On Bumping Old Threads. (Call for Clarification.)

magickmaker

New member
This doesn't quite fit anywhere else, thus I must post it here. This is in reference to a disturbing trend that has been happening recently, one that I think an official stance on is needed from the moderators of the forums.

In recent months, a number of users have taken up the herald of "Forum Police" and have taken it upon themselves to post very rude, and in some cases even against the Code of Conduct, posts in response to questions being asked in older threads.

In one recent incident, a user went on a long rant that called another user (and those who have asked similar questions in older threads) quote "fools who obviously don't read." Looking right at the Code of Conduct, this is by all accounts against the rules, as the CoC itself says quote "Submitting messages that personally attack, insult, threaten, harass or are clearly disrespectful of the opinions of other participants..."

Now, I've loved trainz for some time, having come here back in the UTC days. Yet this new trend of insulting new users is not one I remember from those early days. In fact, as I've already said, this seems to have been a new and disturbing trend. The problem as I see it, is not that there is no rule outlawing the bumping of old threads, but instead that this handful of users have (for whatever reason) decided that it is their position, their calling, to act as impromptu forum moderators. Which, according to the CoC (as far as I can tell) is also against the rules.

I have, quite honestly, been known to flag and report every last one of those insulting threads; and have done so with this most recent one. However turning to the community and the moderators, I must state that I feel something more proactive needs done.

I think, in the long run, with the influx of new users and questions that have happened of late; that it would help if the Mods would clear up the exact stance on bumping of old threads. If there is some written rule that states it is against the CoC to bump an old thread, then please direct us to it and allow users to help the new players better understand.

However, if there is not, then help us by stopping the rude comments that seem to have spawned from this group (there is only a handful of repeat offenders) of users who feel their job is to police old threads. I ask this not because I feel they need chastised or even removed from the forums, but instead I ask to help the future of trainz. I have spoken with one user who recently was treated harshly by one of these police, and due to this more "established" member's action, the newer user has resigned from the forum and has no intent on returning. In her case, she had asked a simple question about a download location, and was rudely told that she too wasn't smart enough to figure out the unit was not being created, because if she could read then she'd have read that the thread was two years old.

This is NOT, let me say that again NOT the type of community I came to love. It is not the helpful, respectful community that once existed, and I call on the Mods, and the players alike to please help us return to what we once had.
 
My $0.02. While it can be annoying to see or repeat the same issues, the reality is, most people cannot properly search for a concept. Most people aren't as technically-oriented as some of us and we must suffer that! (Believe me, I am as guilty if not moreso of any three of you of having a short fuse in this regard...I apologize in advance!). It doesn't help that vBulletin's search capabilities are kinda sucky.

But, if this is to be a welcoming place, then we must suffer what we might think are redundant or "stupid" questions that have been asked before. Because, I assure you, such questions are not stupid to some...and probably weren't to you at some point in your life.
 
I'll be honest, a lot of aspects of this forum bugs me. Like the general lack of proper foruming. Bumping old threads, trolling and posting meaningless things. This community has its fair share of "new users" and "noobs" and both don't really know how to post on forums. Bumping old threads is one thing but making big deals about it is another.
 
Let's face it - we've all bumped an old thread at some point without realising.

Yes it can be slightly annoying, but it's not worth going into print about. I usually form a poor view of the habitual "ticking off" types. Sometimes an old thread can remind you about something you'd forgotten anyhow.

Live and let live I say.

regards
stovepipe
 
Here is what happens. You see a thread and not look at the date last posted. Sounds interesting but then you get dissed for bumping but you had no clue it was a bump when you posted. I know I have done that. I suspect many others have also.

What gives with all the tension and anger?

Chill because this can be a peaceful place to pursue your love of trains. )

Cheers

AJ
 
Thank you. I just worried that if the trend of blessing people out for a bump (that they likely did not know was a bump) continued that it would make for a hostile environment. It's great to have this cleared up to some degree.
 
I think he thought it was nice to have some clarification. The words say what they mean and I think that was all there was to it, but hey that is just me :)

Cheers

AJ
 
Close enough :D.

What the thread is in reference to, is to clear the air and get a somewhat official position on whether or not old thread bumps are against the rules or not. Now, of course I know they're really not, but a handful of people have taken it upon themselves to...well berate people that have bumped what were thought (at least by them) to be dead threads.

Basically, I wanted something that I could point to if I run into one of those Forum Police. Something that says, as AJ put it. "CHILL!"
 
Approval

OK, I am sorry I attack at you, To me a thread can never be dead if it has useful information. There are some threads made by newbees that should be killed from the gitgo, but then there is the freedom of speech act, so they cannot be said to be wrong either. In another thread it was asked what defines a dead thread. This would be almost impossible to determine, after a few years of no posts, I can see it being dead from lack of interest. But if it is still listed in the search criteria, then it cannot be considered dead! Old, yes, but then alot of us are old! :o
 
I've never understood why people get so uptight at old threads being bumped.
I've seen a few people recently complaining about it, but how does it affect their lives?

If they don't want to help the person who bumped the old thread, then they should simply resist the temptation to post in that thread to have a go at the bumper.

There are plenty of people here who are willing to help someone who has bumped on old thread looking for answers.
Yes, there is a search function, and yes, if you look long enough, you'll probably find the answers in there somewhere, but so what.
Are we to frown upon user-interaction on the forums, and insist that rather than talking to people to help them, we send them to the search engine?

Not for me.
I've spent many hours helping people with the same things I helped them with years ago, and if that's not what some people want to do, then they should refrain from posting in those threads, and let the rest of us welcome new users in a decent manner.

Bottom line is some people aren't helpful in real life, so it's not surprising that that particular trait shows up on the forums too. :wave:
And for me, the forum "Ignore" feature is where they dwell on my screen. :)

Don't let it worry you.
It's still a decent community in the main.

Smiley.
 
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If you have been around so long that you cant stand to see someone ask a often asked question on this forum then you really need to find something else to do with your life. This is a FORUM for train lovers. If you dont fit in anymore than go some place else. Then you wont have to see these same questions over and over again.

Harold
 
When you're new, how can you search for an answer when sometimes you're not even sure what the problem is? For all it's simplicity Trainz is still a frustrating product to grasp when first starting out. Searching through 20 posts in a thread to find the one with the answer can be frustrating at this stage.

I also find it funny if someone starts a new thread, the same people will refer them to an old thread. If an old thread still provides answers then isn't it worth reviving, especially since the answers may have changed with so many different Trainz versions out there?

To be honest, the search feature is good, but it's not the best. Sometimes answers lay inside threads who's title is no where near what you were looking for, IF you knew what exactly you where looking for to begin with. Can be confusing.

Asking about old projects may lead to information about newer or better ones. If I ask about an old locomotive project, for example, it may mean I'm interested in that type. Someone can refer me, and others, to where they may be available or options. If it's not available maybe it would spur someone's interest into building or skinning one if enough interest was shown.

I agree about the tone of some responses though. Can be off putting to someone new and old hats alike.

Dave......
 
To exist or not to exist...

I remember back in my school dayz, a teacher said, "The only stupid question is the one that is not asked". Research through exiting threads will often answer more than one of your questions. I to think it wrong for anyone to suggest a problem with someone re-opening a topic thread. If it bothers them, they don't have to read it!
 
I have never understood all of the animosity towards someone bumping a thread. Sometimes, a thread will get bumped that I missed when it was fresh and I find it interesting or useful. The only ones that bother me is when a creator says that they're not going to release an asset or similar situation and 6 months later, someone raises the thread from the dead. If the creator has decided not to proceed on a project, why bring it up again?

Mike
 
There could be a handful of reasons why. I can name several, taking one example straight from the boards themselves.

Recently, a user was searching for a particular locomotive. The search results turned up a thread from several months, maybe a year ago, about that specific locomotive. However the person creating it vanished. (They apparently left the community.) In any case, the new user asked in the old thread if anyone knew another location where that type of train could be found, or if the one there had been released.

That's where my "fools not able to read" quote came from.

Here's the problem. The new user had no way of knowing the original creator had left trainz, because there was no mention of that in the original thread. Their departure from trainz had been done in another unrelated thread.

As other people have said, if you know a thread is old, or that someone left and gave up the project; telling the person asking the question this and maybe a link to the thread where that person left is fine.

The problem is the number of people that are outright attacking users for asking a simple question. Never, in any case, does "Don't bump old threads." answer a question, and being rude, well that's just uncalled for.
 
I agree there's no reason to attack others for asking questions, or even bringing up "old" material. What's old to the oldies on the forum is not old to the new visitors.

For many years I worked in customer service, and was asked the same questions every day. No matter who the user was, whether in-house or in the field, I was always kind and answered them courteously and promptly. My boss used to have a fit when he was asked the same things over and over, and I pointed out to him that this is part of the business. Who cares, really.

Sometimes I have found that when answering a so-called same old question, or reading an old revived thread, the answers will not just spark new ideas, but they will sometimes help to rephrase an answer in better terms.

Remember everyome we are here to enjoy Trainz and help other; not here to be rude. We were all newbies at one time, and probably asked the same questions ourselves.

John
 
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