Originally Posted by mkc

With a very old thread, people start answering the questions asked in the first post. That original poster has long since had their questions answered and/or may no longer be on the board.

It's always best to start a new topic with your specific questions so you can get answers to your questions, rather than lots of responses to the first post of an old topic.

Many forums have warnings pop-up when you try to respond to an old topic if it's more than 6 months old. As an admin/moderator for several other forums (not quilting-related) it creates a lot of work to split out "bumps" of old topics into their own, new topic. We do it to keep the subject on track and the information current.