To try answer the question posed above, I’ll contribute as another moderator:
The moderators cannot read and moderate every thread on ALL of CC’s many forums. So, we also rely on members to report things, such as in this case, resurrecting old threads. On many of CC’s forums, I notice members who observe the often inadvertent posting on old threads, will post right on the thread, “you are posting on a thread that is 2 years old!” and they often will then flag it for moderators who will close it.
I don’t think the moderator team has a clear “time cut-off,” but I would say it isn’t a problem if the thread is “several months” old. It often is more of an issue when a thread is over a year old since the most recent post and some of the participants are long gone, etc. This is not the same as an old thread that remains active over time.
So, I think a rule of thumb might be if you notice a thread has been dormant for over a year, start a new thread. If someone else mistakenly posts on a dormant thread and resurrects it, point out to the member that the thread is old and to start a new one, and/or flag it for the moderators. This is how it goes on all the other CC forums without much of a problem!
I guess the reason I am confused is because I read lots of other forums and see it happening all of the time on other forums. Even moderators on the other forums continue to post on old threads. In the following example, @fallenchemist even commented on it being an old post (5 years old!), and not only replied without starting a new one, but never locked it. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/tulane-university/927261-how-competitive-is-tulanes-tap-tp-program.html#latest
*And I even said that I was making an exception. I can even tell you why I did. That thread was so short that I could easily see there had been no time sensitive information posted. Heck, there was hardly any *information posted. How many “rules” do you know that have no exceptions? You don’t have to worry about it, just report an older thread that has been resurrected rather than continuing it. If for some reason we think it is OK to continue that thread, we will post a note. Why do you even want to make this an issue?
But to answer your question (again) about what to do if you see an older thread that has been resurrected, flag the new post and say “Posted to an old thread”. Simple. If you are wondering about the time frame, I would choose a shorter one than CollegeMom suggested. I would say that if the thread was dormant for 6 months and then resurrected, report it. Some people move on from this site pretty quickly is why I give a shorter time frame, not so much because the information might be out of date. It really depends on the topic of the thread, and how personally oriented the OP was.*
I am very annoyed that people have totally ignored my statement in post #3769 that discussion of moderation or forum policies is NOT PERMITTED except to ask polite questions on the Community and Forum Issues board. ANY MORE DISCUSSION WILL RESULT IN A TIMEOUT.
This is the end of the discussion. We will close old threads when they come to our attention. The Terms of Service state clearly that moderating is left up to our discretion. We are volunteers, doing the best that we can. We don’t play favorites. I know NOTHING about MT - I’m an engineer!
*I also am anything but an MT person. I will emphasize what Maine said and that will be the end of it. We have explained this ad nauseum and it cannot be much clearer. You are free to not like it, but no more discussion of it will be permitted.
Besides, the whole discussion is rather pointless. If a moderator closes a thread because of age that you still wanted to discuss, then just start a new one titled “XYZ Part II” and just include the link to the first one in the OP. Can it be much easier? You all are arguing about absolutely nothing. We are not shutting down discussion of the topic. We are simply insisting that the posts within a thread be relatively contemporary to each other in most cases. There will be exceptions, but not that many. End of discussion.*
Cadbury Creme Eggs make the world better… Peeps, too… But only after the pkg sits open for a day. Wishing everyone happy, healthy & anxiety free days ahead. ‘Healthy’ includes consuming medicinal Easter candy, donuts & wine as necessary!
Looking for suggestions—My D has one last audition possibility for Friday and has been sick since Thursday ( combination of "just a virus " and spring allergies).she is feeling better but still has a cough and her voice is nowhere near what is should be. Any ideas would be appreciated!!
We have used this drink called Ginger Soother by The Ginger People. Found in the organic or health food section of the grocery store. Warm it up and drink like tea or organic raw pineapple juice which doesn’t work as well, but D prefers the taste of.
