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Old threads

MoodyBlues

MoodyBlues

Compassion is cool!
VIP Member
Back in the day [when I was staff], we tossed around thoughts on old threads and the wisdom, or lack thereof, of leaving them open for new activity. I thought they should be closed.

My reason then was the same as now: new members reply to a 7-year-old thread, thinking they're offering helpful info, until someone comes along and tells them it's from 7 years ago. Or 4 or 9; you get the idea.

When I'm the someone who enlightens the newbie, I try to be polite and 'ha ha, it's okay!' upbeat. But why don't we just lock threads that are >X years old AND have had no activity for Y years? Or some other criteria.

Even if someone thinks they have the same problem as the OP, the truth is...probably not. They're 5 Android versions newer on 8 year newer hardware. What are the odds it's exactly the same issue, with the same solution [if there was one]?

Thoughts?
 
I tend to agree with this, it's a common occurrence for some very dated thread to pop up that may or may not even be relevant any longer (... and often the OP isn't even actively participating in that old thread). Perhaps older posts can be tagged in their own 'Archive' category or something like that, it would still serve as a resource of information for those who hang on to mobile devices as long as possible, and locking those archived posts from being edited would keep them available but out of the the current, more relevant postings. If someone is having an issue with their device running Jelly Bean for example, there's no reason why they can't just make a new posting.
 
My thoughts are that the old threads should remain open.

There's always that rare chance that the OP might update with current and relevant info or someone might make a post within that thread with current info. Since you can land right inside a thread from a google search, this keeps things less confusing for new and random visitors. Don't want them landing in a closed thread.

The only folks bothered by this are us old members, and we happen to be in the minority.
 
I see both sides. I just wish there was a way to avoid/alert/something, so that new members wouldn't spend time writing something they think is helpful, only to find that the OP was last seen in 2011. :thinking:
 
Here's a current example of a new user thoughtfully writing a helpful response--oblivious that it's a 5-year-old question.

When you're replying in a thread, a message comes up notifying you that new replies have been added since you started, and would you like to see them. How about the same idea, but telling the person they're replying to an X-year-old question and do they want to post anyway? The date info is captured from the OP.

Just tossing around ideas.
 
Honestly I've always wondered the same thing myself. Always wondered if people who do that are trying to post out the way to get their post count up for some spamming. Anywho I'm bookmarking this thread. I'll see you in 2026 :p
 
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