Always been a bit of an issue here (IMHO, Discourse suggests old threads a bit readily and with the way threads are lazily loaded, makes it easy to accidentally do without noticing how old discussion is, especially if someone replies to the bump - obviously not unique to here either), and I’ve seen too many Discourse-based forums that autolock old threads as a result, but also, there are valid reasons to bump an old thread sometimes, but when it comes to a really trivial reply it can be a bit of a problem.
Thoughts on some kind of message like “the last reply to this thread was 2 years ago. Are you sure you want to reply?”? - seen other forums that do that, and IMO autolocking old threads creates more problems than it solves, especially since there are those valid reasons (and adds to admin/mod workload if someone has to ask for a thread to be reopened), but just some extra step to make people stop and think can cut down on unnecessary accidental thread bumps. Especially when a lot of random bumps of ancient threads that were originally a question are just “I have a vaguely related question” which is generally better served as an entirely new thread as otherwise the discussion ends up under a usually non-relevant title which makes things messy.
Alternatively, I’m not sure what capabilities Discourse has exactly as my own forum admin days were back in the days of vbulletin and xenforo , but maybe preventing very new users from bumping ancient threads, but allowing it for established users, similar to DMing other users?
I agree. I think it is lesser evil to having lots of threads on the same topic, especially when searching for specific info and than having to read through 3+ threads (eg. “what headlamp is the best”).
I don’t see bumping old threads as a problem if the continued discourse is on topic. The worse offenders are people who raise awareness to the fact somebody bumped an old thread.
If there’s further relevant discussion or a correction to answer it’s better to keep it open. Microsoft, Google, Ubuntu and a few other first page websites have auto locking threads. Worst case is an unanswered auto-locked question showing up search results or as a related topic.
Most of the time it’s fine. But there are some ways it might negatively impact the user experience.
It disrupts current conversations. When an old thread is bumped up, active discussions are pushed down. This can be frustrating for users who are engaged in those current conversations.
Users typically visit forums to engage with recent content. An old thread appearing at the top can be unexpected and may not align with what users are looking for. The forum may not seem active or as welcoming to new users.
Navigation challenges: If old threads frequently resurface, it can make navigating the forum more difficult. Users might have to sift through outdated discussions to find recent ones.
Information Overload: Forums aim to present the most relevant and timely discussions. Necroposting can contribute to an overload of information, some of which may no longer be relevant.
Each community has its own rhythm and flow. Necroposting can disrupt this dynamic, but it can also be very valuable. Kinda depends on the forum and what the post is. I definitely do it from time to time. But you can also start a new thread and link to the old one. I could probably do that more often
I would have put money on BLF warning the thread is old, but I’ve also not gone into the “archives” for some time so will take your word for it.
In my opinion, auto locking threads are awful, I very much see forums as an evolving knowledge base, if you lock old threads, how can people in the future with new info/modifications/knowledge contribute?
My brain finds the constant “instant gratification” style of Reddit tedious, I find it more like a chat room than a forum. I do obviously understand others feel differently, a banner displaying the age of the thread for old threads would be no issue for me. I guess the arguement is how old is too old?
If someone posts in an old topic because it is relevant to a question they have, and others reply, that is now a current conversation. What’s more, nothing is stopping the other topics from rising back to the top. BLF also offers a lot of flexibility when it comes to tracking conversations you’re a part of or interested in.
I think requiring new posts on older topics just creates a reddit-like churn where useful information is lost forever and conversations are short and limited by whoever happens to see the thread within a short period of time. Is content actually better just because it is recent?
There are lots of ways to sort threads on BLF so this really shouldn’t be an issue. Also, older doesn’t necessarily mean outdated.
Well, Forums have sections, tags, searches, and filters to help users zero in on the right topics. Maybe some content in older threads is outdated, but the discussion on why it is outdated is a valuable one to have.
And on the subject of catering to all needs, maybe a tab could be added which only shows recently updated threads which were created within X timeframe. I’d never use it personally, but there’d be no harm in adding it.
I can see pros and cons to this approach. On one hand, the new thread would have a clear direction and be less meandering (hopefully). On the other hand, someone could potentially find the old thread in a search and completely miss out on the conversation from the new thread.
IMO discouraging/disallowing people to reply to old threads, if the new post fits there, is causing more damage than help.
This pretty much leads to single-question-and-answer threads, like reddit. On reddit it is essentially impossible to find any information unless google/duckduckgo are finding it. The huge amount of threads leads to a ton of redundant info.
False information can not be corrected. Sometimes people post wrong info. Maybe on purpose, maybe because they do not know better, maybe because at the time this was believed to be true, and later disproved. Closed threads do not allow for such things to be corrected without the help of the admin.
It does not solve the core issue outlined by some other users (not referring to wolfgirls start post) here. If someone wants to ask a question in a related old thread, said thread will be pulled back to the top, true. But if the system does not allow, they will make a new thread instead, and then instead of the old thread with a lot of additional info, the new empty thread will be on top. Either way, the new question will be in the feed, and nothing was gained.
IMO a warning banner “hey, this thread is 1 year old, are you sure?” is reasonable. Sometimes people do not notice, and answer the question of a OP who may not even be active in the forum anymore, or has long since bought the light they asked about or whatever. In general, after a couple of months, a lot of questions are irrelevant and answering them/adding to the answers is pointless.
But if someone joins in with a related question (“Hey, I saw you asked about light X a year ago, I wanna buy it now, too, how’s your experience?” - that is a very valid reason to add to an old thread, and way more reasonable than making a new one.
wolfgirl42’s post puts me in mind of when i have mistaken an older, unread topic for a current topic in the ‘New & Unread Topics’ at the bottom of each thread because they are listed together, and i have almost replied to a comment thinking it was current when the elasped time has made my reply irrelevant.
For example, somebody in 2018 asking for a current LED recommendation.
In these cases a warning would be appreciated by me.
This is different from intentional, relevant posting in an older thread.
Sure, ya maybe. There’s a middle ground somewhere.
I’m not on one side or the other. I was just laying out the case against, because it wasn’t obvious to me at first, and if it’s not obvious to me maybe it’s not obvious to someone else and it’d be useful to them too.
I think people ( especially new comers ) should bump old threads about chargers – Every time some one joins the forum we get a new " What’s the Best Charger " etc
I think its great that there are continuous threads going for 10 years or so here. If someone has a question about a BLF Q8 or a cree MTG2 or something, it seems right to me that they would just add it to an old thread on the same topic rather than create a new one. I think its easier for everyone to follow that way.
There are controls on the site to skip to the newest/oldest post, and it pretty clearly states when they all are.
Interesting. I guess I find that hard to process when a new thread with a large number of posts surfaces. Seems it’s more popular than I’d thought - most other forums I’ve been active on tend to discourage people doing that vs just starting a new thread.
, but maybe preventing very new users from bumping ancient threads, but allowing it for established users, similar to DMing other users?
