# How long does it take you to notice you're reading a zombie thread? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 5, 2015, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602 "2015-10-05T12:24:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/41 "2015-10-09T12:03:57Z")
Usually I’ll see a thread, compose an answer in my head, and come to find someone said it five years prior, word for word. It’s usually me. At least I’m consistent. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/42 "2015-10-09T12:15:51Z")
It’s a clue when you see an interesting topic pop up and the thread is already 5 pages long. Or when one of the first responses is from **handy**. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/43 "2015-10-09T13:44:27Z")
I usually notice about the time the thread is locked. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/44 "2015-10-16T22:37:41Z")
Unless I see a post by myself or someone banned (or some of those really old ones where the usernames have been eaten by the hamsters), probably about the time someone starts with the BRAINSSSSSSSSSSSSS jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/45 "2015-10-16T22:59:45Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > Usually I’ll see a thread, compose an answer in my head, and come to find someone said it five years prior, word for word. > > It’s usually me. At least I’m consistent. That’s what usually does it for me. That, or banned posters… ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/46 "2015-10-16T23:24:27Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Depends on how many “banned” I see under usernames (and of course how high up those posts are, but usually they seem to be within the first 5-6 posts.) Banned posters are usually my first clue, followed by dead posters. I was also going to say this. Once in a while, there will be a contemporary reference to a current event that happened a while back, and that will tip me off too. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/47 "2015-10-16T23:38:07Z")
Usually when I spot ‘BANNED’ under someone’s name. I’m a slow learner. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/48 "2015-10-17T02:53:46Z")
Hell, I’ve read my own posts without realizing it. And I think “Yes! The perfect response! What does this genius call himself?..ah…of course!” I guess that’s better than thinking “How does this moron breathe with his head so far up his…oh, wait.” ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/49 "2015-10-17T03:00:01Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I made exactly this suggestion in ATMB a few years ago. It was not well-received. [Suggestion: Additional Member Status of 'Deceased' - About This Message Board - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=635378) I think it more fair to say it was fairly well received, with a couple of exceptions. Unfortunately, one of those was a very powerful exception. I’d actually welcome “Deceased”, simply because we’ve been around long enough as a board that even I am uncertain who has shuffled off this mortal coil sometimes, and I don’t like the cognitive dissonance of seeing their posts in a zombie thread without a marker. “DEAD” seems a little too on the nose. Not wrong, just…blunt. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/50 "2015-10-17T12:56:36Z")
My thoughts exactly. Hence my suggestion. Shame it wasn’t acted upon. As Facebook and the others mature there will be more and more content created by the now-deceased. I suspect as a social convention emerges in places like that we’ll see a changing attitude here as well. Though some of us won’t live to see it. \ ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/51 "2015-10-17T13:18:48Z")
> [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](#): > > Hell, I’ve read my own posts without realizing it. And I think “Yes! The perfect response! What does this genius call himself?..ah…of course!” > > I guess that’s better than thinking “How does this moron breathe with his head so far up his…oh, wait.” Exactly. I’d also welcome an ID as “deceased” or “unknown for several years” ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/52 "2015-10-17T14:18:34Z")
Usually I see either something that’s incredibly stupid or that’s so “wow that person really gets me” that I look at the user name and it’s that goddamned **Zsofia** again. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/53 "2015-10-17T14:30:24Z")
I love reading old threads. But posting in them usually results in torches and pitchforks, with an angry crowd. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/54 "2015-10-17T23:24:43Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Once in a while, there will be a contemporary reference to a current event that happened a while back, and that will tip me off too. Yeah, that clues me in sometimes as well. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/55 "2015-10-20T12:00:27Z")
Since I have the addon, I realize the thread’s age. But I still regularly miss when it switches over. What ever happened to mentioning the age of the thread in your comment? ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/56 "2015-10-20T12:04:48Z")
I like zombies 😉 ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/57 "2015-10-20T13:45:54Z")
As soon as I think “Y’know, this’d be the perfect place for my Cub Scout Cannibis Cuisinart story!” I flex my two typing fingers, but I keep reading, and there’s the Cub Scout Cannibis Cuisinart story. As told by me, three years before. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/58 "2015-10-20T13:53:18Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > This for me also. My third clue is that after I have composed a response in my head, I find that I wrote the exact same response 8 years ago. That, the seeing of banned or dead posters, and anachronistic commentary usually clue me in- like threads where people are talking about Michael Jackson as if he was still alive… because he was, when the thread was going. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/59 "2015-10-20T13:54:21Z")
> [@digs](#): > > As soon as I think “Y’know, this’d be the perfect place for my Cub Scout Cannibis Cuisinart story!” > I flex my two typing fingers, but I keep reading, and there’s the Cub Scout Cannibis Cuisinart story. As told by me, three years before. Priceless!! Just two days ago i was searching for information on atmospheric windows, and found this awesome blog with multiple images and links to sources of scientific data on Google, and when I clicked on it, it was one of my blogs, and a post I made last year about the subject. At which point I realized I am fucked. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602/60 "2015-10-20T14:05:24Z")
I’m enjoying getting old. I get to pick up my old mystery novels without remembering whodunnit. And read old threads all over again for the first time… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-notice-youre-reading-a-zombie-thread/733602.md?page=4)