New to the board and have a few questions

[Tiferet]

Hi! I'm fairly new to the board, and this about the only message board I'm a member of, so forgive me if I seem a bit ignorant. (I'm not really that good with computers to begin with.) I've got a few questions, and this seemed the best place to ask them.

1) What exactly is this whole 'town' thing on the silly message boards? I've skimmed over a few of the threads and am really confused!

2) It says in the posting rules not to bring up old/locked topics again. Is there an easy way to search the boards to avoid doing such without reading though hundreds and hundreds of topics?

Thanks for the help! :D

[Wukei]

The locked threads really goes around the whole "no religion, no politics" thing usually.

The Town information can be found in a stickied thread in the silly message board forum. Give me a second to edit and I'll find that info for you.

edit:

http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=silly;action=display;num=1148188785

Keep in mind those are only suggested rules of play for the town.

[HempRope]

You are allowed to bring up topics that were discussed a while ago and then lost momentum. However, it's best to to avoid because you'll likely not get anything new.

To search for old threads/topics, use the built-in search engine in the toolbar at the top of your screen. Up between 'Help' and 'Members.'

However, 'threadomancy,' or reviving old threads from the depths of forums, is discouraged. Plus, instead of getting a response to your question, you'll probably mostly get people posting one line about how old the thread is or just yelling "Threadomancer!"

So if you wanna bring up old stuff (and have something new to add), it is best to start a new thread.

I hope that's both coherent and helpful.

EDIT:
And I suggest all new members read the Guide to Message Board Codes (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=news;action=display;num=1095036000). It's at the top of this Board Issues forum, for future reference.

[tee_kay_one]

Is there actually a logical explanation why threadomancy is such a taboo? is it because of all the reading that would be needed to pick up the discussion again? maybe the threadomancer could start his evil ritual with posting a short summary of the thread first. (this would also allow him to manipulate people's opinion towards his own, unholy goals. you know these threadomancers are an evil lot...)

[Arian]

One reason is the way previously-resolved issues are reopened and possibly contested anew, and mysteries illuminated since the thread died are addressed as if the original questioner were an idiot.

For example, we all know now that the baby in #113 is very likely Julia. But when "Roy's brother" was raised from death, there were several posts to the effect of "What do you mean, 'brother'? It's Julia, of course!" and explanations had to be made that wouldn't have been needed if the thread had stayed decently in its grave.

[Lilly]

On the thread-o-mancy discussion, depending on how old the thread is, the origional posters may not be around anymore, and cannot argue or clairfy on their points. It's also rather disconcerting to see the dead thread come back to life lurch around for a bit, and then promptly die again.

[tee_kay_one]

It's also rather disconcerting to see the dead thread come back to life lurch around for a bit, and then promptly die again.

well, that's how pop-culture works. cher does this every decade or so... ;D

[tape_measure]

doesnt make it right, though :-/