[SUGGESTION] How to Prevent Necroing Threads

Liofa · March 2018

This is a big issue that makes forums hard to read . Almost every single day , I see this happen and I think it is enough . Old threads that has no value on todays ESO are still being discussed about and making new players learn old/outdated information about the game . It is harmful for the community . You need to prevent this from happening . Here is my suggestion .

When someone is posting a comment on a thread from a year ago , show them a message that says ''it has been x months since last comment is posted'' or something similar near the comment box with big red letters . Not saying they shouldn't be able to comment on it , just let them know that it is an old thread and they should think about starting a new one instead . This is something I see in almost every forum I am a member of . I don't see the reason for official ESO forums not having it . Simple solution to a big problem .

Ley · March 2018

Saving thread for future necro.

Kanar · March 2018

I disagree. Nothing wrong with necroing threads, in fact it's helpful because it shows how long certain issues have been ongoing.

Will bookmark this thread so I can necro next year.

TarrNokk · March 2018

There is only an issue in your head, not in the forum. Thank you.

Waffennacht · March 2018

Well seeing as necroing threads is against forum rules and are usually are closed anyway...

Yes

raasdal · March 2018

This thread is going to get necroed real hard, from now till ragnarok.

Zaldan · March 2018

depends if it's a bug thread that ZO$ still hasn't fixed

boombazookajd · March 2018

But this is the closest some of us can get to a necromancer class

VaranisArano · March 2018

I prefer to create a new thread, while linking the older threads to give a sense of the past conversations about the issue.

Like this, where there's another thread last updated March 5th about this very topic! https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/397186/necroed-threads/p1

But I also appreciate thread necros because it gives me a chance to use this:

Acrolas · March 2018

Locking unofficial threads with more than 60 days of inactivity and deleting them after 90 would help with the clutter.

A monthly community roundup article listing important developer comments and answers would help limit how much thread digging we have to do to find official information. This could also double as an ESO Live topic summary.

VaranisArano · March 2018

Acrolas wrote: »

Locking unofficial threads with more than 60 days of inactivity and deleting them after 90 would help with the clutter.

A monthly community roundup article listing important developer comments and answers would help limit how much thread digging we have to do to find official information. This could also double as an ESO Live topic summary.

Problem with that is there are a lot of quest bugs that happen intermittently and still aren't fixed (probably because they happen rarely). I know there's been several times where I've found a solution to a quest bug or at least the understanding that it is a bugged quest by finding old, old threads.

I'd rather that past posts were locked and archived so they'd be searchable but not able to be commented on, instead of being deleted.

QuebraRegra · March 2018

I'll necro any thread wherein a problem is stated and remains unresoled, even years later. it's important to recognize the history of these things and not obscure the truth with a 'new thread".

SirAndy · March 2018

Liofa wrote: »

How to Prevent Necroing Threads

Simple, ZOS just needs to start fixing issues in a timely manner so people don't have to come here and resurrect threads about the same issue over and over for years.

VaranisArano · March 2018

I don't mind the "This problem still exists!" thread necros as long as its a bug, and not a dead horse thing we all know about like Cyrodiil lag or something.

I really dislike the times when people jump into a topic to offer their super helpful advice to the OP without checking to see that the OP posted the thread a long time ago and the conversation had been dead for 6 months or so. Seriously, if its been that long since the thread's been active, they don't need your input on a long-dead conversation.

NewBlacksmurf · March 2018

Well it does show a date and or time of the last comment as well as a time stamp of the OP.....

so people full well know what they are doing.
Perhaps its that the MOD say in one breath, don't start a new thread and then other people say its necro''''

As long as the topic is still relevant, that is what people should do vs creating a new topic.

rafaelcsmaia · March 2018

We have a dilemma here, if you post something people have already seen, you get the all salty and stupid "Use the search button" reply, if you actually do use it and post on an old thread, its called necromancy.

Surely there is no way to make everyone happy at the same time, so i'd say let people necro posts.

Turelus · March 2018

Not a bad idea actually, some kind of warning it's an old thread when replying.

Liofa · March 2018

So many against this suggestion like I said people should be punished for necroing or something ^^ Someone even said I have a problem in my head lol

I am only against necro that happens in a thread where the information is outdated and/or not related to the game anymore . You can find a thread that talks about sustain nerfs and its relation to animation cancelling . Sustain nerfs happened almost a year ago and still got necroed for whatever reason . The thread is dead and not related to todays ESO . Anyway , all I asked for was a small alert that lets you know that you are about to comment on an old thread that might include outdated info ^^

VaranisArano · March 2018

rafaelcsmaia wrote: »

We have a dilemma here, if you post something people have already seen, you get the all salty and stupid "Use the search button" reply, if you actually do use it and post on an old thread, its called necromancy.

Surely there is no way to make everyone happy at the same time, so i'd say let people necro posts.

Post the new thread and link the old threads to show you did, in fact, use the search engine and something is still an issue?

TheShadowScout · March 2018

Liofa wrote: »

This is a big issue that makes forums hard to read . Almost every single day , I see this happen and I think it is enough . Old threads that has no value on todays ESO are still being discussed about...

Kanar wrote: »

I disagree. Nothing wrong with necroing threads, in fact it's helpful because it shows how long certain issues have been ongoing...

I agree with both of those points.

Yes, there are threads that are full of outdated information, and should be left dead and buried. And a hint to new forumees "hey, it has been this long since someone cared, you sure you wanna post...?" might not be such a bad idea, to get them to read the whole thing again and not necro threads about people arguing how the barbershop might come, or how this or that is (actually, has been two years ago) OP and must be nerfed...

Yes, there are threads that are still relevant for discussion, where it would be helpful for the people to be able to see what has been said before, so they don't repeat the same point over and over and over again. Even if those threads may fall inactive for a while until the topic comes up for discussion once more.

Waffennacht wrote: »

Well seeing as necroing threads is against forum rules and are usually are closed anyway...

I suspect the relevant part in the forum rules you refer to here would be:

Thread Bumping: Please refrain from replying to discussion threads for the sole purpose of “bumping” them. This is considered to be a form of spam because it does not add to the discussion in a constructive or meaningful way. We understand that everyone would like to keep their discussion active and visible, but we encourage you to strive for meaningful and constructive posts instead of posts that consist of nothing more than “Bump!”

And yes, ZOS people DO go around now and then and lock "Draugr Threads" to keep them from haunting the forums if someone does that sort of thing.
Not always with due consideration I think, since I have encountered necroed threads that by right ought to be locked ages ago (but its not like we can expect them to see everything, right), and occasionally locked threads that may still have been a valid discussion to take up again, though I guess the latter is less of an issue since people can always start a new topic where they link to the old to give people a chance to review what was said before... (not that many do that of course, heck, most seem to not even check if the thing they want to post has been discussed before...)
Still, their forums, their rules, their decisions.

In any case, not like it really is that big a deal.

If you see an old thread you still think a valid discussion, don't just "bump" it but make it an nice reply were you state your thoughts on the matter in detail to encourage further discussion. If you just "agree", well, that's why we have those "insightful-agree-awesome" counters, yes?
If you see a necroed thread that does not seem to have any relevance anymore, plop in a "thread necromancy" image for your amusement and report it to the forum watchdogs for locking.

Problem solved.

Sabbathius · March 2018

Best way to stop necros is to fix old problems in a timely manner.

Last necro I saw was the "Animation Canceling is About to Be Changed Drastically" thread going back to last April. And why was it necroed? Because animation canceling is as much of an issue today as it was back then! See, some people seem to think that declaring something a dead horse indeed kills the horse. That is not the case. Animation canceling has been a "dead horse" since beta, beaten all year long without mercy. And guess what, until ZOS gets off their luxuriant butts and addresses the problems that come with animation cancelling, we'll be seeing these same theads, either necros or reposts, a year from now, two years from now, and so on. Ongoing issues are ongoing. Until they are fixed, they will just keep coming back. Fix the issue, and necros will largely stop, and those that do pop up will get no traction.

jcaceresw · March 2018

I like your idea. However, @ZOS could implement a server functionality that runs on each page load request that checks the last time a reply have been put and compare it to a specific time frame. Example, let say it need 60 days from the last reply to consider the thread as outdated and thus close it. It will save time for @ZOS forum moderators to be actively watching those resurrected threads and people will stop posting in them.

Also, they could implement a script on their forum database and make all threads posted 2 years ago (or more) to be automatically "hidden" logically in order to avoid being shown in the forums. I would suggest this script to be run each quarter.

Notice, these suggestion must apply to both user and official posts (except patch notes).

Grimm13 · March 2018

TheShadowScout wrote: »

Liofa wrote: »

This is a big issue that makes forums hard to read . Almost every single day , I see this happen and I think it is enough . Old threads that has no value on todays ESO are still being discussed about...

Kanar wrote: »

I disagree. Nothing wrong with necroing threads, in fact it's helpful because it shows how long certain issues have been ongoing...

I agree with both of those points.

Yes, there are threads that are full of outdated information, and should be left dead and buried. And a hint to new forumees "hey, it has been this long since someone cared, you sure you wanna post...?" might not be such a bad idea, to get them to read the whole thing again and not necro threads about people arguing how the barbershop might come, or how this or that is (actually, has been two years ago) OP and must be nerfed...

Yes, there are threads that are still relevant for discussion, where it would be helpful for the people to be able to see what has been said before, so they don't repeat the same point over and over and over again. Even if those threads may fall inactive for a while until the topic comes up for discussion once more.

Waffennacht wrote: »

Well seeing as necroing threads is against forum rules and are usually are closed anyway...

I suspect the relevant part in the forum rules you refer to here would be:

Thread Bumping: Please refrain from replying to discussion threads for the sole purpose of “bumping” them. This is considered to be a form of spam because it does not add to the discussion in a constructive or meaningful way. We understand that everyone would like to keep their discussion active and visible, but we encourage you to strive for meaningful and constructive posts instead of posts that consist of nothing more than “Bump!”

And yes, ZOS people DO go around now and then and lock "Draugr Threads" to keep them from haunting the forums if someone does that sort of thing.
Not always with due consideration I think, since I have encountered necroed threads that by right ought to be locked ages ago (but its not like we can expect them to see everything, right), and occasionally locked threads that may still have been a valid discussion to take up again, though I guess the latter is less of an issue since people can always start a new topic where they link to the old to give people a chance to review what was said before... (not that many do that of course, heck, most seem to not even check if the thing they want to post has been discussed before...)
Still, their forums, their rules, their decisions.

In any case, not like it really is that big a deal.
If you see an old thread you still think a valid discussion, don't just "bump" it but make it an nice reply were you state your thoughts on the matter in detail to encourage further discussion. If you just "agree", well, that's why we have those "insightful-agree-awesome" counters, yes?

If you see a necroed thread that does not seem to have any relevance anymore, plop in a "thread necromancy" image for your amusement and report it to the forum watchdogs for locking.

Problem solved.

I agree.... really wanted to just do that. Will reframe from it.

If a thread passes a litmus test of still being relevant, not been changed in a update, then IMHO it's not necromancy.

Being limited to three choices (Insightful, Agree, Awesome) is wrong. I would prefer to be able to mark a disagree. So many times I've wanted to click that option instead of feeding a Troll. Don't say it might hurt some ones feelings, many of the replies do much worse than a simple disagree button ever would.

QuebraRegra · March 2018

SirAndy wrote: »

Liofa wrote: »

How to Prevent Necroing Threads

Simple, ZOS just needs to start fixing issues in a timely manner so people don't have to come here and resurrect threads about the same issue over and over for years.

this is for you..

starkerealm · March 2018

klowdy1 · March 2018

Sounds good, I'll bump this thread in a month to keep it going.

Androconium · March 2018

You can't win.

In some forums, you get caned for asking a question that was answered two years earlier.

"search before you ask"

This is a big issue that makes forums hard to read .

pfft

logarifmik · March 2018

For the sake of Julianos, stop blindly condemn the art of necromancy already! Something of current interest must not rot in the grave!

Asardes · March 2018

Or even better: close automatically threads that received no new updated in a month or more and delete/archive threads older than one year.

aeowulf · May 2018

it's to do with the way search works, you type in what you are looking for and half the threads on the first page of results are from 2016, the other half from 2014.

That thing needs to sort in date order. It's borderline useless in trying to locate what you're looking for, you're better off using Google and limiting the searches to this site.

PS sorry for the necro...

VaranisArano · May 2018

aeowulf wrote: »

it's to do with the way search works, you type in what you are looking for and half the threads on the first page of results are from 2016, the other half from 2014.

That thing needs to sort in date order. It's borderline useless in trying to locate what you're looking for, you're better off using Google and limiting the searches to this site.

PS sorry for the necro...

I'm obscurely delighted to see this thread, of all threads, getting necro'd.