Thread Necromancy

[Jopustopin]

Can someone explain to me, philosophically, what exactly is wrong about thread necromancy. Why is it frowned upon? Why do handbooks get locked for thread necromancy? I sorta (not really) understand why threads get locked but I do not understand at all why a handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=181655&page=5) would get locked.

I've seen it for years but never understood why it was poor etiquette to comment on a thread that was years old if the issue was still pertinent. I totally understand if we're talking about something that's no longer relevant (such as a build advice for someone 2 years ago). But not all threads are equal and I don't understand why they are treated as such.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Wrong section. Unless you want to build a thread necromancer. Kill the string and turn it into my minion!

Anyway, server issues. Like the max of 50 pages per thread. Before the 50 pages rule, this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53160&page=301) once happened. :smallbiggrin:

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Ayep. What he said.

If you think the topic of the original thread still bears relevance and you wish to (re)discuss it, just open a new thread. If necessary with a link to the old thread. The handbook may be closed, but it is not deleted. If you want the original post restated in the thread, ask for permission from the author.

I understand you might think this is kind of weird in the case of a handbook, but this is the result of a general rule. It shoots and hits 95/100 times, and might miss in case of a good handbook, but that's the price we pay for a forum that works. :smallsmile:

[Big Fau]

If the handbook necromancy thing bothers you, just hop over to the BG forums for your handbooks.

[nedz]

Animate Rope

[HunterOfJello]

Thread Necromancy is generally bad because you're attempting to enter a conversation in a thread full of people who have left the conversation. It's like walking into an empty convention hall and shouting loudly at people who have already left the building/area/state/country.

Handbooks should likely fall into a different category. Brilliant Gameologists puts their Handbook in a separate subform than general discussions. If you think that's a good idea, then you can talk to the mods about that.

In general, if you except relevant replies to a question, then you should just start a new thread on it. There are the obvious cases where a person objects to something or brings up a topic that has already been discussed over 9000 times before, but most comments to even ancient topics are best left to new threads rather than old ones.

[Deepbluediver]

Two things that might help in the future; the homebrew forum as an exemption that the creator of a thread can reinitiate the conversation past the 6-week limit, so you might be able to restart a thread with a PM. And anyone can restart a thread provided they get prior permission from that forums moderator. (Check the posting-rules for more specifics)

[Thurbane]

I would have thought that using an existing thread was better on the server load than the same topics/questions being posted ad infinitum - let's face it, a lot of people just don't search before posting.

I very much agree with the OP, and feel the same on pretty much every board I frequent. Especially so for handbooks when you have something meaningful to add.

I used to moderate on a commercial video game website, and we actually encouraged people to search for existing topics before posting a new one. The only time we frowned upon thread necro was when was a frivolous comment that added nothing to the topic...which was pretty much covered under the spam rules anyhow.

[Telemont]

Under almost every circumstances I agree with the OP. It is childish to be upset about Thread Necromancy, and losing the valuable information of previous poster is tragic. But, it has to be done in order to maintain server stability, so it is for the greater good in this particular circumstance.

[Psyren]

If the handbook necromancy thing bothers you, just hop over to the BG forums for your handbooks.

MMB you mean, BG is going away.

But IIRC, handbooks are an exception (or at least have a bit more leeway) as far as threadomancy goes here. At least for the handbook's creator, and possibly for any additional infos. I've gotten permission to bump several of my own handbooks past their expiration date, the mods here are easy to talk to.

[dextercorvia]

The irony -- it is killing me.

So I was giving serious thought to shaping a body out of thread, and then casting Animate Object on it (with Permanency) and following the whole business up with Awaken Construct.

Would the resulting creation be able to take levels in Cleric, Wizard, or Dread Necromancer, assuming one of Int, Wis, or Cha?

[Psyren]

The irony -- it is killing me.

So I was giving serious thought to shaping a body out of thread, and then casting Animate Object on it (with Permanency) and following the whole business up with Awaken Construct.

Would the resulting creation be able to take levels in Cleric, Wizard, or Dread Necromancer, assuming one of Int, Wis, or Cha?

I think you need at least Int 3 for class levels :smalltongue:

[Roland St. Jude]

Sheriff: Thread locked. For various reasons, both technical and social, we prefer a rule against Thread Necromancy. Those reasons have been discussed in prior threads. It's only a "Please Don't" in the Forum Rules, and exceptions are granted pretty freely upon request.

[Rawhide]

Disappointed that no one linked to/quoted this exchange (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5461942&postcount=3).

Note that Gorbash Kazdar was a mod at the time.