Please show thread start date in forum thread list

I would like to see the thread start date displayed next to the thread starter in the list of threads for a forum. Another VBulletin powered board I visit has this feature enabled.

I find it useful for remembering which thread is which and deciding which ones to read and respond to. Any possibility of enabling this feature on SDMB? Anyone else think it’s a good idea?

I do. It’s very handy, IMHO.

I think that’s a hack, not a standard feature. If it is, it could add a LOT of queries to a forum view request. Also, the folks behind the scenes at the SBMB are reluctant to install hacks. Look at the version number at the bottom of this page; the hack or option might not even be available for 3.0.*.

Not saying it isn’t a good idea. I’m just sayin …

Such an addition might cut down on the dreaded zombie resurrection issue.

But it should be an additional thing not a replacement of the latest post time and date. Otherwise, the New Posts approach to staying current would be confusing, I believe.

Right, the time and date of the latest post would still be displayed.

I know that SDMB runs an older version of vBulletin and has been reluctant to upgrade. The other vBulletin board I referred to doesn’t display the vBulletin version on each page. It says “Copyright 2000-2007,” but it’s ambiguous whether this refers to the vBulletin software or the contents of the board itself. If anyone is knowledgeable about the various vBulletin versions, I’d appreciate knowing if the thread start date is a supported vBulletin feature and which version introduced it.

I don’t think there’s any way to stop zombie threads. As long as there are message boards, there will be people resurrecting old threads.

Today on my site, someone came close to beating the record for resurrection of a dead thread.
http://www.cyburbia.org/forums/showthread.php?t=21471
9 years, 30 days.

I’m running 3.6.4 on my site. (3.6.5 was released a few days ago.) Thread start date is not a supported vBulletin feature, even in newer versions. On 3.0.*, it requires a hack. A plug-in hack and template modification is required for newer versions.

I can’t speak for the folks managing the hamster wheels in Chicago, but in the past they haven’t been too keen on hacks. Whether the hack is safe or now, personally I think it would just clutter things up.

Care to PM me a URL for the other site? It’s strange that they’re not showing a version number. There’s branding-free options for vBulletin, but not version-free options.

vBulletin itself isn’t that old, is it? I’m amazed that the thread remained intact enough to be bumpable after over nine years of upgrades.

I recovered a bunch of ancient messages from my pre-vBulletin site by a chain of importing - WWWBoard to WebBBS to phpBB to vBulletin.