So very, very often I notice someone will start a new thread only to have reminders that “we already discussed this” or “we did a thread like that” etc. Is there some rule about this? Are we supposed to search for a subject before bringing it up? I find it very disheartening. And also, there surely are new posters who weren’t here then. I notice a lot of posters with low numbers of posts so obviously they are fairly new.
Personally, I don’t mind topics being repeated. If I do post reference to another thread, it’s done to provide info so that the OP can find answers from the past.
I do feel other posters seem to object to topics being covered again that have been covered in the past. If they don’t want to revisit a topic, IMO they can just ignore the new thread.
I agree with you, @VaBluebird. We should be welcoming to new posters.
If we didn’t revisit topics (especially fun ones) we wouldn’t have a forum.
And while we’re at it, I’d like to suggest that threads get a new life every 200 pages or so…
And besides, I’ve got a lot of new pet peeves!
It’s goes both ways. Sometimes I’ve suggested that a new poster actually start a new thread…because their question is just a tad different.
I will link (as I did recently…about pet peeves) more current threads…there was one that closed in 2017. It had good info. Of course there needed to be a new thread…that 2017 one auto closed so we couldn’t comment.
And sort of on the @gouf78 way of thinking…some old threads are just too long. Even though still active, sometimes the old info at the start of an old thread is…well…out of date.
There have been some great new threads started with links provided to older threads with excellent info. I don’t see a problem with that.
There are some threads that are just so unwieldy they need to be restarted. I’m thinking in particular of the weddings thread from 2016. Why not break it down by year or even by quarter? There’s some good info in that thread (it helped me a lot when we were planning our D’s wedding this past summer), but it was a real slog finding what I needed to know. This is particularly true when you’re not sure exactly what you need to search for and just want to browse.
I also find it troublesome when people slam a poster for resurrecting an old thread that may, in fact, be helpful to a new crop of parents or applicants.
The wedding thread…yes it’s long…but many folks start there when their kids get engaged…and that can be two years before the wedding.
I am glad that there was a dedicated thread to dresses…that helped.
I normally search before I ask but sometimes topics warrant a new thread.
I find it pretty easy to search within a thread so long threads don’t bother me. I find CC’s general search tool a lot less helpful, though.
OP, here, yes thanks, I do appreciate the links to old threads that have helpful info in them. For sure.
And also again, I wish we could have a TRAVEL sub-topic.
Some threads are like that bar where everybody knows your name and where new folks are always welcome. 
So what the thread is long and several years old? It motivates newcomers to post where there is a set of regulars who can quickly and in a friendly manner answer the question (even though it had been asked 5 years ago). So what.
It would be like ruining a family tradition to close some of the really long threads and start a similar new one. We need tradition here on CC too!
I have been in the position that I’ll think about starting a new thread - and then have a thought…“wait, did I already start a thread like that one year here?!” - guess that’s what happens after several years on board. 
The only case I would say that it might be appropriate to refer back to another thread - or revive one - is if it’s somewhat recent - sometimes someone will start a thread like “how do you like the iPhone 8” when there was just one in the last few months.
And finally, it could probably be said that some of us who have been here for YEARS could be a little more patient or thoughtful to remind ourselves that not everyone has.
quote. So what.
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We obviously allow topics that have been discussed before. Hence why there are a multitude of threads around this time of year asking “Will my October scores show up on time for my ED app?”
Exceptions:
• We allow one active thread on a general interest topic or current event topic
• A single user cannot start multiple identical (or virtually identical) threads. So s/he can’t do a change thread for UC and another for USC, etc. If several weeks have passed and the user has updated stats, then they can start a new thread.
• If a thread gets closed for ToS violations, the topic is now dead.
It’s fine to direct a user to another thread which may provide some answers. It’s not fine to attempt to shut down a user; that’s our job 
As the first rule of the forum states:
Also note, there is no requirement that one needs to read every thread or post. If the topic is of no interest, there are still plenty of other threads to read and comment upon.
Another long time poster here (almost 10 years!). I see plenty of “recycled” thread topics and don’t mind at all.We can choose to post…or not.
Maybe this isn’t what you are talking about, but when there is a new news article about a college-related topic, often multiple people will start a thread not realizing that there is one going already. For instance, when the August 2018 SAT was found to have been the same as the previous fall’s exam in Asia, I think the longest discussion happened on the thread that was already discussing that sitting of the SAT, and people who began entire new threads were told that there was already a discussion going and pointed to the ongoing one. Not to discourage new posters so much as to keep everything together.
(But like I said, maybe this isn’t so much what you are referring to).
That’s the example # 1 that I listed above. When the mods find them, or someone flags, we will merge those threads. If the second thread is in another subforum, we will occasionally leave a redirect to the active discussion.
You think?
I don’t mind the yearly stocking stuffer thread or what are you making for the holiday’s.
I think that congeniality to newcomers is really important. I cringe when I see a fellow old-timer write something like “this has been discussed many times. Please search before asking this.”
Very unfriendly and borderline rude.
One topic that should be merged or closed would be yet another “Why do people pay attention to the USNews rankings? thread”