Replying to old threads

[cliffhanger]

Hi there, 
I have a question for you, especially for staff. 
Why is it bad (or at least not allowed) to replay to old threads? And why are we getting exactly 2% for every month? And what is considered as anything important? What is dead thread (doesn't that mean dead for more than single month)?

I understand sometimes new thread is better than bumping an old one since people like new things and prefer them to old things. But why I should write nothing instead of writing it in old thread?

Thank you for some answers. I have already contacted Anshinritsumai with no effect. 

[TCM]

Sometimes the staff is too busy with real life stuff (like jobs, or family) to answer every question as much as they would like to unless the matter seems urgent from an administrative perspective. If you feel one staff member hasn't answered as quickly as you would like, try another.

As for the topic of bumping old threads: most of the time, when a random old thread is posted in again (say, for example, if someone updated a random thread where the topic was Kanno selling shirts from a year ago), there isn't really something someone can say in response to generate fresh discussion on that topic if nothing was said over the course of a year. Most bumps are either just reiterations of a point that was made during the thread's peak lifespan or useless quips like "lol" or "agreed." Those things only awkwardly prop up a 'dead' thread which restricts the viewing of more active threads. Also, the response for those bumps, even if they were an attempt to actually generate discussion and just unlucky with timing, usually are off-topic responses to those posts remarking about how someone bumped it which only negatively contributes.

There is no official set time limit for what considered a thread 'dead,' but it seems more or less agreed upon based on activity that if a thread hasn't had discussion for about a month or so, it's likely that the topic has been exhausted. There are some threads though, that even though they haven't had recent posts in, are not necessarily dead but simply inactive. Those threads typically are something where updates to the topic at hand can pop up at any moment. Like say, a blog series, or in a more specific case, UnrealCanine's Ninja Warrior flash game thread. There hasn't been activity in there for quite some time, but if he ever reveals he's creating a new game, or let us know about some aspect of the previous games he never talked about, he can just use that thread instead of creating a new one without concern.

The unfortunate thing about newer users, or lurkers who decide to be active users, especially those new to the show and this place, is that they may want to discuss things they find interesting. But because the forum has been around for a number of years, that topic may have been exhausted time and time again in the past; people aren't as receptive to repeating themselves regarding something they've talked amount extensively themselves. It's fine to look at and read old threads, because chances are, you'll read something that has the thought you had or answers a question you might ask. Just note how long it's been since that thread was posted in.

[yamfriend]

Adding to what TCM said, if there's a thread which you consider dead (but are still interested in talking about) try to use your best judgment as to what options you can/should take. For example, if there's a topic from four years ago about something from SASUKE 26 that you'd like to talk about it may be better for you to make a new thread in either the General Discussion board rather than posting in the dead thread, or it might even be more suitable to mention that idea in a semi-related (but active) thread in which your specific thoughts apply to a more generalized topic. Like it's mentioned above, the guidelines are fairly loose, but there are still some grounds for which common sense should be used such that it abides by the forum rules (i.e. going into an dead thread and making a post which has very little to no significance for being brought back up).

[cliffhanger]

Thank you both for your detailed answers.
No offence against Anshinritsumai, I appreciate his work.

[Anshin]

It would seem that I haven't received your PM, and I went through all 12 pages of my inbox just to make sure :/

I try to make an effort to respond to PMs the same day, as I get emails whenever I receive a PM. The same for every reported post/thread.


Also, I think TCM & Yamfriend just about covered it.