Mrs Mungo Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 We have a lot of instances lately of extreme newbies (or even first time posters) dredging up very old posts. Can you add the hack for the general forum that any posts older than 6 months are automatically closed? I understand that bringing up old posts in the other forums can be useful but it smacks of trolls on the general board. Just a suggestion! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakotajm Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 I am a little new and am somewhat confused by what you mean. What is trolling? And if it is a thread that the newbie found very pertinent to their issues, is it not ok to dredge up oldies? I guess you are saying they should start a new thread. Makes sense. Again, I don't know what trolling is, so maybe that is the issue: trying to prevent it(?). BTW, Mrs. Mungo, I love your line about punctuation. I saw the very error yesterday and had to smack my head. I have had to restrain myself from offering up my services as copy editor to the local newspaper because the lack of writing skills there is appalling. Lakota Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Or if not locking older threads (because I do see the benefit to sometimes pulling up older threads), maybe having a box to click asking "Are you sure you want to reply to this thread when the last post was XX months ago?" And for Lakota, "trolling" is when people post provocative statements just to start arguments and don't really care about answers - just about stirring up trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted December 20, 2009 Author Share Posted December 20, 2009 (edited) I am a little new and am somewhat confused by what you mean. What is trolling? And if it is a thread that the newbie found very pertinent to their issues, is it not ok to dredge up oldies? I guess you are saying they should start a new thread. Makes sense. Again, I don't know what trolling is, so maybe that is the issue: trying to prevent it(?). Trolling is people posting for no reason other to stir up trouble. As an example, the "was Dickens an anti-Semite" thread is two years old and contains many posts from a banned poster. There are two replies that have bumped it, both from first time posters. It was bumped in September and was bumped today. I find that suspicious. Or the other day a thread that was a year old about someone a poster knew (nephew? maybe?) thinking of joining the National Guard was bumped. That wasn't a newbie. I think part of the problem is the "thread suggestions" that are showing up at the bottom of posts. You don't necessarily realize how the other threads are until you've posted. Closing the threads after six months would solve both problems-when it is intentional and when it's not. BTW, Mrs. Mungo, I love your line about punctuation. I saw the very error yesterday and had to smack my head. I have had to restrain myself from offering up my services as copy editor to the local newspaper because the lack of writing skills there is appalling.I feel your pain. :) Edited December 20, 2009 by Mrs Mungo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Couldn't agree more, Mrs. Mungo. It seems my six-foot-under post keeps resurrecting. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyboys Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 BTW, Mrs. Mungo, I love your line about punctuation. I saw the very error yesterday and had to smack my head. I have had to restrain myself from offering up my services as copy editor to the local newspaper because the lack of writing skills there is appalling. Sadly, those are the first folks to lose their jobs at newspapers these days. Still need the reporters and folks who are producing the paper, but those pesky editors can certainly be downsized. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyboys Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Or if not locking older threads (because I do see the benefit to sometimes pulling up older threads), maybe having a box to click asking "Are you sure you want to reply to this thread when the last post was XX months ago?" I like being able to go back and see old threads or search for wisdom that I remember being buried way back there, especially for as fast as these boards move. It's definitely weird to see something "reborn" that's been gone for a long while. Hopefully there's a happy medium -- allowing access to what's in the old files while not being easy pickings for someone trolling or pot-stirring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 It was my thread about the Nat'l Guard--so weird to remember we were considering that option! Lovemyboys, locking the thread wouldn't prohibit viewing it, just adding to it. I think it's a great idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted December 20, 2009 Author Share Posted December 20, 2009 Sadly, those are the first folks to lose their jobs at newspapers these days. Still need the reporters and folks who are producing the paper, but those pesky editors can certainly be downsized. :glare: I know, it's terrible. Lovemyboys, locking the thread wouldn't prohibit viewing it, just adding to it. Exactly, you could still pull up and and view old threads, just not post to them or bump them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 I like being able to go back and see old threads or search for wisdom that I remember being buried way back there, especially for as fast as these boards move. It's definitely weird to see something "reborn" that's been gone for a long while. Hopefully there's a happy medium -- allowing access to what's in the old files while not being easy pickings for someone trolling or pot-stirring. I think that is how it is designed to be used. I like it when someone, including myself, searches on a topic first so that they aren't asking the exact same question that has been asked before. Once I've searched, if I'm still clueless or if I have a further question, then I start a new thread. But then I will look to see how old the original thread is. Perhaps it is because I'm on the board so much that I even think to do so. That and I'm a bit annoyed when I'm "tricked" into responding to a thread that is ancient! Mrs. Mungo- I think your suggestion for how to solve the problem is a good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athena1277 Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 One thing that would help is if the date/time on posts was in a larger font. I have nearly (and maybe did?) post on things that where I stumbled upon the date and realized it was a really old thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in AUS Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 :iagree: Mrs Mungo. Having the threads closed so nothing further can be added after 6m is a great idea. It doesn't mean that you can't search and read the info just that you can't stir the pot and need a new thread if you want to ask more questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I've been wondering why all these old threads kept popping up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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