# Can we just dump "zombie calling" altogether? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 12, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293 "2018-04-12T14:57:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/21 "2018-04-12T20:22:16Z")
FWIW, this is just so much angst over nothing, but if we need more rules, we’ll certainly get more rules. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/22 "2018-04-12T20:41:40Z")
We don’t need more rules. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/23 "2018-04-12T20:52:53Z")
I don’t care about the joke per say, but I do appreciate being told I’m in a zombie thread. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/24 "2018-04-12T21:20:01Z")
I agree with **Grrr!**. I appreciate the heads up. It doesn’t stop me from replying, if I have something to contribute, but it also gives me a slightly different perspective on the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/25 "2018-04-12T21:30:29Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I do appreciate being told I’m in a zombie thread. This for me too. I also concur that we should welcome those folks who signed up just to post to the old thread. We need new members. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/26 "2018-04-12T22:28:57Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I don’t care about the joke per say, but I do appreciate being told I’m in a zombie thread. This is what I came in to say. I don’t make lame zombie references, but I do sometimes post an alert when folks appear to think they’re replying to a current conversation. I’m not sure why the threads need to be reported to mods, though. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/27 "2018-04-12T22:30:32Z")
Again, to be clear, bumped old threads are not locked _if the bump added new information_. We like it when that happens. It’s only a problem when the bump is completely irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/28 "2018-04-12T23:45:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s only a problem when the bump is completely irrelevant. Which is why TPTB are not interested in the zero tolerance approach that some have pointed out repeatedly. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/29 "2018-04-13T00:03:38Z")
Like my esteemed colleagues **Grrr!, Sunny Daze, Qadgop,** and **mmm** , I like it when someone points out that a thread is a zombie. Occasionally if I find myself in a zombie thread and no one has said anything yet, I’ll be the one to point it out. Or, maybe I feel the urge to make a topical post in a zombie thread, but want to make it clear that I do realize I’m posting in an ancient thread. Making zombie in-jokes and nothing else when a newbie has resurrected a thread seems a bit impolite, but I see nothing wrong with pointing out zombies as long as it’s not done in a way that would chase away new posters. And I may be alone in thinking this, but occasionally a well-made zombie joke is funny. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/30 "2018-04-13T00:35:01Z")
It won’t stop until and unless there’s a rule, because too many Dopers _still_ think it’s funny. It will only get funnier for them if more people respond to those kinds of posts, particularly in a negative fashion. Plus, there are established Dopers who resurrect old threads as a general habit. **Leo Bloom** comes to mind as a Doper who keeps a few threads intermittently active, sometimes with years between resurrections. The zombie jokes are probably less off-putting in threads like those, because **Leo Bloom** knows we don’t mean anything by them, and isn’t going to be scared off by them. So there’s a framework for a rule right there: Don’t make a zombie joke unless it’s been resurrected by an established user, in which case you can make a welcoming post or… you know… refrain from posting, as hard of a concept as that is sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/31 "2018-04-13T02:11:53Z")
why the hell doesn’t this board just auto-lock threads older than, say, (x) months or years ago? Does it really do this place a service if someone comes along and bumps a thread from 2001? ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/32 "2018-04-13T02:55:06Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > why the hell doesn’t this board just auto-lock threads older than, say, (x) months or years ago? Does it really do this place a service if someone comes along and bumps a thread from 2001? We want to be as welcoming to new posters as possible. Having someone come as a result of a google search only to find the topic locked is not as welcoming as possible. If there is a way the discussion can continue, that’s fine. If the circumstances dictate otherwise, participants no longer active, underlying information no longer operative, etc., then a polite note can be given with an invitation to start a new thread if people so desire. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/33 "2018-04-13T03:27:21Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > … **Leo Bloom** comes to mind as a Doper who keeps a few threads intermittently active, sometimes with years between resurrections. The zombie jokes are probably less off-putting in threads like those, because **Leo Bloom** knows we don’t mean anything by them, and isn’t going to be scared off by them. > > So there’s a framework for a rule right there: Don’t make a zombie joke unless it’s been resurrected by an established user, in which case you can make a welcoming post or… you know… refrain from posting, as hard of a concept as that is sometimes. Being called an “established user” is probably the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about me here. 🙂 Because I consider GQ types members of a long on-going conversation on various topics which appeal to me, when I find something interesting I naturally want to share it, and then do a Google GQ search for what either I vaguely remember being part of or what surely other esteemed colleagues may have. Under my posted username for a while was Lover of Zombies–I like the feeling of people sharing and continuing a good thread. It annoys me when a thread gets poorly bumped, usually by drive-by, and the mods follow their rules and lock what was until then a stream of perfectly fine thought. But that’s the situation everybody follows. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/34 "2018-04-13T03:41:00Z")
Similar to the “Please wait 90 seconds [or whatever it is] before searching again” message you sometimes get, can the board be programmed to generate a message like “This thread is over a year old, are you sure you want to reply?” or something like that? ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/35 "2018-04-13T09:02:32Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > Similar to the “Please wait 90 seconds [or whatever it is] before searching again” message you sometimes get, can the board be programmed to generate a message like “This thread is over a year old, are you sure you want to reply?” or something like that? +1. Although I know it’s probably technically more work than it’s worth I’d appreciate this. I can’t count the number of times I’ve opened a thread of interest, come up with some relevant anecdote or piece of information I’d like to post, and then discovered that I already posted it back in 2004 (or whenever). It barely even reaches the level of a ‘first world problem’, but it _is_ disorienting. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/36 "2018-04-13T10:10:42Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > Knowing this opinion will not be shared by many, I can only say there will come a time when the only threads here are zombie threads. Well every thread is potentially dead and buried before the next post comes along. Just like this one was a moment ago. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/37 "2018-04-13T11:43:53Z")
never mind. I’ll save my comment for eleven years from now when the thread gets bumped. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/38 "2018-04-13T12:06:06Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > Similar to the “Please wait 90 seconds [or whatever it is] before searching again” message you sometimes get, can the board be programmed to generate a message like “This thread is over a year old, are you sure you want to reply?” or something like that? My understanding is that there’s little (if any) interest by TPTB to write new add-ons to the board software (is the board software is even structured in such a way as to permit user-written modifications?). Therefore, unless the feature you’re advocating is already part of the board software and need only be turned on, it just isn’t happening. As always, of course, I welcome correction. And the refractory period between searches is 120 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/39 "2018-04-13T12:35:53Z")
Vbulletin allows user-written mods. [Here’s one for thread bump warnings.](https://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=96850) Anyway, I think this is a solution looking for a problem. New members get teased and bombarded with inside jokes all the time. Zombie threads just have their own unique suite of jokes. So long as nobody is breaking any rules about personal insults I can’t really get worked up over a few jokes about brains. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293/40 "2018-04-13T12:44:54Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > … > > And the refractory period between searches is 120 seconds. Great word. I bet never used to describe that here–I suggest putting that in a sticky just to let them know the caliber of the folks around here. Isn’t the same word used to describe the amount of time after an ejaculation before a man can achieve another erection? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-just-dump-zombie-calling-altogether/812293.md?page=3)