We need automatic thread locks to prevent necroing

arena25

I just received a plethora of emails stating "so-and-so replied to your topic" for the second time this week. The problem? It's people necroing very old threads. I am very fortunate, then, that mods are closing my old threads, but it still drives me bonkers.

So why isn't automatic locks (where a thread is automatically locked after 30 days or so) a thing? I get people want to poke fun at my past mistakes, but come on, people...there has to be better ways to poke the bear/poke fun at people and their glorious posting errors than necroing very old threads. Necroing threads went out of style back in 2012, and besides that, necroing threads can put you on the hook for a possible warning from the mods.

arena25

And by the way, you will have to excuse my poor writing skills and poor grammar, as I have had issues sleeping as of late...and I'm not sure why.

huntgod_ESO

Though some is intentional, more often someone has googled a question and an older thread has popped up in the results, the individual then comments on it, not realizing or checking to see if it's an old thread...because people are typically lazy.

Alpheu5

huntgod_ESO wrote: »

Though some is intentional, more often someone has googled a question and an older thread has popped up in the results, the individual then comments on it, not realizing or checking to see if it's an old thread...because people are typically lazy.

And sometimes those threads are the primary discussion threads for long-standing issues, and necroing them allows the discussions to continue about whether it's been addressed or if it's gotten worse over time. I'd personally much rather have an old, relevant thread be revived over a dozen new threads being formed to talk about the same thing.

Everest_Lionheart

Alpheu5 wrote: »

huntgod_ESO wrote: »

Though some is intentional, more often someone has googled a question and an older thread has popped up in the results, the individual then comments on it, not realizing or checking to see if it's an old thread...because people are typically lazy.

And sometimes those threads are the primary discussion threads for long-standing issues, and necroing them allows the discussions to continue about whether it's been addressed or if it's gotten worse over time. I'd personally much rather have an old, relevant thread be revived over a dozen new threads being formed to talk about the same thing.

I’ve been though several of those threads today alone via google just looking for some info about certain aspects of the game. Some threads are 3-4 years old and still showing the the top of search results. Others are barely over a year old but still relevant to 3 other threads on the first two pages of the board and often contain actual information and less trolling. I’ve nearly necroed a couple of them today because the discussion is better and after reading through 4-5 pages of discussion I actually have questions, but I don’t want to be called out for necroing a thread either because forum etiquette or whatever. Anyway it is what it is.

Ratzkifal

You should disable the setting that you get an email every time someone replies to your forum post then.

brennz

I find the fact this forum doesn’t want necro’d threads very bizarre. It’s weird to me they’d rather have 5 threads discussing the same thing vs. 1. I think threads discussing things that have changed via patch or are completely irrelevant being closed is fine. But I’ve come across 3-4 I want to ask questions in but can’t because they’re arbitrarily closed. How is it good for the forum for me to create a new thread entirely? Seems sloppy and disorganized.

Jeremy

arena25 wrote: »

And by the way, you will have to excuse my poor writing skills and poor grammar, as I have had issues sleeping as of late...and I'm not sure why.

I did not notice any poor writing skills and grammar. Your post read perfectly actually.

But to your point: I agree. It would easier on the moderators too if they had such a function, as that would save them the trouble of having to close them manually every time someone brings one up from the dead (which happens frequently).

Anhedonie

I will reply to this thread in 3-5 years.

xshatox

Anhedonie wrote: »

I will reply to this thread in 3-5 years.

Assuming ESO still around.

Vizikul

brennz wrote: »

I find the fact this forum doesn’t want necro’d threads very bizarre. It’s weird to me they’d rather have 5 threads discussing the same thing vs. 1. I think threads discussing things that have changed via patch or are completely irrelevant being closed is fine. But I’ve come across 3-4 I want to ask questions in but can’t because they’re arbitrarily closed. How is it good for the forum for me to create a new thread entirely? Seems sloppy and disorganized.

Oh, they don't want that either. If you create a thread with a topic already covered, it will be closed for being a duplicate thread.

TheShadowScout

arena25 wrote: »

We need automatic thread locks to prevent necroing

No thanks!

I mean, yeah, for -some- threads it would make sense. The ones that deal with outdated info, game mechanics that have since been changed, etc.

...but...

Others tho are valid for discussion, when they deal with suggestions and ideas that never have been touched upon, and there it is a good thing if new people can look at all the old comments, to make up their own mind about what to think... perhaps spawn some good ideas of their own when they see what others have thought (I know it happened to me a few times)

I mean, yeah, one can always just copy the old suggestions into a new discussion, as I sometimes do when one of the "idea collection" I at times like to drop a link towards gets locked as "too old" and then I just restart it since I still think the ideas have value... sometimes I even add some more ideas as time goes by... or asjust the old ones to new patterns... but its a bit awkward to just have a link to the old discussion when you then see new people asking the same questions that have been dealt with dozends of times...

Same for other discussions, I mean, do we -really- need some topics like those "gimme account wide" or "lemme PvP everyone" threads popping up every month or so? I for one would rather see people look at older discussions instead of repeating the same arguments over and over...

But eh. Their forums, their choices.

FierceSam

Hey dude,

I guess the easiest solution for you is to stop receiving updates on topics you’ve left behind. It’s not trying to develop a rule system for locking old threads...

Old threads can still be just as valuable long after they were started . And someone necroing a thread usually means they found some value in it.....

If you don’t want to receive updates, just opt out of them... don’t stop people commenting on whatever they want.

Glurin

brennz wrote: »

I find the fact this forum doesn’t want necro’d threads very bizarre. It’s weird to me they’d rather have 5 threads discussing the same thing vs. 1. I think threads discussing things that have changed via patch or are completely irrelevant being closed is fine. But I’ve come across 3-4 I want to ask questions in but can’t because they’re arbitrarily closed. How is it good for the forum for me to create a new thread entirely? Seems sloppy and disorganized.

Five threads spread out over the course of five years isn't a problem. Five active threads on the exact same topic clogs things up.

As far as necroed threads are concerned, it's generally better to close old threads simply because the information contained within may no longer be relevant even if the main topic hasn't changed. It's a real pain in the ass trying to filter it all so you can weed out comments that are no longer valid. Particularly for new people who are trying to get up to speed on current circumstances and likely wouldn't have any idea what is or is not currently accurate information. Plus the people you're replying to may not even be around anymore, or maybe their opinions have changed so what you're commenting on isn't even what they believe anymore.

Honestly necroing an old thread is a lot like going to a person's house many years after they happened to mention in a conversation that they like ham and as soon as they open the door you just blurt out "I prefer chicken."

Tandor

Glurin wrote: »

brennz wrote: »

I find the fact this forum doesn’t want necro’d threads very bizarre. It’s weird to me they’d rather have 5 threads discussing the same thing vs. 1. I think threads discussing things that have changed via patch or are completely irrelevant being closed is fine. But I’ve come across 3-4 I want to ask questions in but can’t because they’re arbitrarily closed. How is it good for the forum for me to create a new thread entirely? Seems sloppy and disorganized.

Five threads spread out over the course of five years isn't a problem. Five active threads on the exact same topic clogs things up.

As far as necroed threads are concerned, it's generally better to close old threads simply because the information contained within may no longer be relevant even if the main topic hasn't changed. It's a real pain in the ass trying to filter it all so you can weed out comments that are no longer valid. Particularly for new people who are trying to get up to speed on current circumstances and likely wouldn't have any idea what is or is not currently accurate information. Plus the people you're replying to may not even be around anymore, or maybe their opinions have changed so what you're commenting on isn't even what they believe anymore.

Honestly necroing an old thread is a lot like going to a person's house many years after they happened to mention in a conversation that they like ham and as soon as they open the door you just blurt out "I prefer chicken."

Or turning up with some ham sandwiches, not realising that there have been several different changes of ownership on that house in the intervening time.

There's no reason to necro an old thread. If the issue is still alive and there's no current thread covering it then start a new one. Goodness knows, enough people seem to have no problem creating a separate thread for their very important opinion when there are already a dozen current ones they could contribute to, how come some posters feel a compulsion to add to a dead one that no-one has posted on for years?

ShawnLaRock

I find lots of my searches for frequent questions ping threads to which conclusive answers were never found / stated.

S.

TineaCruris

Please, let people speak and discuss. Please don't ask for them to be silenced.

Mr_Walker

No, we don't, the obsessive fascination people have with closing old threads is deranged. If the information is still relevant, it's still relevant.

End of discussion.

brennz

Glurin wrote: »

Honestly necroing an old thread is a lot like going to a person's house many years after they happened to mention in a conversation that they like ham and as soon as they open the door you just blurt out "I prefer chicken."

The thing is, it's not just years-old threads getting locked. I was in one the other day where it was started in October of 2019 and it was closed. That's 6 months ago! The closing of threads is too strict.

If a thread doesn't have a reply at all in a year, automatically lock it. Everything else should be left open. Even if the thread began in 2016, if the conversation is informative and still relevant and still being discussed, leave it open. Creating repeat threads because things get arbitrarily locked means search is a cluster duck and newbies get even more confused trying to figure out which thread to read. One thread with comments from 2014-2020 is more valuable than 6 threads, one for each year.

Noxavian

arena25 wrote: »

I just received a plethora of emails stating "so-and-so replied to your topic" for the second time this week. The problem? It's people necroing very old threads. I am very fortunate, then, that mods are closing my old threads, but it still drives me bonkers.

So why isn't automatic locks (where a thread is automatically locked after 30 days or so) a thing? I get people want to poke fun at my past mistakes, but come on, people...there has to be better ways to poke the bear/poke fun at people and their glorious posting errors than necroing very old threads. Necroing threads went out of style back in 2012, and besides that, necroing threads can put you on the hook for a possible warning from the mods.

Why not just have email notifications disabled? Why should ALL threads be changed to work just for your benefit?

Bucky_13

Anhedonie wrote: »

I will reply to this thread in 3-5 years.

As will I in one year, on may 9th we must remind everyone to not necro threads.

tinythinker

Disabling notifications is a better idea as some have suggested.

There are many old threads that are still relevant and also many that are sporadically active, and the policy for moderation of older threads has always focused on relevance and interest rather than simply age.

D0PAMINE

I don't think i've ever even cared about a thread getting necroed. The responses can be funny at times.

geonsocal

sleep is muy importante... hope you get that situation worked out...