Locking old threads

[PMich]

I was wondering if it would be possible to lock threads automatically after being idle for a certain period of time (3-6 months). It seems that I have been seeing a lot of old threads dug up recently and its kind of frustrating for those of us who want to help to get halfway or all the way through replying to a post only to realize that the thread has been dug up out of the archives. Don't get me wrong, I am all for using the search function to find answers to problems and realize that a lot of them are recurring, but I just don't see the need to be able to respond to a post in a very old (I guess that's a relative term in this case) thread. Maybe its just me.

[Panama Red]

I feel your pain, PMich. The difficulty with locking old threads, from a moderator point of view, is knowing WHEN to lock them. It's often days or weeks later that the original poster comes back to let us know the final outcome of a problem (if at all!). By then the thread may have been pushed way down the stack and require a bunch of time to go back and search thru the old ones looking for unlocked threads. As a member, I'd much prefer to spend my time helping with current problems. Moderating is an unpaid, voluntary position. Adding a bunch of addtional "thread review requirements" would take away from each mod's personal contribution time. Plus, we would probably close a few threads too early and have to deal with PM's from irate posters requesting we open them back up.

The real solution is something I had to learn just the way you are now - Check the original date of the thread before you decide to post in it. Newcomers don't often do this. Us veterans can quickly add a reminder that this is a reopen of an old thread or suggest (in a polite way) the poster could achieve more personalized service if they start their own thread.

I'm not speaking for all the Admin staff with this opinion, just offering mine.

[glc]

I have no idea whether vBulletin has a setting to do this automatically. We certainly aren't going to do this manually, it's a huge waste of time.

[mc2phat]

Every once in awhile, an old thread being revived provides interesting info. An example would be the pics of lil Jimmie's work in the "What kind of car do you drive" thread.

[doctorgonzo]

You can always unsubscribe from old threads if you don't like getting notices for resurrected threads. I have done this from time to time.

[PMich]

Originally Posted by glc I have no idea whether vBulletin has a setting to do this automatically. We certainly aren't going to do this manually, it's a huge waste of time.

I certainly was not trying to imply that this should be done manually. Doing it manually would be a monumental waste of time. I was assuming that vbulletin would have a setting to do this automatically. I don't know much about vbulletin (or anything about vbulletin really) but I thought if it was possible to only allow edits for a certain period of time after posting that other time dependent things could be done automatically as well.

[lil Jimmie]

I generally take the time to read when the inital post was made when I open a thread just so I avoid this kinda thing.

[mb26]

i for one aren't for locking old threads atall - people always moan when questions are asked which have been covered 1000 times before.. "use the search". equally there are alot of threads where people have problems and, the threads remain unresolved, whilst the problem has often been solved much later.. i for one have several times not posted about a resolution i've found because i didn't want to ressurect a dead thread and feel somewhat 'pressured' against doing so, and that no one would care any more. even though people suggest that u should go back and post resolutions etc..
^doing this would enhance information available to people searching, and shouldn't be 'ressurecting old threads' shouldn't seen as a bad thing, all the time.
this applies even more so to those dealing with un-common issues..

what i think would be a good idea, if possible, would be to make those after 2 months (or something) darker or something so it was obvious for people who are only interested in the new stuff could ignore it easily, without having to open the thread.

[Force Flow]

Dead threads haven't really been an issue here, which is surprising considering how many posters there are.

[glc]

The only time resurrecting dead threads should raise a concern is if it's resurrected out of the clear blue sky with a post that takes it in a different direction - and this does happen. If the post is legitimately on topic and pertinent, there should be no complaining.

[PMich]

Originally Posted by Force Flow Dead threads haven't really been an issue here, which is surprising considering how many posters there are.

I whole-heartedly agree with you on this FF. It just seemed that I have been seeing a lot more resurrected posts lately (some of which seem to go really off topic to me) and thought a prophylactic solution seemed more plausible than a curative one. I guess I'll keep my suggestions to myself for awhile.

[Force Flow]

There's nothing wrong with keeping the suggestions coming.

[mb26]

Originally Posted by glc The only time resurrecting dead threads should raise a concern is if it's resurrected out of the clear blue sky with a post that takes it in a different direction - and this does happen. If the post is legitimately on topic and pertinent, there should be no complaining.

agreeeeed.