Necro (zombie) posting

[Baby Brian]

This seems to just keep coming up all the time so I have to ask. How old do you think a posting can get where it would still be ok to reply to it?

Generally, I think anything over 6 months old should be laid to rest. This would ensure any replies to the original poster (OP) will still be current and valid to the general thinking of everyone at that time. It also makes it more likely that the OP is still following/contributing to their original post.

Anything over 6 months old (definitely a year), and it is much more acceptable for you to just start your own thread, otherwise you are just hijacking someone else's thread and should be put in a corner for a time out.

What does everyone else think?

[Codymoogle]

I agree, plain and simple!

[AwakenEvil]

Remember the double tap method

[Baby Brian]

That's when you left click on a post right? (Or my military training on how to put someone down with an AR)

Either way, let sleeping zombie threads lie.

[rusty pins]

I think a lot depends on the subject of the post.

[DLdapper]

Necro depends much on the topic of the post. Some things can be posted on forever, like "what diaper are you wearing now" topics. Other topics where a specific person is asking for specific advice should be closed much sooner. However on the flip side a topic which is meant to hold general advice or experience should be open forever.

[Baby Brian]

Right, the cut off I'm thinking of wouldn't be from when the post was first started. It would be timed out based on it's newest reply. That way if someone is always replying it will always remain active. I also get the catch 22 will always be a factor, and really can't be helped, but wouldn't this still be a better solution? At the very least it would vindicate new posters in their justification for creating a new one (so long as the old post has timed out).

One other big reason I think new double posts get called out is because the question they are asking has already been answered in the old post. It also seems like we often get several of the same types of posts within a month of each other because people often don't bother searching for similar topics. (ie. A news article)

I wonder if it would be possible to mandate for starting any new thread to also require a search of that thread's title. This wouldn't catch everything, but who knows, it might help (just thinking out loud).

[DonsbabyKS]

I get tired of being called stupid because I have replied to an old post.

[DailyDi]

I don't have a problem with necro posting if you can add something to the topic.

[Baby Brian]

That's another good point. After someone else revives an old post, is it ok to continue posting to it now?

I'd say it's now free game to add new posts since that thread is now active again. Or am I wrong on that since it would be encouraging the new content?

[DonsbabyKS]

We had someone who went back this last week and replied to every post on a certain topic, sometimes saying nothing different.

[DiaperPony]

I like the necro posts because sometimes they'll revive topics that I never browsed back to.. or it'll be the same topics but with different voices from the past.

[Dirty Diaper/Maxipad Lover]

I don't have a problem with necro posting if you can add something to the topic.

This is generally my opinion on the subject as well. If something useful can be added to the topic, I don't care if it's a necropost. On larger forums very extensive threads can become problematic, so some places will lock an old thread and start a new one to continue the discussion without causing problems. The old thread will remain archived for reference and eventually the new one will be superceded as needed. DD doesn't have the number of members and posts required for this to be an issue though, so necroposting shouldn't be a concern unless the poster is just spamming the thread with nothing to contribute. ("Cool" isn't contributing to the discussion.)

[Dill_Pickle]

DailyDi should not leave people in tears...that's not what it's for......lol

[Baby Brian]

All good points.

It seems as a general rule of thumb it's ok to post to an old thread so long as you have something relevant for the OP.

If nothing more than a "me too" post, or just trying to bring an old topic back to life for some more rehashing, then it's better to start a new one.

If we spot an offender, maybe it would just be best to something like "fyi this is an old thread and may not be relevant any more. Want to start a new one and see what everyone is thinking about now?"

Certainly no need for call outs like "are you blind". I guess no need for locking old threads either (even if it will likely continue with newbies). Not really much of an actual solution, but guidelines are better than nothing. Right?