Vent: What is it with people and old threads?

Azari

Why is it that a small but persistent group of posters insist on whining if an old thread is resurected?

It doesn't hurt anyone. It is unlikely to rip a hole in the space time continuum.

If the thread is still of interest it will hang around for a while and if it isn't it will quickly drop back into obscurity. Just like any other thread!

If TPTB thought it was a problem they could easily lock all threads over a certain age.

Other than people answering the OP in a long dead thread I cannot see what the problem is.

fluffnutter

I actually think it can be the best thing to do. If a new issue emerges and the old stuff's still pertinent, why not add a comment to the old thread rather than creating a new one? That way, all the other relevant comments are still available.

james2012_2

Do you not also notice that it is usually a first time poster and they never post again?

Azari

james2012 wrote: »

Do you not also notice that it is usually a first time poster and they never post again?

Do you mean that it is a first time poster who resurrects the thread of a first time poster who whines about it?

It's unsurprising that it would be a first time poster who resurrects the thread because the probably arrived at the site as a result of googling about a specific problem and thus found the thread without going through the index and hence were not even aware of its age.

But, as fluffnutter says, if the old information is still relevant why on earth not use it?

fluffnutter

First time posters can get flamed if they start a thread about a topic that's regularly discussed. They get the 'if you'd look *here*, you'd have found the answer :rolleyes:'. So they search for something similar and add their own query. Then the poor sods get flamed for resurrecting an old thread. They can't win!

fluffnutter

I think it can be useful [to add to old threads] because it gives a bit of history. Shows that some consumer issues are an on-going problem.

Outpost

You mean charming comments such as this? (note the scary big red words)

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/27260

spike7451

Outpost wrote: »

You mean charming comments such as this? (note the scary big red words)

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/27260

I think it depends on the thread content.If it's about,say, current Sky TV offers,then yes,add to an existing thread but if it's about a person being ripped off at a concert & a similar thread was started 3 years earlier,then start a new one as the circumstances may have changed.
You just have to look at the parking fines boards for example,multiple threads about the same PPC's ect when they could be merged into one thread/sticky about G4S,another for Parking Eye ect.

miss_independent

I think it depends on what the thread is about. If it is on the Marriages and Relationships board or even this board or the consumer rights one, it can be a pain and I have to admit it annoys me. Recently an old thread of mine (over a year old) was resurrected and it caused some problems for me at home and also dragged up some personal issues that I really didn't want to go back into. At the moment, I can see a thread which has innocently been resurrected but the OP is now having to go back over very painful and sensitive issues and is receiving PM's about something very sad she posted a long time ago. Sometimes, especially on this board and the consumer board threads seem to be resurrected just so someone can have a go at a poster. There has been a fair bit of it going on recently. It is also annoying when someone resurrects a years old grabbit thread.

Sometimes its absolute common sense and the right thing to do. For example on the old style board, tips for getting a stain out or baking something for the first time. If its about the death of a child or an abusive partner maybe you should consider the OP before you resurrect a years old thread.

Azari

^^^ Some good points here.

trumpton

Sometimes it's the best thing to add to an old thread. I have an ongoing old thread on some dodgy businesses myself, and I like to add to it as new developments occur. I wouldn't like to see old threads locked.

Sometimes though an old thread is resurrected by a new registered spammer who is just tacking on an advert for their own company to a complaints thread. Or often a new MSEer will do a search and maybe not realising that they are posting on a 5 year old thread.

I do think that on occasion we experienced users can be a little impatient with newbies. On the otherhand it's annoying to read 3 pages of a thread and then realise it was in 2007 that the washing machine broke and Currys wouldn't come out.

I guess we all need to be a bit more considerate and think before we post, whether resurrecting an ancient thread or shouting at newbies.