Why thread necro? [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Traab

2011-10-01, 05:14 PM

Ive always wondered about this. What is it that makes people dig for the most distant thread they can find, post some two word response like, "I agree" and then bring it back from the dead? Even the people who make honest to goodness responses to the threads, what are you doing looking through posts from a year ago? If you want to talk about it again, why not start a new topic instead of bump a dead thread that you KNOW will just get locked?

Mystic Muse

2011-10-01, 05:18 PM

LaZodiac

2011-10-01, 05:40 PM

Sometimes people look at the thread, and don't notice how old it is. They either found it by searching, or through a link, and didn't realize it was dead. Maybe they come from forums where the concept of a "Dead" thread doesn't even exist.

This, basically, is what happened to me. "Oh man didn't even realize the thread was old oops XP"

Icewalker

2011-10-01, 06:57 PM

Yeah, that sort of thing. This is actually a quite prominent forum as far as some things, and as a result of such it comes up on google a good bit if you search certain topics like dnd questions, and that isn't picky about thread age, so that probably catches some people.

golentan

2011-10-01, 07:11 PM

I know the few times I've done it have been as a result of searches-gone-wrong (I'll even check the month, but sometimes I miss the year).

<.<
>.>

Anyone care to bet on how long until we see this thread rezzed? The irony would be too great to let it not happen.

kaomera

2011-10-01, 10:04 PM

Anyone care to bet on how long until we see this thread rezzed? The irony would be too great to let it not happen.
Bookmark it, set a timer for 3:14PM, October 1st, 2021.

The only necros that really bother me are when the topic isn't even... topical... anymore. Sometimes someone will necro a thread and you'll see a bunch of replies before anyone clues in / bothers to notice that it is, in fact, a necro; but that's just amusing, IMO.

Xuc Xac

2011-10-01, 10:22 PM

If you want to talk about it again, why not start a new topic instead of bump a dead thread that you KNOW will just get locked?

A blanket ban against all old threads is kind of dumb. I can understand locking threads that are no longer topical (e.g. the upcoming release of a product that has already come out), but most of the things we talk about here are timeless. Starting a new thread means that a lot of things will just get repeated while continuing an old thread will allow for new ideas to be added without having to repeat everything that was already said three weeks ago.

Mystic Muse

2011-10-01, 10:41 PM

A blanket ban against all old threads is kind of dumb. I can understand locking threads that are no longer topical (e.g. the upcoming release of a product that has already come out), but most of the things we talk about here are timeless. Starting a new thread means that a lot of things will just get repeated while continuing an old thread will allow for new ideas to be added without having to repeat everything that was already said three weeks ago.

People would repeat things anyway. You'd be surprised how many times people will repeat the same thing in a thread within maybe two or three pages.

Cobalt

2011-10-01, 10:43 PM

And it's a little longer than three weeks before a thread is considered 'dead.'

Serpentine

2011-10-01, 10:47 PM

A blanket ban against all old threads is kind of dumb. I can understand locking threads that are no longer topical (e.g. the upcoming release of a product that has already come out), but most of the things we talk about here are timeless. Starting a new thread means that a lot of things will just get repeated while continuing an old thread will allow for new ideas to be added without having to repeat everything that was already said three weeks ago.This has all already been addressed here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5461942#post5461942), among other places.

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll

2011-10-02, 11:30 AM

I once accidentally reversed the 'sort by age' thing. iirc, I posted on Fax's homebrew for a bayonet...

grimbold

2011-10-02, 12:47 PM

i typically wander across dead threads when i am trolling the internet for some obscure 3.5 thing then make a post congratulating another user for such a good response or asking another question
and only then realizing that i necro'd

The Succubus

2011-10-02, 02:31 PM

I'll just leave this here:

http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/527/necroposter.png

Tyndmyr

2011-10-04, 11:04 AM

Bookmark it, set a timer for 3:14PM, October 1st, 2021.

The only necros that really bother me are when the topic isn't even... topical... anymore. Sometimes someone will necro a thread and you'll see a bunch of replies before anyone clues in / bothers to notice that it is, in fact, a necro; but that's just amusing, IMO.

Honestly, that doesn't bother me. If it's so old that I mistake it for a new topic, it might as well be. But eh, I understand what it's a thing.

I accidentally necroed once. Was following links, and didn't realize I ended up in an old one.

Mindartis

2011-10-04, 12:18 PM

Same happened to me. Followed a link, posted, then saw that it was from several months ago. :smallredface:

But I think its dumb to knowingly thread necro. All it does is get you Infractions, so why do it?

bluewind95

2011-10-04, 05:19 PM

It's all in the search of ultimate power. Thread Necromancy is an arcane art that can greatly increase one's power, if it is mastered in the form of an art.

... Alternatively, people just miss the timestamp on the posts.

Talya

2011-10-04, 05:26 PM

It's all in the search of ultimate power. Thread Necromancy is an arcane art that can greatly increase one's power, if it is mastered in the form of an art.

Bah. Every decent wizard chooses Necromancy as one of his banned schools. :smallwink:

H Birchgrove

2011-10-04, 05:28 PM

I'll just leave this here:

http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/527/necroposter.png

I like it! :smallbiggrin:

Orzel

2011-10-04, 05:40 PM

It's one of the easiest Necromantic spell that doesn't require a dagger.

I used to be a mod admin of a forum with very few poster so we allowed necromancy since it was the ONLY way we ever got new users. Eventually I change the "New User" title to "Zombie User".

Then some jerk randomly found the place and raised every old thread and we had to add a 6 week rule.

irenicObserver

2011-10-06, 04:37 PM

Sometimes people look at the thread, and don't notice how old it is. They either found it by searching, or through a link, and didn't realize it was dead. Maybe they come from forums where the concept of a "Dead" thread doesn't even exist.

Also if there isn't much flow in new threads some can get quite old, even on the first page near the end and obviously on the second page.

We don't do it on purpose, it's a mistake and we already feel terrible for it jeez >.<

Hazzardevil

2011-10-07, 02:08 AM

This has happened to me a few times now, I thread necro release it was a thread necromancy attempt and then delete my post, hoping that the thread goes back to were it came from.

MechaKingGhidra

2011-10-07, 09:56 PM

I think one of the most common reasons I *almost* commit thread necromancy even *before* I notice the lack of graphical details (background colour is white, no advertisements, etc) is because I don't notice the address bar has the word 'archive' in it somewhere.

dehro

2011-10-11, 12:04 PM

what other people said.. sometimes you search for a thread to avoid opening one on the same subject..find one, post on it and only then realize that yes, it's the same subject, but they debated it 2 years ago.

sometimes however it's a genuine call of judgement..
for instance.. a couple of weeks ago I've posted a thread on Nanowrimo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215503) in the arts and crafts section..which refers to something that will start in november.
now..say I want to pick up the conversation about the event once it's actually underfoot.. do I rez the thread even though it will be a couple of months old by then, or do I open a new one and explain the whole thing again for those who weren't around or paying attention back in september?
P.S. yet another reason for me to make this mistake is that you silly anglophones write dates the wrong way around: instead of "dd-mm-yy" I must remember you write "mm-dd-yy".. and I don't always notice or remeber to check

Thufir

2011-10-11, 12:20 PM

P.S. yet another reason for me to make this mistake is that you silly anglophones write dates the wrong way around: instead of "dd-mm-yy" I must remember you write "mm-dd-yy".. and I don't always notice or remeber to check

Excuse me, I think you'll find that is a practice solely of silly Americans. Don't lump us Brits in with all the stupid things done by our friends across the pond!

Talya

2011-10-11, 12:31 PM

Excuse me, I think you'll find that is a practice solely of silly Americans. Don't lump us Brits in with all the stupid things done by our friends across the pond!

And of course Canada gets stuck in the middle, doing it both ways, without pattern.

The reason for it is obviously rooted in language though.

We say October 11th, 2011.
So writing 11-10-2011 looks like November 10th, if you use the same format as the spoken word.

dehro

2011-10-11, 12:58 PM

you are both right, of course.. which only confuses the matter further

ThePhantasm

2011-10-11, 01:05 PM

A blanket ban against all old threads is kind of dumb.

No it isn't. A thread necromancer may continue a debate that ended long ago, with members who are no longer board members and thus cannot respond. Old threads also tend to contain old arguments which may be dated, especially if they are comic-related. It makes much more sense to make a new thread than to dig up this old stuff.

Furthermore, there isn't a "blanket ban." Certain threads have been given permission to be resurrected by mods on numerous occasions. It depends on the thread and the topic, but the point is you need mod approval. Otherwise you have a chaos of old threads popping up amongst the new ones. Can you imagine how much more difficult it would be to find a thread then? Rules against necromancy keep the forum organized.

The_Ditto

2011-10-11, 01:06 PM

Ok, you know what, I have to ask. I - personally - simply do not understand the entire net-hate-thing with necrothreads. Who cares? If I'm posting a *relevant* question/comment in a *relevant* thread ... why does anyone care that the thread is 2 months old?

You'd rather we clutter the place up with dozens of small threads? So that it's impossible to find things?

It's like saying you need a new filing cabinet because you haven't used the old one in a few days. Wow, what a waste!

Now, if it's a (useless) comment, (like the "I agree" example above), then sure, that's just annoying, but that's annoying because it doesn't add much to the conversation, not because of how old the thread is.

Probably just me, but I just don't understand the necro-hate :smallbiggrin:

The_Ditto

2011-10-11, 01:10 PM

No it isn't. A thread necromancer may continue a debate that ended long ago, with members who are no longer board members and thus cannot respond.

Yeah? I don't see that as a bad thing.
If you're done with the topic, you're done, move on. If other people want to discuss or comment on whatever ... more power to them. Again, no big deal.

Old threads also tend to contain old arguments which may be dated, especially if they are comic-related. It makes much more sense to make a new thread than to dig up this old stuff.

Agreed, if the topic is time-sensitive, or such, I can see a point. This falls back, in my opinion, to just common sense: ie it's annoying because of the topic, and lack of addition to the argument, more than anything related to the timestamp on the thread.

Otherwise you have a chaos of old threads popping up amongst the new ones. Can you imagine how much more difficult it would be to find a thread then?

No, I can't imagine it would be any more or less difficult .. *shrug* .. but again, I suppose that's just me, I get that I'm probably in the minority! :smallbiggrin::smallsmile:
(and I do try to abide by the rules of anti-necro threads - I just don't understand it alwasy)

Serpentine

2011-10-11, 09:18 PM

The_Ditto

2011-10-12, 09:22 AM

Thanks, I had read that before ... still don't really agree 100% .. but that's ok :)

I just think it's addressing a symptom, not the real issue (ie posting useless comments to an already beaten-to-death topic).

:smalleek:
oh wait ... I just did that now, didn't I ??
:smallwink:
Going away, now ... :smallbiggrin:

LCR

2011-10-12, 11:47 AM

My hobby: Waiting for this thread to fall of the front pages, then agree with the original post.

irenicObserver

2011-10-12, 05:00 PM

Like I said before the OP assumes people do this actively with the direct intent to necro. It's embarrassing for all honestly.

The_Ditto

2011-10-13, 08:40 AM

Like I said before the OP assumes people do this actively with the direct intent to necro. It's embarrassing for all honestly.

Yeah, I agree, posting with the sole intent of necro, is just annoying, I think I tend to consider actual "reasonable" lines of thought: (I know, I know, I'm on the internet, and I'm trying to think logically and reasonably ... silly me :P ).

But yeah, search for a question/issue/problem (ie "so and so software not working, throwing error 123, blah blah blah how to fix?", finding an "old" thread, and posting a followup to clarify the "solution" (which didn't work for you), to try to find a "better" solution. To me, that's reasonable thread-necro.
*shrug*

Just bums me out that we need the mods to ok that, since we seem to be incapable of making that decision on our own! :smallbiggrin: