who keeps digging up old threads?

vibe666

I got caught out today with a dead thread on page 1 of the motors forum.

a thread was on page 1 so i read it and posted to it, not paying any attention to the dates of the posts I assumed it was something current.

as it turns out it was from 2005 and I've already been PM'd about it and had a comment because there are no posts before mine since 2005 so it looks like I dragged it up, which I didn't.

it's rare that I look past page one or two of any forum unless I'm searching for something (which in this case I wasn't). I just saw something vaguely interesting on the first page so I put my 2c in like we all do as afterall, isn't that what we're here for?

I'm a long way from being new, I've been around here for several years and i know the rules, but now I look like a prat for doing something I just plain old didn't do.

I can only assume that someone else posted in an old post to bring it back to page 1 then deleted it, but surely a mod or admin can see deleted posts and can look and see who's doing it?

someone else dug up a dead thread earlier today, maybe it's the same idiot. I'm the first to put my hands up if I'm wrong, but I don't like taking blame for something I didn't do.

Sherifu

It has happened before. I've seen someone drag up a thread and then delete their post. Maybe they think it's funny.

vibe666

it's annoying though, I don't mind looking like an idiot for the stuff I've done, but when I haven't it kinda blows.

fairynuff, ideally I'd check the date on the last post before posting, but as I'd found it on page 1 i wasn't expecting it to be a dinosaur.

in fact I even 'dragging' carded someone for the same heinous crime today hre:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=55209934

Talliesin

Sometimes people just hit upon a thread in search results (whether internal search or via google etc) and post without checking further.

In a minority of cases this can actually be a good thing. Some threads have died and then picked up again perfectly well. The difference between "going back to an old thread" and "digging up a dead thread that was better left for dead" is more a matter of effect than of the act itself.

[thread=19782]This thread[/thread] died for years after a few posts and then was resurrected and is still popular, but the nature of the thread is such that you can drop into it at any point. The other extreme would be one saying "anyone want to a spare ticket I have for a gig tonight?" in between is a matter of balance.

leninbenjamin

boards is acting wierd lately. it may not have been anybody. there's a lot of threads where the order of the posts is being messed up, so maybe it's affecting the thread listings too.

Nerin

Boards Ghost(TM) perhaps?

vibe666

leninbenjamin wrote: »

boards is acting wierd lately. it may not have been anybody. there's a lot of threads where the order of the posts is being messed up, so maybe it's affecting the thread listings too.

that had actually occurred to me too, but I didn't want to point the finger at boards.ie itself. i thought a Rogue Poster(tm):D might be more plausible.

6th

nerin wrote: »

Boards Ghost(TM) perhaps?

I'm on it!

Btw, love the sig

Jack B. Badd

vibe666 wrote: »

it's annoying though, I don't mind looking like an idiot for the stuff I've done, but when I haven't it kinda blows.

If you look like an idiot, it'll probably be for not checking the dates on the other post and that's your responsibility, not the person who dragged the thread to the 1st page. So in reality, you can't blame you looking like an idiot on anyone else. :rolleyes:

vibe666

Jack B. Badd wrote: »

If you look like an idiot, it'll probably be for not checking the dates on the other post and that's your responsibility, not the person who dragged the thread to the 1st page. So in reality, you can't blame you looking like an idiot on anyone else. :rolleyes:

because unlike you (i'm sure) I don't make sure the first thing I check on a page one thread is the date of the last post. it's normally safe enough to assume that if a thread is on page 1 it's there because it's either a new one or an active old one.

i'll just have to try and make sure i live up to your flawless standards of perfection in future won't i.

Sully

leninbenjamin wrote: »

boards is acting wierd lately. it may not have been anybody. there's a lot of threads where the order of the posts is being messed up, so maybe it's affecting the thread listings too.

I noticed this actually in busy topics, post seem to duplicate later on in the thread and the order of posts is rather weird.

Faith

That happened to me a long time ago. There was a thread on the first page that I clicked on, and only took notice of because I realised I knew one of the posters in it, who I didn't realise posted here. I just glanced at the dates and found it was from 2002 or something. When I went back to the main page of the forum, the thread was nowhere to be seen...

Overheal

Its The Microwave and Time Machines forum I tells ya! They're up to no good..

Jack B. Badd

vibe666 wrote: »

because unlike you (i'm sure) I don't make sure the first thing I check on a page one thread is the date of the last post. it's normally safe enough to assume that if a thread is on page 1 it's there because it's either a new one or an active old one.

i'll just have to try and make sure i live up to your flawless standards of perfection in future won't i.

vibe666

Jack B. Badd wrote: »

thank you, I'll be here all week.

Terry

Hawaii.

passive

Overheal wrote: »

Its The Microwave and Time Machines forum I tells ya! They're up to no good..

Ha... Anyone got a timeline showing the establishment of this forum contrasted with the lost-time pockets boards has been experiencing for the last few days? We may have to get Geordi on to this...

(edit: It just occured to me that any such timeline would be highly suspect... Dammit.)

Overheal

Hmm... We would need some sort of server protected by some sort of stasis field, or perhaps Temporal Shielding... ah voyager was there nothing you could not do

Terry

vibe666 wrote: »

I got caught out today with a dead thread on page 1 of the motors forum.

a thread was on page 1 so i read it and posted to it, not paying any attention to the dates of the posts I assumed it was something current.

as it turns out it was from 2005 and I've already been PM'd about it and had a comment because there are no posts before mine since 2005 so it looks like I dragged it up, which I didn't.

it's rare that I look past page one or two of any forum unless I'm searching for something (which in this case I wasn't). I just saw something vaguely interesting on the first page so I put my 2c in like we all do as afterall, isn't that what we're here for?

I'm a long way from being new, I've been around here for several years and i know the rules, but now I look like a prat for doing something I just plain old didn't do.

I can only assume that someone else posted in an old post to bring it back to page 1 then deleted it, but surely a mod or admin can see deleted posts and can look and see who's doing it?

someone else dug up a dead thread earlier today, maybe it's the same idiot. I'm the first to put my hands up if I'm wrong, but I don't like taking blame for something I didn't do.

Serious reply #37.

If someone bumped the thread and then deleted their post, the thread would have left the front page.

If you posted just before they deleted their post, the mod should see a deleted post just above yours and will see the time stamp on it.

PM the mod and point this out to them.

Also, go easy on newbies who drag up old threads.
We were all new once and didn't quite get how the place runs.

blindman

I'm rather busy right now, I'll get Lt. Barclay to look into it.

Nerin

what are (if any) the rules for dragging up new threads?

i'd assume if its a funny thread,or something still possibly relevant its ok.or as someone else said if its something that was only for a certain time its not?

Hmm... We would need some sort of server protected by some sort of stasis field, or perhaps Temporal Shielding... ah voyager was there nothing you could not do

lol you remind me of my friend danny.
next you'll be singing 7of9s praises in BgRh

Sully

Terry wrote: »

Also, go easy on newbies who drag up old threads.
We were all new once and didn't quite get how the place runs.

Really? I think your on your own there Terry

Nah only messing, Terrys dead right. Give the newbs a chance, vBulletin can be tricky to get used to and lots of them are internet / computer newbies anyway. They will soon get the hang of the mill and sort themselves out

Orion

blindman wrote: »

I'm rather busy right now, I'll get Lt. Barclay to look into it.

Dr. Emmet Brown would be better tbh

blindman

I'm not sure we can get boards up to 88 mph. We may have to eject the warp core.

Overheal

Screw that, spool up the FTL jump drive.

Nerin

i have no idea whats going on,but it sounds like star trek.

vibe666

star trek, voyager, back to the future and battlestar galactica.

it's like a who's who of nerdsville!

blindman

I got caught out today posting in a dead thread. I thought for sure the thread was on page 1, but then remembered that I had followed a link from a thread on page 1, which brought me to an older thread. Sorry no boards ghost this time.

CrowdedHouse

Is there an Auto lock facility that can be set for a certain time - 2 weeks/a month/whatever without new posts,then automatically locks thread.

I've seen it on some other forum.

Terry

I don't think that's a good idea.

As has been pointed out, sometimes people find a thread through google, register and post in it without realising how this place works.

They should be given the opportunity to do so without getting grief from others. There's really not too much harm in a new member bumping an old thread.

Earlier today, someone bumped a nine year old thread in AH.
They were messing around and would most likely have been banned for doing it in any other forum.
That sort of thing is not good form, but someone new to the site, who has just found how to view old threads shouldn't really be punished or prohibited from posting in an old thread that interests them.

I'm all for the newbies. We were all new once.

Also, you've been missing from AH for a while.
Get back there now.

Rb

Terry wrote: »

I don't think that's a good idea.

As has been pointed out, sometimes people find a thread through google, register and post in it without realising how this place works.

They should be given the opportunity to do so without getting grief from others. There's really not too much harm in a new member bumping an old thread.

Earlier today, someone bumped a nine year old thread in AH.
They were messing around and would most likely have been banned for doing it in any other forum.
That sort of thing is not good form, but someone new to the site, who has just found how to view old threads shouldn't really be punished or prohibited from posting in an old thread that interests them.

I'm all for the newbies. We were all new once.

Also, you've been missing from AH for a while.
Get back there now.

That guy deserves a lengthy ban tbh.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnndddddddddddddddd BUMP!!"

diediediediediediediediediediedie

Sherifu

rb_ie wrote: »

That guy deserves a lengthy ban tbh.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnndddddddddddddddd BUMP!!"

diediediediediediediediediediedie

Worse still, he thought it was original.

the_syco

Whilst we're on the subject, if there were 4 posts

21-03-06
21-03-06
22-03-06
24-03-06

and someone edited the post on the 22nd, would that post date be changed, to something like

21-03-06
21-03-06
03-03-08
24-03-06

I ask as it'd really look like a dip in time then:D

=-=

And yes, I'll check out the theory with some post later on:p;):cool:

kaimera

They couldn't edit the post

Unless it was a mod in his/her forum(s)

Gordon

the_syco wrote: »

Whilst we're on the subject, if there were 4 posts

21-03-06
21-03-06
22-03-06
24-03-06

and someone edited the post on the 22nd, would that post date be changed, to something like

21-03-06
21-03-06
03-03-08
24-03-06

I ask as it'd really look like a dip in time then:D

=-=

And yes, I'll check out the theory with some post later on:p;):cool:

When you edit a post the timestamp stays the same, but an extra timestamp is added for the edited time/date. If the actual timestamp was altered then the post would appear at the end of the thread as threads sort the posts within by date (afaik).

DeVore

I dont think editing a post bumps the thread either.

As far as bumping old threads goes, its a no-no without a good reason but if its innocent then I dont have a problem with it per se and a friendly warning might be in order if anything.

DeV.