Why keep the old threads open?

[mrmyk]

Occaisonally, an old thread is bumped back to page 1. My normal instinct is to report it because it is old but I often don't if I feel there still can be some discussion on the topic itself but recently some old topics have been bumped and although I report them, they are kept open despite the fact that they have absolutley no discussion value what so ever.

 

 

 

One example which made me write this thread is an old retired players goodbye thread which was posted in General P2P (before the merge) saying he actually quit about 1 year ago. Some random person had bumped it up but what is there to discuss? You can't really say goodbye to a person who left 1 year ago and doesn't visit the forums anymore (to my knowledge). Also, aren't goodbye threads not allowed unless by moderators or admins?.

 

 

 

Why do we keep the topics open, I thought we could report/lock them when there was little discussion value in them.

[Bobbington]

Although it should very much be taken on a case by case set up I agree.

 

 

 

Allot of these bumped threads become just spam and server no purpose, having said that though allot case still be useful and should defiantly not be closed just because they are old.

[InkofDeath]

One reason why they are left open is to allow any user to express their opinions in a topic freely, or so I think.

 

 

 

Basically I just ask myself, could this have been re-posted as a new topic, or was the comment sufficient enough? If it's a no answer, I usually don't even go to the topics and disregard them hoping they go back into page 5+. So report it, and it will be dealt with, since we're not getting 5 new old topics bumped everyday, just a little [bleep]e in that activity...so yes, I don't think we need to lock them just yet. :?

[m1cha34l]

Actually it could be because it would take too long to lock them all.

 

 

 

But who knows?

[InkofDeath]

Actually it could be because it would take too long to lock them all.

 

Admins/Super Mods/Global Mods/Mods(Not sure what type of mod you'd need though?) have the ability to mass lock/move/delete...and others? So thats not a problem. ^^

[misterxman]

That's generalizing too much about old topics. They just are all different and will be locked if needed according to the mod's judgement. Some old topics may need locking, others not, it just depends and a mod will decide after carefully reviewing it.

[Ginger_Warrior]

What would be the point? The mods and the admins already have enough work on their plates. They barely get enough time to post as normal TIFers, let alone be asked to lock numerous old threads while they're at it. And for what? So somebody doesn't bump an old topic that might still have discussion in it for all we know?

 

 

 

I can't see how the benefits outweigh the extra workload on the mods.

[The_Sith]

That's a good question - what is the point? How is it negatively affecting you as a forum user? It isn't happening enough to do a mass-locking on all the boards. Some people enjoy "necromancing" old threads because it gives people a chance to remember something they have since forgotten. Someone bumped up a thread in General about a huge list of old RuneScape players. Had I not seen that thread, I would have totally forgotten some of the people on that list. Not being harsh here.. just observing the situation.

 

 

 

There are threads that are bumped without any real purpose but I guess the bumping reply can just be split off. Either way, it isn't a huge deal. Excessive use of moderator powers just because of a few select instances is not a good way to run a forum. Eventually, there ends up being too much preemptive mod work and that just isn't good for the community. That's a pretty vague statement but overall I believe in the "less is more" approach: unless there is a problem that is plaguing the forums, don't pull out the big guns to fix something.

[Guest]

Occaisonally, an old thread is bumped back to page 1. My normal instinct is to report it because it is old but I often don't if I feel there still can be some discussion on the topic itself but recently some old topics have been bumped and although I report them, they are kept open despite the fact that they have absolutley no discussion value what so ever.

 

 

 

Mrmyk for Mod 07'! :uhh:

 

 

 

 

 

People should be allowed to bump old threads. Just because you have a burning desire to show the admins out there your "mod-potential" doesn't mean they should be locked. Get over it, ignore it, don't participate in any discussion (even if there isn't one occurring in the "re-bumped" thread).

 

 

 

A thread being bumped invites others who haven't seen this old thread before, to add their contribution to the thread, even if the "bumper" didn't.

[Gamerr]

I've seen this feature on another board, it wasn't a phpBB board but I guess it wouldn't be hard to implent it.

 

 

 

Instead of discussing wheter old threads should be locked, it's better to make a sort of warning message for when users want to reply on a thread which hadn't had a post within the month. A small red text would show up above the message box saying "This thread is over a month old. It's forbidden to bump it for no reason, but if you have something to add that could be beneficial for the thread you can post still".

 

 

 

Simple as that.

[mrmyk]

I've seen this feature on another board, it wasn't a phpBB board but I guess it wouldn't be hard to implent it.

 

 

 

Instead of discussing wheter old threads should be locked, it's better to make a sort of warning message for when users want to reply on a thread which hadn't had a post within the month. A small red text would show up above the message box saying "This thread is over a month old. It's forbidden to bump it for no reason, but if you have something to add that could be beneficial for the thread you can post still".

 

 

 

Simple as that.

 

 

 

Sounds good. Makes people realise not to bump unless there is something worth while :).