Old Thread / New Thread

[Wyphy]

It used to be that when you asked a question on a forum, unless it was rarely discussed, the standard replies were basically 'use the search, it's been covered' and 'post in one of the other threads about this topic'.
Over the last couple of years the trend has generally changed to 'don't necro old posts', 'that post is 2 months old, we're locking it, make a new post' when the question is closely related to, or even almost exactly the same.

From my point of view, even if a post is two years old, if it's closely related to a previously posted topic, that shows that the poster at least attempted to find the answer themselves and found something close, but wanted some clarification. And, presumably, hoping for an answer other than 'use search'.

Obviously various forums have their own general atmosphere, some more hostile or more serene, but overall, that's been the trend that I've seen. There are still plenty of forums that are 'old school' and live by the mantra 'use search'.
Anyone know of any particular reason?
Only really obvious answer is that storage is much cheaper now than years ago, so it isn't as big a deal to have hundreds of thousands of threads.

It seems counterproductive to me to spread out info over lots of posts rather than keep it all in one place so it's easier to find.

I'm not trying to troll or question our mods or this forum's policies, just a general question about the overall tides of internet attitudes.
And to end on a lighter note, a bit of entertainment; I thought I'd share one of my favorite videos about forum posting : Posting and You

[thecolumbianshark]

[Lucy]

I can only speak for myself on this one. On FL posts older than 6 months go into the archives. There's a ton of info there.
A lot of questions are issues that pertain to a posters specific question, problem and/or set up.

Bringing up old posts push down the newer ones who many need immediate attention now as we are dealing with living things.

If someone hasn't found their answers using the search feature they can always start a new thread.

[thecolumbianshark]

Yeah, I remember seeing posts in the freshwater fish profile section and posted. I didn't do it just to alert people, though.

[Lucy]

Originally Posted by Wyphy

use the search

Ideally, this would be the first option someone should use.

Originally Posted by Wyphy

post in one of the other threads about this topic

It's best to have your own thread for individual problems. Otherwise the thread gets confusing and questions overlooked.

In most of the forums on Fish Lore there are sticky topics which usually contain answers to the most frequently asked questions.

[Red1313]

It just seems like everyone's problem is slightly different. People could have fish suffering from the same thing but very different causes.

[prairielilly]

I agree with Lucy and Red; bc we're dealing with living things, and because every case is different, certain problems are more likely to receive individual attention if they have their own, separate thread.

That said, I have seen threads were people replying have provided a link to an older thread that did a good job of covering the topic (I have done this myself). This can be a nice way to avoid re-writing what can sometimes be very long explanations (in certain circumstances, say using filter media instead of cartridges for example, not for things like disease issues).

[Dozey]

I personally would not want to have to re-read an old thread with lets say 24 posts to get up to speed on a new question. Threads also tend to get side tracked. So a thread that starts off as a question about cycling a tank can end up discussing how often to feed fish. If I read the first post in a thread and the last post I don’t really know what the recent post is referring to.

It would be awful if you had a question about feeding your fish and I suggested that you add ammonia every day.

[Red1313]

Now that isn't even funny Dozey <shudder>

[CWO4GUNNER]

Lets be brutally honest for a moment. While it is true that initially we join an interest forum like fish, motorcycles, or ant circus training, to get some particular question answered by a person on the other end of the screen. After those initial post have been answered its all about social interaction. whether on this forum, the local VFW, church, or Blue Lounge Nightclub, its still about "persona grata". In an ideal world with ideal rules a forums would eventually have to be closed and reduced to a search data base only and we would never use words like Hi, welcome, or my condolences, and we would never have to interact again because all the questions would be answered and archived at some point. So lets be honest and by all means continue to post and re-post those beautifully redundant FAQ's, with all the humor and emotion your wonderful brains and big harts can manipulate fat stubby or slender elegant fingers on that a lonely keyboard.

[capekate]

Hi Wyphy
Not sure if this answers your question or line of thought.. but, IMO even with locked threads we can still gleen information from it without having to post to it. After reading old threads that relate to a persons question, if it is not answered there one can always start a new thread. Yes, sometimes we do tend to go off topic and it can be a long way down the posts to find an answer you are looking for. But generally speaking, forums are based on communication between many and sometimes in the search for an answer, we can come across some interesting tidbits not related to the OP.
Forums can be fun as well as functioning information. Some sites are very stuffy about their rules on this, and will not even attempt to respond to a question that can be found in another thread somewhere else on site. Personally I do not like that approach at all and enjoy the interaction and ability to be able to question and answer threads that are at times already been hashed through somewhere else in the forum. A common problem is still unique to one that has never had it before.