STOP BUMPING OLD THREADS

Cheiny

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 6:17 pm

amother OP wrote:

Sometimes it's irrelevant like a response to a question when it's not needed anymore
Sometimes it's a long thread which initially I think is current, only to waste time reading it and realizing it was already resolved
Sometimes it causes people to respond after only reading a few posts and that keeps bumping it so this cycle is perpetuated... Only for people to move later that the issue what resolved in the middle of the thread because so much was added on...
Why make people read old irrelevant threads? If they want to they can search words on that topic, I do it sometimes and it's very helpful - but that doesn't mean that hundreds of people need to read it along with me and that I should clutter everyone's home page

No one is “making” people read “old irrelevant threads.” And just because they’re irrelevant to you, obviously they’re helpful to others. Just skip over anything you’re not interested in seeing. I think your reaction is a bit over the top.

amother

Leaf ↓

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 7:15 pm

Cheiny wrote:

You can see from the number of posters who responded to the original post that most people don't check the date when they read a thread. It's irrelevant because the op is not longer needing a response. So someone bumps the new post to ask a new question, and their question is overlooked anyway because people are busy responding to all the earlier posts. It's just wasting everyone's time.

Raizle ↓

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 7:16 pm

amother OP wrote:

I also find it annoying but that's the internet. No one is responsible for anyone reading anything. And no one can tell people what threads to reply to or not

↑ Raizle ↓

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 7:20 pm

watergirl wrote:

Mod here. It's not against the rules of the site but as a mod, when I see an old thread bumped up, I lock it. It's considered bad forum etiquette (netiquette) to bump up old threads. And remember this - on a site like imamother, people come and go very often and are not even around to reply if someone quotes them. It's awkward.

- If you want to revive a conversation, start a new thread to have a new conversation on the same topic.

- If you want to know how someone is doing and want to bump it up for an update - that's understandable as we are all human and we all get curious. But don't. An OP will or will not come back with an update if she wants to. Often, an OP is happy her thread got buried and people forgot about it. No OP owes anyone an update.

- Some members are well known from many years ago and are no longer with us, it's shocking to see their names knowing they've passed away. Others have simply left and want to be forgotten and left alone.

Just don't bump up old threads.

Are you meant to do that? Unless that's what is required of you as mod it feels like you are adding to the rules and projecting your own annoyance.

amother

Amethyst

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 7:25 pm

Raizle wrote:

Are you meant to do that? Unless that's what is required of you as mod it feels like you are adding to the rules and projecting your own annoyance.

Exactly. If that’s not abusing your power as a mod, I don’t know what is.

amother

↑ Leaf ↓

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 7:25 pm

Raizle wrote:

I also find it annoying but that's the internet. No one is responsible for anyone reading anything. And no one can tell people what threads to reply to or not

Yael and the mods can. She said to use discretion and only bump up posts if you have something helpful and relevant to add. This may be the internet, but it's not a free for all.

↑ Raizle

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 7:38 pm

amother Leaf wrote:

Yael and the mods can. She said to use discretion and only bump up posts if you have something helpful and relevant to add. This may be the internet, but it's not a free for all.

I believe that was a suggestion, not a rule.
Hence the words "use discretion"

Because yes it's annoying, I agree with that. So a suggestion for how to get around on this website is to not bump up old threads.

amother

↑ Leaf

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 8:11 pm

Raizle wrote:

Use discretion means to use good judgement. Yael didn't say use discretion if you feel like it; if bot do whatever you feel like. It means don't bump old threads indiscriminately and for no specific purpose. If you're not using discretion, then yes, other people can complain and mods can lock it.

↑ watergirl ↓

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 8:23 pm

amother Amethyst wrote:

Exactly. If that’s not abusing your power as a mod, I don’t know what is.

Wow, so nice. Mods use our discretion when dealing with threads and posts. If for various reasons a thread is bumped up and it needs to get reburied, I lock it. I’m not going to go further into the reasons I would lock a bumped up thread here.

Simple1

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 8:29 pm

chocolate moose wrote:

but the topics all circle back.... what to make with chicken bottoms, toilet training, how to prep for friday night mikva. why reinvent the wheel each time?

I find it’s helpful when old recipe threads get bumped especially with added tips and variations.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 8:34 pm

chocolate moose wrote:

but the topics all circle back.... what to make with chicken bottoms, toilet training, how to prep for friday night mikva. why reinvent the wheel each time?

No problem! If someone feels it's been discussed look it up! But if you need to post it's best to do so in a new thread

amother

Buttercup

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 11:09 pm

amother Amethyst wrote:

Exactly. If that’s not abusing your power as a mod, I don’t know what is.

This is a personal attack and not necessary
It is also against the rules of the site

She already explained why she does this

It will be nice for you to apologize

Goldie613

Fri, Nov 01 2024, 4:56 am

watergirl wrote:

Just curious - what's your take on bumping old humor threads? A couple of Purim/Pesach ones get bumped up from time to time, and I know me and a couple of others have bumped up the salt water Pesach thread for the past bunch of years. It's just a way to share a familiar bit of humor, like telling an old funny joke. Thoughts?

amother

Lily

Fri, Nov 01 2024, 7:12 am

It is poor netiquette to bump old threads, across the world of online fora.

Some funny ones - for sure, but responding to an old thread causes confusion and there is a relatively rapid turnover of members so likely the old ones are not around. Some website have 'classic' threads that can be responded to or go on over years.

Eg the potatoes in London one from 18 months ago - I'm guessing that person had resolved their issue and the produce available now is not the same, so start a new one or the poor OP is going to get a bunch of advice they didn't want - if you start a new thread as the OP, you'll get responses to you. It is just "cleaner".

There isn't a quota on how many threads can be started.

And it is really poor netiquette to bump a new thread to ask an OP for an update - if they chise not to update at the time it isn't anyone else's business to ask. This is really widely understood.

I'm guessing many new OPs don't se other fora so don't know any of this.

Signed not a mod

amother

Yolk

Fri, Nov 01 2024, 8:49 am

amother Lily wrote:

Esp if the person bumping up the thread is trying to get a fresh answer...
Chances are you probably won't because people are going to first answer the top of the thread.

↑ singleagain

Fri, Nov 01 2024, 8:51 am

Goldie613 wrote:

That's fine. It's the serious threads is is bad netiquette to bump.

Let's pretend someone posts a shalom bayis issue. This is something that only occupies an hour of her day but it's stressing her out and she turns to Imamother for help. For several pages she goes back forth with posters getting good advice and quietly resolves the issue.

Now six years later a member comes by and stumbles up on the thread so she starts reading but something in the OP's original post really triggers her and she quotes this post (usually before reading the rest of the thread) and she posts a reply often with extreme and unhelpful advice

Now OP has forgotten all about her difficult time in her marriage and it's now up for all the world to see again... Maybe some OP 's will take it in stride.. "wow, so much has changed" but others might become embarrassed "omg I can't believe I thought those horrible things"

This is why it's bad manners.