I know this forum has a rule against bumping/reviving old posts, but if I’m not mistaken, to prevent cluttering the forum, you’re also not supposed to make a topic similar to one that’s been posted before. So, I’d like to ask, is it ever appropriate to post a topic similar to one from say, a few years ago? Or should you post on the old one instead?
For example, there’s some topics from a few years ago where the OP’s asking for help/ideas for their WIP. If needed similar help/ideas, would the correct thing be to go to the dead topic and ask for help there? Or should I post a new topic instead?
I like it better if you post on the old one. I find it helps keep things organized and increases the chance that people will find answers to their questions that may well have been asked and answered before.
As a moderator, I’d rather split a topic off to a new one if necessary than have to search for an old one to attach a newly-posted but duplicate-y thread to.
I think it’s usually better to post in older topics, especially if there’s a wealth of replies relevant to your question/topic there already. It keeps things consolidated and easy to find rather than when someone searches for the question in the future, 3 or 4 different topics show up.
For your example, however:
It sounds like you might benefit from using the Interest Check thread as well!
I think the rule against bumping/reviving dead threads is more about WIP threads that haven’t been updated or seen any activity for years, rather than topics like “How do I go about doing X thing in a choice game” or “what are good examples of Y in COGs,” where these questions can consistently crop up again over time!
The rule is about summoned a thread for 4 years ago saying stuff like “Oh, why is this game not finished?” A month or so a go I was replied to a post three years old.
But not about bringing back a serious threat that could be of use to all the new forum members
The rule of thumb I like to use is: If I can find a relevant thread, I post in that thread. If the old threads just does not fit, then I post a new thread.
At one time Work in Progress (WiP) threads did not have a timer on them, so new community members would find demos they liked from five plus years back and comment on them. Chances were that these older WiP that have had no recent activity on them were either on hiatus or abandoned for the time being.
Now that these threads have timers attached, the issue is not as bad as it once was.
Over the past year or so, Gower has been merging general threads with the same topics and that trend is a point of emphasis for the moderators still.
The exception here would be if the old thread was so old and out of date with its information that it would create more confusion than anything by reviving.
