IIRC, all links to SDMB threads were broken when we switched to Discourse and this can’t be fixed. Is this correct?
Part of the reason I ask this is because, at least as far back as 2015, old posts sometimes have the Discourse automatically generated links at the bottom of them that occur when someone does the @ username in a different thread. I’m not sure what they are called but the most famous on the board would be the “Dumbest Lawyer” one. This function wasn’t in place on the old board. I understand they are different functions, however I don’t understand how they work.
Another part is one of the mods, @engineer_comp_geek I think, said something a few months ago about Google crawling the new board and updating links. Do I understand correctly that would only work if you are googling something and has nothing to do with board function?
Yes, this is correct. Old links on the board that go to threads or posts still reference the old vBulletin URL which is by thread number and post number. Discourse has different URLs for the threads and posts.
This is also correct. Google was still giving out old links for google searches after the move. Google has since updated at least the majority of their links. You might still find an old one here and there though. Sometimes Google picks up old links that haven’t been updated from other sites and returns them as results.
If you remember enough of the thread to search for it by keywords, then Discourse and Google should both be able to find the thread for you.
Discourse automatically creates links to what it thinks are related posts, which isn’t necessarily just based on the user name. Sometimes Discourse will make suggestions based on similar thread titles or content. Those suggested links are generated on the fly when Discourse displays a page. Discourse did not insert links in old threads.
We would prefer to have it ignore Pit threads for related posts but unfortunately, as I understand it, that’s not an option.
Thanks, I actually meant to put this specific question in my post.
Yes, Discourse has made a huge difference for me in looking up past threads.
Just a little clarification here. The Discourse link in the 2015 thread is there because all of that poster’s posts will have that link on it? So theoretically, there are posts from 2000 that will have the Discourse link in them. So it works like a name change where all your past posts get your new name?