# What's the longest thread in the history of this board? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 3, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231 "2014-12-03T16:00:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/1 "2014-12-03T16:00:36Z")
I see the [Ferguson thread in the pit](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=730860) is up to 73 pages now. What’s the longest thread we’ve had on this board? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/2 "2014-12-03T16:39:34Z")
Amateur. The [Trivia Dominoes](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=550730)thread is currently 22,500 posts long, and shows no sign of ever ending. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/3 "2014-12-03T16:43:09Z")
Outside of a [GAME] thread, probably [the Martin/Zimmerman thread in IMHO](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=648744). ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/4 "2014-12-03T16:47:59Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > I see the [Ferguson thread in the pit](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=730860) is up to 73 pages now. > > What’s the longest thread we’ve had on this board? Number of posts would be more helpful, since people can choose to view from 5 to 200 posts per page (edit options in User CP.) Right now that thread is up to 3267 posts. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/5 "2014-12-03T17:00:10Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Outside of a [GAME] thread, probably [the Martin/Zimmerman thread in IMHO](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=648744). Forgot about the Pit thread about Stupid Republican Ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/6 "2014-12-03T17:06:39Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Amateur. > > The [Trivia Dominoes](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=550730)thread is currently 22,500 posts long, and shows no sign of ever ending. Bah, the Baker’s Dozen thread is closing in on 32,000 posts. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/7 "2014-12-03T17:11:40Z")
Outside of a game, offhand I don’t know of any longer than the Zimmerman thread (12496 posts) I thought maybe the Paterno thread (6523 posts) but it’s not even close. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/8 "2014-12-03T18:36:00Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > Outside of a game, offhand I don’t know of any longer than the Zimmerman thread (12496 posts) > > I thought maybe the Paterno thread (6523 posts) but it’s not even close. Stupid Republican Idea of the Day is currently at 18,033 - although you argue for it being a game thread, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/9 "2014-12-03T19:22:25Z")
By post count: The longest in ATMB is [Pit rules have been revised](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=508033), at 1052. The longest in Comments is [Flight and the Conveyor Belt](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=357014) at 536. The longest in SD Chicago is [Any interest in a spring Chicago dopefest?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=683398) at 119. The longest in GQ is [.999 = 1?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=32760) at 2176. The longest in GD is [Russia has invaded Ukraine. How will the West respond?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=717050) at 3748. The longest in Elections is [With less than a year until it’s fully enacted, what is your opinion of the Affordable Care Act?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=679347) at 3259 The longest in CS is [Order of the Stick - Book 5 Discussion Thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=530128) at 8766. The longest in Games is [[GAME]Baker’s Dozen](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=573445) at 31,632 The longest in IMHO is [Martin/Zimmerman: humble opinions and speculation thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=648744) at 12,495 The longest in MPSIMS is [a](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=158752) at 5337. The longest in Martketplace is [New book by two Dopers - the truth about vaccines](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=662222) at 225. The longest in Pit is [Stupid Republican idea of the day](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=511831) at 18032. The longest in Barn is [Welcome to the BARN HOUSE forum](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=481632) at 65. I got these by going to each forum page, sorting by number of replies, and selecting “From the beginning”. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/10 "2014-12-03T19:44:31Z")
The Pigeon Eggs plague has about 1,876. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/11 "2014-12-03T21:31:43Z")
It is worth noting that these numbers are skewed in toto. That is because until a few years ago, threads were automatically limited. I believe it was 50 pages. Therefore, older threads might well have set records but could not. Can I get a fact chexk on that? ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/12 "2014-12-03T22:47:38Z")
While in the past on other bulletin board software we did watch large threads carefully, since we’ve moved to vBulletin it’s not been such a big deal. At some point in the process it was determined thread size was not a problem at all, and as evidence proves, so far it’s not. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/13 "2014-12-04T03:34:17Z")
Perhaps the most famous long thread in the history of the SDMB is If LotR Had Been Written By Someone Else!?, which only had 2041 posts but had 675,775 views: > **[If LotR Had Been Written By Someone Else!?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=138905)** > > …What would it look like? Ernest Hemingway \*It was very late and everyone had left the hall except an old man who sat in the shadows the leaves of the old Mallorn made against the moonlight. The two elves inside the hall knew that the old man was a... It went viral and was read by many people who otherwise knew nothing of the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/14 "2014-12-04T03:42:51Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > The Pigeon Eggs plague has about 1,876. 1877 now. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/15 "2014-12-04T10:59:41Z")
I had a feeling that the “.999… = 1” topic would have some significance. And kudos to **Chronos** for doing that SDMB research. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/16 "2014-12-04T13:17:53Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > I had a feeling that the “.999… = 1” topic would have some significance. There’s a certain mathematical elegance about that fact. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/17 "2014-12-04T13:20:02Z")
how about the oldest, active thread? without checking i’ll guess the pigeon egg one, or something regularly resurrected, like the one on Groundhog Day or the alternate ending to Big. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/18 "2014-12-04T16:16:46Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > how about the oldest, active thread? without checking i’ll guess the pigeon egg one, or something regularly resurrected, like the one on Groundhog Day or the alternate ending to Big. Well, the [Great Ongoing Guitar Thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=550219) does well for itself at 3770 posts, and will probably stop when the boards guitar players are all destitute, or when nobody plays guitar anymore. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/19 "2014-12-04T17:24:49Z")
well, the pigeon egg one was started 13May08, while the guitar one was started either Jan or Feb of 2010. shouldn’t the eggs have hatched by now? i wonder how many generations of pigeons the thread has spanned. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231/20 "2014-12-04T20:02:26Z")
I’m going to call it now and say it’s going to be the shopping channel snark thread in Cafe Society based on this post: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17949421&postcount=195](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17949421&postcount=195) > [@Shopping channel snark](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-channel-snark/706226/195): > > _snip_…us having posted 351 pages since they started in March. If the dope was wanting ad revenue from page views (or however that works) then get ready to buy some new jewelry. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-thread-in-the-history-of-this-board/706231.md?page=2)