Bumping threads

[jocke]

I've seen alot of angry members here when people bumps old threads. The thing
is that I really don't see why they shouldn't if there is a thread about a specific
topic, especially not if the topic is not solved or additional information is needed.

The therad starter is very unlikely the only one that reads his thread. It is also very
unlikely that he even reads it after some years of necros, when other people still
may find it.

In my opinion, it is only good to use threads that already exists, as it is easier to find
information about an issue.

Just to be clear: One should NOT bump threads with useless "information".

Thanks.

[bluemoon]

It is very unlikely that anyone has exactly the same question and situation, even the second person might think so.
So to avoid a lot of hijack or unintentional off-topic it would just be cleaner to open a new thread.

I would say it is just as easy to search information for new threads vs revive old threads on potential same topic.

[Combuster]

I agree with bluemoon. People either try to score points a la stack exchange by re-solving dead people's problems which is hardly useful. The majority of remaining necro are actually are newbies that have a different problem than the OP, which means you get a thread with two distinct problems, and two environments that run through each other, and a general mess that makes future searching even more difficult.

The only meaningfully contributing necroposts I've seen are self-answers and bumps to "your favorite (...)" threads. The rest is just carelessness from their actual posters.

[Mikemk]

Additionally, it results in several pages to read through to figure out whats going on.

[gravaera]

Yo:

I agree with the OP: bumping threads, especially on a Q&A forum like this really makes sense when done for the right reasons. Tbh, I would have thought that moderators and administrators would have been more open to people re-using existing threads than opening new ones (and it's something that has always baffled me, regardless of which forum I'm using) since that technically saves a bit of storage, however little.

--Peace out,
gravaera

[AJ]

HI,

since that technically saves a bit of storage, however little

Perhaps this is a side-effect of separation between the administration and moderation that happens on this site - none of the mods have anything to do with the storage available and have never been informed that this is the issue.

In general, I wouldn't object to somebody thread necro'ing for a valid reason (although may have done in the past ). Problem is, that generally thread necroing also involves a change of topic, a separate (but related) question asked after 2 pages of post, does not "flow" from the original topic, or is simply a "me too!"-type post.

My current reaction is generally to simply lock the topic (often with an explanation, but not necessarily if it's just a "me too!") or, if the new question contains enough background information, I try to split the topic.

Cheers,
Adam