I posted this in a questions thread but thought perhaps it deserved its own suggestion.
Basically, what I thought - maybe the forums should have a warning that you should look for threads that already existed on a topic, even if the topic is older?
Iāve had a number of mine merged/moved into other topics and while Iām not offended by it, this isnāt behaviour Iām used to on other forums - in other places this posting on old threads is called ānecropostingā and is actually seen as quite rude!
Even the forum software warns you that some threads havenāt been posted on in xyz amount of months, but it seems that itās the norm to post on threads that are old.
I actually like this system but thought that others may be coming from places like me where this isnāt normal and perhaps a polite reminder would help!
I absolutely agree. Iāve had posts moved and folded into existing ones only because they barely had some connection. Itās really frustrating for me as I belong to several different kinds of online forums, mostly on websites like this one, am a moderator on 2 of them, and have never seen such heavy-handed moderation as what happens here, especially when it seems more like micro-managing and not dealing with unruly or offensive posts (and the rare repeat postings that can sometimes happen).
I donāt know why threads with thousands of posts are seen as preferable to starting new threads, especially many of them were started during the pandemic and thus a whole huge section of the thread is no longer relevant because those issues arenāt really present anymore. As a fairly new person here, itās frustrating because I always go through old threads to read the information to make sure Iām not posting something thatās been discussed before. But when I need to go through hundreds or thousands of posts, it really puts me off (which is why it seems Iāll never join a RR - those threads are so cluttered with old information theyāre a nightmare to navigate. I understand why there are many people on PC who donāt use the forum. Just because a thread was started 3-4 years ago, doesnāt mean any and all questions have to be folded into it. Why not allow more current threads to be posted?
Personally I donāt mind the system, I just think perhaps the forums should be set up to remind users - I was really caught off guard by it when I first joined and I had to train myself into the habit. I can see why for organizing theyād like all the posts to be in one spot, personally!
Mm, they warn you that itās similar, but they donāt tell you to perhaps post there which is what I was thinking. It just says āsimilar toā and personally when I read those threads I just think oh, but itās not the EXACT same subject so I can post my thread too.
For me, the message is clear. When someone tell me that somethingās similar is already existed, I will look at it and try not to create the new one. I just can post in those existing thread. I donāt need to be told āhey, post in A or Bā
If you want to join an RR, you need to read the first post/first few posts with RR description and rules and then take a look which groups are currently open.
If you find one that interests you, simply post in the thread āI want to join group XXā.
Since the RR hosts donāt update the post with open groups the second any new post appears, but once a day or every few days, it may happen that the spot you wanted has already been claimed by somebody else a bit earlier. To avoid that you can either check some posts at the end of the topic (no need to go through them all) or just search for the group number in the topic itself, the search function will show you all the existing posts.
Or you donāt check at all and the RR host when they do the update, will simply tell you that you cannot join this group anymore (usually also offer a spot in a similar group but that is not always possible, depends on RR).
As for merging the topics/posts - the forum already has so many open topics, opening new ones all the time, especially when they are similar will only make the forum even more difficult to navigate because the topics will multiply very quickly. At least thatās how I see it.
Iāll be honest, the moving about of stuff in this forum has been a pet peeve of mine since starting in here. Like you, Iāve participated in several forums elsewhere and never been subjected to it. Iām slowly coming to terms with it here, and guess I can kinda understand the logic, but I still donāt like itā¦which will probably earn me demerit points or something !
Thanks. Iāve read those posts, most donāt state the rules, want me to send a u2u (whatever that is) to get them. I need to read responses to RR that Iām not participating inā¦ clutter, clutter, clutter. And itās not just me - Iāve read quite a few posts from other people who donāt get those threads either, theyāre way too overwhelming. I think people who have been here for a long time donāt realize how user-unfriendly some parts of this site are, especially if we werenāt part of the old one.
So unless a NEW thread gets started with a completely new RR - by season or year and not a [NEW GROUPS RR!!! - from 2020??!?!?] then I donāt think I will join one. Itās too overwhelming. (and yes, I do take part in round robins on other sites that I belong to, because each one is self-contained, easy to follow, easy to understand.) It just isnāt here.
Iāll stick to lotteries and tags instead because guess what - lotteries get to start a new thread for each new lottery, even the chains. And tags threads are limited to ONE theme, not 10 or 50 or 600 groups all in the same thread like the round robins. For me, that makes them easier to follow, and I donāt get lost in all the tags and posts for activities Iām not a part of. Thatās just me though.
What difference does it matter if the post is in an old thread or a new one? It takes the same amount of storage doesnāt it? I understand it for the gallery, and why we canāt have personal albums hosted here, because picture files take up a lot more memory than texts, but for the regular forumā¦I could be wrong of course, but Iāve never known that be an issue on other sites I belong to (and moderate).
Not merging topics/posts is by the way a reason why I once left a (very big) forum. At a certain point, you would have had to be online 24/7 in order to still be able to see clear through all the (really) new topics In the midst of the new but still the same topics.
Not at all. I think most hobby forums are run because of true love and passion. And nothing is free, especially a site this big with this many people. It costs money to host a site, build and maintain the algorithm, etc. We users might be using it for free, but I doubt itās freely maintained by the owners of this site. Some other sites Iām on do offer paid subscriptions which allows those users more features - albums, galleries, blog posts, etc. that the free members donāt get and/or are sponsored by related businesses. Obviously I donāt know how things are run here, but itās what I know from other sites.
There are also monthly RR so every mount there will be compleatly new post
everyone can find parts of this forum that is ok for them. I was a new member too, but i understand the logic. If everyone of the new members would like the forum to be changed as they like it wount work because then the old members who have been here for 18 years wount like or understand it anymore.
Yes, thatās the point. We use it for free and they need cost to run this site.
In postcrossing everyone is equal. There was suggestion before to give more slots for postcrossing supporters. But the answer was no, there was no plan to give more features to paid members.
Having been active on the Forum for 3 years now & having answered or commented on many questions/topics, Iād say over 85% of questions/comments are topics that have already been fairly recently discussed thoroughly in the Forum.
Part of moving posts into existing topics is to give people access to the answers & history of the Forum they need to their questions/comments so they are better able to participate more fully & sooner in the Forum.
It also saves current active members from answering/commenting the same questions/topics over & over again.
!