Necroed Threads

SilverIce58

Why do people necro threads? Like I understand you put a comment on a thread that's maybe 3 months (at max) old, but why do people comment on threads that are 6 months to several years old? Are they just so bored that they go diving through the forums? I'm genuinely curious about this.

redspecter23

If you necro a thread, people will come and tell you you're bad for doing it and should just create a new topic. If you create a new topic that's already been covered, people will come and tell you to use the search function to find an old thread covering the topic. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Turelus

I sometimes wonder if they Google an issue then just post in the thread that pops up without looking at the date.

I've done a 3 month necro before by mistake on mobile as I didn't see it was in a different sections and thought it was "recent discussions" being displayed.

starkerealm

They do it so that I can post this:

bloodthirstyvampire

Just for the irony i'll be back in a year

starkerealm

Turelus wrote: »

I sometimes wonder if they Google an issue then just post in the thread that pops up without looking at the date.

I've done a 3 month necro before by mistake on mobile as I didn't see it was in a different sections and thought it was "recent discussions" being displayed.

Yeah, that's happened to me as well. Specifically the Google thing. I'll be looking at an error code or some other weirdness, read a thread, start to go, "wait, that's not true anymore," and then notice that it's from 2014, and @UrQuan is in the thread.

starkerealm

bloodthirstyvampire wrote: »

Just for the irony i'll be back in a year

I'll be waiting.

xeNNNNN

Turelus wrote: »

I sometimes wonder if they Google an issue then just post in the thread that pops up without looking at the date.

I've done a 3 month necro before by mistake on mobile as I didn't see it was in a different sections and thought it was "recent discussions" being displayed.

Pretty much this.

Sometimes you're just frustrated with a problem and you want to comment on it so someone will see it hoping for a solution and in the frustration you wont look at the date because you'll just tunnel on the issue rather than the date which at the time will seemingly be semantics in the sense that the date doesnt really matter that much to the person at the time just the fact that the issue was raised already.

I know because ive done that accidentally one or two times (once on this forum and on other forums).

PlagueSD

Yeah, I blame google. I've done that before. If I'm looking for something, I'll search google first. What I hate is when it doesn't put you on the first page of the post, you look at the date for the page you're on and you see something a few months old...on page 34. You go to reply and BAM!!! Necro post.

MissBizz

starkerealm wrote: »

Turelus wrote: »

I sometimes wonder if they Google an issue then just post in the thread that pops up without looking at the date.

I've done a 3 month necro before by mistake on mobile as I didn't see it was in a different sections and thought it was "recent discussions" being displayed.

Yeah, that's happened to me as well. Specifically the Google thing. I'll be looking at an error code or some other weirdness, read a thread, start to go, "wait, that's not true anymore," and then notice that it's from 2014, and @UrQuan is in the thread.

Totally screenshotted that and sent it to UrQuan @starkerealm lol

I agree with the others tho. Googling or just focusing too much on the issue so you don't bother looking at a date.

newtinmpls

I miss @UrQuan

Ever since some ... person... shut down "thread for PC users" I'm missing a lot of peeps

UrQuan

starkerealm wrote: »

Turelus wrote: »

I sometimes wonder if they Google an issue then just post in the thread that pops up without looking at the date.

I've done a 3 month necro before by mistake on mobile as I didn't see it was in a different sections and thought it was "recent discussions" being displayed.

Yeah, that's happened to me as well. Specifically the Google thing. I'll be looking at an error code or some other weirdness, read a thread, start to go, "wait, that's not true anymore," and then notice that it's from 2014, and @UrQuan is in the thread.

A wild UrQuan appears!


Yeah, I haven't really forumed since I had to go on disability in 2016 & couldn't really use a computer (I'm much better now, but work's way too busy for me to be on the forums while at work, and that was always the majority of my time hanging out on the forums), so any thread that I posted in are definitely necros.

Now it's time to vanish again...

Grimm13

If it is still a valid question which has not been answered or a relevant post of an on going issue, does it matter it was Necro? Part a of a point being made, may be to show how long it's been going on.

Is there a official set expiration date which a thread is not to be posted to? If so, why are they not locked for further posting. If it is not locked and can be found, does that make it fair game to post on.

Now I do agree that if the issue no longer applies, leave it buried.

VaranisArano

I prefer to start a new thread and link the old threads I found for reference.

However, if the thread is on one of the monthly dead horse topics around here, I confess to getting deja vu whichever way because its either a dead thread springing back to the front of my discussions or I'm like "didnt I read that exactly thing a month ago? Oh, okay, that was a different thtead but same idea"

Lord_Wrath

Google is good at showing old posts

FloppyTouch

People complain when you make a post about a topic that has been discussed before people complain when you search a topic then ask something in that thread

You can't win on the forums

Niobium

Turelus wrote: »

I sometimes wonder if they Google an issue then just post in the thread that pops up without looking at the date.

I've done a 3 month necro before by mistake on mobile as I didn't see it was in a different sections and thought it was "recent discussions" being displayed.

I've searched and found threads that resolve my issue. I find that when I go to reply the thread has already been locked and the issue it resolved was actually posted years ago. Sometimes necro's are still relevant and giving a nod that X issue is still current and the fix still works is good. Not necessarily for ESO, but generally speaking.

It can definitely happen that threads are necro'd for good reasons and sometimes even unknowingly.

Edited: To check OP date and make sure I wasn't replying to a necro thread. You just never know how sneaky those *** can be!

lardvader

Just waiting for this thread to die so I can necro it - I'll yell you why then

starkerealm

UrQuan wrote: »

starkerealm wrote: »

Turelus wrote: »

I sometimes wonder if they Google an issue then just post in the thread that pops up without looking at the date.

I've done a 3 month necro before by mistake on mobile as I didn't see it was in a different sections and thought it was "recent discussions" being displayed.

Yeah, that's happened to me as well. Specifically the Google thing. I'll be looking at an error code or some other weirdness, read a thread, start to go, "wait, that's not true anymore," and then notice that it's from 2014, and @UrQuan is in the thread.

A wild UrQuan appears!


Yeah, I haven't really forumed since I had to go on disability in 2016 & couldn't really use a computer (I'm much better now, but work's way too busy for me to be on the forums while at work, and that was always the majority of my time hanging out on the forums), so any thread that I posted in are definitely necros.

Now it's time to vanish again...

Nuuu... he's escaped again.

TheShadowScout

redspecter23 wrote: »

If you necro a thread, people will come and tell you you're bad for doing it and should just create a new topic...

...and sometimes, those people are from ZOS and will lock the old thread, settling the matter by fiat.

Personally I think sometimes it would be better to necro a thread, give new people the chance to look at all the old postings, so they don't repeat the same old arguments over and over and over again.

Of course, the important question is if that thread id still relevant.

I mean, the game has changed a lot since who-knows-when... threads lamenting how stick and skirt dominates PvP as it once upon a time did... would not really have much relevance now, right? Or threads asking for barbershop, discussion how lore-conforming race changes might be or whatnot... thuse had best stay buried and forgotten.

And noone really needs the hundreth "can we have flying dragon mounts" or "let us have -everything- account wide" or "dwemer PC race would be cool..." idi... uhm... mental malfunction. Especially not when someone "bumps" the thread, as in, just posting something without any new information value, just to drag the equine corpse of the discussion back for another beating...

On the other hand, more general threads dealing with basic game questions... stuff about the lore that might interest new people as well, or suggestions for guilds or other game systems that have not been considered by the powers that be yet... for those, it would be nifty to not start a new thread, but have the old thoughts revieable for new readers as well. (though I suppose you can always link to the old thread when starting a new one)

But eh. Not like its any kind of big deal, right?

starkerealm

TheShadowScout wrote: »

redspecter23 wrote: »

If you necro a thread, people will come and tell you you're bad for doing it and should just create a new topic...

...and sometimes, those people are from ZOS and will lock the old thread, settling the matter by fiat.

Personally I think sometimes it would be better to necro a thread, give new people the chance to look at all the old postings, so they don't repeat the same old arguments over and over and over again.

Of course, the important question is if that thread id still relevant.

I mean, the game has changed a lot since who-knows-when... threads lamenting how stick and skirt dominates PvP as it once upon a time did... would not really have much relevance now, right? Or threads asking for barbershop, discussion how lore-conforming race changes might be or whatnot... thuse had best stay buried and forgotten.

And noone really needs the hundreth "can we have flying dragon mounts" or "let us have -everything- account wide" or "dwemer PC race would be cool..." idi... uhm... mental malfunction. Especially not when someone "bumps" the thread, as in, just posting something without any new information value, just to drag the equine corpse of the discussion back for another beating...

On the other hand, more general threads dealing with basic game questions... stuff about the lore that might interest new people as well, or suggestions for guilds or other game systems that have not been considered by the powers that be yet... for those, it would be nifty to not start a new thread, but have the old thoughts revieable for new readers as well. (though I suppose you can always link to the old thread when starting a new one)

But eh. Not like its any kind of big deal, right?

In my experience, most of the time, a necroed thread will get locked because the information within is sufficiently out of date.

For example, more than once, I've been attacked in a thread based on information from two years ago that was true when I made the original post, but is no longer how the game functions. Werewolves and their Stam Regen buff is a frequent example.

When old threads are still relevant, they usually survive unmolested. Or, sometimes survive, anyway.

Yolokin_Swagonborn

I'm gonna necro this thread in 6 months.

But hopefully by then, i've stopped playing this game.

Samadhi

bloodthirstyvampire wrote: »

Just for the irony i'll be back in a year

UrQuan wrote: »

... so any thread that I posted in are definitely necros.
...

hmm...

Anotherone773

If i...
* started 3 months ago, should i never comment or start a thread on any topic that has ever been covered prior to me starting?
* resurrect an old thread, people complain.
* start a new thread on an old topic, people complain.

Conclusion: People like to complain, i ignore them. If someone doesnt want to read that thread on that topic that has come up a dozen times in the last 4 years, then they should be an intelligent person and dont click on it. If they open it just to complain about the thread, then they really should get a life... or go back to posting their nonsense drama on facebook, where it belongs.

Nyghthowler

starkerealm wrote: »

When old threads are still relevant, they usually survive unmolested. Or, sometimes survive, anyway.

LOL.Thread molesting. Show me on the dolly where the bad forum user touched you...

MattT1988

Grimm13 wrote: »

If it is still a valid question which has not been answered or a relevant post of an on going issue, does it matter it was Necro? Part a of a point being made, may be to show how long it's been going on.

Is there a official set expiration date which a thread is not to be posted to? If so, why are they not locked for further posting. If it is not locked and can be found, does that make it fair game to post on.

Now I do agree that if the issue no longer applies, leave it buried.

I asked a forum moderator this question when I got warned for it when I first started posting. He told me anything that doesn’t have a reply in a week is considered a necro. So there you go.

Turelus

Anotherone773 wrote: »

If i...
* started 3 months ago, should i never comment or start a thread on any topic that has ever been covered prior to me starting?
* resurrect an old thread, people complain.
* start a new thread on an old topic, people complain.

Conclusion: People like to complain, i ignore them. If someone doesnt want to read that thread on that topic that has come up a dozen times in the last 4 years, then they should be an intelligent person and dont click on it. If they open it just to complain about the thread, then they really should get a life... or go back to posting their nonsense drama on facebook, where it belongs.

If it's a thread about Auction Houses you should ALWAYS make a new thread! It's one of the rare time I can get away with my horse beating gif.

On a serious note it depends if you have anything new to say on the topic. That's not to say you shouldn't have a voice or feel you can't create new discussions on old issues, but if the discussion on your specific thought has already played out then you're going to see the same thing again.

Using the AH example, if a thread is new and actually offers something to talk about the past 100+ haven't I will engage and debate/talk about it. If the thread is just "This game should have a AH like other games, I don't like this system" then the OP could easily go look up every answer to that in multiple threads.

Cadbury

Turelus wrote: »

Anotherone773 wrote: »

If i...
* started 3 months ago, should i never comment or start a thread on any topic that has ever been covered prior to me starting?
* resurrect an old thread, people complain.
* start a new thread on an old topic, people complain.

Conclusion: People like to complain, i ignore them. If someone doesnt want to read that thread on that topic that has come up a dozen times in the last 4 years, then they should be an intelligent person and dont click on it. If they open it just to complain about the thread, then they really should get a life... or go back to posting their nonsense drama on facebook, where it belongs.

If it's a thread about Auction Houses you should ALWAYS make a new thread! It's one of the rare time I can get away with my horse beating gif.

On a serious note it depends if you have anything new to say on the topic. That's not to say you shouldn't have a voice or feel you can't create new discussions on old issues, but if the discussion on your specific thought has already played out then you're going to see the same thing again.

Using the AH example, if a thread is new and actually offers something to talk about the past 100+ haven't I will engage and debate/talk about it. If the thread is just "This game should have a AH like other games, I don't like this system" then the OP could easily go look up every answer to that in multiple threads.

Also, nerf sorcerer and please give us necromancer class

Those topics never get old.

Tasear

It's a grey area kinda thing.

MattT1988

Tasear wrote: »

It's a grey area kinda thing.

Not really. The mods are pretty clear about it.

newtinmpls

I'll happily participate in the necro-ing of thoughtful threads, threads that have a congenial give-and-take, and threads that support a positive community.

Those sorts should never die .... for long