Do You Think Old Threads Should Be Locked?

[anthony]

Have your say... do you think that threads with a last post beyond a certain age, say one or two years old, should be automatically locked?

This stops old threads being accidentally responded to due to any member not looking at the dates.

If someone likes something in the thread, they can simply create their own to continue such discussion, as opinions change with time and all, thus often rendering older content inaccurate.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Ghostybear73]

I think it is a good idea. I have responded to threads that are years old and it is quite embarrassing. Of course if I paid attention a little more.......

:)

 

[shimmerz]

Yes, I think it is a great plan. It may also encourage others to look up more recent threads.

 

[Deleted member 28403]

I believe this is useful, as bringing up a really old thread can often cause someone discomfort.

 

[Hope4future]

I agree. Sounds like a great idea, especially for people unfamiliar with how forums work.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I think that's a good idea as oftentimes people respond to the OP and the OP is long gone, as opposed to continuing on the conversation. Giving advice to an OP that is gone just bumps newer posts down and doesn't really help anyone.

 

[SpikeBall]

No! I have just signed up today in hopes of responding to a very old thread about flashbacks during sex. It constantly came up in google search during a difficult time and I referenced it a lot. I discovered a new technique and I was hoping to share it with the next struggling person who finds the thread through google search and can be helped by it!

 

[Friday]

I'm on the other side on this one...

I just came from a forum which is extremely 'Smackdown! That's an old thread! Locked!'

So when I first came here I was all WTF??? That thread is 3 years old (or from 2009, even). Hellooooooo pay attention. But then that radically, and very quickly, changed. Because no one cared. And kept posting them, and on them, so I started reading them.

I've kind of fallen in love with old threads. There's just so much good knowledge.

To me, that's priceless right now.

Clearly... If the decision is to lock old threads, I'll keep digging in the archives. It doesn't stop one from reading. Just from responding. And on the other side of the coin, if one wants to breathe life into a topic, a new thread will give chance for new voices from even the OPs. I don't know about anyone else, but I know my own voice changes a lot over the years. ((I was a much nicer person 5-10 years ago.)).

So I can see the value either way. However, I personally like old threads a great deal.

 

[joeylittle]

I'm with the "leave 'em open" camp; mostly because with some topics, I think it's amazing to see how the conversation moves through the years, and I appreciate the very specific threads/questions being able to accept new information as time goes by, instead of there being a new thread totally about the same subject. That new thread will not have the benefit of the older wisdom, if that makes sense.

So, to me, the occasional mistake in posting a helpful response to someone who last posted in 2009 - and that's not necessarily even a mistake, if it gets the poster thinking and identifying - is worth it in order to keep the "archives" alive. I appreciate how this site isn't just a "of the now" kind of board, but that it has an accumulated knowledge base. It's cool and unique that way.

 

[Sammyiam]

I'm can see both ides but I think I am for the remain open side as there is so much information that can be had from reading the old posts, maybe an idea would be to put them all in a old post section and group them in like year so 2009 posts, 2010 posts 2011 posts etc. then there is no way that you can go into it by mistake and just make them view only so you carnt reply, but can still read all the information and if you like that post then you can start a nee thread about the same topic if you wish.

 

[anthony]

I discovered a new technique and I was hoping to share it with the next struggling person who finds the thread through google search

Firstly, and this is purely just informative so you don't make a mistake against forum rules... as a new member, your statement sounds very self promotion / advertising based, which is against forum policy. Secondly, this doesn't stop threads being found in Google, nor does it stop anyone reading them, it only stops people responding to them. You can always create a thread a link to an existing thread / post.

I've kind of fallen in love with old threads. There's just so much good knowledge.

As above, this doesn't change reading old content.

This isn't about locking a thread with recent responses, but locking a thread where the last response was x years ago, not the thread was created x years ago. So if someone found, and responded, to some old thread every year, then that would mean that thread wouldn't be locked.

I am thinking along the lines of something around the 3 year mark, being the last post date upon the thread. If nobody has responded to something in 3 years... chances are they aren't going to now. Can even make that four or five years, affecting truly outdated content only that nobody cares an iota about.

 

[anthony]

Members need to understand what locking means.... it has nothing to do with reading, only removes the ability to respond, to bring up content so old you could consider it outdated even.