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Colour code zombie threads?

135 replies

quoteunquote · 29/04/2013 19:10

I unwittingly contributed to a thread that had for some reason (best known to the person that did it),been resuscitated,

Could you add, a colour bar where the title is, or on the side, that indicates how old a thread is, blue for current, green a week old, yellow a month, orange six, and red year and beyond,

Then people would be instantly aware when joining in with a thread as to when it was started, as clearly a lot of us don't spot the year when on these threads, and some times people carefully choose threads that the day and month match to resuscitate.

Anyway it would be a simple way of stopping the annoying problem, and for people like the person who started the thread in the above link, they wouldn't have to have something they probably rather forget jump out at them, I hope the OP of that thread is happy now.

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Tee2072 · 29/04/2013 19:19

That's a really good idea, quote. Better than locking them as has been suggested previously.

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RustyBear · 29/04/2013 19:24

It would probably also help if Advanced Search results were organised by date, latest first, rather than by alphabetical order of the topic they're in - if you search for a subject, chances are you'll hit an old thread before a recent one.

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FruOla · 29/04/2013 20:38

Seems like a good idea. As long as it doesn't give poor Tech yet another heart failure when it gets added to his To Do List!

I will never forget that thread where the OP, who hadn't had a single reply anyway, unwittingly answered herself two years later Grin

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quoteunquote · 29/04/2013 22:42

really FruOla ?Grin that's really funny, but only because it's the kind of thing I would do,

What did she say?

I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to change the colour of the line around this box I'm replying in , and the bar "Add your message here' and the topic bar at the top,using the opening post date as the time line.

On obscure subjects, its good to be able to use an old thread, something like bee keeping or one of the rare genetic subjects it's sensible ,

I dislike the idea of locking them, also people like to be able to return to threads to update, a colour code would mean that someone seeing the thread for the first time during an update, would realise it worth reading the whole long thread before commenting, something that often causes friction or irritation.

It seems to me that as we are all very good at taking visual reminders and warnings, it would be a very simple way of making the board far more user friendly, and as a result easier to moderate.

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FruOla · 30/04/2013 09:10

Without giving too much away for fear of causing her further embarrassment if she's still here, she had asked about a specific brand of childcare equipment. Got no answers. Three years later (yes, it was three years, not two), she must have been doing a search for that brand name and found her own unanswered thread. So she answered something along the lines of "I bought one a few years ago and X, Y and Z" - and she still had her same NN. The next person on the thread said "you know you're talking to yourself three years ago, right?". I'm afraid this resulted in much hilarity, although peppered with a certain amount of sympathy.

The coincidental thing was that her NN was so apt under the circumstances, which gave rise to even more hilarity. If she's still here, I guess she's NCd.

But that actually proves your point, quote. If she'd seen the thread was over a year old because of a colour code, it might have jogged her memory that she'd started a thread about it herself a year or so back.

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TheSurgeonsMate · 30/04/2013 09:14

I like the idea too. I saw one thread where the re-animator had done it deliberately from the best intentions and mentioned that on some forums it is correct etiquette and you'd be flamed for starting a thread on a topic that had one already, however old. Colour-coding would show that we do things differently here.

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Startail · 30/04/2013 09:17

Yes to some sort of system and Yes Yes to sorting out search so most recent thread comes on top.

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RowanMumsnet · 30/04/2013 09:41

Hi there

Thanks for these suggestions; we will have a think about it and come back to you.

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LadyBeagleEyes · 30/04/2013 10:42

I remember that FruOla.
It was hilarious Grin.

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quoteunquote · 30/04/2013 11:00

After I started this yesterday , I realised I had posted on more than one zombie thread, (the train suicide) , now I know I am a bit of a pillock , but clearly I am not the only one,

At least it would make it obvious what you were contributing to.

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LadyBeagleEyes · 30/04/2013 11:13

I often read the zombie threads and notice posters that have either namechanged or even been banned. Or i think I've seen that before.
That is when I check the date, but I've been caught out a couple of times.
A lot of people say what's the harm, but I don't like responding to people that may not exist any more.
I think the colour coding would be a great idea.

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GoblinGranny · 30/04/2013 11:18

I get ignored on zombie threads. Grin
I sit there saying 'It's dead'
'Zombie thread'
'The OP left two years ago'
'Tumti tumti tum, when will anyone notice?'
And no one pays any attention, because no one reads the thread, they just leap straight in with their tuppence-worth. That thread is still growing, mostly with irate northerners being insulted and insulting. Oh well.

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quoteunquote · 30/04/2013 11:28

mostly with irate northerners being insulted and insulting

Hopefully one of them is the original OP, now totally happy and bonded with the city, name changed and with some sort of amnesia causing her not to realise she started the thread.

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ImTooHecsyForYourParty · 30/04/2013 11:32

Good idea.

Of course, depending on the thread, it being old isn't necessarily a problem. Some conversations can be picked up months or years later and people enjoy diving back into it and it doesn't hurt at all (say, an old thread about, I dunno, religion, brought back after a year). Others - eg if someone is asking for advice - it's pointless to.

but either way, colour change would be good, because at least it's clear.

I mean, you'd think that we'd all be able to read the bloody date on the OP, but no. Blush

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FruOla · 30/04/2013 11:33

There's another one in AIBU at the moment, about recycling, that was started two years ago. Someone on the resurrected part of it has said :

"Recycling old threads - how very environmentally conscious" Grin

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ImTooHecsyForYourParty · 30/04/2013 11:34

I saw that. Bloody funny.

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LadyBeagleEyes · 30/04/2013 12:22

There was one from a couple of weeks ago that had been started in 2010, resurrected a year later then again recently.
A number of people said it was a zombie thread, but so many people just read the first post and don't RTFT anyway, (my pet hate on MN) it carried on with a life of it's own.
It was about taking the best stuff from charity shops.
I expect to see it back in early 2015.

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FruOla · 30/04/2013 16:42

I agree with Hec (who doesn't?!). If the thread relates to something that isn't really 'time sensitive' which can be carried on for years a while, then it doesn't matter.

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IamtheZombie · 30/04/2013 17:48

Zombie thinks she would quite like to be colour coded.

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Tee2072 · 30/04/2013 17:53

I remember the one with the poster answering herself!

Goblin I love the ones where it's a question about a specific age and I can post 'Um, this is 3 years old. The toddler in question is now in school...' or similar.

Grin

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ItsYoniYappy · 30/04/2013 17:59

I'm so thick I actually thought Zombie was having colour coded threads.

Good idea, I didn't see the train one first time round but it looked a bit nasty, I'm assuming it pffted!

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Flisspaps · 30/04/2013 17:59

There was one not so long back asking advice about stopping a child taking off their nappy or babygro or something in their cot.

The child would have been getting ready to start secondary school by the time the thread was resurrected by someone kindly offering advice Grin

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quoteunquote · 30/04/2013 21:26

Was the advice put a pop up vest over a pop up baby grow?

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secretscwirrels · 01/05/2013 17:39

There must be a way of at least flagging up that it's an old thread so that even if the poster chooses to resurrect it you can see at a glance it's a zombie. I know the date is there and I'm alert to that most of the time.

On the other hand I sometimes wish there was the opposite of a zombie, stickies I think they call them.
I'm a regular haunter on the teenage page and about once a month someone starts a new thread about 17 year old drivers and car insurance. If only all the wisdom of past replies was in one place.

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quoteunquote · 01/05/2013 18:55

Well when someone starts one, just add a link to the previous one.

I like the idea of the colour codes, as it doesn't have to stop people using a thread, it just helps people make a choice about replying,

across the internet the etiquette is quite different on many forums, as to using old threads, on some forums you must, some you must not, I like that MN is flexible, or tries to be,

when someone does resuscitate an old thread it always annoys some, that won't change unless they are locked, MN could only lock them if they locked all old ones, which would be even more annoying for those who do have long on going threads of use,

at least if they were colour coded, then people could decide if they want to join in with an old thread, they may well want to join in with the new post, and not answer, reply to the original OP.

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