Old Threads
 

I've noticed along with others that many of the Main Threads we are seeing lately are from very old postings from years ago. Curious as to why. Surely there are enough question being posted that relate to current situations to fill the page. Or am I wrong (it's happened before...but don't tell my husband).

I think it is because someone posts a reply to the thread, even though the original post was posted a while ago.

Agree!

That's why many of us, do not go to check "New Posts" when we come to the Quilting Board.

Instead, we go to "Archive" which lets us see the new threads listed in chronological order. If you post to the thread, you will get an auto-notice each time there is a new post. If you don't post, but want to follow the discussion, you can subscribe, which also gets you the auto-notice with each new post. You can unsubscribe, if you do not want to follow any longer.

And bonus ... if you have no interest at all in a specific thread, then you'll never see anything about it again, if you have not posted or subscribed.

It all works pretty nice ... and makes more efficient use of your time online!

There has been an increase in "necroing" old threads (bringing dead threads back to life) lately. In general internet netiquette necroing is frowned upon, much like typing in all caps. With our modern age, 2 years is pretty darn old. 10 year old threads are ancient! I don't know what that makes me since I've been on the internet since the beginning and even before (had email in 1978)... I guess I'm a dinosaur or living fossil? Since I still access the forums via a desktop computer and not through a cell phone there are some fine tuning issues I'm not so proficient on even though I've been posting on quilting related boards for more than 20 years now.

I admit, I rather like seeing some of the old names who no longer post for their individual reasons.

One way to non-necro is simply to start new threads for subjects you feel strongly about. Maybe linking the dead thread that inspired you inside your post. Chances are that you found the post by searching anyway,so saying something like"I found this post link but it is so old I thought I should start over" gives the rest of us the choice to revisit the old thread while recognizing the time period, and not missing that the original post date.

Bumping (basically saying nothing to keep the thread visible) is also frowned upon and hasn't been an issue here that I've noticed. If you have a problem and no one has responded, it is not bumping to say "still need help on this" but at some point you need to recognize whether or not anyone is going to be able to help.

Likewise, while you can share your current interests in multiple threads, creating (or bumping or necroing) new threads in different subforums is another frowned upon activity. We used to call this cross posting, but that is mostly used now for different social media (posting the same thing on facebook, tiktok, youtube, etc.) Think the current term is "multi posting".

It can be hard to decide the most relevant forum to get eyes on your thoughts. The moderation staff gives quite a bit of leeway but if they feel something is out of place, they can move it.

I think I can use a general "we" here -- we want an active forum where people feel comfortable and welcome posting. We come from diverse backgrounds and varying degrees of computer proficiency/history,

and where is this Archive?? I don't see it. I've recently been using New Posts myself.

2 reasons are most likely (based on my experience working on other forums):

1. Spammers bumping old topics. People start replying, then the spam post is removed but the conversation continues.

2. People doing a Google search, then signing up to respond to the post their search found even though it's an old topic.

We typically split these out to new topics to avoid confusion when they happen on our forums, but the QB forum software might not have that functionality.

On the left at the very bottom of the page in very small print.

I - mostly - do not mind seeing the old threads because it reminds of the people that used to post here,

I usually go to "New Posts" when I come to this forum. I usually skip "The Games" . I am grateful that they are labelled.

It is quite easy to pick and choose what I choose to look at.

On my ipad, I scroll to the very bottom of the page, and there is a darker band of colour, you can choose advertising, archives, contact us, etc.

QuiltingWoman44 and others .... This may sound a bit complicated, but it really is not. Just the problem of how words to explain, sometimes complicate things!! :)

Scroll to the bottom of this page. On the left is a list of links.
Second in list is "Archive". Click.
This takes you to ... "Quiltingboard Forums"
Click ... on the forum you want to check out.
For this example, Click on "Main"
This gives you a list of threads, with the most recently started one on top.
Right now this thread "Old Threads" is in the #1 position, but once a new thread is started, then it will drop to #2 and downwards as others are added.

To simplify, I keep a direct link to the "Quiltingboard Forums" on my desktop.
I can get there almost instantly when I want to check out what's new on the QB!

Hope this helps you!!

Spammers, yes but what I see a lot are brand new people here who haven't noticed the dates. When you first come to this board, you see a list of forum threads / categories / topics & when you choose a topic, it sends you to the first original post there. It's pretty easy to overlook the original post date.

I think sometimes it is that, people will say 'why didn't you just do a search on the forum to see if you can find the answer you are looking for. Then in their search, they find a posting and still have more questions so they post on the old post.

I see this in other forums as well - and I have actually seen people who have been on the forum for a while actually yell at the 'new' poster for not doing a search first. So to keep from getting snipped at, some of us look for old posts first and that is how more questions get put on old posts. I've seen older/longer forum members actually say things like 'that question was answered way back when - do your homework, we are not answering it again - and in the meantime.... well ya know!

the search function here is fried.

what does this mean

[QUOTE=bearisgray;8625266
I - mostly - do not mind seeing the old threads because it reminds of the people that used to post here,

I usually go to "New Posts" when I come to this forum. I usually skip "The Games" . I am grateful that they are labelled.

It is quite easy to pick and choose what I choose to look at.[/QUOTE]

We approach the forum the same way. I like to keep up with new posts even if I don't have much to say and the new posts method shows me things that have been updated since my last visit. If something is really interesting I might subscribe but not often.

So what if a question has been answered before?

The asker would not have asked the question if he/she knew the answer.

Yes, some of the topics have come up many times. And frequently the answers are varied.

Examples: to wash fabrics or not before cutting them

To use starch or sizing

The best way to make half- triangle square units - and that terminology still throws me for a loop - my literal mind still won' t picture it

to cut binding on the grain or on the bias

I did not know anything about searching on this forum when i joined it. At that time, i did not even know how to phrase the questions.

It either anuses me or annoys me when an instructor type asks " any questions?" Before getting to the bow- to part of a class.

i expect to have questions - i jut do not know what they are yet.


But back to old topics , I have learned some things while reading them. i have also learned that many of the links mentioned no longer work.

Well said.

Yes, the old threads have caught me more than once in the past few weeks. I have decided to be more careful and to look at page one of the thread, check the date and the last page of the thread. Old threads will get a "pass" from me from this point on.

I also enjoy seeing the names of old board members who are not longer posting but really, do I need to spend my time responding to a thread that is 13 years old. Nahhhh!

And that's the beauty of personal choice.

If there's one thing I've learned in life that is, no matter how kind we are to others, they'll always be someone that comes along who has a dagger extended, so I approach life standing tall and do my own thing, and as for the rest, it's insignificant to me.

It's unfortunate that more people in this world fail to live by the same.

And, old links usually "can't be found", so I don't bother.

As a new member, I like seeing the old posts come up. The other day there was a 4 -year-old one with the most beautiful quilts I'd ever seen. It enriched my day. I did think it funny that people were replying to it without noticing the original posting date. anyway, the old posts on well-worn topics are often full of good info for new quilters like me.
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I’m fallable. Make errors and omissions. Besides being just plain stupid or foolish. And I’m my our harshest critic. The accusing voices in my head rob me of sleep.

May I always offer mercy and grace. No one, especially not me, is perfect.

She means the search function sucks. Doesn't work well. I've actually had more success using Google to search the forum!

me, too . Especially when looking for a particular member.

Nicely said.

Love this! Couldn't have said it better myself!