It's getting super annoying that all these threads from a year ago or longer are getting brought to the forefront with new posts when a new conversation might be a better approach. Maybe it's just me, but I don't even understand why people are doing this. Isn't there even something in the rules about it? It seems like it's happening more and more. Kind of clutters up current conversations and then I feel like I wasted time reading through something so old or even worse feel stupid posting without realizing how old the thread is. Can people please stop doing this?
There's no rule about it - people are welcome to necro whatever they want, not least because there's often useful info in old threads which is pertinent to the same or a similar question being asked again. You may be thinking of the rule about thread bumping - where someone continually posts short additions to their own thread to keep it at the top - that's a different thing The only exceptions being a) when someone wakes up a thread started by a troll who has been subsequently banned, or a thread which was permanently on fire through contentiousness... in those cases the thread may well be locked if we notice it (or its reported) as we don't really want old trouble being kindled anew, and b) when spammers and other neer do wells wake up really old threads by posting nonsensical drivel to pad their post count
In addition to what @big soft moose said, I'd like to add that many old threads get re-opened by new members, who don't realise they're old threads, or don't realise it's not the done thing. The threads just look interesting, and the new member is browsing the forum looking for stuff that gets their attention. The reason I know this is because I did it myself when I first joined up. And didn't I get jumped on from a great height by a forum member (not a moderator) who made me feel really stupid. As Moose said, there's nothing in the rules that says a thread can't be opened after a certain amount of time has passed. I wasn't violating any written rule. Only an unwitten one, apparently. It's not a good way to welcome somebody to the forum.
I'm with @deadrats - I find it, I dunno, like I've been hoodwinked into viewing something I don't actually wish to. Fair enough the content may have a permanence/poss relevance, but there's a good chance near all the posters will no longer be on the forum (for various reasons). So it feels like to contribute further would entail responding to a request by the likely departed OP—well it wouldn't feel that meaningful (to me). Maybe a feature request is in order. Link would be handy if there's a section for it? Something as simple as making the tint to the background of a resurrected thread listing (the factor being the time gap between posts) being off-white or something pallid say for a few of the new, ensuing, posts thereafter. Users I figure would soon pick up on this kind of visual grammar/theming and then able to make their own decision to visit/re-engage.
The best is when someone pulls up a thread that's like ten years old and addresses the OP as if they still have their fingers poised above the keyboard. Kind of like returning a call from 2008: "Why, yes, I'd love to meet you for drinks of Friday. What time is good for you?"
