Is a necrobump to point to a solution worthwhile / acceptable?

michaelmcandrew · 2017-11-08 08:02:00

Hey all,

A quick question about forum etiquette.

Is a necrobump worthwhile / acceptable if it points to a solved post on the same / a similar topic? I recently marked this post as solved https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=231635 and was considering pointing people at the two posts that I referenced in my original post to the solution.

There wasn't anything specific here: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Co … bumping.22 about whether necrobumping would be appropriate in this instance so just checking.

My motivation is to help those googling around for a solution, though I appreciate that it might do more harm that good in the grand scheme of things so thought I would hear what people think about this. I'd be happy to add the guidance to the wiki on this subject if there is a consensus.

Last edited by michaelmcandrew (2017-11-08 08:02:38)

jasonwryan · 2017-11-08 08:06:30

No. Leave them lie. The boards are designed to roll, like the distro. If you see search results for threads older than a year, you can pretty safely disregard them. Up-to-date information is kept on the wiki.

Trilby · 2017-11-08 11:51:45

You have the answer above. But from the point of view of someone who previously enforced these rules, if someone necrobumped a year-or-so-old unsolved thread to share a solution, I'd close the thread and point them to the code of conduct but I'd assume nothing of them other than a geniune intent to help.

In contrast if someone necrobumped an old SOLVED thread to post some other garbage on an already complete interaction, I'd close the thread, point them to the c.o.c. and assume that they were a bumbling idiot.

While I know of no written limits for thread age, the margin of error on what is a necrobump is generally much larger on threads that are still lacking a solution than those that are marked as solved.

ngoonee · 2017-11-09 02:04:19

Also note that closing a thread is not meant as a punitive action on the most recent post or it's writer.

ewaller · 2017-11-09 05:10:36

ngoonee wrote:

Also note that closing a thread is not meant as a punitive action on the most recent post or it's writer.

I would suggest that, rather than necroposting, it is better to start a new thread and link back to the old thread if appropriate. This makes the new poster the owner of the thread. It might also be a good idea to report the old thread and tell the moderators that you have started a new thread to give us the opportunity to close the old thread.

michaelmcandrew · 2017-11-15 08:08:00

Thanks all, for your thoughts. I added some suggested edits to the code of conduct page here: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ta … g_guidance I don't have edit permissions on that page so added them to the talk page instead - hope that is useful.

jasonwryan · 2017-11-15 17:57:17

Thanks, I have modified the entry based on your suggestions.

Please remember to mark your thread as [Solved] by editing your first post and prepending it to the title.

Arch Linux

#1 2017-11-08 08:02:00

Is a necrobump to point to a solution worthwhile / acceptable?

#2 2017-11-08 08:06:30

Re: Is a necrobump to point to a solution worthwhile / acceptable?

#3 2017-11-08 11:51:45

Re: Is a necrobump to point to a solution worthwhile / acceptable?

#4 2017-11-09 02:04:19

Re: Is a necrobump to point to a solution worthwhile / acceptable?

#5 2017-11-09 05:10:36

Re: Is a necrobump to point to a solution worthwhile / acceptable?

#6 2017-11-15 08:08:00

Re: Is a necrobump to point to a solution worthwhile / acceptable?

#7 2017-11-15 17:57:17

Re: Is a necrobump to point to a solution worthwhile / acceptable?

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