Suggestion: Threads older than 2 months, auto-lock themselves.

[Minifig]

I know that certain forum software has this ability... but I don't know if Neowin's does or not.

I'd like to see it if a thread sits unactive for two months, it automatically locks itself.

Why?

I'm seeing quite a few threads being rebumped up by new faces not paying attention to the date which threads are posted and this would solve a ton of issues.

It'd also stop spam bots from bumping up old threads with spam messages.

[Denis W. Veteran]

There are plenty of legitimate threads that can remain open for longer than two months. Example: a member posts a problem in say Hardware Hangout, and doesn't get any solution. Then a few months later, he discovers a fix. Instead of spawning a new thread, he can simply bump his old thread so other readers can have some backstory to follow.

The status quo's fine. Staffers can attend to any threads they see randomly bumped by spammers.

Your suggestion holds water though for news comments. (and you probably heard that already months ago)

[Azusa]

^perhaps in cases like that we could have something like thread ownership where we can flag our own threads for locking?

[Denis W. Veteran]

I wouldn't object to that suggestion. Disregarding my opinions, there is probably a legitimate reason for thread auto-locking.

You'll have to ask the devs though, if it's feasible.

[Liana]

I'm seeing quite a few threads being rebumped up by new faces not paying attention to the date which threads are posted and this would solve a ton of issues.

What issues?

[jonhapimp]

how about a year six months instead of 2 or a year

but then agian they're may be a offical thread that hasn't had any comments and ou use a google search and reply in it,

so they're are in and outs

[Growled Member]

There are plenty of legitimate threads that can remain open for longer than two months. Example: a member posts a problem in say Hardware Hangout, and doesn't get any solution. Then a few months later, he discovers a fix. Instead of spawning a new thread, he can simply bump his old thread so other readers can have some backstory to follow.

The status quo's fine. Staffers can attend to any threads they see randomly bumped by spammers.

Your suggestion holds water though for news comments. (and you probably heard that already months ago)

I think you're right. I haven't seen any major issues.

There are plenty of legitimate threads that can remain open for longer than two months. Example: a member posts a problem in say Hardware Hangout, and doesn't get any solution. Then a few months later, he discovers a fix. Instead of spawning a new thread, he can simply bump his old thread so other readers can have some backstory to follow.

The status quo's fine. Staffers can attend to any threads they see randomly bumped by spammers.

Your suggestion holds water though for news comments. (and you probably heard that already months ago)

I think you're right. I haven't seen any major issues.

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

I personally see this causing more issues then it would solve. Members would need to PM a staff member to open a thread back up, rather than someone on duty to close an old bumped thread.

It doesn't hurt anybody, and yes it is annoying, but no full-proof solution.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

I agree with Andrew_Lyle. The current way of closing threads that have been revived is better. It gives the staff member the option of closing it or leaving it open (if it's an official discussion thread, etc).

[shockz]

What if someone googles an issue they have a question on, finds a thread from say, 2005, and needs to ask a question regarding it.

It's more steps involved to have them create a new thread, explain the issue, and go from there, rather than just being able to bump an old thread with the needed question. Some won't even bother, and will go elsewhere for a solution.

There is nothing wrong with bumping old threads, providing something relevant is posted.

Mod's can use their judgement accordingly, and if the issue isn't releveant, the post can be deleted, and the thread sent back to the dead.

[+Xinok Subscriber²]

I think that threads should auto-lock eventually, but two months is way too soon. I think something like 1-2 years is a long enough time to wait before locking a topic.

Most of the time, when an old topic is bumped, I don't notice how old the thread is, and neither do many other users. It causes confusion, and the thread ends up getting locked anyways.

I actually would prefer that the person started a new topic, rather than bumping a thread that's almost five years old:

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?show...#entry592038324

[Donkey88]

I actually would prefer that the person started a new topic, rather than bumping a thread that's almost five years old:

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?show...#entry592038324

I agree with this. To be honest, for "I have a problem" threads it is almost always more appropriate to start your own topic than try and hijack someone elses (regardless how old it is)

[Ironman273]

I think that threads should auto-lock eventually, but two months is way too soon. I think something like 1-2 years is a long enough time to wait before locking a topic.

Most of the time, when an old topic is bumped, I don't notice how old the thread is, and neither do many other users. It causes confusion, and the thread ends up getting locked anyways.

I actually would prefer that the person started a new topic, rather than bumping a thread that's almost five years old:

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?show...#entry592038324

And the mods locked that thread within 2 hours of it being bumped. I don't think there is anything wrong with the way it works now. Unless the mods are having issues about locking too many bumped threads I don't see why it would bother the standard users.

[Eric Veteran]

I don't think it's a good idea. Necro'ed threads make it easier to find spammer accounts. :)

Also, as someone said, sometimes it's a new user that found the thread via a web search and they desperately need help with the topic.

[ozgeek]

I'd like to see it if a thread sits unactive for two months, it automatically locks itself.

Why?

So you want more posts that might be discussing the same topic or problem. You don't want many of those threads full of questions with no solutions or answers coming up on Google searches. You might be digging around google search results only to find 95% of those links lead to unsolved and locked threads. It is best to leave those open so people can post solutions. I had a few problems and they took months to solve. In the end, I posted my solution to the existing post instead of creating another post so anyone who google search would find the question AND the answer in one click.

This is a legit reason why forum runners should never lock old threads, otherwise the forums would only get bigger and messier.