"Thread Necromancy - Why It's a Good Thing" Topic

I think that it's normally assumed that there's no good reason to add a post to an old topic, as who is going to read it?

However, a lot of people come over to TMP as the result of Google/Bing/etc. searches.

Therefore, I think it's not a bad idea to sometimes go back to "old" topics and update them. That way, some poor person isn't misled by out-of-date information.

On a related note when you're posting a link to your blog entry please link to the specific post, not the front page of the blog. I can't tell you how many times I've googled something, found a years old TMP link and clicked on the blog post, only to not be able to find the article someone wrote about. I don't bother searching through years of posts I just close the tab…

Hence, why I would like to see an option to sort the main feed by date of last post, instead of creation date.

Hence, why I would like to see an option to sort the main feed by date of last post, instead of creation date.

YES! My main interaction with TMP is through the front page, I would LOVE to have it be by most recent post. I don't go through all the message boards to check if someone has added to a post.

I do it all the time with " The OFM's Guide to Getting Started in the American Revolution."
My ego compels me.

Hence, why I would like to see an option to sort the main feed by date of last post, instead of creation date.

Hmmm… interesting idea.

TMP link

I disagree about sorting by most recent post: TMP has too much traffic.

A good thing but what that means in practical terms is that's a brand new post could get pushed to the bottom, even off the front page, without even getting looked at. The sub-boards already sort by most recent.

Just my humble opinion, anyway.

V/R,
Jack

And:

TMP link

To answer your question of "Why thread necromancy is a good thing?"

Thread necromancy is a good thing because of a lack of sticky topics.

When there are SO MANY boards the latest topic rising to the top is seriously degraded in usefulness because we are forced to rely on the front page feed.

TMP junkies never want to miss anything and going board by board is too hard.

What if you created a feed of the latest posts by highest board level? WWII with all sub-boards. Basically a front page feed by area of interest.

We could have sticky topics if that is what the community wants.

Just Jack did not read the post he is responding to: the proposal was "option to," not, "force everyone into this by default."

Excellent idea.

Funny how different forums operate, isn't it!

I have occasionally seen a new post to an old thread here on TMP. But the reaction seems to be that this is not good etiquette, and the new poster gets flak for it.

On other car and motor racing forums that I use, the opposite is true. If there is an existing thread for a topic you are expected to add your post to that rather than start a new thread. Even if the last post was two or three YEARS ago! Start a new thread in error and you are bombarded by people saying "we've already got a thread for this!". Some threads can go on for hundreds of pages….

It would be nice to have those posts I've responded to or started to hang around a bit longer – perhaps as a separate Forum,(and possibly as a 'paid' Forum to add functionality for members?)

it is a good thing. Sometimes I want to read a review of a set of rules that have been out for a few years. I don't care that it is an "old" thread. I care about the content. I'm a big boy and can see the date and decide if I need newer opinions.

Depends on context of the new post too. If the post is 'hey here is some new useful information' that is fine. If the new post is trivial like 'I agree' or 'yep' then that is still thread necromancy most foul.

I agree better thread sorting and sticky threads would both help this.

-Will

I'll mull this one over for a few months before weighing in with a comment.

I favor the idea of posts to existing threads appear on the Front Page. Sorting by most recent post date seems a very simple adjustment to the system, but increased visibility--or simple long life--of a thread would make my life, at least, a lot easier!

Go, Bill, and make it so!

TVAG

There could be problems with a lot of unwanted posts. We already have individuals who post a lot of "information" type posts. If anyone adds a comment or a thank you, will the original post show up again and again ?

This would be a Very Bad Thing, IMHO.

I'll mull this one over for a few months before weighing in with a comment.

You have plenty of time…

I think having a button to quickly switch the sort order from most recent post to most recent create would be a big win. On FB, I'm typically in Most Recent feed mode, but I'll switch from time to time just to catch anything that might have fallen off the bottom.

Now that I've had to stifle Tango 01 I find the number of posts reduced by 50% and it makes navigation on the front page just sooooo much easier, to be honest…

So a button to toggle order on the front page might be useful now.

John T

I think you mean Ignore, John.