Is necroposting ever a Good Thing™?

Thread Starter

Ya’akov

Joined Jan 27, 2019
9,069
Sometimes a very old thread pops up in New Posts. This might be becasue of a neophyte who found the thread in a web search, or a spammer but suddenly—there it is.

Sometimes people don’t notice it’s a thread started by Marconi or Tesla when they were looking for help back in the early days of AAC and so they’ll add their own wisdom, often provoking a flurry of “this is old” comments.

The question i had is, “is it ever actually a good thing to post in a thread that was possibly found in the tomb of Tutankhame?”

I answered my own question with “yes, there is at least one case where I think it is”

I can tell you are all anticipating juat what case that is, so I won’t keep you in suspense any longer: correcting misinformation.

Since it is often the case the reason the thread rises from the dead is that it turned up in a web search, modern responses to misinformation in the thread are a service to the community. After all, how many people find the misinformation the same way and don’t ever post to bring the thread to our attention. For future searchers, it seems to me, clarifying an error in the thread that was originally unchallenged in it is a Good Thing™ .

There may be other cases, but this is the one that came to mind.
 
Last edited:

Deleted member 115935

Joined Dec 31, 1969
0
A suggestion,
close old threads after a set time of inactivity for new addition

then they can still be found in web searches etc.

Then if the user wants to post a new / updated question , they can open a new post, and put a link to the old thread.

yes, we do have the potential for old / wrong threads to live on un corrected for ever,

But , has anyone ever looked at that as a problem on this forum ?
There seem to be a lot of active and knowledgeable people contributing,
has this ever gotten through ?

and how many old threads have been "answered" where a response is on lines of
" this is a very old thread", "the information is outdated", "you would be better opening a new thread"
 

ericgibbs

Joined Jan 29, 2010
18,766
hi andrew,
You only see the tip of the iceberg.
Moderation are constantly working on keeping the site clear of clutter.

If and as required, the Mods will discuss the best action to take in dealing with a particular Post/Thread,
E
Please use the Report button to bring a problem to attention of Moderation.
 
Last edited:

SamR

Joined Mar 19, 2019
5,031
Sort of a side issue is that once the original post is dealt with the thread often turns into a general discussion or even skews off on a tangent to a different issue. Personally, I don't see this as a bad thing but picking up on a tangential discussion to reopen the thread months or years later is probably not the best idea.
 

click_here

Joined Sep 22, 2020
548
I am new in this forum, but I have been active for a long time at cprogramming and dreamincode

The way I see it is that an answer to a question is not only for the person asking the question, but also someone trying to search for an answer to a similar question.

If you are adding to the answer I see nothing wrong with it (as long as you acknowledge that the post is old in your answer)

If you are adding to the question ("I also have this problem..."), then you should start a new thread and put a link to the original question.
 

Delta Prime

Joined Nov 15, 2019
1,311
I'll say it.Then again I'm an ace electronic technician. That's "Ace" spelled with two "S'S" :p
I know what you're saying sir, but it's still relevant in my opinion. I will abstain. thank you.
 
Last edited:
Top