# Old threads popping up?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-threads-popping-up/54085>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [February 12, 2001, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-threads-popping-up/54085 "2001-02-12T00:07:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2001, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-threads-popping-up/54085/1 "2001-02-12T00:07:38Z")

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I’ve noticed a bunch of old threads (by old, I mean ~a year ago) that have been posted to in the last couple of days. Is the housecleaning causing old threads to spontaneously resurface, where they are then responded to, or is it just that because old threads are going to be deleted, people are going looking through them and resurrecting them?

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**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2001, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-threads-popping-up/54085/2 "2001-02-12T00:31:02Z")

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Sometimes, a troll will resurrect an old thread. We delete the troll’s post, but the thread doesn’t go back down in the depths of the forum again.

Or it could just be the message board acting screwy again.

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**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2001, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-threads-popping-up/54085/3 "2001-02-12T02:17:42Z")

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I’ve seen the word ‘troll’ used several times on the BBS. What is it supposed to mean?

Pardon my ignorance… (I’m a poster, not a lexicographer).

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**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2001, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-threads-popping-up/54085/4 "2001-02-12T02:30:20Z")

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Troll = someone who posts simply to elicit a (usually negative) reaction.

An example would be if someone posted, oh, “All gay people are pedophiles”. Or if someone posted “The Enterprise can beat a Star Destroyer in a fight” 😃 (Okay, that last one was a joke).

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**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2001, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-threads-popping-up/54085/5 "2001-02-12T05:02:33Z")

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**Geobabe and Lynn Bodoni** …

It ain’t no troll, it’s our very own Resurrector: **Wolfstu**. **Wolfstu** seems to believe in the principle of recycling. One Moderator has already complimented one of the resurrected threads.

Personally, I have no problem with this, although it can get confusing for l’il ol’ me at times. If a recycled thread gets posted to by more that **Wolfstu** – hey, then why not?