Necroposting!

[bingus_baby]

In other forums I’ve been on necroposting is considered the ultimate sin. I never understood why, since it seems like it would be better to reuse a thread rather than cluttering the forum with duplicates of the same topic. But I’ve noticed… Melonland doesn’t seem to have this mindset and even suggests preexisting threads when you make a new one! (Apparently mine is unique!) So what’s everyone’s thoughts on the matter? Are you pro or anti and why? I’d especially like to know why one might be against necroposting, since I still don’t understand the problem.

[Guest]

In other forums I’ve been on necroposting is considered the ultimate sin. I never understood why, since it seems like it would be better to reuse a thread rather than cluttering the forum with duplicates of the same topic. But I’ve noticed… Melonland doesn’t seem to have this mindset and even suggests preexisting threads when you make a new one! (Apparently mine is unique!) So what’s everyone’s thoughts on the matter? Are you pro or anti and why? I’d especially like to know why one might be against necroposting, since I still don’t understand the problem.

On forums I'm on necroposting is against the rules as people usually do it to spam some shitty link to an 18+ site.

It's also so people don't get email notifications to a 5 year old thread.

Most people have the setting on automatically when they sign up and last time I had my notis on I had 12,800 emails from one site!

[tarraxahum]

I came to Melonland first and was very glad to see that 'necroposting' was okay and I could just dig around looking for threads to contribute to without worrying about the dates. In fact, I wasn't really aware of the term even (or it being looked down upon sometimes).

That's until I joined another forum and saw moderators asking people not to necropost and even locking older threads down. I mean, I accept the rules of the space, but I don't understand it either. I disctinctly remember reading an explanation on there, but it apparently did not take 'cause I do not remember a thing    Something about it being awkward for the topic starter or a risk of digging someone's old opinions up when they're no longer relevant.

I bet the imood forums and the current dwellers on there would have a laugh :D

[Melooon]

There was actually a discussion about this in relation to this forum: https://forum.melonland.net/index.php?topic=829.0

But I think it's interesting to hear people's thoughts on it in relation to the wider web; Id even add a few non-forum-centric questions - What about necro-updating (updating bits of your site after years) or necro-themeing? (Modifying a theme that has remained untouched for years) - or Necro-drawing (adding bits to something you drew or created years ago) Visual language ages in exactly the same as text language!

Apparently, there are cave drawings from about 50,000 years ago, and about 20,000 years later more modern humans came along and added extra bits to the drawings (new animals and stuff, it's like an expansion pack  ) - I find that fascinating!

As for me; I find all thoughts are an evolution right? My ideas are necro-thoughts on my ideas from yesterday and 10 years ago, and those ideas link back generations for as long as we have had brains. So the idea of saying a topic or discussion cant be added-too or expanded upon because a few months or years have passed is comically silly to me 

[Skykristal]

I am not against Necroposting at all but I also see it hated everywhere.

The fact that this type of posting is more welcome here was something I already liked from the start. I agree 100% that just reusing old threads is the best option, rather than doing the same or a similar thread over and over and over again. Especially on topics that are timeless. "share your socks" is something you can post on even 50 years later. why would it matter how old the thread is? there is no timeframe in which socks are a thing. This can be different if the thread topic is about an event that is happening at a specific time and then over forever. Let's say Tim made a thread about an art content 8 years a go, that contest ended 2 months later and then suddenly 8 years later, a random person posts asking if they can enter. I think this is the type of stuff people usually talk about when they say they dislike Necroposting, and this is something I can also agree to myself. But other than that I personally don't see the issue.

[lonelyjuly]

I think necroposting is a good thing because I feel that it invites people who haven't seen the thread to see it as well. It could very well be an interesting topic and no one would know 

[wygolvillage]

I never understood the issue with it. On the other hand I've also been in forums where they got mad at you for posting a new thread if there's already some several-years-old thread that was about the same thing, that you had no idea about. 

I think that kind of thing should be more of a loose guideline than a hard rule, I guess, lol.

[shevek]

I didn't even know this was considered bad, haha. But to be honest, this is the first forum I've been on since about 2007? And in thar forum, it was also encouraged to first search in the forum search for a fitting thread before making your own, and rather posting in the preexisting one. So I always do it that way. To me, being upset about necroposting seens like it could be Reddit-influenced, but I could be wrong and this predates Reddit..
I prefer it when doubles are closed/consolidated and love it when threads get "necroed" because then you see threads you haven't seen before but shouldn't be forgotten. :) also nice when a conversation continues when new people join.

[bingus_baby]

It's also so people don't get email notifications to a 5 year old thread.

This is the most common argument I've seen, but tbh, it's not one that I've really experienced myself. Personally I never seem to get notifications on threads I DO want to see lmao, not necessarily on Melonland but on other forums. (Props to Melonland for being awesome, the notifications feature really rocks!) But that's just a skill issue on my part I think! It's a valid argument, especially if the OP is active and subs to a lot of threads. It would be annoying to get so many emails. (12,800 sounds mind-numbing!)

[Y2KStardust]

Personally, my ruling on necroing is that it's okay as long as it *contributes* in some way. I'm on some games that have forums and my least favourite thing is seeing a cool in-game giveaway from 2013 necro'd just to say 'this is neat!' like.. OP is long gone and not gifting anymore, friend :/

[minttea]

Oh!! I didn't even realize necro posting was okay on here!

I've been on several forums in the past, and necros were always super looked down upon. Often, if someone posted too late, an admin would be called in to lock the thread!

I suppose this is one of those site culture things that sometimes it takes some time to learn...

[levya]

I've never understood why necroposting has been looked down upon, except in specific instances (like bumping a giveaway that's already over, but I feel like there should be a rule against those specific instances instead of a general no necroposting rule).

Also, how old can a topic be before it's considered dead? Some people may think a month since the last post is a long time, while others may think that's a short amount of time! But yeah, like others have said necroposting should be completely fine as long as the new post contributes to the topic.

I remember having a frustrating experience where I googled some question I can't remember now, found an old forum topic asking the same question, months had gone by since the question was asked so someone bumped the topic asking if there was an answer yet, and the topic got locked for necroposting without an answer ever given!

[Guest]

This is the most common argument I've seen, but tbh, it's not one that I've really experienced myself. Personally I never seem to get notifications on threads I DO want to see lmao, not necessarily on Melonland but on other forums. (Props to Melonland for being awesome, the notifications feature really rocks!) But that's just a skill issue on my part I think! It's a valid argument, especially if the OP is active and subs to a lot of threads. It would be annoying to get so many emails. (12,800 sounds mind-numbing!)

Actually, I think it was around 17,000 but I don't actually remember how much as I haven't used that email (Jura-Glenlivet@outlook.com) in awhile so I'm just guessing. I do remember it was in the 10,000's!

[Cobra!]

It's also so people don't get email notifications to a 5 year old thread.

I can only speak for myself, but I love when I get notifications to old threads I took part in, and seeing the conversation come back to life!

It feels like a waste to make an entire new thread if it’s the same subject, and it would make searching for the thread harder because there would be multiple threads on he same topic.
Reddit definitely has this issue, especially because it makes necroposting very difficult if not impossible.
When I search for a solution to a problem I’m having, I get like 10 Reddit threads, and only 1 or 2 actually have a solution.

[Lyonid]

I want every forum to be full of necromancers. I much prefer a rich and well-discussed topic with chaotic branch-outs rather than countless new ones. I want everyone to really push the limitations of threads and make use of every single quoting and reply feature. Turn it into a necromancy coven!

I remember how a forum that I really loved completely died because of the necro rule as it discouraged people from engaging with questions that have been ignored a long time ago. It resulted in many low effort posts that had 2 replies at best on a website of ax 300 people online. Just because it's old, I would never consider it irrelevant; moreover, this is why moderators are able to lock posts after all. That sweet sweet front page visibility is so valuable in some communities, and it's unfortunate. It's silly to dig up random posts with irrelevant replies, but this is such an unlikely event, that having such an ambiguous rule feels redundant to me.