What's wrong with necroposting?

Discussion in 'Managing Your Online Community' started by John15, May 2, 2011.

  1. moneymakingmom

    moneymakingmom Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 28, 2011
    Messages:
    86
    Likes Received:
    64
    That happens. And, it's very unfortunate when anyone, paid poster or not joins a forum and then contributes so very little other than 'Yep!' and 'uh-huh', as if that does anything to stimulate discussion.

    And, there are some very unprofessional people out there on forums. Not all, but enough to make you wonder if they shouldn't just find a better hobby than posting on forums.

    As for bumping old threads, why not allow it, especially if it's relevant. If the person bumping the thread has something relevant to add to the conversation, then let it be. The forum owner wins.

    The forum owners who forbid bumping old threads should not mind it when a new user starts the EXACT same discussion again. You can't have it both ways. Bump threads or repost.

    The advantage of leaving the old threads open for discussion is that it's better for search engine rankings. When Google sees that page is being constantly updated with new comments, they are likely to give it a higher page ranking for relevance sake.
     
    Ashley.S. and Kaiser like this.
  2. cpvr

    cpvr Regular Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2009
    Messages:
    3,219
    Likes Received:
    823
    Excellent reply, and its so true. As a forum owner, you should try to bump and reply to old topics - because new members may not be able to see them, and if you bump them, there's more chances of replies.
     
  3. euantor

    euantor Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2011
    Messages:
    138
    Likes Received:
    73
    Location:
    England
    I have to say that necro-posting itself doesn't bother me. When people necro-post with a simple response such as "nice article bro" or something however, that can get annoying - especially if it happens often. It means that old threads are brought to the top of the heap and newer articles with equally interesting contents are often overlooked.
     
    Trombones13 and Kaiser like this.
  4. StevenF50

    StevenF50 Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 14, 2010
    Messages:
    98
    Likes Received:
    17
    I don't have a problem with it really, it's fine by me and I'll let me users do it. The only time I don't like it is when people reply to really old deals with things like: is this still available when it's like 6 months later and the site the deals for doesn't even exist any more.
     
  5. Kaiser

    Kaiser Regular Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2010
    Messages:
    6,744
    Likes Received:
    1,132
    I can see what you are saying and it is very interesting as the old content gets on top of the new content.
     
  6. cpvr

    cpvr Regular Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2009
    Messages:
    3,219
    Likes Received:
    823
    That's annoying in itself, but if users are adding quality content to the old thread, then there shouldn't be any problem because as an online community, content is the key to success - especially with your members. I'm always bumping old topics on my community because I want to give the new users a chance to come across them, and possibly reply to them. Some threads go a hit or miss though, and I don't mind that.
     
  7. Brandon

    Brandon Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2009
    Messages:
    6,602
    Likes Received:
    1,706
    Location:
    Topeka, Kansas
    First Name:
    Brandon
    I've never seen a problem with it and in the setup I've been using on my other forum, it's one way to continue a great conversation that may of been lost with an import.
     
  8. BamaStangGuy

    BamaStangGuy Administrator

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2009
    Messages:
    769
    Likes Received:
    549
    Location:
    Huntsville, AL
    I close all threads on MustangEvolution after 60 days unless it is a sticky thread or a thread in certain forums. We got tired of people bumping threads from 2004.
     
  9. Brandon

    Brandon Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2009
    Messages:
    6,602
    Likes Received:
    1,706
    Location:
    Topeka, Kansas
    First Name:
    Brandon
    Would they bump it just to get on a higher ranking page?
    I could see how a car site would need to do that with like news of the latest cars and year specific threads.
     
  10. BamaStangGuy

    BamaStangGuy Administrator

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2009
    Messages:
    769
    Likes Received:
    549
    Location:
    Huntsville, AL
    They would respond to peoples post that were several years old with advice, for example.
     
  11. Brandon

    Brandon Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2009
    Messages:
    6,602
    Likes Received:
    1,706
    Location:
    Topeka, Kansas
    First Name:
    Brandon
    Ah I see how that would be annoying, hadn't thought about that. :cautious:
     
  12. cpvr

    cpvr Regular Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2009
    Messages:
    3,219
    Likes Received:
    823
    Ya, that would be an issue especially if the users weren't actually providing new quality content to those threads. Other than that, I always keep threads open unless drama-breaks out.
     
  13. Bluezone777

    Bluezone777 Regular Member

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2011
    Messages:
    43
    Likes Received:
    26
    Location:
    SW Florida
    The only logical reason anyone would restrict users from necroposting at all is to force them to inflate the topic count with topics. We don't need more then one thread on an issue. However, it is assumed all around *insert any forum name here* knows not to say happy birthday in the birthday thread celebrating the birthday you celebrated five years ago. Unfortunately, all the people who rage at necroposting made many too afraid to do it anywhere even on a place where no one would care if it done when not involving time sensitive topics(birthdays, anniversaries, etc.)

    I swear some people just go out of their way to find things they can turn into a problem when there isn't one.
     
  14. Brandon

    Brandon Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2009
    Messages:
    6,602
    Likes Received:
    1,706
    Location:
    Topeka, Kansas
    First Name:
    Brandon
    I've deleted several off topic post from this thread.
    Please stop the bickering, we all have opinions and ideas on how sites can be run, please respect each other.

    Thanks.
     
  15. BamaStangGuy

    BamaStangGuy Administrator

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2009
    Messages:
    769
    Likes Received:
    549
    Location:
    Huntsville, AL
    This is not logical, as I already stated. Please read posts before responding with such ignorant and false observations.
     
  16. Fleur

    Fleur Regular Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2012
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    7
    I love necro posting and tend to do it a lot because there are always topics I see that I want to reply to. I might actually put it in my site rules that it is encouraged :D
     
  17. Coastercraze

    Coastercraze Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2009
    Messages:
    125
    Likes Received:
    31
    Location:
    Poland, Ohio
    That's the point, if it's on topic it's alright. Most of the time (Digital Point for example), some people just run up their post counts by posting in old topics with senseless replies like "nice post" or by using short replies.
     
    cpvr likes this.
  18. benjaminp

    benjaminp Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 22, 2008
    Messages:
    218
    Likes Received:
    101
    If the post is on topic and actually bringing something new to the discussion I see no harm in necroing a thread. I'd actually prefer that to someone creating basically the same thread.

    If the post is just fluff like someone mentioned above: "great post", "thanks" ect ect, that's what I object to.

    If a forum is popular posts like that are going to knock new threads off the top spot and potentially hamper new discussions.
     
    cpvr likes this.
  19. cpvr

    cpvr Regular Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2009
    Messages:
    3,219
    Likes Received:
    823
    If someone makes a new thread and we already have a thread about it - we usually just merge them together, thus, making the old one even more relevant.
     
    benjaminp likes this.
  20. Seahunter

    Seahunter Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2011
    Messages:
    66
    Likes Received:
    10
    I agree with all your points. Unless it's a member specifically hitting dead threads just in an attempt to artificially increase their post count, I would say let them go to town.
     
Similar Threads
Loading...

Share This Page