# "Your topic is similar to..." Any way to burn, kill, send it to hell? **URL:** \ **Category:** Site Feedback\ **Created:** [April 7, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331 "2023-04-07T17:58:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/1 "2023-04-07T17:58:08Z")
Pretty much any time I start a new topic, up this infernal thing comes, even if the topic I am formulating isn’t similar, at all, to the ones that the idiot software keeps insisting it is. Any way to turn off this board’s most annoying feature, please, before I lose my mind? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/2 "2023-04-07T18:02:34Z")
That is a good idea. It is horribly useless on this board for some reason. I understand it works on other Discourse boards. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/3 "2023-04-07T18:07:08Z")
I wouldn’t mind it except that it means I have no choice but to either start a redundant thread, or bump some 9-year old thread. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/4 "2023-04-07T18:07:14Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Pretty much any time I start a new topic, up this infernal thing comes, even if the topic I am formulating isn’t similar, at all, to the ones that the idiot software keeps insisting it is. **Any way to turn off this board’s most annoying feature,** please, before I lose my mind? - Or be able to talk back. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/5 "2023-04-07T18:09:02Z")
Most of the time, much better to start new than bump a thread that is 9 years old. Exceptions would be for old Café threads mainly. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/6 "2023-04-07T18:19:31Z")
I have never seen a situation where the “Your topic is similar to” pop-up actually prevents posting, as opposed to nagging about your intended post. Click the black X at the upper right of the pop-up and press on. Irritating? Sure. A show-stopper? Nope. If I’ve just been lucky and the damn thing can in fact prevent posting an OP, here’s my idea for a workaround. I can’t guarantee it works, but I bet it will. Outflank and outsmart @Discobot’s dain-bramaged cousin (I mean the “Your topic is similar” programming) by entering your title as random gibberish, posting your OP, then immediately editing your title to be whatever you really wanted. If the real problem is Discourse can’t have two truly identical titles and that would stymie my edit-the-title play, just slip in an extra space or period at the end. Or add “v2”, “v3”, etc. as necessary. The humans will get it. ETA: and look who just showed up to defend his idjit cousin. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![discobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/discobot/32/570_2.png) [@discobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/discobot)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/7 "2023-04-07T18:19:33Z")
Hi! To find out what I can do, say `@discobot display help`. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/8 "2023-04-07T22:53:52Z")
Your complain is similar to post #202 in > [@So long and thanks for all the rants! (November mini-rants)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-and-thanks-for-all-the-rants-november-mini-rants/974116): > > Yes, it’s still a little early in my time zone. Oh well. No, you’re not getting rid of me that easily. wink My junior cat, as dearly as I love him, has a couple of really obnoxious habits. He likes to walk from the hutch on my desk to the top of the bird cage next to it (only place we can really put the bird cage in this living room). Fortunately, this does not seem to worry the bird much (sometimes I wonder if she understands what predators are), and her cage is solid enough that she’s safe… actually no, it is not. But you are both right ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/9 "2023-04-07T23:22:27Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > If I’ve just been lucky and the damn thing can in fact prevent posting an OP, Naw, i get it all the time. Rarely, it’s useful (hey, someone already asked this and i can read the answers). Sometimes it’s hysterically inappropriate. Sometimes it’s just wrong. Except for the rare cases where it’s useful, i just click to close it and continue creating my thread. It’s pretty low on my list of “annoying features about Discourse”. (The top of my list is how hard it is to find a flag that’s been dismissed.) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/10 "2023-04-07T23:31:30Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Click the black X at the upper right of the pop-up and press on. Hitting the escape key also kills it. I find that more convenient if I’m typing, which in this case, I usually am. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/11 "2023-04-07T23:42:44Z")
@John_DiFool Just close the box and ignore. A bot is not a person. This is waaay too inconsequential to lose your mind over. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/12 "2023-04-07T23:46:24Z")
Nah. If it came within a thousand miles of my post even 5% of the time, I might be able to defend it. Anything that works that badly while making a complete nuisance of itself needs to killed. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/13 "2023-04-07T23:49:15Z")
Huh, i find that it comes within a thousand miles of my post at least a third of the time, and is actually useful maybe once in 20. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/14 "2023-04-07T23:55:54Z")
And here I opened the thread wondering what or who @John_DiFool was trying to condemn to the fires of hell, and which poster had previously had the same query. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/15 "2023-04-07T23:57:20Z")
We see it a lot more as moderators, if that makes anyone feel any better. We start a lot of new threads that begin with, “Warning for…” and Discourse reminds us every time there’s already a thread just like that! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/16 "2023-04-07T23:57:20Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > And here I opened the thread wondering what or who @John_DiFool was trying to condemn to the fires of hell, and who in the past had had the same query. - Well, it _does_ involve @discobot. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/17 "2023-04-07T23:58:53Z")
But can a souless bot be condemned to hell? Hey, let’s ask! @discobot , is there any way we can send you to the fires of hell for evermore? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/18 "2023-04-08T00:04:58Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > But can a souless bot be condemned to hell? > > Hey, let’s ask! > > @discobot , is there any way we can send you to the fires of hell for evermore? - I have a few ideas. 🔨 🪛 🔧 🪓 🔩 discobot’s mommy 🧰 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/19 "2023-04-08T00:15:46Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Huh, i find that it comes within a thousand miles of my post at least a third of the time, and is actually useful maybe once in 20. I’m sure you’re confusing miles with light years. 🙃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331/20 "2023-04-08T02:02:50Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > @John_DiFool Just close the box and ignore. A bot is not a person. This is waaay too inconsequential to lose your mind over. Not when it keeps bugging me several times per post. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-topic-is-similar-to-any-way-to-burn-kill-send-it-to-hell/982331.md?page=2)