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May 10, 2005
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TomRFD wrote: It depends on the thread but if you want an average, I'd say 1 year of inactivity in most cases. Megathreads wouldn't be exempt to whatever our auto-lock policy is however most megathreads don't go that long without a reply.
OK but, how effective and how informative are megathreads that are 7000 or 9000+ posts long that are 10 years old?
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/merged-w ... rs-633922/
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/official ... ad-522165/
for example?
Many questions remain unanswered (especially by the OP) and who knows how many of the recommended contractors and stores are even still in business?
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Jun 17, 2013
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Pete_Coach wrote: OK but, how effective and how informative are megathreads that are 7000 or 9000+ posts long that are 10 years old?
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/merged-w ... rs-633922/
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/official ... ad-522165/
for example?
Many questions remain unanswered (especially by the OP) and who knows how many of the recommended contractors and stores are even still in business?
You have to take things at face value. I don't read a 10 year old post and think that it's still current and up to date. As others have mentioned, you read the more recent pages for current content and use what was posted in the past for historical reference.

If a thread only works because of the OP's continued participation and the OP goes AWOL, the thread would fade away as it wouldn't be useful anymore. Others frequently join and step up in these cases and that's why a number of megathreads still exist and continue to function after the OP is no longer present.
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Oct 5, 2008
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Pete_Coach wrote:
Here are a few more "necro" threads that may follow your "general policy is that necro bumps are locked" statement, all with recent posts in one forum
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/non-faul ... ey-430232/
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/merged-a ... ts-785150/
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/rfd-offi ... re-609563/
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/audi-que ... rs-894423/
Pete_Coach wrote: Just responding to the statement that "oft discussed and more current/relevant info can be found via search or a new topic created. ......... The general policy is that necro bumps are locked."
With the ones I posted, I think the statement is applicable.
Pete_Coach wrote: Fair enough, I was just trying to make a point and i guess it got attention.
If the "general policy is that necro bumps are locked." where it the line. The other thread closely related to this http://forums.redflagdeals.com/megathre ... d-2226509/ you seem to agree.

Pete, some of the auto threads you mentioned are active...new posts in old threads aren't "necro bumps".

Necro bumps are when an old, inactive thread gets bumped after a long period of time.
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Interesting.

Just saw a 6yr (or so) necro bump, to 'got dinged while on EI'. It's still very applicable & relevant. Strange that it was locked, based on the explanation given. Nothing has changed, afaik, so it still bears value.

Very strange.

Is there any cost to leaving threads open? Servers/storage-wise?

necro locks...lol., I like that.
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bubble.tea wrote: Interesting.

Just saw a 6yr (or so) necro bump, to 'got dinged while on EI'. It's still very applicable & relevant. Strange that it was locked, based on the explanation given. Nothing has changed, afaik, so it still bears value.

Very strange.

Is there any cost to leaving threads open? Servers/storage-wise?

necro locks...lol., I like that.
The main complaint that I've seen isn't that the previous information isn't relevant, but more so that it's just really old. In this case a bunch of current users will jump into the thread after it is bumped and then scroll back reading the posts before it. Since the 2nd to last post was 6 years old, a reply to that post doesn't really make sense even though the relevancy of the 6 year old post might still be there.

This is why I'm pushing for an auto-lock system which includes a feature to start a new topic to continue the discussion automatically. It would be seemless and you could simply reply to the locked topic and that would start a new thread based on the same subject and even link back to the previous version. This is of course not an easy thing to build and why we're just selectively and manually handling it for the time being.

There are no additional costs at all to keeping these open. If we deleted everything old that might save some resources but locked/unlocked makes no difference.
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Jan 7, 2002
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TomRFD wrote: and even link back to the previous version
That would be very slick. Please.
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Thanks as always for a thorough & informative reply. @TomRFD
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tk1000 wrote: @1226 bumps a 2.5 year old thread...

odometer-stuck-299-999-a-1917587/
What's the problem? The new poster is reporting the same issue as 2.5 years ago. That adds value to discussion of this issue.

If he started a new thread then people wouldn't see previous comments on this issue, e.g. that it's prevalent on Toyota and variants, that Toyota will replace the cluster if the customer pays for labour, etc.

My issue isn't with that poster but with the ones responding to him. They add zero value to that thread.
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I just told Alexa to remind me to bump this thread 1 year from today.
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Check out caRpetbomBer's picks in this thread.
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Jan 7, 2002
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Another reason why thread bumping isn't the evil that some make it out to be: Many of the participants in the original discussion on a thread are subscribed to that thread. When that thread gets bumped they see it. That allows them to participate in the renewed discussion, perhaps updating it or confirming that the issue being newly discussed is still valid, etc.

Otherwise
1. A new thread may get missed by the presumed knowledgeable people who posted in the old thread.
2. The same information that was in the old thread just gets regurgitated in the new thread.
3. Someone posts a link to the old thread in the new thread.

IOW rather than "reinventing the wheel" in a new thread, the old wheel can be reused and improved. That's a value add for all concerned.

That said, I appreciate that this benefit only applies when the the previous discussion remains relevant to the new posts in a resurrected thread. As always, a bit of common sense judgement trumps hard and fast arbitrary rules.
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driving-toronto-ottawa-best-route-292149/2/
Post # 17, responding to a post from Sept 9, 2011...... "Oh yea bud. Got nailed for doing 90 km/h in a 50 km/h zone in Smiths Falls, didn't realize speed limit changed to a 50 from a 80.

necro or not? LOL
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