Idea: "Alert" for users reviving old threads

[javyLSU]

Over the past few months I've noticed a big trend of new users posting in and reviving threads that are 5, 10, even 15 years old. Has there ever been a thought enabling a feature I've seen on a few other forums that says something to the effect of "the thread you are posting in is several years old, and you may not get the best or most relevant replies." Or is reviving dead threads the preferred behavior on GJ? I know I've seen my share of "this has been discussed a gazillion times, search n00b" replies from some members...

 

[larry_g]

Might work but I doubt it. To many responders in the Ready Fire Aim group. They look a bit like the little kid doing the Pee Pee dance trying to get to the toilet, or Horshack when he knew the answer.

​

lg
no neat sig line

 

[PoorUB]

On another group I am on threads a couple years old get locked. You can read the thread, just not post any longer. People will read the old thread, start a new thread and post a link to the old on.

Might be an option.

 

[The Cobbler]

Normally old threads getting bumped is not an issue in my opinion, unless it's spammers . then the report post function works well
sometimes old threads getting bumped has value.

 

[southalabama]

It’s a catch 22.

Some users revive old threads.

Other users post - use the search function to inquiries and point to old threads.

If the thread points to an old sale - lock it.

 

[The Cobbler]

Only the original poster can post in classified (old sale) threads anyway.
if an old thread is bumped by a spammer, it is dealt with then, and then a Mod decides whether or not to lock the thread at that time
I can only imagine the negative discussion that would ensue over arbitrarily locking old threads ... and at what timeline, and who would monitor that and and and ....

 

[KnurledNut]

At this point, I would say the advantages of as-is outweight the disadvantages of change.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Personally I like old threads. And I feel many could still contain useful information. I would actually prefer if more got bumped. Because there are some threads I’ve come across like man I really want to post in this thread but it’s 10 years old and I don’t feel like taking heat for doing it lol. On another forum I’m on they have the system set to lock any threads over 7 years old I believe is the time limit. Because people were bumping old threads and they didn’t like it there.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

I’m in the leave it alone camp. Bump away.

 

[javyLSU]

Good points made here. I'm not advocating locking old threads - what I think would be useful is an alert of some sort, similar to what happens when you go to start a new thread. You get a message that reads "is this topic already being discussed?" that auto-searches the forum for existing threads. This way, at least the member knows they are posting in an old thread.

 

[The Cobbler]

yeah, I guess the posts got off topic . not sure of that's doable , that would be a question for Ryan

 

[PugetDude]

IMO 90% of the content on the GJ is not time-sensitive, outside of Classifieds and Hot Deals.
And a lot of 10% usually gets locked or deleted because current events inevitably devolves into politics.


Don’t understand that just because a topic was discussed by a (mostly) different group in the past that it is now taboo to revisit or discuss now, especially since we have so many new members who may be looking for an update on something previously discussed or have a different perspective…


Face it- a lot of members have come and gone since this forum was founded And a lot of the information on older threads can still be valuable and relevant. Where do you draw the line on what’s “too old” and what’s still relevant? Base it on how old/ number of responses/ number of likes/date since last reply? Don’t reply to old threads if the idea offends you but don’t limit the ability of other members to do so.

It kind of feels like a good old boys club when people reply with “WE discussed that back in ‘08, you weren’t here then, and we’re not going there again”

Trying to implement and police an old thread policy would be a slippery slope for the mods and Ryan.

 

[Joemctag]

Personally I like old threads. And I feel many could still contain useful information. I would actually prefer if more got bumped. Because there are some threads I’ve come across like man I really want to post in this thread but it’s 10 years old and I don’t feel like taking heat for doing it lol. On another forum I’m on they have the system set to lock any threads over 7 years old I believe is the time limit. Because people were bumping old threads and they didn’t like it there.

Couldn’t agree more.

 

[Stelzer]

There seems to have been a change in the algorithm on many forums suggesting older posts to users, so many newer members may not recognize the topic as a past thread or are unaware of forum etiquette to check dates before replying. I'm a Mod on PaintTalk and this topic comes up often. It's kinda a double-edged sword, in that we ask them to search for relevant threads before asking, but then they get scolded for necro-posting. I would agree with most here that many topics are nearly timeless, but I still think the OP's suggestion would be beneficial. We have a similar statement when someone resurrects an old post, (but I can't say it does any good, lol).

 

[NUTTSGT]

IMO 90% of the content on the GJ is not time-sensitive, outside of Classifieds and Hot Deals.
And a lot of 10% usually gets locked or deleted because current events inevitably devolves into politics.


Don’t understand that just because a topic was discussed by a (mostly) different group in the past that it is now taboo to revisit or discuss now, especially since we have so many new members who may be looking for an update on something previously discussed or have a different perspective…


Face it- a lot of members have come and gone since this forum was founded And a lot of the information on older threads can still be valuable and relevant. Where do you draw the line on what’s “too old” and what’s still relevant? Base it on how old/ number of responses/ number of likes/date since last reply? Don’t reply to old threads if the idea offends you but don’t limit the ability of other members to do so.

It kind of feels like a good old boys club when people reply with “WE discussed that back in ‘08, you weren’t here then, and we’re not going there again”

Trying to implement and police an old thread policy would be a slippery slope for the mods and Ryan.

I have no issue with a member bringing back old threads, for the most part. The only time I have issue with it is when a new member starts bringing back multiple old threads, just to comment in them not to ask questions or is looking for help on the matter.

When multiple threads are brought back up, it's looks like a typical spammer. I have closed a few threads over time that were constantly brought back by spammers. If you find a thread relevant to your search criteria and it's locked for that reason, feel free to start another thread on the subject.


A few weeks ago, I did suggest to Ryan to purge or automatically purge classifieds that are year or so old. We have over 1K pages of threads in the Classifieds alone dating back to 2008.

 

[Squankum]

There's nothing wrong with old threads! (Most of the time.) My axe to grind is with people who never search and just fire up a new thread as soon as a thought or question enters their head.

Tip: I search GJ like I search everything else, using google, say, "garagejournal snap on FHR80", to see if anybody has had opinions about this ratchet in the past.

And commenting on an old thread is good for future people who -- should they search when looking for answers, instead of just ask -- will find the discussion in one thread instead of two. (Or 4 instead of 14.)

 

[larry4406]

I have no issue with a member bringing back old threads, for the most part. The only time I have issue with it is when a new member starts bringing back multiple old threads, just to comment in them not to ask questions or is looking for help on the matter.

When multiple threads are brought back up, it's looks like a typical spammer. I have closed a few threads over time that were constantly brought back by spammers. If you find a thread relevant to your search criteria and it's locked for that reason, feel free to start another thread on the subject.


A few weeks ago, I did suggest to Ryan to purge or automatically purge classifieds that are year or so old. We have over 1K pages of threads in the Classifieds alone dating back to 2008.

I have found stale classifieds with pictures of tools, devices, etc to sometimes have useful images!

 

[bubinga]

Normally old threads getting bumped is not an issue in my opinion, unless it's spammers . then the report post function works well
sometimes old threads getting bumped has value.

I don't think it's an issue either!!

 

[Joemctag]

Personally I like old threads. And I feel many could still contain useful information. I would actually prefer if more got bumped. Because there are some threads I’ve come across like man I really want to post in this thread but it’s 10 years old and I don’t feel like taking heat for doing it lol. On another forum I’m on they have the system set to lock any threads over 7 years old I believe is the time limit. Because people were bumping old threads and they didn’t like it there.

That’s where I’m coming from, too. Looking for the advice and comment, even though the OP has already dealt with his issue.

 

[PugetDude]

Bumping this old thread about old threads..

 

[gahrajmahal]

When repairing our fleet of cars I often get on message boards where there are dozens of threads on the same subject. While it sometimes poses a problem by the OP that reached a final conclusion, most often once the OP gets their question answered they fade away and you never hear if the problem gets resolved. I find that to be an annoying thread.

Here on the GJ and on the HAMB maybe make the font for the posted date a bit more prominent?

 

[jrsavoie]

Normally old threads getting bumped is not an issue in my opinion, unless it's spammers . then the report post function works well
sometimes old threads getting bumped has value.

Many times old threads are still very relevant.
I've seen a lot of new threads with links to old threads.
Just posting on the old thread skips a step

 

[LWB]

I have no problem with people reviving old treads. Some of the best info from original members may be buried in them.

The Truck Tool Equivalents Thread - Gathering Data​

I know this is a sticky, but this thread is invaluable and is approaching 10 years of age. What if no one contributed to it for a year or so? Are they allowed to bump it? What is the cutoff date between bumping and not bumping. Bumping etiquette lol It's also easy to miss dates when searching.

 

[bubinga]

When repairing our fleet of cars I often get on message boards where there are dozens of threads on the same subject. While it sometimes poses a problem by the OP that reached a final conclusion, most often once the OP gets their question answered they fade away and you never hear if the problem gets resolved. I find that to be an annoying thread.

Here on the GJ and on the HAMB maybe make the font for the posted date a bit more prominent?

I don't like when they never post the solution. I call it a wasted read. It is annoying.
I always say, "and that's the end of that"

 

[Bad Eye Bill]

Bumping this old thread about old threads..

Ya got me. I was reading along and saw a comment that I had thumbed up. Huh? Then I looked at the date.

 

[rancherbill]

Other users post - use the search function to inquiries and point to old threads.

Search engine on this site *****.

I had trouble finding threads that I love.

 

[rerod]

I don't have any problem with people resurrecting a old thread because most of the knowledge about that topic is in one place then. The problem I have with threads like that, is when they get long with off topic chatter.

 

[Bad Eye Bill]

Search engine on this site *****.

I had trouble finding threads that I love.

Use Google. Type in whatever topic and add Garage Journal.