Resurrecting old Threads
- Thread starter davesnow
- Start date
shaneturner12
Tutorial Creator
The way I personally see it is if the new post adds value to the existing thread (or if the original poster of thread is announcing an update to an asset, program, or similar) then it's not normally an issue to me.
Shane
Shane
Or do what other forums do and lock threads which are over a certain time since last posted to, unless the OP requests otherwise (perhaps).
Most of the time it seems to be newbs or kids who perhaps don't know better, the worst being a response to a 4 or 5 year dead thread proclaiming something is being developed which pretty obviously didn't make it beyond the drawing board!
Most of the time it seems to be newbs or kids who perhaps don't know better, the worst being a response to a 4 or 5 year dead thread proclaiming something is being developed which pretty obviously didn't make it beyond the drawing board!
Yes, I agree let's lock the useless ones but for the more important things which come up from time-to-time, it's good to keep those threads around.
"That's cool! Can I have that Class 5000 EMG Blah, blah, blah, whatever it's called..." and the thread was last accessed in January 2010.
Another suggestion might be to making a sticky out of certain subjects.
Example: Converting a MSTS item into a Trainz item which seems to show up every 3 or 4 months. Answers are always the same:
You must have the original authors permission.
You must have the original mesh.
It isn't easy.
Just a thought.
Ben
Example: Converting a MSTS item into a Trainz item which seems to show up every 3 or 4 months. Answers are always the same:
You must have the original authors permission.
You must have the original mesh.
It isn't easy.
Just a thought.
Ben
I both agree and disagree on this. What I do agree is this will surely help people from bringing up topics that were announce to become dead when the the OP has stated the project or topic has been halted for good.
What I will disagree on this is that there has to be set of guidelines on which ones should be locked and which ones are still viable to remain open, for example, a topic thats more than 2 years old or more that has seen no activity in it should be locked but any topic thats less than two years old (even if there has been no activity should remain open just incase to give the OP time if he/she has been very busy with personal life issues. This way that can set a decent time limit, plus if a topic reply is made on the old topic that makes it restart activity on it again should then be move back so if the topic does die again, they have yet up to 2 years again to see if they can bring up activity on it again.
What I will disagree on this is that there has to be set of guidelines on which ones should be locked and which ones are still viable to remain open, for example, a topic thats more than 2 years old or more that has seen no activity in it should be locked but any topic thats less than two years old (even if there has been no activity should remain open just incase to give the OP time if he/she has been very busy with personal life issues. This way that can set a decent time limit, plus if a topic reply is made on the old topic that makes it restart activity on it again should then be move back so if the topic does die again, they have yet up to 2 years again to see if they can bring up activity on it again.
cascaderailroad
New member
I disagree ... If there is a 5 y/o thread, and someone has some important pertinent questions, or highly related input ... what harm does bumping an old thread really do ? It doesn't waste bandwidth, or anything else detrimental to the forum ... unless someone bumps an old thread, to ask a lamebrained question, or to post: "Yo I really like this" ... "Where can I git' Anl's locos" ? Use your best judgement before posting. Sometimes an old thread is very refreshing.
This is why Im still 50/50 on this topic and I totally agree with you. Some threads I did enjoy taking part in years ago are buried deep within the forums and some of them still hold a interesting discussions that can be continued if they are brought back up again.
Sometimes.
Last night via google, I was looking at a 7 year old thread, and combing through it. I was looking for something. Last post was 2012, and our friend dundunwhatever made a totally irrelevant post about his challenger project. The thread was four years dead and his post had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the thread.
Just sayin.
The best way to remedy this is to introduce new rules to new members. There should be a small section of the forums here dedicated to "opening posts" by new members, where they tell the mods why they should be allowed to post here. If their post is constructive and inoffensive, they should be let in. If not, they are told to revise the way they act or talk and try again in a week. After a week, the new members can then make another post stating why they should be let into the full forums, and so on.
Back to the issue of old threads. In my opinion, any threads over a year old should be inaccessible to members who have been here less than 3 months. That way, threads are less likely to be bumped. After three months, the new user should be able to see all posts from a year ago and later, since this wait should reinforce the fact that bumping threads (in certain ways) is considered rude.
Now what should we do if someone does bump a thread? This is going to sound harsh, but depending on the post itself, i think the mods should calmly send a PM to the person who bumped the thread, if such post is considered unnecessary, inflammatory, or rude. If this happens a second time, another PM, this time a bit more stern. Three times? I think that should be worth a 10-point infraction. But then again, "this doesn't break the CoC"...oh wait, it does (in certain cases).
There's two options i can think of that should coincide with the suggestion given before. Those are:
1. If a thread is bumped with a post like "can someone send me this locomotive" or something like that, then yeah, i believe that goes against this article of the CoC. If it's something like a screenshot thread being bumped, the user bumping the thread should show a screenshot within the theme of the thread. If it's a project thread that hasn't been posted in in a year, then chances are the project is dead, and no further posts are necessary unless it is posted by the OP of the thread or by someone else that has connections or relations to the project, like a colleague or the like. It all depends on the post and the thread being bumped.
2. The only other option i see is every thread being locked after 30 days of inactivity (i.e. no new posts after a 30 day period). This can become a hassle though, as if a creator wants to bump the thread, they may have to message the moderators to get them to re-open the thread...unless the creator can post in their own thread as often as possible no matter the timeframe between posts. For example, if i post a project thread in the Screenshots forum, only i, the opening poster, can post there after 30 days: for all others, the thread appears locked, or "dead", if you want to call it that.
I've seen this done by countless people, countless times. And yeah, maybe some of them do receive infractions for bumping these dead threads...but yet there are people that do it constantly, and it gets rude. One user in particular bumped two threads that i know of, and posted 3 TIMES in a matter of minutes (technically i could say this is in violation of the first part of Article 12 ["...redundant messages"], but i bet he wouldn't be punished for it anyway, so yeah). That's why i think we need a new rule or two around here. My ideas are meant to counteract this, again: depending on the post itself.
So that's my personal take on this. It's quite annoying seeing a thread from 4-5 years ago being bumped when it's very clearly dead. I'm sure people will disagree with me on this, but that's how I personally believe this issue can be solved. And hey, these are just suggestions, but y'know, feel free to be rude to me because yatta yatta yatta i have an opinion and it's "wrong".
[FONT="]¯\_(ツ)_/¯[/FONT]
Back to the issue of old threads. In my opinion, any threads over a year old should be inaccessible to members who have been here less than 3 months. That way, threads are less likely to be bumped. After three months, the new user should be able to see all posts from a year ago and later, since this wait should reinforce the fact that bumping threads (in certain ways) is considered rude.
Now what should we do if someone does bump a thread? This is going to sound harsh, but depending on the post itself, i think the mods should calmly send a PM to the person who bumped the thread, if such post is considered unnecessary, inflammatory, or rude. If this happens a second time, another PM, this time a bit more stern. Three times? I think that should be worth a 10-point infraction. But then again, "this doesn't break the CoC"...oh wait, it does (in certain cases).
Code of Conduct said:
There's two options i can think of that should coincide with the suggestion given before. Those are:
1. If a thread is bumped with a post like "can someone send me this locomotive" or something like that, then yeah, i believe that goes against this article of the CoC. If it's something like a screenshot thread being bumped, the user bumping the thread should show a screenshot within the theme of the thread. If it's a project thread that hasn't been posted in in a year, then chances are the project is dead, and no further posts are necessary unless it is posted by the OP of the thread or by someone else that has connections or relations to the project, like a colleague or the like. It all depends on the post and the thread being bumped.
2. The only other option i see is every thread being locked after 30 days of inactivity (i.e. no new posts after a 30 day period). This can become a hassle though, as if a creator wants to bump the thread, they may have to message the moderators to get them to re-open the thread...unless the creator can post in their own thread as often as possible no matter the timeframe between posts. For example, if i post a project thread in the Screenshots forum, only i, the opening poster, can post there after 30 days: for all others, the thread appears locked, or "dead", if you want to call it that.
I've seen this done by countless people, countless times. And yeah, maybe some of them do receive infractions for bumping these dead threads...but yet there are people that do it constantly, and it gets rude. One user in particular bumped two threads that i know of, and posted 3 TIMES in a matter of minutes (technically i could say this is in violation of the first part of Article 12 ["...redundant messages"], but i bet he wouldn't be punished for it anyway, so yeah). That's why i think we need a new rule or two around here. My ideas are meant to counteract this, again: depending on the post itself.
So that's my personal take on this. It's quite annoying seeing a thread from 4-5 years ago being bumped when it's very clearly dead. I'm sure people will disagree with me on this, but that's how I personally believe this issue can be solved. And hey, these are just suggestions, but y'know, feel free to be rude to me because yatta yatta yatta i have an opinion and it's "wrong".
[FONT="]¯\_(ツ)_/¯[/FONT]
SantaFebuff
That's So Trainz Forum
Let's ban everyone who bumps threads and be done with it.
Wait.
That's technically not a solution.
Nevermind.
Wait.
That's technically not a solution.
Nevermind.
The thread listing shows the original date of each thread. If old threads don't interest you then don't open them.
amigacooke
Well-known member
I'll write my usual reply to threads on this subject.
Forum threads are self regulating. Any thread that cannot sustain interest will sink from sight regardless of whether it's been resurrected or not. Why discourage posters?
Forum threads are self regulating. Any thread that cannot sustain interest will sink from sight regardless of whether it's been resurrected or not. Why discourage posters?
simulatortrain
jointed freaking rails
>waits patiently for a future April 1 to bump this thread
Tony_Hilliam
Trainz Plus - enjoy Trainz from just 20 cents a da
I was just thinking - this thread may have a life of its own with people bumping it randomly for a laugh.
shaneturner12
Tutorial Creator
That would be just like the post related thread that seems to crop up every so often.
Shane
Shane