Sometimes SDMB threads fail. The thread dies, without ever approaching a satisfactory resolution to the question raised in the OP. There can be a variety of reasons for this:
- The title was not descriptive or interesting enough to attract people who might know the answer
- The OP was not written well enough for people to know what the question was
- The thread lost its momentum because of too many inside jokes, like Hi, Opal!
- The thread was sidetracked by some other issue that arose in it
- The thread just happened to die too fast, before people with answers came in
There may be other reasons as well. Also, similar reasons can apply to opinion threads, in addition to GQ or CS threads. For instance, a poorly written OP can lead people to express opinions about something that is somewhat different from what the OP wanted to discuss.
I’ve started some threads like these, and, looking back on them, I’m still curious about the questions I asked. Is it ok to start new threads on the same topics that I started threads about months or years ago, with more effort put into writing a good title, writing a good OP, and keeping the thread on track? Is it ok to do this without citing the old thread?