Thread: Old threads

  1. #1
    Reverse Engineer maxorator's Avatar
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    Old threads

    What do you guys have against old threads?
    They're like rotten and dirty so they shouldn't be used any more?

    This is a behaviour I've never understood.

    http://cboard.cprogramming.com/showt...?t=2205&page=2
    > 0-15-2001, 01:46 AM
    All sing now "DioxFx is a...."
    Is what? A guy who posts a question to an older thread so there arent so many threads about the same thing?
    Last edited by maxorator; 10-25-2006 at 06:01 AM.
    "The Internet treats censorship as damage and routes around it." - John Gilmore

  2. #2
    and the hat of int overfl Salem's Avatar
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    5. Don't bump threads. (Bumping: posting messages on threads to move them up the list or to post on a thread that has been inactive for two weeks or longer).

    Several reasons:

    If it's a GD thread then it's likely to have been a topical discussion, which is only valid at the time. Bumping several years later isn't going to add anything, and half the participants either dont care anymore, or aren't here anymore.

    Likewise, bumping old threads with "hey me too" or "are you still stuck?" or other equally vacuous posts doesn't do any good.
    If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
    If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.

  3. #3
    Reverse Engineer maxorator's Avatar
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    No, I mean when people ask about the same thing.
    Would there really be point to make a new thread?
    The first question was:
    >>Is there a way to do color in a console app? Im using VC++ 6.0. Its just to jazz parts up. anyone?

    The recently posted question was:
    >>Hi!, How I can return to Black and White???

    They aren't the same thing, but they are about console colors. So you can't call it bumping.

    He probably read the rules, that he must search the forums before he posts his problem and there ya go, he found a thread about console colors.
    Last edited by maxorator; 10-25-2006 at 06:11 AM.
    "The Internet treats censorship as damage and routes around it." - John Gilmore

  4. #4
    Registered User VirtualAce's Avatar
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    No it's still bumping. He could have created his own thread. Besides if he was patient enough to drill down into 5 years of posts using a search, couldn't he have found the answer via google instead of browsing posts here?

    Google, google, google.

  5. #5
    Crazy Fool Perspective's Avatar
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    >They aren't the same thing

    Which is why they should be separate threads

  6. #6
    Reverse Engineer maxorator's Avatar
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    I've seen no good explanations. It just seems that people are used to hate old posts and they don't even know why they actually don't like them.
    "The Internet treats censorship as damage and routes around it." - John Gilmore

  7. #7
    and the Hat of Clumsiness GanglyLamb's Avatar
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    Some people let the board notify them by mail when their thread receives a new reply.

    Maybe this is one of the reasons why people hate it when someone brings up an old thread.

  8. #8
    pwns nooblars
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    Another reason is the languages/techniques change over time.

  9. #9
    The superhaterodyne twomers's Avatar
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    Perhaps. But maybe the thread-reviver didn't notice the last-post date when (s)he searched the board. The thing we must ask is do we prefer questions which have been asked again and again, or people who actually adhere to the guidelines and search google and/or the boards. Granted, in this example, the search got lazt - it's a very common question answered many times, but it's a step in the right direction (to a certain degree), IMO.

  10. #10
    Code Goddess Prelude's Avatar
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    >I've seen no good explanations.
    New questions go to new threads. The chances of an existing thread matching your problem exactly are pretty slim, and if it does then it's probably already a FAQ. Either way, posting to an existing thread decreases your chances of getting people's attention because most members filter with great prejudice. On top of that, adding "me too" style fluff to a thread makes it less useful for people who use the search feature because there's more junk to look through. So there's a rule that puts a blanket ban on bumping old threads, regardless of the reason.
    My best code is written with the delete key.

  11. #11
    {Jaxom,Imriel,Liam}'s Dad Kennedy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Prelude
    New questions go to new threads. The chances of an existing thread matching your problem exactly are pretty slim, and if it does then it's probably already a FAQ.
    If the problems matched exactly, then wouldn't the thread answer the question too?

  12. #12
    The superhaterodyne twomers's Avatar
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    From Wiki:

    To bump a thread on an internet forum is to post a reply in order to raise the thread's profile by returning it to the top of the list of active threads. For inactive threads, this is also called "necroposting", i.e. thread necromancy, or "gravedigging", as old threads are said to be dying or dead.
    Consider netiquette though. It counts for a lot. Reviving an old thread because it is relevant to your one gives no more benefits than starting one that goes like:

    I was checking out this thread: *insert link here*, and I'm having a problem with changing da colors back to black&white. Can someone help me?
    If you wanted to, you could throw in something about being a newb to make the other thread-ers more sympathetic.

  13. #13
    Code Goddess Prelude's Avatar
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    >If the problems matched exactly, then wouldn't the thread answer the question too?
    The problem and the question often differ.
    My best code is written with the delete key.

  14. #14
    Devil's Advocate SlyMaelstrom's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wraithan
    Another reason is the languages/techniques change over time.
    Agreed. Asking a question at one time and then asking it again a few years later could yield completely different results. How many people would answer a C++ question about converting strings into other data types with the suggestion of lexical_cast back in 2002-03?

    In a programming forum, I'm not only not a fan of bumping old threads, I'm really not a fan of trying to learn from old threads, either. Five or so years you can get away with, but as the beginning posts on this forum starts to get around ten years old... you can see some major discrepancies in programming conventions.
    Sent from my iPadŽ

  15. #15
    Registered User VirtualAce's Avatar
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    I've seen no good explanations. It just seems that people are used to hate old posts and they don't even know why they actually don't like them.
    Then you obviously can't read or you suffer from only reading what fits your mindset.

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