Zombie posts

[Nm.]

How do they happen? 

Edited December 31, 2022 by Lovinglife123

[Rosie_0801]

Usually people (or bots) finding threads through a search engine and not noticing the date.

[Nm.]

Yes that makes sense.. but usually it’s someone giving advice, not asking a question.. 

Edited December 31, 2022 by Lovinglife123

[Pawz4me]

10 minutes ago, Lovinglife123 said:

Yes that makes sense.. but usually it’s someone giving advice, not asking a question.. 

The "advice" often includes a link or at least a recommendation for a specific product. Spammers.

[Nm.]

That’s true sometimes, other times it’s genuine advice, or sharing experiences.  I guess maybe they are looking for information on a different question and come across a post to give advice on in that search.  But then it’s usually their first post.  Something to wonder about at 1:30am 😆 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Just now, Lovinglife123 said:

That’s true sometimes, other times it’s genuine advice, or sharing experiences.  I guess maybe they are looking for information on a different question and come across a post to give advice on in that search.  But then it’s usually their first post.  Something to wonder about at 1:30am 😆 

Sometimes it's "sharing advice" that doesn't really make total sense.  It's non-sequitors.  Especially when shared years later.  Sometimes this advice is like a "knock at the door" to see if anyone is there.  If someone answers, then the links and spam come.

In the case of genuine questions, I have suggested that newbies start a new thread because their questions really do deserve to be answered on their own merits. 

[Nm.]

Ohhh thanks!!! That makes sense 😂 

[smfmommy]

Sometimes a spammer responds to a thread, then someone (who hasn't had their coffee yet) responds to the thread without reading the date, and then the board managers delete the spammer post making it look like the un-caffeinated responder is the first one.

PS the un-caffeinated responder was me at least once 

[fairfarmhand]

1 hour ago, smfmommy said:

Sometimes a spammer responds to a thread, then someone (who hasn't had their coffee yet) responds to the thread without reading the date, and then the board managers delete the spammer post making it look like the un-caffeinated responder is the first one.

PS the un-caffeinated responder was me at least once 

I've done this too. And the crazy thing is that sometimes, I responded to the very original thread and have no memory of it. Interestingly, my input is often the same. It's super annoying to take the time to write out an answer and figure out that it's a zombie thread and the problem is years old and the OP has probably moved on to new issues in their lives. But it's a good reminder that sometimes, the problems seem really enormous, and in a few years, they'll just be a zombie thread on a message board and the issue likely is resolved. Kind of a "this too shall pass" reminder.