Bumping Old Threads

[EndofDayss]

I really think this is something that needs to be re-examined because it's becoming an issue a lot lately with regards to new members.

I think people are getting to 'Don't bump old threads! READ THE RULES!' on new members. While I agree that about not bumping old threads, I think people currently are taking this to far and making the forum a very unwelcoming place for new members. We already are a small forum with minimal activity in a lot of sections due to the lack of new merch. The last thing we should be doing is making new members feel unwelcome.

The way I see it, bumping of old threads is really only an issue on the 'creative' sections (customs, fanfic, etc). In sections like figures and collectibles - which are barely active as it is - people are going to get old merchandise for the first time and want to talk about it, which is great! That is the sort of thing that's going to get us new merch, people caring and buying what's out there already. It makes more sense for them to comment on an old thread and add their imput, then make a new thread. That section is for discussing, and if the topic is still relevant, the more activity the better.

With regards to the creative section, new members are going to want to comment on stuff. And even tho these sections are the most active, they still aren't as active as they once were. If a thread is only a few weeks old, and definitely if it's still on the main page, it shouldn't matter if a new member comments. The whole idea of 'not bumping old threads' was to keep newer threads from being pushed back. But, with only a few new threads being posted a week, this rarely becomes an issue. If it's a thread that's months or years old then yeah it shouldn't be bumped, but if it's only a few weeks discussion should be allowed.

With little new merch. being released there isn't a lot to talk about, especially for new members, and if we prevent them from discussing what is here to talk about, they aren't going to bother with the forum. It seems to me the forum already has a bad rep as it is, if we want to forum to stay alive, when we get new members we should make them feel welcomed, not like they did something wrong for 'breaking' rules that really aren't as relevant to the forum as they once were.

[Kenobi]

That's exactly the way I've been feeling. Why are people pissy when a thread gets bumped in the general figures section? There aren't any new threads there, and if they didn't bump an old one, they'd just start a new one anyway. Plus some people come off as pretty rude when telling newcomers not to bump old threads

[naturallybuffbuff]

Because some people's thread's always have to be at the top

If anything, constant bumping from the original poster should not be allowed!

[Afer]

I don't really see the BIG problem with this issue either to be honest. In certain sections in the forum of course (eg Customizing Kingdom) where new work will get bumped down; its a problem- but i think in general....id rather see a thread being bumped regards to a certain topic....rather than a new thread being created for a topic which is only a few pages back?

[Jinxieman]

I think there is a big difference between bumping an old thread because there is new information or a current observation to share and the old thread becomes relevant again. Like if someone new just got some new figures and they wanted to bump up the figure thread that corresponds with those figures to talk about them and give their impressions of them verses bumping up a two year old thread to answer an old, out of date question or to just say something like "OMG, this is so neat! LOL!!!"

I think Relevance and Substance are the main issues.

[Lior Knight]

Guys, as Adam said, bumping up old threads just for the sake of posting is spamming. Not to mention it pushing back newer and more relevant threads leaving old news up front. Even sections like BtVS Figures should not have threads up front regarding lines that been canceled over a year ago just because somebody wanted to comment on how neat one of the figures was.

If there's some new info and you cannot find a similar thread on the manner on the first/second page then go ahead and make a new thread so we all can discuss it but don't go looking for 2007 threads and bumping them up.

I'm sorry if any of the new members might feel uncomfortable but rules are rules and when you join an already established community you are expected to obey these rules. Sure we won't ban people who do it for the first time but if a certain member keeps doing this after being told several times it's not allowed then perhaps that member should not be part of our forums.

[EndofDayss]

I agree that an old irrelevant thread being bumped for nothing more then a general comment isn't cool, but that's not what I was talking about when I posted this.

I'm talking about new members (or even old members) bumping old threads OR more importantly threads that really aren't old at all, WITH relevant information and being told by other members they are wrong for doing so.

Rules are rules, but some of our rules need to be revisited or flushed out a bit so new members can grasp them better. For instance what constituent a thread being to old to comment on. Unless as a forum we don't care about having new members. When I joined this forum it was so welcoming and active I couldn't wait for my application to be accepted! I don't think we have even a portion of that anymore. We can't do much about the activity part, but we can work on the rest I think.

[jamersy]

Okay, I have first hand experience with this. I'm fairly new here. I was more than excited to be part of this new community and share my work. I thought I, and a few others, were the only ones making customs. So it was rewarding to become a member and have the privilege to post work. Anyway, recently I "bumped" an old thread. I was rudely told to not do that and by a member that posts a lot of things. I was very upset at that member. Now, I admit, I did not read ALL the rules so that was perhaps a no, no. If something is older than a few months then it should be locked for future posts. The post I commented on was something I loved and just wanted to say I liked it. Since I joined later I didn't get in on all the talk about this piece. It was funny when other people commented on it, too!!

So, I totally agree OLD things should not bump newer stuff. I get that now. I also understand that it takes a lot of time for someone to lock old threads. But if it seems to be an issue, why not? I still find myself going back and looking at OLD past work and I have the urge to comment. It is just silly to think that I can't along with other postings. If I do have future kudos to grant to customizers, I will just send a pm-- a private message.

[Jinxieman]

Sept 29, 2008 19:53:34 GMT -5 jamersy said:

If I do have future kudos to grant to customizers, I will just send a pm-- a private message.

I think that is a great idea. I have gotten PM's regarding some of my older work and I really enjoy it. It's also a good opportunity to get to know some individuals on the forum and build some relationships with them that wouldn't really develop when posting in a thread.

[Lior Knight]

Sept 29, 2008 19:36:48 GMT -5 EndofDayss said:

I agree that an old irrelevant thread being bumped for nothing more then a general comment isn't cool, but that's not what I was talking about when I posted this.

I'm talking about new members (or even old members) bumping old threads OR more importantly threads that really aren't old at all, WITH relevant information and being told by other members they are wrong for doing so.

Rules are rules, but some of our rules need to be revisited or flushed out a bit so new members can grasp them better. For instance what constituent a thread being to old to comment on. Unless as a forum we don't care about having new members. When I joined this forum it was so welcoming and active I couldn't wait for my application to be accepted! I don't think we have even a portion of that anymore. We can't do much about the activity part, but we can work on the rest I think.

That's a good point and will be taken to consideration as we should make sure the rules being much better noticed.

But then again, the eBay Corner and Buy/Sell section rules been revisited lately yet even some of the older members didn't read them (or simply choose not to obey them). So its not guaranteed to help.

You can change the flesh out rules till the next millennium but if a person chooses not to read them there's no much one can do. And while we don't ban the person immortality - it will be pointed out to member that her/she broke the rules.

However, I do agree that older members should be more welcoming and if a new member made a mistake then simply notify one of the moderators rather than point out the mistake themselves.


As for locking old threads, with the amount of old threads that we have - locking them is simply impossible as well as unnecessary. And as suggested if anybody feel like commenting on an old creation then PMing the artists would be the best way to do so.

[VampSpike]

A problem i see emerging, as a result of what Jbrow is saying, is that new members get jumped on, but are subsequently now jumping on newer members. Such as Vampyr for example. He's gotten "told off" for bumping old threads numerous times, but now seems to be jumping on people who comment in a thread a few days old. Such as Waynes Scythe Snatching Buffy recently.

I think people should just back off, and leave it to the mods to ultimately decide whether 1) it is bumping an old thread or if the comments are relevant and 2) to do something about it.

[x-esque]

I know the board doesn't see it like this, but I really don't care if an old thread is bumped, ever. I'm never terribly confused if one is. I may see a new post in an old thread, and look for some news or some reason why it was bumped, but if there was nothing special about a new post, I can catch on quickly by looking at the dates. I'm just not bothered about that.

And "page one" real estate here isn't that important, is it? The rate of turnover is just not fast enough to make a difference. Posts last for months on the first page. I'm not sure how the placement of posts matters. The chronology of figure releases or whatever is not related to how people should post about them.

There are times when I like seeing old threads. That's one of the main values here is that we can keep them alive as an archive. I do wish old ones were not deleted, even in the for sale section.

If there's no compelling reason to bump a thread, yes I can see mentioning that fact to the poster, in order to avoid confusion. Especially if there's some controversial aspect to a bump, then people end up fighting old fights. But again, that confusion doesn't last long when people notice the dates, and, i don't see much harm in that.

So like JBrow was saying, I hope noobs don't bear the brunt of too much scolding for this issue.

[skytteflickan88]

One kind of bumping I don't like is in the sell-section. Unless your item is far down on the second page, don't bump it. Maybe once a month, but I've seen people bump once a week and that seems kinds useless. It doesn't hurt, I'm just annoyed.

[poprox★82]

I'm getting tired of seeing Vampyr going around and bitching at people for bumping old threads. It's not just the fact he's doing it but the way. He is coming off very rude. I think he should be talked to by a mod or something.

[Lior Knight]

Oct 1, 2008 8:45:42 GMT -5 skytteflickan88 said:

One kind of bumping I don't like is in the sell-section. Unless your item is far down on the second page, don't bump it. Maybe once a month, but I've seen people bump once a week and that seems kinds useless. It doesn't hurt, I'm just annoyed.

The Buy/Sell section is pretty much the only place that you can bump threads and should if you still want B/S/T your stuff. Threads that aren't active after a month automatically removed.

Oct 1, 2008 10:11:27 GMT -5 poprox★82 said:

I'm getting tired of seeing Vampyr going around and bitching at people for bumping old threads. It's not just the fact he's doing it but the way. He is coming off very rude. I think he should be talked to by a mod or something.

So far I've witnessed only one of those posts so unless he repeats it, there is not reason to discuss it with him.

However, as I said earlier - if people think a thread been bumped for no good reason then please contact the mods about it but don't take the initiative to tell them that yourselves.

[MsBig]

Nice to see a sensible discussion of this topic.

I agree completely that, if there is a relevant comment to make on an old thread in the forum, it should be allowed.

Now that Lior has opened out the Customs area into multiple sections, I'm hoping it won't be such a problem there either.

It is annoying when old threads bump down the new ones in the main Jossverse section, though. I'll set a new limit of 3 weeks since the last post. I won't be locking threads there any more... that still clutters up page 1. I'll just delete the offending posts, and PM the member to let them know.

As suggested up-thread, if new members are moved to comment on an old thread, the customiser would be very happy to receive a PM about it. That keeps everyone happy, the newbie can comment, the customiser gets a boost and the other customisers don't get their work bumped down.

Personally, I don't have a problem with established members posting politely to remind newbies of the rules. It's really hard for me to catch every infraction. However, I like to keep a polite and calm atmosphere in the Customs section, so I don't appreciate members telling each other off in a rude manner, or letting arguments escalate.