Posting In Old Topics Is it wrong to post in very old topics?

[TypoMage 0]

Ok I have a question that kind of makes me mad, I cannot remember but a while ago I posted in a topic that was old and one of the moderators ( Do not remember who ) said that I should not post in old topics? So Xisto should a topic not be important and should not be read or cared about because it is old? I still think that we should be allowed to post in them! ( Or was it just this moderator that said that is this actually true? ) Because if it is I think it is nonsense that we cannot post in a old topic.

[Albus Dumbledore 0]

The reason they put this rule in action was because we were getting allot of noobs to the site that were going back to the older topics and just bringing them all back, except the things that the noobs were saying have been said 50 million other times in the post, so it is basically spam and an attempt to get credits, and the admins want people to post quality posts but doing what they were doing wasn't posting quality posts, they were posting in topics that were long resolved, or even just so old there are two or three pages with the same response.Although there is not a mod going around and checking to see if people are bringing back old posts, i think it would be safe to post in the topic as long as you say something that has not been said, and or the topic has not allready been resolved by someone else.

Edited June 12, 2007 by Albus Dumbledore (see edit history)

[jlhaslip 4]

Old Topics can be re-opened, but as an example, there is no need to post into a topic where the original poster is no longer an active member, or the topic was an urgent request, like " I neeed assistance installing some software." In that case, answering a two year old Topic is Spam, yes?On the other hand, posting to a two year old topic about a certain software would be okay if, for example, there was a newer version released or the download link changed, and ther members gain some valuable information by your post.I guess there is not hard and fast answer, but as AD says above me, many times the current posting to an old thread is Spamming the Boards, so keep that in mind before digging up an old post. If you have current information to add which the membership will benefit from, then fine, add a posting. If you are looking to jack up your post count or earn credits, thern NO!, don't do it.

[OpaQue 15]

Basically, We all know when a post replied to an old topic is spam or not. Was it posted for information or just for the heck of credits. If we "feel" it was for credits, the member will be warned.

[master_bacarra 0]

for real? i suddenly felt guilty. i replied to some of the old topics last night. but i did choose some posts that i thought i could still contribute to. i hope that won't be considered as spam.

[galexcd 0]

I think a big problem with replying to old or popular topics is that they usually have many pages, and the members on Xisto are very lazy. They rarely read any of the messages if there are more than one page, and they know that nobody will read their message except for the admins, so they think that they can get away with spam just by posting on a very popular or old thread.

[Smack 0]

Well, can't we implement some kind of add-on that deletes old topics? It would help free up a lot of space and make the forums run faster.I mean, I usually don't look past the first page to write in something, hell I usually only reply or post to topics that are visible under the Latest Activity -> Last topic section at the bottom of the page or the ones on the View New Posts page so I don't post on a topic that is over a year or two old, of course this isn't foolproof as some people bump year old topics and they'll show up on the View New Posts page.

[lekrissy 0]

Why don't you (the staff I mean) lock dead topics then? That's what I do on my RP forum. I lock finished RP topics to prevent confusion to the story. It would really help a lot here.I agree with Smack. Why not make a "recycle bin" board? I know that Phpbb boards have them, not sure if InvisionBoard does. They delete topics after a certain amount of time.

Edited June 12, 2007 by lekrissy (see edit history)

[TypoMage 0]

I agree lekrissy if the do not want us to post in it why not close them? Or would that be more work for the moderators and admin? I mean they already have to go through each post Or maybe we can help as well? I think it is a good Idea lekrissy take it to the Suggestion Box

[lekrissy 0]

Thanks TypoMage. I should put it in Suggestions.It would be a lot of hard work and time to go through hundreds of old topics. Maybe they could do it from now on? And lock old ones that they catch or ones that do get bumped up?

[chrisnield 0]

I've had this arguement too many times at another forum, myself - I disagree with posting in old topics.I really don't get or see the point in why people have to post in a dead topic. I've seen people bring up topics that are 2 years old and the funny part is that some people completely miss the date of the thread and just reply to it like it has only just been started. But why would you bring up a topic that is 2 years old, yes, it may have been useful then but you can almost guarantee that the information inside that topic would be pretty much useless.Is it fun to go grave digging or something?Chris.

[FLaKes 0]

I dont agree with locking the thread, because maybe some people can still add a quality comment, Or the thread could be locked, and instead of posting in the old thread a member could create a new thread adding the old threads url as reference.

[salamangkero 0]

If you have current information to add which the membership will benefit from, then fine, add a posting. If you are looking to jack up your post count or earn credits, thern NO!, don't do it.

Basically, I agree with that. I personally do not believe in closing down all old topics. After all, if it were a debate about some long-running issue, like euthanasia or the existence of an omnipotent being, for example, then people can so easily come up with fresh ideas and new replies that can greatly contribute to the non-violent argument. The forum threads on Books, too, for example, could greatly benefit from the revival of old posts. After all, these books, unlike technology, rarely change, if ever and I'm sure different people have different insights or interpretations of the novels they read.

 

On the other hand, for topics involving technologies, "How to" questions or problems that have already been resolved or particularly long topics, I don't approve of posting yet another reply that merely echoes the thoughts voiced out long ago.

 

However, just because I don't approve of posting in selcted old topics does not necessarily mean I'm all for locking or deleting these topics. Some, maybe, which makes it (some of (some of the topics))

 

See, there are topics that can safely be locked, such as those that ask for romantic advice or news that are more than 6 months idle. Why locked and not deleted? Other people might run into similar relationship problems, ayt? They could greatly benefit from the insights offered by the members of this forum. Also, let's face it, it's kinda nice to read some guy's problems in romance and dating because, more often than not, people outside of a relationship almost always have the answers

 

However, for things like "How to", especially concerning new software, I don't think it's a good idea to lock it. Sure, the problem may seem to be resolved but time will come, much sooner than later, that another user with different specs will encounter the same problem with the same application, and, sometimes, the remedies offered do not quite solve his/her problem since he/she is using a different OS, perhaps?

 

Finally, there's those drawn-out arguments that never cease to bring up new facts and fabrications. Unfortunately, I also concede that, due to the lengthy nature of these threads, people tend to be lazy and not read the earlier threads. When they reply, they'd most probably be echoing a point already raised earlier, which sometimes restarts the argument's cycle all over again.

 

If I might be blunt enough, I'd like to make a few suggestions.

 

For the people "up there" (mods, admins, spam patrols, evil group, err probably except the GFX crew) I suppose the board threads need more moderation. By that, I didn't mean we need more moderators per se. What I mean is that we need to monitor any old threads that have recently been "bumped up" to see if the newest content is actually fresh or just freshly re-heated.

 

I'm thinking it might be useful to add something like a, "Not reading earlier posts is no excuse for spam," clause to the rules, just to be more specific (Yes, I know, I know, there are people like me who like to take advantage of loopholes)

 

For the people like me,in other words, commoners of Xisto, we could all do our part. There is a reason why there is a "Report" button on every post.

 

I'd like to share something with you guys. When I came here, one of my primary concerns is posting something that has already been posted before. I don't have the luxury to read every post in here, y'know, which is why I don't usually make new posts. I'm more of a comment-er or reply-er than a thread starter.

 

When it comes to replying in threads, I see a lot of long ones. Sure, the issue is quite interesting but I don't have the time to sift through 11 pages so I usually steer clear of these pages. I reply to threads only if I like the topic (or am severely offended by it) and:

1) It is a new thread, or

2) It is a bumped thread with, at most, 3 pages, or

3) It is a lengthy bumped thread whose thread (pardon the pun) of conversation I have followed closely and clearly enough by virtue of replying under condition #2.

 

So there. As much as possible, I'd like to discourage posting in a topic when you've been too lazy to follow through the convos

 

Of course, these are just my two cents