# Zombie Threads - How? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 24, 2017, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157 "2017-04-24T19:25:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/21 "2017-04-25T00:37:45Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > How about instead of relying on stupid jokes, you used your _ **braaaaaaaains!!!** _ instead? Those were eaten long ago. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/22 "2017-04-25T00:53:04Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Those were eaten long ago. Someone probably dropped an earwig in there. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/23 "2017-04-25T01:52:40Z")
> [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > Some message boards I’ve been on have really strict rules about bumping old threads, going so far as to give you a warning for bumping an old thread with an otherwise perfectly good and relevant post, and I cannot for the life of me understand why. There was a message board, can’t remember which one it was or even what it was about, where I posted a question, and the thread was immediately locked with a moderator note that my question was recently discussed, and I should respond to that thread instead. So I searched the forum, found the thread (which was about six months old) and reposted my question there – and again, the thread was locked, with a mod warning which said, “Don’t post to old threads.” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/24 "2017-04-25T03:29:51Z")
The mods of other boards do not share the luminous and transcendent wisdom of our own. ---
**Author:** ![Beren\_Erchamion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/90ced4/32.png) [@Beren\_Erchamion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beren_Erchamion)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/25 "2017-04-25T03:52:21Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Sometimes I don’t realize it is a zombie until I see the zombie joke. I’d consider it a public service. in your he-ead, in your he-ea-ea-ead ---
**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:** [April 25, 2017, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/26 "2017-04-25T04:23:48Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > **Zombie Threads - How?** > How do these things happen? Shoot, I have the answer to this, but I have to run to Home Depot right now (buying a visible fence). I’ll stop back late October 2021 and fill you in. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/27 "2017-04-25T08:18:45Z")
Somebody here on the SDMB, many years ago, made a Greasemonkey script that highlights the age of a thread over six months old. It’s a bit hit-or-miss sometimes, as it has to make some guesses from metadata that might be subsequently affected by server changes, but for the most part it works well for me. I wish it was a default setting on all messageboards. I’m grateful that we’re still using a version of vBulletin that is over a decade old so those plug-ins still work. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/28 "2017-04-25T08:22:14Z")
Shoot, the part that fries me is: halfway through the thread I’ve noticed it’s a zombie AND that I posted in it back in the day. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/29 "2017-04-25T12:46:09Z")
Some boards want you to search a topic and post to the existing thread if it exists. I’m guessing the resurrectionists are actually using old school courtesy. I remember back when use of ASCII characters was frowned upon, but technology changed that. It still feels forbidden to me. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/30 "2017-04-25T12:56:35Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Sometimes I don’t realize it is a zombie until I see the zombie joke. I’d consider it a public service. Same. ---
**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:** [April 25, 2017, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/31 "2017-04-25T13:15:00Z")
…How did you post at all, without using ASCII characters? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/32 "2017-04-25T13:28:09Z")
I come across old threads fairly often in Google searches. I sometimes have a browse through the posts. A trip down memory lane. Sometimes I see something of my own that I can’t recall posting. Recently I was looking for “fake country songs” and the first result was a thread from [January 2000](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=17822). ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/33 "2017-04-25T14:21:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > …How did you post at all, without using ASCII characters? Unicode. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/34 "2017-04-25T21:47:58Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Shoot, the part that fries me is: halfway through the thread I’ve noticed it’s a zombie AND that I posted in it back in the day. :smack: I once posted in a thread, didn’t see it was a zombie, and that several years before I’d already posted almost the exact same response.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/35 "2017-04-26T02:06:02Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Shoot, the part that fries me is: halfway through the thread I’ve noticed it’s a zombie AND that I posted in it back in the day. :smack: I saw some posts where I found myself agreeing with the poster in all particulars, only to find he was me. I can’t agree with myself IRL, why can I on the innertubes? ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/36 "2017-04-26T02:41:20Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I once posted in a thread, didn’t see it was a zombie, and that several years before I’d already posted almost the exact same response.:smack: 😃 I haven’t done that yet, but I’ll mentally form an opinion to which everyone’s entitled, then I’ll find I already posted it. I’m glad I’m consistent, at least. I found this board by searching Google for Babylon 5. I found a zombie thread, but fortunately, I caught the date and didn’t post in it. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/37 "2017-04-26T10:54:02Z")
Sometimes threads are resurrected by spammers. The spam post is deleted by the vigilant mods but the thread still shows up in the New Posts search. I’ve been caught out like this a time or two. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/38 "2017-04-26T17:13:46Z")
> [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > Some message boards I’ve been on have really strict rules about bumping old threads, going so far as to give you a warning for bumping an old thread with an otherwise perfectly good and relevant post, and I cannot for the life of me understand why. Some of them I’ve been told, essentially, ‘well, start a new thread, post a link to the old one, and say what you wanted’ which leaves me boggling; why not just bump the old one? Also, some message boards have the option enabled to require “double authentication” to post in old threads. Meaning that, if you go to submit a post in an old thread, it will either generate a pop-up, or refresh the screen with a warning that says something like, “This thread has not been posted in for over X days: are you sure you want to post this?” I’ve never been an admin on vBulletin forum, so I don’t know whether they offer the feature, but it seems to me like a reasonable solution, if available. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/39 "2017-04-26T19:54:12Z")
It’s really a sign that this site does very, very well in Google with the kind of evergreen exposure that many would pay millions for. I’ve googled many random things that had a thread or threads from here ranking near the top. If I had a message board I would want threads to love forever. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157/40 "2017-04-26T22:36:03Z")
It’s fun making up new words here and them find them entered into the lexicon by way of Google Hit … pure joy … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-threads-how/785157.md?page=3)