To ask you to check the date of the OP before posting on a thread?

[TempusEedjit]

Because all these resurrected Zombie threads are pissing me off.

Thanks awfully.

[Sparklingbrook]

It's so much easier to start a new thread so I don't get why anyone would search and resurrect a years old one.
It's not like anyone will say 'oh not this again we had this in 2011'

I think it's funny when the OP way back when is asking for say YR class advice and their child would now be in High School.

It shows up the people who don't RTFT though. Even after someone posts 'Zombie Thread'.

[reni2]

I ate some sausages hugely out of date today because I didn't check. Chances of me checking the date of a post on an internet forum? On the low side. It's OK, it's only the internet though. Sausages are much worse. But by all means, you check before answering because it being 18 months old makes my profound contributions on the healthiness of McDonald's much less important.

[Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost]

Brideofwankenstien. Great name BTW. I think ive got a touch of Username envy.
I remember reading about the poster who replied to oneself. That's probably something I would do. . Start chatting away to myself. You cant talk to a better person. II don't suppose.

[m1nniedriver]

OP you ABU, quite zombiphobic and indeed offensive to zombies'

[BrideOfWankenstein]

The other day I saw one zombie and read the first page and the last. On the first page there was a poster saying YABU and in the last the same poster said YANBU. 2-3 years difference.
Made me

[Senpai]

I think as long as the thread hasn't been derailed and there's a good topic to talk about it shouldn't matter. You're asking too much of me to thoroughly read a thread and dates

[PrimalLass]

I'm going to bump some now from 2007 just to be annoying.

[Raxacoricofallapatorius]

Part of the problem is that they can sometimes read as...

I have a problem, I really need help/advice

200 posts of kind, thoughtful, useful advice

3 years later somebody resurrects it and says I have a similar problem but it's different in a very key and pertinent way. What shall I do?

People respond to the op. People pick up on what other people said on the first page. Nobody is actually helping the new pseudo-op

Finally somebody posts it's a zombie thread.

People still answer the op


It's a massive waste of time and helps nobody. You also get zombie threads resurrected because people are being goady or advertising or being disingenuous or trolling.

Accidental zombie thread creation is one thing but sometimes it's at best irritating, at worst designed to mislead.

[Indantherene]

Zombies are particularly frustrating when the OP is asking how to deal with an aspect of their child's behaviour. People don't notice the date and give advice yet said child is now 6 years older.

The other thing for us oldies is seeing names from way back and being disappointed.

[ZoeTurtle]

I'm with Sprink. I have never understood people's irritation about zombie threads.

[Stillunexpected]

The thing that pees me off big time is the zombie threads which have been resurrected for no reason whatsoever. I can kind of understand people coming on and searching e.g. for "athlete's foot remedies" or "good primary schools in Bristol" and posting without realising that it is a zombie thread. However, some of the threads which are resurrected are just bizarre. One recently was a two-page thread about bad Christmas presents from partners from 2003! Presuming that you just couldn't scroll back far enough to come across that thread, what search term did someone use to bring that up?

[MotherofFlagons]

Actually yeah, eternalopt raises a good point. How old does a thread have to be before it's considered zombie and thou shalt not resurrect it?

[eternalopt]

Fairly new to posting on Mumsnet instead of just lurking - how old is too old? On other boards, you get told off for starting a new thread about a topic that's already been done, so I thought the right thing to do was search and check to see if there was one you could add to before starting a new thread, but when I did that, I got called out for posting on a thread that was a few months old. Is that too old?

What does the zombie thread alert do?

[TempusEedjit]

I get all excited and think "Ooh is back!" Then feel slightly deflated when I clock the date is 2009.

Yes I am that easily pleased/disappointed.

[susielovessocks]

I'm fairly new, only found mn about 5 months ago. Its easily done if you search for a subject and a thread pops up. It's not instantly obvious it is years old until you get to know a bit about how things work around here still learning

[Sprink]

I genuinely don't understand the irritation with resurrected Zombie threads.

So what? How does reading a thread from 10 years ago have a negative impact on anyone? If someone has posted on it, it must still be relevant to that person.

Kind of like saying don't comment on having just watched the original Star Wars (to borrow something current). Only comments on Episode VII shall be allowed.

Wtf?

[pigsDOfly]

Not this post, I mean the one I came across on the zombie thread. :)

[pigsDOfly]

No Arfarfanaf I thought my post was quite sensible

[FruVikingessOla]

I give you a classic zombie thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_advice_tips/752184-hauck-stroller-pound-25-Asda. But this was years ago, prior to being able to highlight your own posts and prior to the Zombie Thread Alert!

Other than that, I agree - zombie threads are damn irritating - and there seem to be loads ATM.

[FuckingLiability]

I was tempted to resurrect one from Classics from 2011 because it was funny (bonkers workplace rules) and thought it would be old enough for new people to have new stories but still see the old ones IYSWIM.

I'd start my own thread but it would probably die after about 10 posts and I'd be massively disappointed.

[pigsDOfly]

This happened to me yesterday. Clicked on a thread that sounded like an interesting subject, started reading and was surprised to see a post from me on it; it was a bit of an 'oh my god, how the hell did that get there' moment as I was pretty sure I hadn't posted anything, I'd only just started reading.

Anyway, someone posted at the bottom saying it was a zombie thread. Checked the date and it was from ages ago.

Something of a relief as I was beginning to think I'd posted without realising. Clearly been on MN way too long.

[Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost]

I agree the zombies are definitely out in their droves today. If they were intesrting that would be one thing but one is a about card factory and another about someone chatting shit about McDonald's.

[StrawberryTeaLeaf]

Yak