# Why do people open accounts just to post to zombie threads? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 24, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-open-accounts-just-to-post-to-zombie-threads/769604 "2016-10-24T17:45:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-open-accounts-just-to-post-to-zombie-threads/769604/21 "2016-10-25T13:08:57Z")
You’ve gotta post to those threads, no matter how old they are or how deceased the participants might be. Someone is being wrong on the Internet! It can’t be allowed to remain as part of the permanent record. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-open-accounts-just-to-post-to-zombie-threads/769604/22 "2016-10-25T13:56:06Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > I’ve always thought this board should include a style that makes the post date turn redder and bolder the older it is, so you could visually infer a post’s age while just scanning. It wouldn’t be very difficult to do. (I was a vB developer for a few years.) The quick reply box should change to a pink or orange surround shading, with a short note about being cautious about posting to an older thread and a popup or link with more detailed information. Maybe even a post confirmation button after that. I’ve done a fair amount of web platform mod and coding, but I don’t know vBulletin. I can’t imagine it’s a very complex mod, as I’m pretty sure I could implement it on other platforms in a day. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-open-accounts-just-to-post-to-zombie-threads/769604/23 "2016-10-26T00:25:56Z")
Oct. 25, 2026 What’s a zombie thread? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-open-accounts-just-to-post-to-zombie-threads/769604/24 "2016-10-26T00:58:51Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Oct. 25, 2026 > > What’s a zombie thread? Reply hazy. Ask again on Oct. 31. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-open-accounts-just-to-post-to-zombie-threads/769604/25 "2016-10-26T01:50:23Z")
I may have done that to start my time here. If you’re not familiar with the site, you don’t realize what you’re doing, or what a zombie thread is. You’ve googled a topic, something that seems perfect comes up, and you respond. Zombie threads confuse me anyhow. It seems as if you upset people if you post to one, yet if you start a new one you upset as many people who like to point out that there have already been threads on whatever topic you’ve started the thread on. So do you post to the zombie and annoy people. or start the new thread and annoy people? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-open-accounts-just-to-post-to-zombie-threads/769604/26 "2016-10-26T02:21:40Z")
Sometimes I think we should go back to pay to post. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-open-accounts-just-to-post-to-zombie-threads/769604/27 "2016-10-26T14:19:38Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Oh yes, sometimes I’ve planned out a response then see the exact same words I’ve already posted, sometimes a LONG time ago. I was blithely perusing an old thread (on some trope in Sci-Fi movies) and chuckled at one of the posts. Scrolled up a titch to see who that rapier wit belonged to, and it was _moi._ I had no recollection of the thread or of my posting. One of the fun side effects of elderliness. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-open-accounts-just-to-post-to-zombie-threads/769604/28 "2016-10-26T14:35:41Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > What motivates that? Is it people following tangents from mailbag posts or something? Do they not look at the dates? Heck, half of us don’t look at the date sometimes. 😉 Sometimes I am doing a Google on something I care about or something I’m active in/on. And I mean going deep to like the 40th page of results or so. I come across something interesting and reply without checking the date and then I blush under my beard when I realize I just reanimated the dead… It just happens. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-open-accounts-just-to-post-to-zombie-threads/769604.md?page=1)