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Original poster

'Zombie' threads

31 replies

Mumsmet · 01/02/2018 11:23

Please can someone explain why people hate it so much when someone resurrects a so called 'Zombie' thread? I just happened to comment on an old post earlier and it seems to have conjured up so much anger.

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
HardAsSnails · 01/02/2018 22:09

I'll just leave this here

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_advice_tips/752184-hauck-stroller-pound-25-Asda

MNHQ
FlissMumsnet · 01/02/2018 22:01

< impatiently awaits diagram>

Original poster
Mumsmet · 01/02/2018 19:34

@PanPanPanPing "I wonder why 'She'"???

oh wow you are rude when you knew I would see this. Why not address me directly?
What is your problem with my username? It was easy to remember - nothing to over analyse here. Plus as most people know it is hard to get a username as many are taken.
Did you really search through to see how long I had been a member?? I guess I should feel flattered

OP posts:
HistoriaTrixie · 01/02/2018 18:40

@LornaMumsnet, why not keep the threads (as I understand the usefulness of having the advice available in a site search) but lock them to new posts? It would be so simple and would be a win-win - posters or visitors searching for answers could find them AND it will avoid people putting time and energy into reading a thread about someone's LO who's now actually of an age to be studying for GCSEs.

PanPanPanPing · 01/02/2018 16:17

The OP, Mumsmet, isn't that new to this site. She's been posting since last year (under that NN anyway).

I just wonder why she chose a NN so close to the brand name 'Mumsnet'? Confused Hmm

Original poster
Mumsmet · 01/02/2018 13:35

Many thanks to you all ^ :-)

OP posts:
EmpressOfJurisfiction · 01/02/2018 12:34

I am sorry for causing trouble :-/

Don't worry Mumsmet, you're fine. Welcome to MN by the way.

MiddleClassProblem · 01/02/2018 12:33

But include a diagram!

Sparklingbrook · 01/02/2018 12:32

Just start a thread about P&C parking spaces/shoes on or off in the house/ reclining seats on planes to divert attention. Grin People will go nuts!

MiddleClassProblem · 01/02/2018 12:26

Don’t worry! It’s not that much trouble. Everyone will forget about it in 5 mins when someone asks AIBU for letting my dog sleep in a cot with my newborn x

Sparklingbrook · 01/02/2018 12:26

You haven't caused trouble Mumsmet, really you haven't.

Original poster
Mumsmet · 01/02/2018 12:22

I am sorry for causing trouble :-/

OP posts:
MNHQ
LornaMumsnet · 01/02/2018 12:22

@Sparklingbrook

The problem with this morning's is it quite quickly appeared in Trending attracting lots of posters, a lot of them didn't read the whole thread then starting giving the OP their opinion of the situation which had passed.

Having the Zombie warning stay after it has been resurrected would help. Then people can see it's a Zombie still.

Trending? ARGH. That is NOT meant to happen and is one of the techy changes we made to zombie threads.

Sorry folks, we didn't actually realise that this had happened. Will let tech know right away so that this doesn't happen again.

Sparklingbrook · 01/02/2018 12:20

The problem with this morning's is it quite quickly appeared in Trending attracting lots of posters, a lot of them didn't read the whole thread then starting giving the OP their opinion of the situation which had passed.

Having the Zombie warning stay after it has been resurrected would help. Then people can see it's a Zombie still.

Original poster
Mumsmet · 01/02/2018 12:19

I will make an effort to only comment on new posts in future.

OP posts:
Original poster
Mumsmet · 01/02/2018 12:18

@YearOfYouRemember I certainly did not notice a warning. I am using the app

OP posts:
Original poster
Mumsmet · 01/02/2018 12:17

@Sparklingbrook I think it would be a good idea

OP posts:
Original poster
Mumsmet · 01/02/2018 12:17

@EmpressOfJurisfiction Good idea

OP posts:
EmpressOfJurisfiction · 01/02/2018 12:14

Maybe only the OP should be able to resurrect a zombie thread. Or maybe the warning should say something like "Don't post on this thread or MNers will be pissed off".

MNHQ
LornaMumsnet · 01/02/2018 12:13

Also, just a teeny tiny plea.

Posting on zombie threads isn't against TG unless it's done to be goady or it's all a poster is here to do (which we'd consider to be goady).

We know many of our users find it annoying and we will continue to push your feedback up to the top bosses but could we please remember that posters aren't always aware of the annoyance around zombies, and most of the time, post unintentionally?

Flowers
YearOfYouRemember · 01/02/2018 12:11

The text box warning isn't helping as it goes once more than a couple of posts have been added..

Sparklingbrook · 01/02/2018 12:08

We have suggested that old threads be locked quite a bit.

Original poster
Mumsmet · 01/02/2018 12:07

@LornaMumsnet
Many thanks for taking the time to offer me an explanation.

OP posts:
Original poster
Mumsmet · 01/02/2018 12:06

Many thanks for your replies. I genuinely had not realised that commenting would cause such trouble. I do think posts should be archived if this is the general attitude to prevent comments being added after a certain length of time. Or else have a section dedicated to new posts on old threads so that it avoids the barrage of angry posts.

@ClosdesMouches I received many rude remarks about it being an old thread. People crawled out of the woodwork along with the resurrected 'Zombie' thread. Apparently it is very easy to be rather nasty when safely hiding behind a non-identifiable username.

Scrolling through other posts on Mumsnet, this seems to be the pattern. Someone asks for help and they get one nice response to every 4 horrible ones. It seems to be trendy to play the devil's advocate on here and just say anything to make the OH (or other people who comment) feel bad.

@ClosdesMouches Your comment here is a fine example of what I am talking about. Commenting just to be unpleasant.

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MNHQ
LornaMumsnet · 01/02/2018 11:57

Hi Mumsmet,

Thanks for your question. As you can see, a few MNers have already put you in the picture regarding zombie threads! The main bugbear for most users is when they take time to read through acres of posts only to realise it all happened a few years ago.

We've addressed this by providing warnings on the text box of zombie threads which encourage posters to start a new thread.