Necro-post prevention

Meta Discussion
1

I consistently see posts added to threads that can be 6-months to years
old. It seems to me that the best way to pick up and out-of-date/old
thread would be to start a new thread with a link to the old discussion
followed by the “new” content.

Would it be possible for the discourse forum to do that automatically?

If not, I would prefer closing topics after a year with no ability to necro-post
to them at all.

2

I sometimes see people requesting prevention of necro posting, but I would like to voice my opinion in favor of allowing necro posting. I often find new information being added to old threads valuable, and if I once was interested in the thread, I’m likely interested in the new information as well. Granted, not every necro poster adds anything useful to the conversation, but the same can be said for many posts to brand new threads as well so I don’t see this as the strongest argument.

Rather than disallowing necro posting, It would be better if discourse had an option to automatically unsubscribe to a post after a certain time if you do not want to see topics being revived.

23 Likes
3

Partly this is a moderation issue — the moderators have the power to split necroposts into new threads, and probably should do this if someone is trying to start a new discussion rather than adding updated information to an old thread.

8 Likes
4

Currently you get the following in the nag window on the right when composing a post:

Revive this topic?
The last reply to this topic was about 5 years ago. Your reply will bump the topic to the top of its list and notify anyone previously involved in the conversation.

Are you sure you want to continue this old conversation?

I find the info in the nag window is usually irrelevant. So I’m quick to click it away. But sometimes it is good advice. I wonder if there is a way to have a more obtrusive warning that you are necroposting. It is not too hard to inadvertently necropost. I’m pretty sure Ive done it. And it would be ok to add another roadblock in case someone wants to post something like “lol that’s so true”.

2 Likes