Re-weaving the forum fabric with old threads

[DaleDVM]

This poll is flawed. It is not about Lord of the Rings, nor is it about elves.

That was hilarious!

I have only been a member for a couple of years. I voted no even though IMHO the poll is flawed. I am fascinated by some of the old threads but I am not young enough (under 18) to be excited by them I guess. So far most of the topics I have seen have been pretty interesting. Since I don't delve into threads more than 5 pages old, I hadn't seen most of these before.

I feel most threads that were dead during the entire fantasy castle line would likely have some new perspective or opinions on the topic by now. TLG has made huge strides over the last few years. It is also a bit interesting to see what people were thinking back then. I guess I better start reading older threads more regularly. I promise not to post anything new in them...

I do believe the TOS should be followed as they have served this site well over the years. These are the terms which we agreed to when we joined this site. You would think that there would be more knightly and honorable behavior at a site like this.

While the old-timers may have discussed an issue to death and have no desire to rehash the matter, new people have opinions and want to join in. If they start a new thread about the issue some of the wanna-be-mods will be all over them about how they're duplicating threads. But if they go back to that old thread people are all over them about resurrecting dead threads.

I agree with Athos and feel bad for newer members. It is their enthusiasm about discussing castle lego that is getting them into trouble. They seem to be in a no win situation. I personally find the enthusiasm refreshing.

Bringing up old topics to raise the number of posts you make is silly. If that is a new members motive I would like you to know this, you don't get respect by the number of posts in your profile... It is how many people you offend that gets you points... That was a joke... back away from the flamethrower... it was only a joke...

[architect]

And, I don't know how we can complain too much, when we have admin-approved thread resurrecting every week in the form of weekly set re-reviews...

There is nothing wrong about fans posting in any of the old set review threads. Other irrelevant threads regarding community rants about KK2 or bley are best left for dead.

Common sense should be used whenever possible. Bringing up one or two relevant old threads is likely acceptable. Posting in ten or fifteen ancient threads in a short period is annoying.

Ben

[Quickblade22]

I think it is "mostly" annoying. I understand the plight of newer members and their enthusiasm. Some threads are just redundant though. What the "most" annoying thing is the rash of people cramming stuff down others throats with their signatures. What one or two people used to do has become a "me too" fest of stupidity.

[Mörs]

I think it is "mostly" annoying. I understand the plight of newer members and their enthusiasm. Some threads are just redundant though. What the "most" annoying thing is the rash of people cramming stuff down others throats with their signatures. What one or two people used to do has become a "me too" fest of stupidity.

I have read those two sentences three times now, and I still have no idea what you were trying to say there.

PS. I know I said I would leave, and so I did... now I'm back!

[Shadowviking]

I find it really annoying. I suppose there could hypothetically be a topic or two that could possibly be worth digging up...


...but I have yet to find one.

[Mörs]

I find it really annoying. I suppose there could hypothetically be a topic or two that could possibly be worth digging up...


...but I have yet to find one.

Seriously? I have seen plenty, but, you know... I don't wanna get banned or something...

But then again, what I mean is, I have found plenty of threads that are worth digging up; that is not to say I have anything interesting to say therein, which I understand is a requirement for making a thread ressurection an honourable act.

[Shadowviking]

I find it really annoying. I suppose there could hypothetically be a topic or two that could possibly be worth digging up...


...but I have yet to find one.

Seriously? I have seen plenty, but, you know... I don't wanna get banned or something...

Have you now? That's debatable.

[Athos]

And, I don't know how we can complain too much, when we have admin-approved thread resurrecting every week in the form of weekly set re-reviews...

There is nothing wrong about fans posting in any of the old set review threads. Other irrelevant threads regarding community rants about KK2 or bley are best left for dead.

The threads (or at least thread) I was thinking of was the one on crossbows vs. bows and arrows. Not really complaining, but rather a new person adding their opinion on a topic that has had pretty much everything said about it. Which rationale can be readily applied to the re-reviews.

Steve

[Mörs]

Not really complaining, but rather a new person adding their opinion on a topic that has had pretty much everything said about it.

Umm, no. I was the first one to point out that crossbows have become much more common than bows.

[Ye Olde Republic]

Potatoes potatoes, tomatoes tomatoes is a phase best left to the verbal realm.
Everything in moderation right? This isn't the only forum in even the our lego community that suffers this problem and it's a great argument for why new members should go slow until they learn the ropes of how each community is run or solves each of their problems or even, yes, polices itself. Often new members are a rock stuck between a hard place and a harder place, they want to participate but run the risk of breaking some of the unwritten (or misunderstanding/misinterpreting the written rules) rules of a community.
They have few options when it comes to adding to old conversations.
1. They can create a new topic and run the risk of somebody telling them that it has been discussed before. A link to the old thread can and should be provided.
2. They can bump up an old thread because they missed out on it and want to participate. This should be done sparingly, as in, not every day and only if you really, really have something to add to it.
3. They can do nothing.
4. They can start a new thread about an old topic with a link to the old thread. Yuck, how wasteful.

Honestly, I prefer option one as long as I find that the search function on these phpbb forums really stinks. Unless you search for the exact thing in the correct search box, it's pretty hit and miss and can take a long time to go through the search results to find what you were searching in the first place.

[Sir Zeppelin]

I agree with Ye Olde Republic on this one. I've only posted a few new topics here, and even then I was nervous that it had already been discussed before (and I had browsed the old threads to make sure). We all know that every community has un-written laws. The hard part is that us new members have to figure out those laws without trying to make anyone mad (good luck with that).

Generally, if those un-written laws are put into words things get bogged down and nothing is fun anymore. With that being said, what if there was a rule for how old of a thread you could dig up? Threads over a certian date would either be locked or you would have to get an admin/moderator's permission before brining it back to life? I don't know... it's just a thought.

[Mörs]

I thought that this was a funny topic because so often when there is a new thread on an old topic someone links to an old thread and makes a statement like " Here it is a year ago and you should have done a search first" but when an old thread is brought back up it is considered a crime and the person is still wrong.

Yeah, I've always found that ludicrous.

4. They can start a new thread about an old topic with a link to the old thread. Yuck, how wasteful.

...And so is this!

So if I want to start a topic about, say, your favourite torso, and suppose -- hypothetically -- there is already a thread on just that, but which is 5+ years old... do I ressurect it, or do I start a new one? I, for one, cannot see any sense in the latter. Please answer.

[Sir Nelson]

I guess the poll is somewhat flawed... but, I do appreciate everyone's feedback to this topic matter. In about 5 years or so, I am sure another möron will resurrect this thread, and we will all have quite the laugh.

Please answer.

Goodbye.

[Ye Olde Republic]

It's not a waste Mors, you only think so because it's a bit of a negative topic seemingly directed at you. OK not seemingly. This is a healthy discussion about the merits of mixing new topics with old ones. I've defended you in this thread as not being one to simply be trying to boost your post count or that you are adding to the old threads you've dug up but after reading one of your posts in another thread, I'm not so sure what your motives actually are.

The funny thing (to me anyway) is that I recently did show someone a thread that already existed. That was because it was a MOC presentation that was already made by that very member. Same member, same MOC...what a memory on that WTF dude eh?

[Blueandwhite]

Whether to dig up long-dead threads is simply a matter of common sense. While some topics may continue to be relevant today, many others are not. In fact, some of those threads weren't really all that relevant when they were first started in 2004. I can appreciate when a new member digs up a set review of a personal favourite set to give their two cents. Digging up old joke threads that had very few responses six years ago simply to give a one-line response probably isn't the best way to contribute to these (or any other) forums.

Certain topics like 'new grey' or 'KKII' have long since expired. There really isn't anything left to be said about them that hasn't been said. Do we really need another post saying that KKII is awesome/aweful? I understand people venting their frustration about the issue when it was new, but we've had six years to come to terms with both of these things. Dragging them up is hardly productive. If a member is obsessed with 'raising the dead', first he or she should really ask themselves whether this topic is still an issue that is relevant to the community. Second, it's probably a good idea to do this in extreme moderation. Most threads die for a reason.