Why don’t you just reply to them clearly and politely about it being an old thread? Why is it so extremely important to include a zombie joke? In any case, that will still be pretty obscure.
Because, while I respect the fact that you don’t think it’s funny and you don’t feel a sense of connectedness resulting from the in-jokes, I do.
So I’m trying to find a compromise that respects your concerns, while you just keep repeating that your sense of humour and nostalgia are different from mine.
This thread has clearly demonstrated that I am not the only one who feels this way, so maybe you could indulge the conversation and participate in finding an answer?
This thread has also clearly demonstrated that a significant number of people are annoyed by this “joke.” The answer is simple: that if you don’t want to annoy people, then you should stop making the joke. I’m not sure what compromise you think is possible. But I still haven’t received an answer from you as to why you consider this joke to be so extremely important that you’re willing to annoy a significant fraction of your fellow posters.
How about if both sides abide by the rules, and simultaneously recognize that not everyone is going to post things that you like?
Because [list=A][li]It’s not against the rules, and [*]a significant fraction needs to get over themselves.[/list][/li]
Regards,
Shodan
[quote=“Shodan, post:124, topic:812293”]
…and [li]a significant fraction needs to get over themselves.[/li][/QUOTE]
Which side are you referring to?
What is a “significant fraction of [my] fellow posters?”
58 people have posted in this thread, representing about 1.5% of the active population (3,706). If we generously say half the people who have posted in this thread are feeling genuinely put out, then we’re looking at less than one percent of the SDMB.
If we decided to get rid of all the behavior that genuinely annoys less than one percent of the board, I’m afraid we wouldn’t have much of a board left.
The side that thinks they can say “that’s within the rules but I don’t like it” and be listened to.
Regards,
Shodan
No, that’s not how it works. If you consider the 58 posters a “significant statistical sample” of the overall population, then you have to project that the same percentage of the overall population would feel the same way. So if half of the 58 feel that way, then the projection is that half of the 3,706 would feel that way.
Only if this thread is a representative sampling of the board population, which it is not.
Whatever do you mean? Who would do something that was within the rules yet pissed off people?
At a rough guess, half the Dope in general, and three quarters of the Pit.
Regards,
Shodan
I would go more 10% and 90% but I agree with your general thinking.
Again, there is a difference between seeing something that you don’t find funny, and choosing to be annoyed by it. The second by no means confers a social obligation onto others.
Just because you wouldn’t be mightily annoyed if a straw fell on your head doesn’t mean you’d feel the same if someone deliberately dropped a bale of hay on you.
A bale of hay dropped on your head could do significant damage to your… spinal cord.
I personally don’t mind in-jokes (except for the forced quarry one - seriously, don’t try to force a meme, that really comes off as lame). They do add some character to this place.
But when someone comes here via google and posts something, not realizing that this board is decades old and that the thread they have stumbled into is old, and then all they get are some bizarre obscure zombie references, the poor newbie is just going to think that the SDMB is a bunch of a-holes and they never come back.
If people would instead post something like:
Braiiiinzzzzzz!!! (or whatever zombie joke you want to make)
but then follow it up with something like:
Welcome to the SDMB, newbie. Sorry, but we tend to refer to old threads that have been revived like this as zombies, so don’t be put off by all of the zombie jokes.
(even better if you actually answer their question at that point)
That’s a lot more welcoming, and clues the newbie into exactly what the joke is and why they got joke answers to something that they thought was a serious reply.
If all you post is Braiinzzzzzz!!! then the newbie just goes away and we lose another chance for a new member to join.
Some folks around here like being snarky, which is even worse.
I don’t have any access to the financial side of things here, but the general impression I get is that we are just barely keeping the lights on. People stumbling upon this site through google is one of our primary sources of new members. Driving away these potential new members by being snarky to them is not a good thing.
I think you are drawing a false equivalency here. It is not possible to simply shrug your shoulders and disregard a bale of hay falling on your head.
Even the quarry thing, which a great many more people dislike with (IMHO) far more reason, is quite easy to just skim over. I find the complainers who turn it into 17 posts on the subject far better fodder for annoyance than the occasional repeat.
Please re-read the OP, where I state the primary reason why I dislike the “Zombieee!” type responses-I think it has a good chance of insulting newbies who don’t know what the hell the response means.
It’s already been explained to you many times why it’s annoying. Of course, if you choose to not regard not being annoying as being a social obligation, you can choose to ignore this. 
You’re free to do so, if you so desire. Many others here seem to have no problem with poking a little fun at a zombie resurrection. At the resurrection itself, not at the poor misguided soul who didn’t check the thread date. OTOH, some do.
What’s the ratio for/against? Do we need a current poll? Will there be an executive decision? Will the regulars begin seeing warnings and reprimands? Will warnings and reprimands cause the regulars to leave?
Who needs to be trained? The newbies or the regulars? Does anyone need to be trained? I haven’t seen any evidence that some, most, or all newbies flee after receiving a clever/smartass/smarmy reply to their post.