This is getting old! Why do you do this?

Done just for you Dennis! And I do realize that it could be done innocently, but the thing is that I think new people here really need to understand this. There really has been a big influx of resurrected threads lately, and it really does get old...So to all you new people-CHECK THE DATES BEFORE POSTING A REPLY! K that should do it.

I think he meant it more as he hasn't been here long enough for it to annoy him more than a little bit. Not that what you said was annoying. Just giving the benefit of the doubt.

I think the newbies response was very polite and considerate...

No this post has not unintentionally just caused even more forum necroing! If you had read the OP and understood that it's highly frustrating to see old threads that are months old being brought back to life for no good reason but maybe to promote a sig or come up with some irrelevant comment, you might understand. Obviously you haven't been here long enough to understand this point, and leaving a comment like this goes to show the lack of thinking you put into your comment.

I posted this thread within the last 24 hours. I am talking about resurrecting threads that are months old. Yes some I agree are probably coming from people reading on the web, but then again, reading the date of post should be one of the first things done. If you have a question or want to say something create a new thread. It makes things much more interesting.

From time to time, you'll see the extreme example of bumping old threads where the first page will have 10-15 threads all updated within a 15 minute period and all containing a keyword phrase in the subject line. Often, the updates are all the same.

Those are annoying, to be sure. They're also temporary, as the perp usually gets banned before the threads roll into the back pages.

On the other hand, I've opened threads which are continuations of older discussions without noticing the date. Maybe I missed it the first time, maybe the topic wasn't high on my radar that day, whatever. Had the discussion started from the most recent point, a lot of the value would have been lost for me.

Like the TV network used to say about reruns...

"If you didn't see it, it's new to you."

Some think its more considerate to pull up an old thread that addresses a subject than to start a new one that is redundant. Im sure there are spammers but, knowing this place Im sure also that they are detected and dealt with quickly. Otherwise it seems better to use an old post to me than to start a redundant one twhere the the subject has already thoroughly covered somewhere else. All in one threads are cool because they fend against redundant new threads.

Ummm... That's a new one. I honestly don't think I've ever seen that before.

Anywho...

The folks who're obviously doing this for link love get reported, and they get banned.

As far as the legitimate posters and old threads, there are a few ways to handle it. If you're adding something specific and useful, go ahead and add it to the earlier thread.

An example of this is the long thread about what some folks pay outsourcers in the Phillippines. A gentleman who lives there posted the actual hourly rates that people in the country get for various tasks. That's extremely relevant and useful information, and it belonged in that thread.

If you have a question, you may want to read some old threads on the topic and refer back to them in a new thread. Gives the URLs to those, summarize what you understand from them, and then pose the question.

That does a few things that will help. It shows that you've done the proper searching, gives people a context within which to better understand and answer your question, and encourages others to add to the total content, rather than just rehashing the original comments.

It also helps you to clarify your thinking, which may get you the answer you want without your needing to depend on others, who may not be able to help.


Paul