Category: Zone BBS Suggestions and Feedback
Frankly, I am totally against locking older board topics because there really are topics that deserve new discussions. You could get around this by putting a link in a new message to an old topic, but that gets confusing.
Why not have the ability to see and respond to older topics an account setting instead of punishing everyone for some unknown crime.
Thanks.
Bob
right.
saved me bringing it up.
great idea.
I concur. With how easily topis get burried it's a shame to have topics locked. Perhaps a feature could be implimented whereby we can organize the viewing of the topics we wish, or simply cut the locking out entirely unless the poster requests it.
They're only locked after a year of no posts, so I don't see what the big deal is. You can still read them after a year,, just not respond to them. And while some things might be worth reading again, I can't think of any topic that needs to go on and on and on for more than a year.
There are topics like Our randomnesses that seem to go on forever with 9276 posts on 93 pages, which I wouldn't even attempt to try to read. Then there are topics that get llocked with only a few posts that I wouldn't mind posting to since they were posted before I was a member, so I don't really see the point of locking them after a year with no posts.
One could always construct a new topic referring back to an older one.
Yes, I've thought about pointing back to an older topic, but that takes a knowledge of html and fair organization skills: and I don't have an over abundance in either trait.
I guess it would be something like this:
Here's An old topic
Bob
You wouldn't have to worry about html codes. Just copy and paste the original post, not including any original responses, into a new board topic and say you wanted to bring it up again for further discussion.
True, you could do that but why go poking around just to do a copy and paste?
I like the fact that the topics are locked after a year, personally. I can't count all the times I've seen someone bring a topic back, after three or four years, just to point out that they agree with the previous poster. I agree with the copying and pasting idea of old posts you think deserve more discussion.
I do see your point, at least in the sense that it's not fair to have a topic locked to people whose only reason for not contributing to the discussion is that they weren't around when the topic was created, and they really do have something new to bring to the table. But then again, if you really have something worthwhile to say about it, there's still the copy and paste option.
why not just start a new discussion. After all a lot can change in a year and it's unlikely people are going to remember what was said a year or more ago.
There's nothing more annoying than someone responding to a topic that was created years ago, by which time the op has usually moved on anyway and nobody remembers any of the previous participants to the thread.
I think it's a matter of freedom. I could see an account setting for "don't show me topics older than...". But, just because you don't want to respond to these topics, or even (obviously) want to read them doesn't mean everyone on the zone has to go by your wishes: unless, of course, you are a cl, then you get to dictate to the rest of us, no matter what we want.
Bob
well if I recall correctly the locked topics were implimented after requests from the users.
Could be. Then, I guess, as a user, I'm requesting that they be unlocked.
Bob
And other users request they stay locked. what's your point?
but ultimately it's really simple - if you have a point on a subject then start a topic. It really doesn't matter that it's been started before - after all if it's locked that particular discussion will have expired/moved on.
Just for grins I searched on the boards for "board topics" expecting to find lots of folks suggesting that we close board topics after a certain period of time.
Well, it was enlightening.
Here are two topics that caught my eye (finger?)
Some of my favorite board topics.
This is a board topic I started many years ago just for fun.
The other board topic I found was:
archive/close board topics
Started by nucking futjob.
I discovered that I can change my mind very quickly in one board topic <lol>. Guess I'm not as stubborn as my family says I am.
My concern is the method used to make this change. There was no ground swell to change the boards At best maybe a trickle of ideas. The anouncement making this change stated that it would be in effect for a few months to see how it worked. Well, technically it works fine. But procedurally it stinks. As I see it, it's sensorship without any request from the users.
BTW: try your own board search. Perhaps I'm wrong and there really were lots of requests to close the board topics after a period of time.
Just my opinion.
Bob
This issue actually was implemented partially because of disgussion on a topic I started.
http://www.zonebbs.com/boards.php?view&topic_id=24455&qn=1
Honestly, this issue is a double edged sword, though in genral I still stand behind the stance i've taken.
It is just my humble opinion, but I would rather see a new topic full of good information based on an old one, than another waste of a post saying "agreed," "lol," "omg," or something of the sort bring a topic back from the grave. People had a horid habbit of bringing topics back to the top which had no use in the current state of the zone.
Unfortunately there is no perfict solution.
Thanks for the heads up Striker.
I hadn't read the message you referred to in your post. But now I have, and probably have something to say in that topic.
As you said, "Unfortunately, there is no perfect solution." And, I wholeheartedly agree with you. I hope the administration means what they said when they anounced this change and it's just a trial for a while.
I think my position has been stated here, and need not be reiterated.
I would like to apologize to anyone I may have offended by speaking my mind here. I have been told that I argue too much, and don't know when to shut up. It's probably true, so I'll try it right now.
Thanks.
Bob
On the other forum that I'm a big part of, multiple threads on the same topic are discouraged, and if it happens, the poster is told to go back and bump up the old thread and sometimes the threads are merged, so that's the background I come from... My take is that simply starting new threads every time a topic gets old will just clutter the board. Also, sometimes you're just looking for a thread out of interest, but it's not something majorly important enough to make a new topic for, such as my search for a Ninja Turtles discussion the other day. I found a thread I would have gladly brought to the surface, where it may have thrived, and it may not have, but I couldn't.
I understand locking threads where fighting, flaming, spamming, Etc. has gone on, but most threads are pretty innocent. Perhaps individual threads can be unlocked on request, if the requester provides the CL with a link?
But at least if you're going to go to the trouble of starting a new topic, I'm sure it won't be simply to let others know you agree. That's the difference. I would support the idea to personally request that a particular topic be unlocked, but the problem there is that I'm sure the staff's inbox would be flooded with requests by the end of the day. Ooooooo, can you unlock this topic? I have something really worthwhile to say. If they got one or two of those a day, I could possibly understand, but I'm sure those types of Emails would get really old, really quick.
If the staff didn't like it they could always just unlock all the threads automatically, and let whatever happens happen. This way at least they would have a choice which requests to honor.
I've thought for a long time that the person who initiates a board topic should be able to lock it, in case their particular topic gets into a cat fight.
Why not let the person who initiates a board topic unlock it. If anyone else wanted to add to it, they could email the initiator. Staff wouldn't be involved at all.
Bob
My friends, I believe I have found a loophole. Old threads are supposed to be locked after a year, right? Well I was just doing a search for something, and I came upon a thread where the last post was December 29. I was happy because the time on it wasn't up, and I could still revive it. When I got to the bottom, it said it was locked. If threads must be locked after a year, can we at least please wait 'til the same date the following year? Thanks.
Are you sure the date was December 29 2010? Perhaps it was 2009 or an earlier year. I've seen one recently brouht back from December 23 2010, so it was brought back up just in the nick of time, as in five more days, it would have been locked. So go back and check the year.
Oh man, I'm so embarrassed... I've gotta admit when I'm beat. Libra Lady, you were right. It was from 2009. So sorry all!