Seriously, especially in the Server Recruitment section, grave digging is a pretty big problem. I don't know what these 10 year olds are thinking by going to page 3892 and posting in a thread from 2011, expecting an answer. Then all the subsequent children posting up too asking to join, when the thread has been dead for 5 years and the server from the original post is long since gone.
Some of these threads haven't had replies in almost 2 years, and yet some 10 year old asks for op and co-owner, and immediately the thread is at the top of the pile. Meanwhile the original poster hasn't been active in 2 years and the servers dead. It's pretty annoying, and completely pointless to let threads that haven't had replies in over 6 months be open to posting, ESPECIALLY when one of your rules is:
"If a thread does not receive much interest or discussion please do not bump it. Do not bump threads to get more replies or reply to older threads that have dropped off unless there is significant new information to add."
The reason we don't automatically lock old threads is because there are legitimate reasons to post in an old thread, and by locking old threads we would be forcing members to either create new threads (which would lack a lot of valuable context) or they would think this isn't a subject they can talk about, leading to members being left unsatisfied.
There is already a rule in place that we issue warnings for when members post junk in an old thread, it's called "necroposting". Posting in an old thread is not necessarily necroposting, but posting junk in an old thread absolutely is. You should report a post when you encounter this, using the "Report" link at the bottom of the post. Do not reply to people who have necroposted, this just makes the issue worse, because it means after the necropost is removed the thread will remain bumped -- because of your post, until the moderator removes it -- which is why it's against the rules.
Long term we're looking at some ideas to address the problem of necroposting, hopefully we'll add a warning that displays when someone tries to post in an old thread that explains necroposting and asks them if they're sure they want to post, but this is always going to occur in some capacity which is why you should report the posts. Necroposting usually occurs because people search for something and don't notice the date, they don't usually go to page 1,000 and pick a thread to reply to.
I have dealt with the examples you linked, thank you, in future please use the report option
The reason we don't automatically lock old threads is because there are legitimate reasons to post in an old thread, and by locking old threads we would be forcing members to either create new threads (which would lack a lot of valuable context) or they would think this isn't a subject they can talk about, leading to members being left unsatisfied.
There is already a rule in place that we issue warnings for when members post junk in an old thread, it's called "necroposting". Posting in an old thread is not necessarily necroposting, but posting junk in an old thread absolutely is. You should report a post when you encounter this, using the "Report" link at the bottom of the post. Do not reply to people who have necroposted, this just makes the issue worse, because it means after the necropost is removed the thread will remain bumped -- because of your post, until the moderator removes it -- which is why it's against the rules.
Long term we're looking at some ideas to address the problem of necroposting, hopefully we'll add a warning that displays when someone tries to post in an old thread that explains necroposting and asks them if they're sure they want to post, but this is always going to occur in some capacity which is why you should report the posts. Necroposting usually occurs because people search for something and don't notice the date, they don't usually go to page 1,000 and pick a thread to reply to.
Hi! Thanks for the excellent reply! I appreciate you taking the time to converse with me and further the discussion. I'm very happy to see that plans are in the works to find a suitable solution to this problem, and can understand your viewpoints, although I don't fully agree with them. I disagree with the following statements:
"by locking old threads we would be forcing members to either create new threads (which would lack a lot of valuable context) " - Fundamentally I find this thought process incorrect, (this is a forum, you're not running out of space) however if I'm not understanding you correctly I'd love to hear you out on the subject, and maybe it will change my viewpoints. The reason I believe this is fundamentally incorrect is the following. The entire purpose of creating a new thread would be, TO, add new context. A thread that was created in 2013 may not be the same entity today, as it was three years ago. Thus, simply posting on a 2013 thread for say; A survival server, and bringing new attention to it, when in 2015 the server decided to change to a Mini-games network, the thread is now promoting something false, something that does not exist as it did 3 years ago. Under your logic of "a new thread will lack context" this is promoting exactly that, they are losing context because the thread is inherently old. It's contradicting in nature, new threads will have more valuable context because they are new. (Again, I'm only speaking for "Server Recruitment" in a forum like "Minecraft Discussion" this logic is 100% correct and I support it.)
Additionally, and even more so, the server is probably dead! In most cases of the examples I listed above, that was in fact the case. The domain names were no longer registered with ICANN, and the last activity to their website according to waybackmachine was registered as only a few months to a year after the thread was created. People are literally digging up threads to content that no longer exists. That would be like me digging up threads to articles on the Zune. Zune's gone, so are those servers.
"or they would think this isn't a subject they can talk about" - Globally across the forums? Yes absolutely, I'm with you 100% on that. No argument there. However, I think "Server Recruitment" does not apply to this logic, as it's theme and existence are based on different concepts. Other boards such as say "Minecraft Discussion" are absolutely free and clear of the proposed change, because locking those threads WOULD be killing off thought provoking discussion that would further the narrative. "Server Recruitment" is not in that case however. I believe you can understand what I'm saying without furthering on this point, as it was evident you were not targeting only "Server Recruitment" for an auto-prune method. Just to be absolutely clear, I am only requesting this change for "Server Recruitment" - anywhere else you see fit is your decision as administrators, however "Server Recruitment" holds a different beast, and is more relevant in that area.
"There is already a rule in place that we issue warnings for when members post junk in an old thread, it's called "necroposting"." - That's excellent to hear, I'm glad that this is a recognizable concept already put in place with a rules and regulations guideline for your staffing team, obviously not being a mod or an admin I did not know this, additionally it is not a "Reportable" option for users. (See picture below)
"Posting in an old thread is not necessarily necroposting, but posting junk in an old thread absolutely is. You should report a post when you encounter this, using the "Report" link at the bottom of the post." - I am unable to continue this point, as I was going to quote example posts from the examples listed in the OP, however your excellent mod team has taken care of that (and I have reported my own posts to further help.) and am unable to continue with this point. The jist of it was however, "Junk" is subjective, your views on what is "Junk" most certainly differs from my own. However I would consider someone posting up asking for "Admin" on a server that no longer exists junk. Quite frankly however, I view ANY one sentence post asking: "Can I have co-owner!!!!!!!!!!!" as junk. Regardless, this comes down to subjectivity at the quality of which I wish to see on this website. And again as stated above, there's no clear and defined option to select for reporting a necro post in the report option. (I can understand why, as "Necro posting" or "Grave digging" has no clear cut wording like say; "Flaming" does, that is immediately recognizable to the greater populace.)
"Do not reply to people who have necroposted, this just makes the issue worse, because it means after the necropost is removed the thread will remain bumped -- because of your post, until the moderator removes it." Understood, and agreed. Albeit I violated this, it's not my place to be your moderator as a normal user, however something does need to be put in place to let people know they are posting to an old thread. However, if it was auto-locked due to age, this wouldn't be a problem in the first place. A self fulfilling prophecy, if you will.
"Long term we're looking at some ideas to address the problem of necroposting " - That's great to hear. I do not speak on behalf of any other forum board, as you can probably tell 99% of my focus is in "Server Recruitment", auto-locking a thread that is inactive for 6+ months I think is more than fair and reasonable to consider a topic "Dead." Again to revisit my first point, I think in the "Server Recruitment" creating new topics with new information provides more context to the topic, than just updating an old thread.
"hopefully we'll add a warning that displays when someone tries to post in an old thread that explains necroposting and asks them if they're sure they want to post, but this is always going to occur in some capacity which is why you should report the posts." - Excellent, glad to hear that, it's perfect. A little warning that says: "This thread is X years old, are you sure you want to post?" that a user must click /before/ having the option to click "Post" is probably going to stop 25% of it. The problem here is that this is Minecraft. It's target audience is between ages 8 and 16. Over the last 5 years I've learned one thing, and only one thing. These kids do NOT like to read or put forth ANY effort to educate themselves. They barrel through at Mach 5 getting through as fast as possible, any object in their way, and complain about not having instant gratification. Maybe I'm just a cynical older gamer, but 8 year olds are still going to not read post dates, and will ignore any popup or warning that you put in place, and spam 5 year old threads because they can, bringing up dead threads. A lock would eliminate this issue 100%. I'll eat crow, if you can tell me that without a doubt, you do not have a problem of people not reading the rules.
"Necroposting usually occurs because people search for something and don't notice the date, they don't usually go to page 1,000 and pick a thread to reply to. " - I was going to disagree with this, but since I'm a responsible internet-poster, part-time keyboard warrior and internet lawyer, I re-read your entire reply 5 times to confirm I did not misread or misrepresent anything you stated. You're 100% right. People use the search feature, type in "Maxes really cool survival server" and find something close enough, that was posted in 2012, and make a post without reading anything. Hell the original thread could state in big, bold, red, 32 point, comic sans font "We're closed" and they will STILL post. - So why not auto-lock dead threads? Problem solved. You're right, they do not decide "Today I'm going to be a giant goomba, and head over to page 3802 and necro up some threads, this is going to be great!"
In conclusion, thank you so much for your reply, I'm glad you decided to take the time to interact with me and help further the discussion rather than doing what most people do, and censor or lock (IRONY!) the thread and call it a day. I hope my points above will be seen in a positive way, and we can continue this discussion and possibly find a suitable solution to this. Have a wonderful day!
Edit: This post was written in good-faith and high spirits, if any portion of this post comes off as "Sassy" "Hostile" "Trolling" or any way other than calm and civilized that is not my intent.
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. There's definitely a difference between each section, for the majority of the forum an automatic lock after a certain age would be bad but there are sections, like Server Recruitment and PC Servers, where it would be appropriate and an improvement for the section.
I've made a note of your feedback, I'll keep it in mind when we make the changes to resolve this issue. Thanks!
Yeah, I find this epic thread I want to post on, and then, (if I don't check the date,) suddenly....
YOU"VE BEEN WARNED.... NECROPOSTING
I even got a ban point against my forum account for this.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
4 years ago, I started played MCPE/Minecraft in general. Now, I have MCPC, and I'm still not bored of the blocky sandbox indie. Cuz awesomeness! Got a problem with that?
Seriously, especially in the Server Recruitment section, grave digging is a pretty big problem. I don't know what these 10 year olds are thinking by going to page 3892 and posting in a thread from 2011, expecting an answer. Then all the subsequent children posting up too asking to join, when the thread has been dead for 5 years and the server from the original post is long since gone.
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4
Example 5
Example 6
Some of these threads haven't had replies in almost 2 years, and yet some 10 year old asks for op and co-owner, and immediately the thread is at the top of the pile. Meanwhile the original poster hasn't been active in 2 years and the servers dead. It's pretty annoying, and completely pointless to let threads that haven't had replies in over 6 months be open to posting, ESPECIALLY when one of your rules is:
"If a thread does not receive much interest or discussion please do not bump it. Do not bump threads to get more replies or reply to older threads that have dropped off unless there is significant new information to add."
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Retired StaffThe reason we don't automatically lock old threads is because there are legitimate reasons to post in an old thread, and by locking old threads we would be forcing members to either create new threads (which would lack a lot of valuable context) or they would think this isn't a subject they can talk about, leading to members being left unsatisfied.
There is already a rule in place that we issue warnings for when members post junk in an old thread, it's called "necroposting". Posting in an old thread is not necessarily necroposting, but posting junk in an old thread absolutely is. You should report a post when you encounter this, using the "Report" link at the bottom of the post. Do not reply to people who have necroposted, this just makes the issue worse, because it means after the necropost is removed the thread will remain bumped -- because of your post, until the moderator removes it -- which is why it's against the rules.
Long term we're looking at some ideas to address the problem of necroposting, hopefully we'll add a warning that displays when someone tries to post in an old thread that explains necroposting and asks them if they're sure they want to post, but this is always going to occur in some capacity which is why you should report the posts. Necroposting usually occurs because people search for something and don't notice the date, they don't usually go to page 1,000 and pick a thread to reply to.
I have dealt with the examples you linked, thank you, in future please use the report option
Hi! Thanks for the excellent reply! I appreciate you taking the time to converse with me and further the discussion. I'm very happy to see that plans are in the works to find a suitable solution to this problem, and can understand your viewpoints, although I don't fully agree with them. I disagree with the following statements:
"by locking old threads we would be forcing members to either create new threads (which would lack a lot of valuable context) " - Fundamentally I find this thought process incorrect, (this is a forum, you're not running out of space) however if I'm not understanding you correctly I'd love to hear you out on the subject, and maybe it will change my viewpoints. The reason I believe this is fundamentally incorrect is the following. The entire purpose of creating a new thread would be, TO, add new context. A thread that was created in 2013 may not be the same entity today, as it was three years ago. Thus, simply posting on a 2013 thread for say; A survival server, and bringing new attention to it, when in 2015 the server decided to change to a Mini-games network, the thread is now promoting something false, something that does not exist as it did 3 years ago. Under your logic of "a new thread will lack context" this is promoting exactly that, they are losing context because the thread is inherently old. It's contradicting in nature, new threads will have more valuable context because they are new. (Again, I'm only speaking for "Server Recruitment" in a forum like "Minecraft Discussion" this logic is 100% correct and I support it.)
Additionally, and even more so, the server is probably dead! In most cases of the examples I listed above, that was in fact the case. The domain names were no longer registered with ICANN, and the last activity to their website according to waybackmachine was registered as only a few months to a year after the thread was created. People are literally digging up threads to content that no longer exists. That would be like me digging up threads to articles on the Zune. Zune's gone, so are those servers.
"or they would think this isn't a subject they can talk about" - Globally across the forums? Yes absolutely, I'm with you 100% on that. No argument there. However, I think "Server Recruitment" does not apply to this logic, as it's theme and existence are based on different concepts. Other boards such as say "Minecraft Discussion" are absolutely free and clear of the proposed change, because locking those threads WOULD be killing off thought provoking discussion that would further the narrative. "Server Recruitment" is not in that case however. I believe you can understand what I'm saying without furthering on this point, as it was evident you were not targeting only "Server Recruitment" for an auto-prune method. Just to be absolutely clear, I am only requesting this change for "Server Recruitment" - anywhere else you see fit is your decision as administrators, however "Server Recruitment" holds a different beast, and is more relevant in that area.
"There is already a rule in place that we issue warnings for when members post junk in an old thread, it's called "necroposting"." - That's excellent to hear, I'm glad that this is a recognizable concept already put in place with a rules and regulations guideline for your staffing team, obviously not being a mod or an admin I did not know this, additionally it is not a "Reportable" option for users. (See picture below)
"Posting in an old thread is not necessarily necroposting, but posting junk in an old thread absolutely is. You should report a post when you encounter this, using the "Report" link at the bottom of the post." - I am unable to continue this point, as I was going to quote example posts from the examples listed in the OP, however your excellent mod team has taken care of that (and I have reported my own posts to further help.) and am unable to continue with this point. The jist of it was however, "Junk" is subjective, your views on what is "Junk" most certainly differs from my own. However I would consider someone posting up asking for "Admin" on a server that no longer exists junk. Quite frankly however, I view ANY one sentence post asking: "Can I have co-owner!!!!!!!!!!!" as junk. Regardless, this comes down to subjectivity at the quality of which I wish to see on this website. And again as stated above, there's no clear and defined option to select for reporting a necro post in the report option. (I can understand why, as "Necro posting" or "Grave digging" has no clear cut wording like say; "Flaming" does, that is immediately recognizable to the greater populace.)
"Do not reply to people who have necroposted, this just makes the issue worse, because it means after the necropost is removed the thread will remain bumped -- because of your post, until the moderator removes it." Understood, and agreed. Albeit I violated this, it's not my place to be your moderator as a normal user, however something does need to be put in place to let people know they are posting to an old thread. However, if it was auto-locked due to age, this wouldn't be a problem in the first place. A self fulfilling prophecy, if you will.
"Long term we're looking at some ideas to address the problem of necroposting " - That's great to hear. I do not speak on behalf of any other forum board, as you can probably tell 99% of my focus is in "Server Recruitment", auto-locking a thread that is inactive for 6+ months I think is more than fair and reasonable to consider a topic "Dead." Again to revisit my first point, I think in the "Server Recruitment" creating new topics with new information provides more context to the topic, than just updating an old thread.
"hopefully we'll add a warning that displays when someone tries to post in an old thread that explains necroposting and asks them if they're sure they want to post, but this is always going to occur in some capacity which is why you should report the posts." - Excellent, glad to hear that, it's perfect. A little warning that says: "This thread is X years old, are you sure you want to post?" that a user must click /before/ having the option to click "Post" is probably going to stop 25% of it. The problem here is that this is Minecraft. It's target audience is between ages 8 and 16. Over the last 5 years I've learned one thing, and only one thing. These kids do NOT like to read or put forth ANY effort to educate themselves. They barrel through at Mach 5 getting through as fast as possible, any object in their way, and complain about not having instant gratification. Maybe I'm just a cynical older gamer, but 8 year olds are still going to not read post dates, and will ignore any popup or warning that you put in place, and spam 5 year old threads because they can, bringing up dead threads. A lock would eliminate this issue 100%. I'll eat crow, if you can tell me that without a doubt, you do not have a problem of people not reading the rules.
"Necroposting usually occurs because people search for something and don't notice the date, they don't usually go to page 1,000 and pick a thread to reply to. " - I was going to disagree with this, but since I'm a responsible internet-poster, part-time keyboard warrior and internet lawyer, I re-read your entire reply 5 times to confirm I did not misread or misrepresent anything you stated. You're 100% right. People use the search feature, type in "Maxes really cool survival server" and find something close enough, that was posted in 2012, and make a post without reading anything. Hell the original thread could state in big, bold, red, 32 point, comic sans font "We're closed" and they will STILL post. - So why not auto-lock dead threads? Problem solved. You're right, they do not decide "Today I'm going to be a giant goomba, and head over to page 3802 and necro up some threads, this is going to be great!"
In conclusion, thank you so much for your reply, I'm glad you decided to take the time to interact with me and help further the discussion rather than doing what most people do, and censor or lock (IRONY!) the thread and call it a day. I hope my points above will be seen in a positive way, and we can continue this discussion and possibly find a suitable solution to this. Have a wonderful day!
Edit: This post was written in good-faith and high spirits, if any portion of this post comes off as "Sassy" "Hostile" "Trolling" or any way other than calm and civilized that is not my intent.
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Retired StaffThank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. There's definitely a difference between each section, for the majority of the forum an automatic lock after a certain age would be bad but there are sections, like Server Recruitment and PC Servers, where it would be appropriate and an improvement for the section.
I've made a note of your feedback, I'll keep it in mind when we make the changes to resolve this issue. Thanks!
Yeah, I find this epic thread I want to post on, and then, (if I don't check the date,) suddenly....
YOU"VE BEEN WARNED.... NECROPOSTING
I even got a ban point against my forum account for this.
4 years ago, I started played MCPE/Minecraft in general. Now, I have MCPC, and I'm still not bored of the blocky sandbox indie. Cuz awesomeness! Got a problem with that?
Let this tell you that I'm not a noob.
And I'm not a 6-year-old whinger either.