If something like this were easily implementable, I’d be all for it.
I am ambivalent about them.
For the reasons above, I find them annoying.
However, they also bring to light discussions I would not have thought of looking for.
I think they’re mostly OK in Cafe Society, when the topic of "What’s your favorite . . . " or things like that come up. It really doesn’t matter if the OP is still around or not, and why shouldn’t Dopers who came later post to the same thread? It’s just one long conversation. But in other categories, like asking advice where you can’t consult with the person who asked for the advice in the first place, I’m getting real tired of this cat.
I would tend to agree that it would be nice if you could not resurrect a threat that had been lying dormant for say, two years. Dunno how you would go about doing such a thing, but yeah, it gets annoying when I see an interesting thread, post to it, and only then notice someone else pointing out that the OP was from 322 BC. (Because I don’t tend to habitually look at the OP date)
There’s also a running disagreement on how old a thread has to be to qualify as a zombie thread. I’ve seen some claims that a thread is dead when it’s been idle for just a few weeks.
OTOH, as noted elsewhere, sometimes someone comes back to give an update.
So I support what Hakuna Matata found – N days after the last post in a thread, provide a notice for confirming the post.
:brains:
I thought the idea was not just that it was rude, but that it actively discouraged membership. People who find us on a search are much more likely to find an old thread, and, by shutting them down as soon as they post, this sends a message that they aren’t welcome.
A good way to check would be to see if we have more repeat member than when we locked zombies. I suspect that most people who respond to zombies as a first post aren’t really interested in joining. They just want to post their opinion.
Anyways, a script was written by someone with better JavaScript skills than I to tell you if a thread is a zombie before you open it. Here’s the relevant post.
I am so anti-zombie I wish ALL threads were automatically locked after say, six months. A new thread could be started with a link to the old if necessary. Or if nothing else a notification at the top of the OP of a thread if it hits that six month mark. ANYTHING but always open, welcome anytime zombie threads.
And what I hate most about zombie threads are the inevitable lame zombie jokes certain posters feel the must include instead of a simple “reported”. They are not funny. They were never funny.
They just think they found a way to do “clever” junior modding. It is just as “rude” as closing the thread (the supposed reason for allowing them in the first place—to not be rude to new posters).
IMO the zombie jokes are funny the first time a person reads one.
But since there’s at least five in each revived thread, it gets unfunny fast.
I’m anti-Zombie jokes but see no problem with the zombie threads. Especially as in some cases a new discussion breaks out or something relevant is added. I do think Zombies in GD & the Pit don’t make much sense when many of the principals are long gone. But for the fluffier forums and even GQ & comments, they are fine.
But a Zombie joke ban would be a great addition.
I’d be happy with a zombie joke ban.
I hate the damned things. I say keep them closed; they can easily be accessed via link in a new thread, where at least some effort is required in terms of stating a fresh OP.
I am setting a reminder in my calendar for 2014 to make my reply to this thread.
if something of value can be added i think it’s OK.
zombies seem to be mostly new members doing a search on a topic (and spammers and trolls having searched). if a new thread has to be started based on a closed thread then it has to be linked and jumped back and forth from to comment on the previous. searches done would then start yielding twice the number of threads.
i think the current policy is workable. look at the date before you get wrapped up in a thread you don’t know to be recent and before you compose a reply. a couple times i’ve read an OP and think of a reply and as i scroll down see that i made that reply already in the thread.
zombie joke replies are OK if you can make them funny.
I often enjoy older threads. I understand why it annoys regular readers, but as an irregular reader, I hardly care if the messages I’m reading were written this week or last year.
The zombie jokes are no longer funny, though. Perhaps calling them outdated threads would create a new brand of joke (hoop skirts?)
Actually, most of the zombies I have seen have been restarted with legitimate posts by people who just didn’t notice. And since I often don’t notice too (until I run into a response by me exactly matching the one I was about to do) I can’t blame them very much.
I think a warning would be great, along with explicit instructions for both starting a new thread and linking to the old one. I hope that would make the new member feel welcome while still doing away with most of the zombies.
And zombie jokes relevant to the thread are just fine, and a much better indicator of zombie status than either a snippy “this is a zombie” and or a report.
Me too. Zombies really interfere with a sense of current, relevant dialog. There was someone who recently resurrected a thread from a couple years ago or more, posted a really basic comment, then disappeared… only to come back again two months later to resurrect it again for an equally banal follow-up.
At least if you’re gong to resurrect a zombie, there should be purpose and relevance, not just picking up where someone else left off long after something ran its natural course and died a natural death. If there is something new and relevant a new thread can be started.
I also don’t mind the zombie jokes, because they let me know I’m looking at a corpse.
Anyway, I totally vote for a warning + new post instructions.
You can take my zombie jokes when you pry them from my cold dead zombie fingers. 
“Funny” is subjective, and I’m afraid most are just plain stupid. Plus they don’t help to encourage new users, which was supposed to be the whole point of allowing the threads to begin with.
I don’t know if you’re unique or not, but I love old threads returning. It’s fun to see how opinions/viewpoints have changed, nice to see old names again, etc.
Best change the SDMB has made to the rules in quite a while, IMO.