic, I usually feel like the discussion becomes more in reply to the person who made the new post rather than trying to address the original discussion of the OP, which kind of feels like piggybacking the thread. Hence why I tend to lean more in the direction of making new threads over rebooting old ones unless someone has something really insightful to add.

A feature warning when posting to an old thread could be helpful. Bummer it isn't still around.
 
A lot of folks read old posts like they are gospel, but some are just plain bogus. If they get locked, then there is no way to opine that the information in the old thread is wrong, or needs improvement.
 
Perhaps just putting a flag on a post that originated more than a year or so ago, so you know your are responding to a necropost.
More than once I've replied to such a post and then later realized I had wasted my time responding to a dead thread.
 
Will I be allowed to post to this thread in 2022? :confused:

Mike.
There is always report and PM... However! You are not the type of member we tend to moderate... There are several members that are given extremely long reins...
 
Ah !! I knew it, I knew it !! Bl***dy favouritism Eh ??

Long reins for the better looking members ? ( I can't believe I've just written that ! :wideyed: )

Ah well, that's me gone to hell in a hand cart !

S

PS. Speaking personally, I'd be delighted to be able to post to this thread in 2022, necro-post or not ! :)

 
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