Why Are Old Threads Unlocked?

[Scooby_Doo]

Sry in advance if i made this in the wrong category but I’m seeing a lot of topics from a few years back that needs updated or possibly deleted example in the choice of games category there’s a topic called best games of 2014 could these be updated please

[Szaal]

There’re awfully lot of old topics that belongs to the category you mentioned, so it’ll be time-consuming for us to moderate them. The best we can do is to handle them in case-by-case basis.

Not to mention, when a topic is locked, they get bumped which could clutter the forum fairly fast. Granted, if you see something needs to be closed, just flag them or PM one of the mods. The mods will see and decide what to do best with them later.

[Scooby_Doo]

Ok thx

[Eiwynn]

Hello @Scooby_Doo –

@Szaal pretty much nailed the situation here. Handling the threads on a case-by-case basis, allows us to close any older threads (such as the 2014 thread you cite) as they are revived.

@Szaal and other Leaders also have the ability to close these revived threads; they too should close any that need closing

For discussion on old threads, let me refer you to what @Gower, @rinari and I said in this thread, a related topic which provides context of when to post in old threads or in new threads:

When is it appropriate to post a topic similar to an old one?

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 co…

@Gower

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.

@rinari

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.

@Eiwynn

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.

I also moved your thread to the Meta topic and changed your title to better reflect the content of the thread.

[Scooby_Doo]

Ok thx so were supposed to flag old topics? And if so won’t it be hard for you mods to close? (I’m going to guess around 300 old topics)

[Eiwynn]

No; just let sleeping threads lay.

If someone revives an old thread, let it be and Leaders or Moderators will shut it down.

[Scooby_Doo]

Ok thx for the info

[ClaimedMinotaur]

So posting on old WiPs = bad.
Posting on old… anything else = good.

Is this more or less correct?

[Eiwynn]

@ClaimedMinotaur

Posting on old… anything else = good.

Correct, except…

@Eiwynn

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

[ClaimedMinotaur]

That one seems more like common sense than anything else, although I suppose it’s subjective.

[ClaimedMinotaur]

So quick observation/question: over the last few days I’ve been seeing a lot of threads in the… top section? Recent area? The ones you see first, where the newest addition is from several years ago. Scrolling down to the bottom reveals that they are indeed locked. I chuckled a little because I’m assuming that the influx of old threads is you guys cracking down on the dinosaurs of yesteryear following the creation of this thread. But I guess my question is, is that supposed to happen? If a thread is locked, is it supposed to move to the top? Because that seems somewhat counterproductive.

If you’re locking a an old WiP or an otherwise irrelevant thread, doesn’t it moving to the top make it… relevant again?

[Eiwynn]

Unfortunately the “most active” feature of the Discourse software includes our activity as well.

[Scooby_Doo]

Is there any sort of mod tool that allows any thread to be closed instantly if no comments where posted in at least a year instead of doing on a thread by thread basis

[Eiwynn]

That “Timer tool” is in place for new threads. It was not available for the older threads.

Unfortunately, there are people that try to post in threads, just before the timers expire… spamming threads that should close on their own but because of their intervention do not close properly.

Edit:

@Scooby_Doo

Ok is there any way to mass close threads for example threads older than 5 years (i know it’s available on discord via a bot but I’m not sure about this website)

It is o.k. for now. Usually once people learn the forum rules, everyone cooperates pretty well together to make this community a good place.

[Scooby_Doo]

Ok is there any way to mass close threads for example threads older than 5 years (i know it’s available on discord via a bot but I’m not sure about this website)

@Eiwynn

It is o.k. for now. Usually once people learn the forum rules, everyone cooperates pretty well together to make this community a good place.

Okay just trying to think of a way for it to be easier on you mods i know it can get a little rough around here at times

[ClaimedMinotaur]

I don’t really get why locking a thread counts as ‘activity’, but since it does, is there a way to ‘hide’ a thread somehow?

[Scooby_Doo]

I know gower has hid a topic of mine so i think it’s possible
But it’s called unlisting

[ClaimedMinotaur]

If that’s the case it’d seem like the boring slog of digging through old threads and locking them would be more effective if it turned into a two step process, rather than a one step (based on my limited knowledge). Lock then Unlist. Problem solved, in theory.

[Scooby_Doo]

@ClaimedMinotaur

If that’s the case it’d seem like the boring slog of digging through old threads and locking them would be more effective if it turned into a two step process, rather than a one step (based on my limited knowledge). Lock then Unlist. Problem solved, in theory

Problem with that approach is for example certain facts about a game could be in a thread but if it’s unlisted a person could not see it unless that person is a mod

[ClaimedMinotaur]

I suppose that’s true, but it seems like the ones they’re even bothering with are the ones that are well and truly dead or otherwise completely irrelevant. I could be wrong, of course. One of them was a WiP whose last post was in 2015 though, so I think that counts as irrelevant.