This might be an ATMB issue, but I’m really more curious about opinions than hard and fast SDMB rules and such. If it gets moved to ATMB, okay.
I find the 5-minute search rule/restriction a deterrent to locating older threads that deal with the topic I want to ask about, so I have quit worrying if the same issue came up in the period just before “New Posts” can see. I get the feeling others are in that same boat, because I see a new thread today that’s just like another on the same topic (in another forum though) that was within the past month.
On the flip side, whenever I do vanity searches on my username to see which older threads of mine, or ones I was invested in, have gone inactive and whether the few replies it/they got might be because they just weren’t seen before they fell off the front page, I will either overtly bump them or give some reply to indicate I’m curious why the thread hasn’t see any more action.
Along the way I have seen mod/admin statements about what constitues a zombie, and have concluded that zombie differs by forum. If that’s not the case, I’d like to know. Just what is the cut-off between “active thread” and “zombie”?
Now and then somebody will reply to a new thread with a link to another thread on the same topic, which usually revives the older thread or kills the new one. Those helpful actions by users who wil invest in the 5-minute searches to locate the older thread are commendable and appreciated.
I’d just like to see some Humble Opinions on this topic. Please.
Me personally, if I have something new to add to an old thread, I go ahead and do it. I give some kind of zombie thread warning. I think if someone is intentionally resurrecting an old thread, and has a good reason to do so, mods aren’t likely to just lock it. I’ve only done this a couple times, though.
This is funny that you ask this question, because I’ve been wondering over the last couple weeks why it the zombie rule exists at all. And I refuse to use search anymore since it doesn’t work. If someone wants to resurrect a three year-old thread, is it an extra strain on the servers for some reason? Assuming it’s not, if the thread is topical, then it should die quickly. If it’s something still worth talking about, why not let it sit around for as long as the board dictates, whether or not the resurrection is deliberate?
Mods shouldn’t be so quick to hit that “Close” button with only recently-abandoned threads. Hell I’ve seen at least one recent topic closed when the thread was only a little more than a month old. Yeah 6 months and onward kill it kill it, but don’t be so hasty with newer stuff.
Not that, but something about the posters in old threads maybe not being around any more (not that I’ve ever understood the “so what?” factor of this, either). I can see it being the case if the thread’s three years old, but less than six months? Our turnover isn’t that high.
I do like a note of resolution posted to the bottom of a thread, even if it is old. Mods can lock it after that and make them start a new thread if they want. Just starting a new thread for a resolution to an old thread means readers of the old thread don’t know it was resolved. You normally get a few months minimum to post to threads without any problems.
Each forum has a few stickies at the top explaining the specific rules and guidelines for that forum, to the extent that they differ from the general board rules. I think all of the forums address the topic of zombie threads in those stickies.
My personal(mod) guideline for General Questions is–does it help with the advancement of enlightenment in that thread. I don’t close Zombie threads in GQ just because they’re old. If you can provide a relatively current factual addition to the OP, then go for it. If you’re just posting your opinion, then all bets are off. We tend to get both kinds of re-openings in GQ.
No, they don’t. I’ve checked this forum (which has no stickies at all), the pit, MPSIMS, the cafe society and great debates so far, and the only mention of thread age in stickies is in cafe society, which claims to be an exception to the normal six months limit - which is obviously not followed by all mods given how often threads are locked due to age well before the six months point.