Lock threads after 30 days inactivity like the EU WoW forums

[Madelke-mannoroth]

@Varodoc-stormrage

If there is news concerning an old topic, it’s preferable to just make a new topic so that you don’t have to waste time looking at old posts.

it can be a bigger waste of time for people to try to find information on a topic when there are multiple threads on the same topic, though.

just keep it all in one thread, not an issue at all.

[Fuzzbutt-zuljin]

Now a counter point to my OP (I’m countering my own stuff?! what madness is this!) is the US forums are used more than the EU forums from the way it looks.

Maybe that’s why they don’t cap things at 30 days over here? I’m unsure as to the reasoning but yeah at minimum 30 days maybe 45 to 60 like I said before.

[Lidiha-moon-guard]

The appropriate way would be to reference the old thread in the new, not raise the old thread itself.

[Pharazon-thorium-brotherhood (Pharazon)]

@Dyra-hydraxis

1.) a thread with no activity should be locked after 30 days. Most forums do this already.
2.) if you want to reference an old post, perhaps just create a new thread and link back to the original(s) you’re referencing. That keeps the discussion fresh while still being linked to what others brought up before if people wish to reference back to it. That may result in a different discussion the second (or third+) time if the original posts aren’t there to clog up the discussion. A long thread also may deter some from posting or even bothering to read the entire thing before posting themselves only to repeat what others said before potentially numerous times. Who wants to read a 100+ post thread?

I think a good solution would be an automation of this process. True, we can link to other topics from new threads, but as a manual process, it doesn’t really help in the situations where those who do not normally visit the forums find a thread via google or forums search and do not realize they are replying to a years-old thread.

So, maybe have the 30/60/whatever-day auto-closing of a topic after the last reply. Then, when someone searches and ends up on that topic, the system could have a “Create Reply Thread” or something that will create a brand new thread but will auto-link to the old thread and that reference to the old thread cannot be removed by any normal forum poster. It would be similar to the forum’s automated-continuation feature that exists for threads that go over 20,000 posts:

Except with the ability to change the title and to add your own commentary/question/content to the top post, which is not possible with the system-generated continuation threads.

[Fuzzbutt-zuljin]

Wait I was just looking at that and it didn’t have a pink boarder now it does.

Where that pink boarder come from?

[Sarama-firetree]

@Fuzzbutt-zuljin

It’s perplexing how one forum does have something and the other doesn’t yet they are the same forum just different region.

The NA tech support forum does it too.

[Fuzzbutt-zuljin]

Oh I didn’t know that!

I never go over there so ty for letting me know!

[Trustlvlfour-zuljin]

!remind me to post in this thread 1 year from now.

[Fuzzbutt-zuljin]

I book marked this 1 year from now

[Ratjay-bloodhoof]

wraps metal pipe with a layer of newspaper…

[Pharazon-thorium-brotherhood (Pharazon)]

@Fuzzbutt-zuljin

Wait I was just looking at that and it didn’t have a pink boarder now it does.

Where that pink boarder come from?

Could be magic. Could be polish smeared from my nails . The world may never know.

[Fuzzbutt-zuljin]

Absolutely not! You don’t want to hurt someone!

@Pharazon-thorium-brotherhood

Could be magic. Could be polish smeared from my nails . The world may never know.

AH HA! I knew there was magic afoot!

[Ratjay-bloodhoof]

@Fuzzbutt-zuljin

You don’t want to hurt someone!

seriously, we fight tooth and nail with literal gods and you are worried about smacking someone with a metal pipe?

[Ayukama-frostmourne]

@Madelke-mannoroth

if a thread is relevant enough for someone to find it via a google search on a topic they need more information for, let them discuss that thread.

Doesn’t matter if you think a thread is relevant or what, necro’ing threads is considered as trolling which does fall under the Code of Conduct.

@Vrakthris

While I understand you believe you had a valid reason to post, the thread was in no way active. Very far from it. So continuing a discussion that is no longer ongoing isn’t very helpful. The majority of people who reply to older threads don’t generally respond to the last post, but start at the top, at the old information.

@Orlyia

Just for the record

Necroing threads is bad

@Vrakthris

For clarification, Drsockphdmd, while necroing isn’t inherently against our Code of Conduct, it may fall under the category of “Trolling”, which is.

[Fuzzbutt-zuljin]

I mean it could hurt!

[Ratjay-bloodhoof]

“It may fall under the category of trolling”

Doesnʻt mean it is automatically trolling.

Why do they even have the no spam rule of “Do not create a new thread if one already exists.”

perhaps they need to add a caveat as to how long you can look back for a relevant thread before you are allowed to make a similar thread on the same topic.

[Ayukama-frostmourne]

Let me explain further:

If there isn’t an active thread on the topic, create one.
If the thread becomes inactive after a certain period of time, don’t bump it.

Now, do you notice the difference between “active” and “inactive”?

[Blackfang-trollbane]

Tbh, I think locking is a good idea. There was a necroed thread recently that was started in Shadowlands, and someone was complaining about something related to season 4. Necroed, posters were not catching the initial date–turns into a disagreement as two entirely different seasons are being discussed. Not sure what that transformed into if anything at all, but locking the old prevents this type of thing.

[Fuzzbutt-zuljin]

Oh yeah I remember the May trader’s post for last year being necroed and people mistaking it for this years.

I totally forgot about that until you said what you did. I know they are 2 diff threads but that situation reminded me of the other situation.

[Madelke-mannoroth]

@Lidiha-moon-guard

appropriate way would be to reference the old thread in the new

why would referencing an old thread be acceptable to you but simply posting in the old thread is not ok?

posting in the old thread is just simply more convenient and obviously if the topic is still relevant enough that people feel compelled to reference the old thread in their new thread, then i see no issue with it whatsoever.

one may even argue that referencing an old thread, which would cause more people to view it, is a form of thread necroing in itself, right?

so why is that form of necroing ok to you but the other is not?