Why do people keep reviving threads from years ago?

[tectonicplates]

Why are we seeing so many zombie threads from years ago being revived, and the person who does it just makes a comment as if the conversation only took place yesterday? Not even an "I know this thread is really old, but..."

I found MN by googling something and an old thread came up. Classics by its very nature is full of old threads and enjoyable reading.

@Anycrispsleft

Sometimes it's what appears to be a bot that posts initially, then it turns up on the front page of threads and because of that people assume it's a new thread. I've done that about a million times. Once I even read my way down a zombie thread like that, got to one particular answer that I thought was very sensible and insightful and then checked the name and realise it was me from 4 years before

Eh? Why would anyone be running a bot to post on zombie MN thread?

@Welcometonowhere it was really strange. The poster had adopted a whole new persona and family, with background history. Was very believable, although a very rude and condescending person. Would put people down if struggling with their children or money.

The zombie thread was a really innocuous one and people were moaning about why people were posting on it as it was a zombie one, and then someone obviously noticed this poster's name and they had a completely different, very mundane life!. The thread then got very interesting with other posters piling in talking about all the advice this particular person had given to ensure everyone could have a perfect family life like her. MN then pulled the thread unfortunately. Feel sort of cheated that she wasn't real!

Is the thread still around holiday?

@Welcometonowhere no unfortunately, it was deemed a TAAT and also not in the spirit of MN so was removed, otherwise I would resurrect it as a zombie thread!

And, blast!

My favourite was the OP answering her own question in a years-old thread about a buggy.

People often don't think to check the date.

What does it matter though?

There was one where the OP had replied to the original OP, then realised that she was the OP.

There was one where the OP had replied to the original OP, then realised that she was the OP.

I seem to recall doing that once!

It doesn’t Blue, but some MNetters get very irate about it for some reason.

It’s funnier than normal at the moment, though, because you get a zombie bumped about something normal like going out to lunch or shopping and then posters will demand to know why the OP isn’t observing social distancing. Ah, the innocent days!

I haven't seen anyone irate, I just roll my eyes. It's never going to stop and there's always Hide Thread. It's quite irritating when they end up in Trending.

@Welcometonowhere

It’s funnier than normal at the moment, though, because you get a zombie bumped about something normal like going out to lunch or shopping and then posters will demand to know why the OP isn’t observing social distancing. Ah, the innocent days!

Yes 'Not read the thread from 2010 but what Tier are you in? That's not allowed surely?'

It doesn’tBlue, but some MNetters get very irate about it for some reason.

I don't understand why though. Do the people who get irate stop people in real life if they bring up something they discussed years ago?

I can't even remember RL conversations from 2012, bit different when it's the written word.
I do tell people if they've already told me something though, save them telling me all over again.

@Bluesheep8

It doesn’tBlue, but some MNetters get very irate about it for some reason.

I don't understand why though. Do the people who get irate stop people in real life if they bring up something they discussed years ago?

Probably

@Dynamokev

*Bluesheep8

It doesn’tBlue, but some MNetters get very irate about it for some reason.

I don't understand why though. Do the people who get irate stop people in real life if they bring up something they discussed years ago?

Probably*

Do the people who get irate stop people in real life if they bring up something they discussed years ago?

Well of course not (and I hold my hands up to being one of those irate people).

A discussion about recipes or diy or paint colours is neither here nor there, but it doesn't tend to be these sort of threads that get resurrected and posters spend a lot of time typing out precise advice to someone who may not even be on MN anymore. There was one recently talking about an issue with a toddler - somebody had responded with some very considered and helpful advice, but the toddler was probably at the point where they would be going off to University.

You can point that out to save them wasting their time but then another 3 posters will respond (due to the thread appearing in active) and it is clear that they haven't so much as glanced at the responses immediately above theirs.

@MikeUniformMike

There was one where the OP had replied to the original OP, then realised that she was the OP.

I've done that previously, I had name changed read the post thought "I've been though that, this is how I dealt" wrote a whole reply explaining how I handled it, posted and I'm sure my reply came up in green not red which is what cottened me on. Luckily it wasn't a popular thread and no one else responded so I slipped into the ether haha.

[quote ineedaholidaynow]@Welcometonowhere it was really strange. The poster had adopted a whole new persona and family, with background history. Was very believable, although a very rude and condescending person. Would put people down if struggling with their children or money.

The zombie thread was a really innocuous one and people were moaning about why people were posting on it as it was a zombie one, and then someone obviously noticed this poster's name and they had a completely different, very mundane life!. The thread then got very interesting with other posters piling in talking about all the advice this particular person had given to ensure everyone could have a perfect family life like her. MN then pulled the thread unfortunately. Feel sort of cheated that she wasn't real![/quote]
That one was hilarious. Bit of a shame that particular poster wasn’t around to advise us all during lockdown, though. I definitely remember a few of her suggested schedules for combining her high-powered job with her small children at home, featuring things like ‘4-6pm: 4yo and 5yo do colouring while I catch up on international business’

There was one recently talking about an issue with a toddler - somebody had responded with some very considered and helpful advice, but the toddler was probably at the point where they would be going off to University.

Yes but the responses years later could be helpful to someone with the same issue as the op years later.

@GoldenOmber I'm sure she would have had some amazing advice on working and looking after children in lockdown and especially how she managed to cope in a small 1 bedroom flat, so why can't people cope who live in a house. It's a pity she was outed!

You can point that out to save them wasting their time but then another 3 posters will respond (due to the thread appearing in active) and it is clear that they haven't so much as glanced at the responses immediately above theirs.
MN updates in weird way sometimes - hence all the cross posts.