This thread is a good example:
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/available-again-audax-and-lpg-eton-drivers.195071
Nothing has been posted there in TEN YEARS! User HOPHANTHIET only made 33 posts in total, and their profile is dead. The person might be dead, too, given the events of the last years. But someone had the great idea to revive the thread by posting into it.
These old threads in the Marketplace should be closed to further posts by the mods after some period of inactivity, e.g. 1 year. Posts in non-marketplace forums might be given the same fate after no posts in, say, 5 years. Someone can always start a new thread and reference the old one via link, since they would still be available for reading.
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/available-again-audax-and-lpg-eton-drivers.195071
Nothing has been posted there in TEN YEARS! User HOPHANTHIET only made 33 posts in total, and their profile is dead. The person might be dead, too, given the events of the last years. But someone had the great idea to revive the thread by posting into it.
These old threads in the Marketplace should be closed to further posts by the mods after some period of inactivity, e.g. 1 year. Posts in non-marketplace forums might be given the same fate after no posts in, say, 5 years. Someone can always start a new thread and reference the old one via link, since they would still be available for reading.
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Not to worry, automatically closing old threads is near the top of the change list. We don't like necro-threads either.
I have a subscription to LED magazine, and every year they make me fill up a form, essentially to verify I still read it, (and I am alive).
Some members have passed on, and some have not logged in for a long time, there was a thread about hum in Fender amp, and one of the posters has not been seen since 2013.
Maybe, a sign below name, saying RIP, or inactive? Or similar, for those who are not logging in for a long time, can that be done as well?
Some members have passed on, and some have not logged in for a long time, there was a thread about hum in Fender amp, and one of the posters has not been seen since 2013.
Maybe, a sign below name, saying RIP, or inactive? Or similar, for those who are not logging in for a long time, can that be done as well?
It depends.
Marketplace?
Sure thing, the product might/should have been sold or pulled from sales or prices mentioned anyway most certainly be irrelevant after 1 year.
Now Technical posts, specially if including a schematic, or some rare stuff gut pictures or how-to-do things?
Those can still be very relevant after 10 or 20 years, go figure.
I suggest, if code is modified, not to set an autodelete feature but an auto-flag one, so now and then some Mod goes through them and pulls the plug or not.
If anything, I have seen elsewhere the warning, certainly automatic: "This thread has been inactive for more than "X" years, are you SURE you want to post something?" and "Suggest you open a new thread".
Marketplace?
Sure thing, the product might/should have been sold or pulled from sales or prices mentioned anyway most certainly be irrelevant after 1 year.
Now Technical posts, specially if including a schematic, or some rare stuff gut pictures or how-to-do things?
Those can still be very relevant after 10 or 20 years, go figure.
I suggest, if code is modified, not to set an autodelete feature but an auto-flag one, so now and then some Mod goes through them and pulls the plug or not.
If anything, I have seen elsewhere the warning, certainly automatic: "This thread has been inactive for more than "X" years, are you SURE you want to post something?" and "Suggest you open a new thread".
With the move to the new software, members who have long been inactive need to go thru some additional steps to sign in.
I never suggested deleting anything, so it the thread contents would always be available to read. I meant the thread should be closed to new posts after a period of inactivity.
If a technical thread has such significance, would you not expect SOMEONE to post in it at least once per 5 years (my suggested time period)??? Also, with the thread still there to read and access, someone could always start a new thread and reference the old one via a link.
Maybe those members who have not logged on after some long period of time could be assigned a new type of member status such as "inactive member" or just "inactive" that would be displayed below their name like the current labels "Member", "Administrator", etc?
The biggest issue we have had while discussing this is that some 10 years old thread scome back with a good new life. So where does one set the cut-off.
And there is more than one thread that seem to have usefulbursts every 2 or 3 years.
I have alwasy struggled with this question.
dave
A nice feature would be to close threads after a set number of months of inactivity. But allow the OP to post there and automatically reopen the thread. That's probably a pain in the butt to implement and maintain, tho.
Over the years the "neco-posting" has proved to be more trouble than it is useful, so it will likely be discouraged in some way.
Over the years the "neco-posting" has proved to be more trouble than it is useful, so it will likely be discouraged in some way.
Not necessarily.
A schematic or link or how-to instructions might be read or followed once a Month without necessarily posting anything new.
On the contrary, somebody might add "2SJ**** has been obsolete and unavailable for many years, but now centralsemi has made it available again" or something similar.
Again, I am making a firm distinction between Sales , and Technical info.
Now, "opinion" posts?... be my guest ...
I wouldn't want old technical threads to be closed just because they're old. It's nice to keep obscure info all in one place when possible and some topics tend to sprout up every few years, depending on the fad of the moment. OTOH, the warning would be great. What I don't like is when somebody revives a necro-thread with a minor post and I respond to it, unaware of the age of the thread. Then I've become an accomplice to the crime! Certainly you don't want necro-threads in Marketplace.
It would be a great warning if threads past a certain age automagicaly got a color coded title or indicator of some sort, something easier then having to locate and read the date.
It would be a great warning if threads past a certain age automagicaly got a color coded title or indicator of some sort, something easier then having to locate and read the date.
I would bet that it is possible to prevent new posts to a thread, and then later to allow them again. Probably with just a click of a radio button in the new software. Someone who is desperate to post some new info after years and years of zero activity could petition the mods to allow new posts. I think these events would be rare. This possibility could be made known, and the Mods could control the process of re-opening a thread. Mods here are very responsive, and I think this would not represent a burden to them.
It's clear that everyone hates necro threads. Any decision or change will have consequences, but worrying about fallout can be paralyzing. The stakes are not high, folks. It's not life or death, just a hobby forum. Mods do something, please.
It's clear that everyone hates necro threads. Any decision or change will have consequences, but worrying about fallout can be paralyzing. The stakes are not high, folks. It's not life or death, just a hobby forum. Mods do something, please.
I would love to see a more complex version that decides whether to allow a necro-thread post or not. Such as “is the OP still active?” And maybe other things. But Jason would shoot me for making him do that. 🙂
Some forums do warn you that a thread is old when you try to post, and that’s a good option.
Some forums do warn you that a thread is old when you try to post, and that’s a good option.
Many, if not most, of the useful "brought back from the dead threads” have nothing to do with the OP.
An example is someone looking for help for the same amp/speaker/whatever as the OP, i have seen useful ones come alive after over a decade.
But some mechanism would be useful. Given the above example a rue could go something like this: If the last post in a thread is over X years old create a new thread with the post that bring it back with a link back saying something like… “a continuation of this long dormant thread”
Some member reactions to that might be interesting.
dave
An example is someone looking for help for the same amp/speaker/whatever as the OP, i have seen useful ones come alive after over a decade.
But some mechanism would be useful. Given the above example a rue could go something like this: If the last post in a thread is over X years old create a new thread with the post that bring it back with a link back saying something like… “a continuation of this long dormant thread”
Some member reactions to that might be interesting.
dave
I don´t care bout the OP at all but about Technical Data
Who cares about him being dead or alive, active or not?
But all the time we post and refer to 1950´s tube datasheets, obscure manuals,, old books, etc. , so clearly it´s not an "age" problem but of usefulness.
And again, very often somebody other than the OP can add something useful or ask for clarification on some point somebody other than the OP can answer.
Who cares about him being dead or alive, active or not?
But all the time we post and refer to 1950´s tube datasheets, obscure manuals,, old books, etc. , so clearly it´s not an "age" problem but of usefulness.
And again, very often somebody other than the OP can add something useful or ask for clarification on some point somebody other than the OP can answer.
Most “necro threads” are probably revived by a Google search bringing a person to a long-dead thread based on a keyword. Perhaps one option to reduce the number is to add a “ noindex” flag to marketplace threads so that they don’t appear in Google searches. That would be a relatively straightforward way of reducing the findability of these old ephemeral threads (they could still appear in the site search, though, because even old marketplace threads are useful sometimes. I’ve had components where the only real info I could find on it was someone’s description of it when they were selling it…)
As for the others, I think a good portion of traffic is brought by people who have a piece of kit and they’ve Googled it to find out more about it. In that case it’s probably OK for anyone, even new members, to revive the thread if they have any questions about it. A lot of threads end in a cliffhanger (“I’ll measure X and post the results here…”) so someone wishing to pick up the story can prompt for more info. Or “I’ve just inherited X, and have a question about it”
As for the others, I think a good portion of traffic is brought by people who have a piece of kit and they’ve Googled it to find out more about it. In that case it’s probably OK for anyone, even new members, to revive the thread if they have any questions about it. A lot of threads end in a cliffhanger (“I’ll measure X and post the results here…”) so someone wishing to pick up the story can prompt for more info. Or “I’ve just inherited X, and have a question about it”
Very often a person relying to an ancient thread is trying to engage the OP in discussion. That's who cares. Most don't notice that the OP hasn't visited the forum in eight years. Not to say that the OP is the only one with valid contributions, but how to determine if a thread has technical or other merit when it's been inactive for 3 years?