Why do people hate necro posting?

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dullard

Elite Member
May 21, 2001
24,998
3,325
126
Haven't any of you spent a lot of time thinking about and then composing the perfect answer, just to find out that the OP has left 3 years ago? I get that all the time with travel threads.

While most necros don't need to be locked, there is good reason to lock any that are clearly out of date, clearly bumped for advertisement, etc.

The true change we need is to stop people from caring that an old thread from 7 years back may be slightly related so no one should create a new thread. Let people create new threads as needed without having to use a terrible and almost non-functional search.
 
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BurnItDwn

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
26,066
1,550
126
Forum people have a superiority complex. It makes them feel special to insult those who they think are "beneath" them.
Its like a forum with a bunch of Donny Trumps on the loose!
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
856
126
Haven't any of you spent a lot of time thinking about and then composing the perfect answer, just to find out that the OP has left 3 years ago? I get that all the time with travel threads.

While most necros don't need to be locked, there is good reason to lock any that are clearly out of date, clearly bumped for advertisement, etc.

The true change we need is to stop people from caring that an old thread from 7 years back may be slightly related so no one should create a new thread. Let people create new threads as needed without having to use a terrible and almost non-functional search.


It's not like your reply isn't useful for anyone else considering traveling to the same destination you crafted your suggestions for, so it's not all wasted.
 

PowerEngineer

Diamond Member
Oct 22, 2001
3,548
716
136
Haven't any of you spent a lot of time thinking about and then composing the perfect answer, just to find out that the OP has left 3 years ago? I get that all the time with travel threads.

While most necros don't need to be locked, there is good reason to lock any that are clearly out of date, clearly bumped for advertisement, etc.

The true change we need is to stop people from caring that an old thread from 7 years back may be slightly related so no one should create a new thread. Let people create new threads as needed without having to use a terrible and almost non-functional search.

Pretty much this.

IMHO what would be helpful (at least for those of us who don't automatically check the OP posting date) is some sort of indication (e.g. font color) that the thread was started more than 6-12 months ago.
 

madoka

Diamond Member
Jun 22, 2004
4,344
712
121
While most necros don't need to be locked. . .

Agreed.

. . .there is good reason to lock any that are clearly out of date, clearly bumped for advertisement, etc.

Just delete the advertisement then. I've seen some GREAT threads locked because of single suspected spam. I get the sense they will be lost forever and that diminishes these forums.
 

Nashemon

Senior member
Jun 14, 2012
889
86
91
I find necro'd threads both amusing and interesting.

If a mod is just going to lock them after they get necro'd why not have them automatically lock after a certain period?

Answer? They shouldn't, because it harms no one, and has the potential to provide updated information and the opportunity to comment on a subject with 20/20 hindsight.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
67,194
12,025
126
www.anyf.ca
Really they should just do like some forums and have a warning that the thread is really old. When doing a search on something it's easy to not even notice the date then post in a thread because it happens to be relevant.

On a forum I used to run I had threads automatically go into an "archive" mode on the 1 year mark. Essentially it was the same thing as locked but it just said archived instead.
 

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,234
136
Really they should just do like some forums and have a warning that the thread is really old. When doing a search on something it's easy to not even notice the date then post in a thread because it happens to be relevant.

On a forum I used to run I had threads automatically go into an "archive" mode on the 1 year mark. Essentially it was the same thing as locked but it just said archived instead.

I hate that auto archive BS.
 

Exophase

Diamond Member
Apr 19, 2012
4,439
9
81
Because a lot of people look at forum threads like discussions.. which is what they usually are. Especially here. When a thread is dead that means everyone has moved on.

Sometimes there's some new development that will get things rolling again and that's worth bumping an old thread over, especially since it lets people see the background context. But when it's just someone adding a reply or their opinion it's annoying because they're basically carrying out a discussion with people who have long since lost interest, a lot of whom are never going to see the response anyway. Then other people see the thread which has been bumped to take up space in their new threads list and they think it's a current active discussion, and some of them accidentally continue necro posting themselves before they realize it's an old thread.
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
856
126
I find necro'd threads both amusing and interesting.

If a mod is just going to lock them after they get necro'd why not have them automatically lock after a certain period?

Answer? They shouldn't, because it harms no one, and has the potential to provide updated information and the opportunity to comment on a subject with 20/20 hindsight.

"What?! People are having fun in an old thread that was bumped by a spammer? Can't have that crap going on on my forum!" *locked*

:(

Just delete the spam post and let it continue to live or die on its own merits.
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
856
126
Because a lot of people look at forum threads like discussions.. which is what they usually are. Especially here. When a thread is dead that means everyone has moved on.
...until it's not dead anymore and people are having fun or discussing the subject again.

If we've really collectively moved on it will die again on its own with no lock needed.
 

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,234
136
Because a lot of people look at forum threads like discussions.. which is what they usually are. Especially here. When a thread is dead that means everyone has moved on.

Sometimes there's some new development that will get things rolling again and that's worth bumping an old thread over, especially since it lets people see the background context. But when it's just someone adding a reply or their opinion it's annoying because they're basically carrying out a discussion with people who have long since lost interest, a lot of whom are never going to see the response anyway. Then other people see the thread which has been bumped to take up space in their new threads list and they think it's a current active discussion, and some of them accidentally continue necro posting themselves before they realize it's an old thread.

Why is a revived discussion with more participants a bad thing?
 

BlitzPuppet

Platinum Member
Feb 4, 2012
2,460
7
81
I think the rule is there to keep idiots from digging up old posts all the time, especially in OT.

That's annoying, while reviving old threads with relevant info is not. But as always, this is why we can't have nice things.
 

Thebobo

Lifer
Jun 19, 2006
18,592
7,673
136
...until it's not dead anymore and people are having fun or discussing the subject again.

If we've really collectively moved on it will die again on its own with no lock needed.

Agree, I thnk the it wouldn't hurt to look into the current policy. Maybe when necroed the person has to mention in the first part of his thread?
 

Majcric

Golden Member
May 3, 2011
1,369
37
91
It's a mixed bag.

Sometimes people get upset that some new forum member posts a thread with a question that's been answered before, and tell them they need to search. But at the same time, if they search and find the answer wasn't sufficient for their problem but otherwise a thread matches their issue entirely, people get pissed they necro'd that thread.

I don't mind it if the necro fits perfectly into the original thread's purpose.

And I can definitely understand when someone necro's a thread that never saw a conclusion and that person wants the exact answer to a problem that fits the mold perfectly. How many times have we seen a thread about a certain issue, people discuss possible solutions, they don't work... and then that poster never returns to the discussion? Hell I'll admit I've been one of those, especially on Windows forums or a thread I can remember on Battlelog for either BF3 or BF4. Issues that may have taken a few weeks or, hell, months to finally narrow down the culprit and fix the issue. (I hate reformatting, and I take it as giving up - I like the challenge of figuring out some strange issue that ends up being a crazy driver conflict... with a damn keyboard driver...)

As I said, a mixed bag, because sometimes a necro is exactly what is called for. But half the time the OP is no longer a participant, and sometimes even PMs don't accomplish anything because the person disabled email notifications and never check that board.


Very good answer. I also see nothing wrong with necro threads. Perhaps we should all head down to the suggestions box.
 

ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
14,946
1,077
126
It's a mixed bag.

Sometimes people get upset that some new forum member posts a thread with a question that's been answered before, and tell them they need to search. But at the same time, if they search and find the answer wasn't sufficient for their problem but otherwise a thread matches their issue entirely, people get pissed they necro'd that thread.

I don't mind it if the necro fits perfectly into the original thread's purpose.

And I can definitely understand when someone necro's a thread that never saw a conclusion and that person wants the exact answer to a problem that fits the mold perfectly. How many times have we seen a thread about a certain issue, people discuss possible solutions, they don't work... and then that poster never returns to the discussion? Hell I'll admit I've been one of those, especially on Windows forums or a thread I can remember on Battlelog for either BF3 or BF4. Issues that may have taken a few weeks or, hell, months to finally narrow down the culprit and fix the issue. (I hate reformatting, and I take it as giving up - I like the challenge of figuring out some strange issue that ends up being a crazy driver conflict... with a damn keyboard driver...)
.

OMG that is probably one of my biggest internet pet peeves! Or the discussion will go on for pages with nothing working then they return and just say 'nevermind figured it out!' with NO indication of what they did. Grr.
 

pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
12,970
7,888
136
OMG that is probably one of my biggest internet pet peeves! Or the discussion will go on for pages with nothing working then they return and just say 'nevermind figured it out!' with NO indication of what they did. Grr.

wisdom_of_the_ancients.png


https://xkcd.com/979/
 

pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
12,970
7,888
136
Haven't any of you spent a lot of time thinking about and then composing the perfect answer, just to find out that the OP has left 3 years ago? I get that all the time with travel threads.

While most necros don't need to be locked, there is good reason to lock any that are clearly out of date, clearly bumped for advertisement, etc.

The true change we need is to stop people from caring that an old thread from 7 years back may be slightly related so no one should create a new thread. Let people create new threads as needed without having to use a terrible and almost non-functional search.

It would help if the date of each post were a bit more prominent. Maybe even a different colour scheme for posts over a certain age, so it would be immediately obvious the first post is an ancient artifact.
(An ancient parchment background, with peeling corners, perhaps)
 

pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
12,970
7,888
136
Worse when you find out it was your own post.

I have started reading necro'd threads without realising, come across a post I found I agreed with, and then realised it was me from several years ago.
(Worse is when I strongly disagree with it - who is this fool?)
 

vintprox

Junior Member
Mar 27, 2019
1
2
51
I extremely understand that my necroposted advice is like a drop in the sea here, but there are some modern solutions to this problem.

Old threads could be styled in a such way that they seem semi-transparent or have less accent than newer ones. Better solution: visual degradation of discussions by creation date.

Note for forum owners. It's not a huge deal to let users post stuff in old threads and still bring attention on recent ones. Just integrate this feature to forum engine you use and touch few styles.
 
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whm1974

Diamond Member
Jul 24, 2016
9,460
1,570
96
I extremely understand that my necroposted advice is like a drop in the sea here, but there are some modern solutions to this problem.

Old threads could be styled in a such way that they seem semi-transparent or have less accent than newer ones. Better solution: visual degradation of discussions by creation date.

Note for forum owners. It's not a huge deal to let users post stuff in old threads and still bring attention on recent ones. Just integrate this feature to forum engine you use and touch styles.
I get very annoyed when I don't even notice when threads are necroed.:rolleyes: