Poll: Closing posts/necroing posts

1

The question of necroing posts has come up again. If you don’t know what necroing is or why it’s considered inappropriate you can google the topic easily. There are vocal opponents of comments on old threads, there are those who think it’s fine and object when they comment and then the thread is closed. Some have also commented in the past that they didn’t notice they were commenting on a old thread. There have been complaints from inactive members whose threads get revived and then they get emailed notifications from the forum.

What is the consensus of the active members now?

  • Close posts that have been necro’d after a period of time.
  • Leave posts open for commenting indefinitely.

0 voters

If you think posts should be closed after a period of time and would like to suggest the appropriate time limit you may do so with a comment.

2 Likes
2

I’d like to suggest an additional poll.

  • It WOULD BE valuable to create ‘stickies’ of most informative threads/posts on recurring issues like reviews, cancellations etc.
  • It WOULD NOT BE valuable to create ‘stickies’ of most informative threads/posts on recurring issues like reviews, cancellations etc.

0 voters

3

The problem with “stickies” is that they can get outdated, just like posts. Unless it’s something like “what is the current EC policy” where a link is posted - but that’s something people should Google for instead of depending on a forum.

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4

Since so much changes with Airbnb on a frequent basis, old posts may just add to confusion for newcomers. Newcomers may have questions the the old timers have dealt with before (often many times!) but having the opportunity to newly address these issues with current information can not only be more helpful to the newcomers, it can help those of us who have been around for a while to maintain perspective.

Timeframe for closing? Maybe 2 years? 1.5 years?

7 Likes
5

I can’t answer the question as presented, because I think that old threads that deal with policies should be necroed, as those policies may well have changed and the info is no longer relevant.

Old threads about duvets, kettles, and stain removal could be left to comment on, as there is nothing that is out-of date on them.

Perhaps there should be a note automatically sent to new members saying that while it’s always good to do a search first to see if one’s question has already been answered, if the last comment on that thread is more than a year old, and you still have a question or comment, to please start a new thread.

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6

There are “notes” of that sort that are part of the software. For example when I started drafting this post I got one that showed similar posts from the past. They weren’t polls but they were threads about closing topics. If you comment over and over on a thread you’ll get one that says something along the lines of “you’re hogging the conversation,” lol.

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7

Yeah, I got one once about hogging a conversation :wink:

But is there an automated one about not commenting on old threads?

8

I don’t know. …

9

You’re right that stickies can become outdated. So if the group went the sticky route then either the moderators or other volunteers would need to monitor, add to, delete, comment on the sticky content. So clearly that is ‘work.’ Also the subjects for stickies would need to be chosen judiciously – so we don’t choose subjects that are likely to change frequently.

Some content might be timeless, like the importance of giving an honest review and what that might look like, do’s and don’ts, what to expect of a platform like Airbnb, what is the responsibility of the Host who’s running the business, need for a co-Host, that kind of thing. Or as @muddy points old threads about kettles, duvets, stain removal could either be left open or – I’m adding this possibility – put in a stickie.

If the group wanted to go ‘the sticky route’ only recurring topics would become ‘sticky subjects’ and they wouldn’t be ‘the last word’ but maybe the first place a member would go before asking the group. Th sticky would also be a place, ONE place for that subject, that a member could link to in a response. [Now we might have multiple valuable threads on a single topic.]

I agree that there are pros/cons to the sticky approach. I just might have raised a sticky wicket.

10

taken from google as advised

Necroing means bringing up a dead thread (usually a month or more since the last post) without providing anything meaningful to add to it .

i would bring your attention to two things - the first being that the timescale of one month is inappropriate. How many threads on the forum are older than one month? should we remove them all?

The second is that its not considered to be necroing if the post actually provides anything meaningful to add to the thread.

I would ask what ACTUAL problem does it cause if someone adds something meaningful to a post that is considered by others to be old? i have seen it mentioned that old members get annoyed by being informed of additions to the post they contributed to. so does that mean we stifle our meaningful comments to an old post.

Couldnt the ‘process’ of the forum actually remove a users email from notifications if they havent posted for a long period of time, they wouldnt be excluded, they just wouldnt be notified, but i suspect that for every notification exclusion there would be someone else annoyed that they had been excluded from the very same notification. Of course there is an answer in the ‘old’ members own hands, simply stop notifications or identify it as spam!

Perhaps what we are discussing isnt necroing, its about closing threads that ‘someone’ deems has no current relevance, but how can that be determined and using what criteria? does such a criteria exist?

A comment some time after the original post doesnt mean the other posts in the thread are no longer relevant or useful to reconsider, unless factually incorrect.

Which brings me to the only real reason i can think of for closing old threads and that is when they are factually incorrect and annotating the thread as being closed because it is factually incorrect.

In taking part in this poll with binary options, are we trying to solve a problem that doesnt actually exist but there is a perception that it might exist or is it simply because someone thinks its a good idea?

if anyone can come up with a list of reasons that actually make a genuine and identifiable reason why old threads should be closed then it would help the discussion more than just voting.

i think the following options should be added

Threads should be only closed when when they are factually incorrect and they should either be removed (which might prevent someone might make the same mistake) or annotated that the information is factually incorrect and anyone depending on the information does so at their own risk,

There should be a process (if it doesnt already exist) where members can remove themselves from being notified of updated/reposted threads

Any members not posting within a 3 year period will become lapsed members and will no longer receive notifications until they have renewed their membership.

2 Likes
11

i think that just about sums up my thoughts and is in line with my thinking.

though i am not sure which is the nut and which is the sledgehammer - and i thank @KKC for openly considering the matter. I am sure mods do get frustrated from time to time but its nice to see them trying to get a consensus.

1 Like
12

I think it’s fine to have a policy to close a post that has had no activity for x amount of time. if this could be done via forum programming vs moderator action, all the better.

I can see where it would be off-putting to a newer member to add a comment and that triggers the removal; they get no acknowledgment or feedback other than being deleted! As a human, that feels bad.

It would be cool if there were some automated are-you-sure forum feature where you would get a popup if you hit reply on a thread that had been inactive for x amount of time. “WAIT! This thread is very old. Cancel and search for or start a newer thread to get responses.”

5 Likes
13

I agree that if it can be done, software programming that automatically removes threads where the last comment is more than a year old would be a good feature. Or at least close them automatically (so the mods don’t have to do it manually) to further comments, as someone might get their question answered simply by reading through them.

14

I went to confirm that this already exists. I don’t know what all the time triggers are but it’s apparently related to the date of the last post. A thread could be 5 years old and if people keep commenting it won’t kick in. But once a conversation dies and someone revives it, at some point they get a notice like this:

10 months
10 months1476×248 37.7 KB

That’s understandable. Moderators usually do make a comment as to why the thread was closed but probably don’t get that done 100% of the time.

Mods can set a timer on a topic so it closes “automatically” after a period that can range from within 24 hours to months from now. I’ve now set a number of recent topics to close themselves in the uncoming days and weeks. I won’t be surprised if it generates a new wave of complaints. But I’m willing to give it a go.

3 Likes
15

I have to plead guilty to resurrecting old threads without noticing that’s what I’m doing.

I’m fine with posts being closed.

5 Likes
16

So what would be considered an “old” thread? A month, 6 months, a year, two years?

17

I don’t know. In researching earlier, trying to post on a 10 month old thread produced the pop up I posted a picture of earlier. I’ll tell you this…it’s about to be… not my problem.

3 Likes