Old threads being bumped by new members

Post Reply New Topic

I wish there was a way where the date some old threads were posted was more visible to people so that new users don't bump old threads so easily. I suppose this is contradictory, as some threads are timeless, but it's still annoying for us long-term members to see 10-year-old threads resurrected to the topic of a subforum that was started by a member who is no longer here about a personal issue of their's that no longer exists.

Years ago I got flack because of bumping old threads, and all I needed was for members to explain to me why bumping old threads is annoying, rather than some rude comments I received instead. But I can see why it annoyed people. Here's a thread I'd posted a long, long time ago that I found the other day while reading through my old posts, and the reasons other members had listed for me were good reasons as to why bumping old threads isn't always accepted:-

viewtopic.php?t=158664

I know it's not a bad thing to bump old threads but I think the site should mention it to new members in the "you must read this before you post here" thread or somewhere else that's easily accessable, just to give new members a few tips on how to navigate this site.

No, not this one.

True, it may be 'old' to us, and it may be brand new to their life experience.

It depends on what the subject of the thread is though. I'm talking about the threads about an OP's personal issues where someone bumps it like 10 years later offering advice to the OP, and then other members join in giving the OP advice or sympathy, unaware that they are replying to an ancient topic that's no use to anyone any more. Like one has just been bumped in the GAD, if you look. I'm talking about that sort.

I think part of the problem is: define "old", define "relevant".

That said, I do understand the irritation of seeing a (say, 1 year old -plus) thread seeking help, receiving it, with the original issue resolved - being resurrected with offers of further help.

Regrettably it seems a common occurrence with thread-based forums that the opening post's date and those of the following contributions are missed and the thread is treated as a current issue - often with long-departed members being addressed.

Any ideas how to handle this that don't unfairly step on old topics which could still have ongoing relevance or interest?

Well we could lock the thread if it literally has no relevance any more but that might be a bit too harsh, I don't know.

I made a post in this section some years ago about this very issue & most all the replies did not understand the issue & did not want anything at all to be changed. My suggestion is that the original thread displays how long ago it was posted at the beginning of the thread. Like after the thread is over a year old when someone opens it up, the top left corner where the thread starts would say something like "thread is one year old", "thread is two years old", "thread is three years old" ect. People would still be able to post replies but it would be easier to notice that the thread is at least one year old. Of coarse the forum software might need to be updated to implicate that which would be major hurtle that Alex would NOT get around to.

Yeah, any sort of update or (in this case) bespoke programming is unfortunately unlikely.

But the already working solution is to check the date/time of the last post to a thread - the trouble is, like with a notice of a thread's age - getting people to read it is the big hurdle.

I understand that people don't always notice the OP date at the top of a thread. And some old threads are OK to be bumped, depending on what the thread is about. Like I said before, when a thread is about a personal problem and it gets bumped years later with a load of responses to the OP's predicament, it wastes time and is useless, taking up space at the top of a discussion subforum and distracting members from the more recent threads.

For example a thread could be something like ''should I go to college?'' Then, like 10 years later it gets bumped with a reply saying ''yeah, I think you should go to college'', unaware that it's 10 years later and the OP is most likely not a member here any more and is probably raising a family or living a career or whatever.

Yep, agreed - that can be really irritating.
Personally I'd like to see threads auto-locked after (say) 8 years, with a notice that it's possible to unlock on request and a suggested useful post (not like the one above, obv).

Interesting idea but that might create more work for you mods if you have to review the suggested useful post & you guys are very busy already. My idea would be to have a special message appear in a way where it would be more noticeable. Like the message only appears after a thread is one year old & it is displayed where the 1st post normally starts or the 1st line of the 1st post gets indented(I s#ck with English terms) to display the message. It's a lot harder to ignore how old a thread is if that special message is not there for recent threads. I really wish Alex would do a donation drive to hire a few people to upgrade & maintain the site. I would cut down on buying snacks to make a donation.

To be honest, this seems like the sort of thing that's better accomplished with browser extensions, seeing as it would probably require custom programming anyways.
I'm too busy, and lazy, but a custom css could probably work without having to touch the server code.

It took me a few years to get into the habit of checking the subforum (i.e., Haven, Kid's, Women's, et cetera) so that I did not submit a reply where I did not belong.

Now I gotta check the dates?

Here's to a few more years of effort to change . . .

^ You don't generally bump old topics as far as I've known.

I avoid the "related discussions" section like the plague, although a lot of users use it to navigate their way around the forum. I just go into each subforum that interests me the most (such as GAD, the haven, etc) and see what the latest posts are. That or I search through my most recent posts for any updates.

If I do see a thread that I haven't seen since my last visit (which is usually a few hours ago or a day ago at the most) that has a few pages then I know that it's going to be a bumped topic - unless it's a controversial topic or contains bickering.

But I do think the "related topics" feature is to blame for old threads being resurrected.

I know of one thread that has been bumped each year for the past three or four years (usually by me). It is the one wishing Aunt Blabby a Happy Birthday. It seems logical to resurrect the same thread year after year.

See https://wrongplanet.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=182690

Yes, but we're not talking about all old threads. It just depends on what the topic is.

I remember Alex Plank posting many years ago to say he couldn't see any problem with people posting in old threads.