First, an apology, I know I’ve seen this somewhere on the SDMB, but after much searching, I can’t find it, so here I go posting it. And to those who will post saying “here it is” what Search Terms did you use?
Anyway, what is the SDMB etiquette about posting to an old thread vs. starting a new one on the same subject? - kinda like this one.
Is there an elapsed time rule?
I see two possibilities, he said paranoicly, if I start a New Thread on subject X, a bunch of you will post and say, “This was covered in Thread Z, use Search you Idiot.”
On The Other Hand, if I dredge up a thread that’s a couple months old, because I’ve just had a great insight or something, some of you will say, “Why are you bringing THAT up, we finished with that months ago.” Except, if I’m posting something NEW in that thread, it wasn’t ALL covered before.
Your kind assistance please.
You’ve hit the nail on the head already. This is kind of a catch 22 in certain respects.
I’ve seen Pit threads regarding both of these. It pretty much comes down to that there are some posters who prefer you posting to threads already covering it, and others who prefer you not bringing back old threads.
However, there are special cases for both. You should definitely search for past threads about something. If a there was a recent thread about something, or multiple threads about the same topic recently, you don’t want to start a new one (a good example is the catch phrase flying around the web, discussed a while ago). Also, the thread might be so recent that it’s just fallen off the first page of a forum. People are more likely to get upset by this than bringing up an old thread about a topic you’re interested in (if you can add to it, or want to know something related to it). Though, like I said, there are posters that don’t like that, either.
However, there are certain older threads that would be best to leave in the past. Really old threads are generally not good to bring back (they might be classics, and fun to read, but bringing them back is not generally appreciated). Also, there are threads of a more personal nature where bad stuff might have happened. Those are also best left in the past (bringing things back to ask to have situations explained to you would be an example of this).
So, it depends on the thread you’re interested in, too. Best to search and then decide.
Some others might like to add or correct me on some parts, though.
For the best of both worlds, if it IS an old thread, you can start a new thread and put a link to the old thread into the first post. Just be sure that you bring something new to the discussion, unless it was an unanswered GQ, in which case it’s permissible to bump the thread back up to the top after a few months.