Zombie threads

[Brefugee]

I searched down the first page of threads and didn't see one about Zombie threads. So apols if there have been dozens.

Whenever i stumble across a thread which hasn't been posted on for over a year, there is a message in the box saying so. It is on a fetching blue background and you can't miss it.

So i guess this happens when a Zombie thread gets posted on and people ignore it. (one from 2013 was resurrected lately which prompted me to come over here). Yes, Zombie threads can have interesting info which is often still relevant. But. But. But. Isn't there some way of either

a) having that message on every subsequent new reply to the zombie? (can imagine this may not be possible)

2. making it so that only either MNHQ or the OP can post to a thread once it has been dormant (latest post) for a yer

iii) (there must always be three points) something else (OP on a Zombie is in red for eg)?

(arghh. I proofread, honestly. Read point 2 in a Welsh accent so that my misspelling of "year" as "yer" doesn't seem so odd. Thanks in advance)

This gets raised frequently.

I think this is the most recent thread:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/site_stuff/4500542-Zombie-threads?msgid=115720376

If you google "mumsnet zombie" then you will see that the same suggestions are made over and over again but MN don't seem to have any inclination to act on any of them.

ok, thanks.

It's bloody infuriating.

I can't understand why they aren't looked to all but the OP after 12 months.

Locked.

maybe if we spam a bit they'll take notice? it really can't be that difficult to write a bit of code to close 1 year old threads and have a note that if you're the OP and you want to update to drop them a line?

Hi all

We understand that this can be really annoying. We close old threads that are reactivated when we need to - but just recently, an OP came back to a thread after ten years.

We do have warnings on old threads and we will pass the feedback on but it's not likely to change at the moment.

If something gets bumped and you think it needs to be locked, just give us a shout and we'll make sure it doesn't appear in trending. We will also turn off commenting.

Thank you

One thing that I find weird is that nobody seems to bump a years old thread with about 3 comments on. They are always really long threads, which means everyone starts replying to the long gone OP and not RTFT.

The problem is exacerbated by posters who never read the last post on the thread - they just read the OP and then jump in. So they never see the zombie warning.

Or, even if other posters have posted 'zombie' they never see that.

So my suggestion @LilyMumsnet would be that on a zombie thread you have to read the OP and the last thread on the post. (No idea how you do that from a tech point of view!)

But more to the point - WHY is MNHQ so clear that they're not going to do anything about this? You know how much it irritates posters!

I have no issues with Zombie thread and on MN's Facebook there was a nice article a few weeks ago about a thread in which a poster came back to reassure her old self that things would turn up fine without remembering she was the original poster. It was quite sweet actually and I can't see anything wrong with that.

I like the fact that we can post on old discussions, especially for some quite unique and rare issues.

The way MNHQ is dealing with zombie threads is their prerogative, it is their website after all.

MN is about sharing parenting experience and advice. Hindsight can make a big difference and being able to ask a PP what worked and what did not is great when someone is going through a similar situation, special needs application , custody, and so on.

If someone doesn't like zombie thread, so what, don't open them.

Can the zombie thread warning be coded to appear in the OP and not just by the comments box?

Yes I think the warning should stay somewhere even after it’s been reanimated that would probably sort it out TBH.

If someone doesn't like zombie thread, so what, don't open them

@GordonPym

Please could you explain how to know that a thread is a zombie before you open it?

@GordonPym

If someone doesn't like zombie thread, so what, don't open them

You are spectacularly misunderstanding the issue. The whole point is that you often don't know it's a zombie thread. You would only know it's one if you're the first person to post on it, because MNHQ have a message in the message box.

So the first person posts, and then after that there's no warning, and people keep on posting.

(We could, of course, check the date of the OP but I don't think many people do that.)

@Sparklingbrook

One thing that I find weird is that nobody seems to bump a years old thread with about 3 comments on. They are always really long threads, which means everyone starts replying to the long gone OP and not RTFT.

Because longer threads are more likely to show up as google search results, which is how newbies, possibly inexperienced with forums, find them or spammers find them.

Or, they do find those threads but just like the first time around nobody thinks it is interesting or worth responding to. So it gets bumped and then immediately sinks and disappears again.

Conversely, a thread which sounds interesting or you want to respond to will be just as enticing years later, and people don't notice the date and respond to the OP. Therefore zombie thread stays reanimated.

But more to the point - WHY is MNHQ so clear that they're not going to do anything about this? You know how much it irritates posters!

Aren't they moving to a new platform? So it doesn't make sense to make changes to this one.

I can only imagine the new platform will include a 'Like' button, and positive encouragement to reanimate zombie threads.

@LilyMumsnet. But the OP @Brefugee makes the suggestion:

2) making it so that only either MNHQ or the OP can post to a thread once it has been dormant (latest post) for a year

So this makes your point about returning OP's redundant.

Not if the person has forgotten their original login though.

I've not seen the zombie thread warning that's supposed to appear in a box. Is it only visible to the first person who posts or is it missing from the app entirely?

@BIWI wrong verb, I meant don't post in them; click and close.

Some members are extremely, obsessively annoyed by zombie threads, others like the ability to reopen a discussion, and the majority in-between don't care.

It's annoying because you can't immediately see that it is a zombie unless you make a habit of reading dates, and for most threads the date isn't relevant so people don't bother.

You can put lots of effort and empathy into a reply only to realise that the baby the person is asking about is probably about to sit their GCSEs! That can be annoying. Although TBH these days I try not to put too much time/energy into strangers on MN to begin with as I really need to prioritise my time and energy for myself and my own family!

The zombie warning should 100% be permanent, near the top of the thread, prominent and not disappear after the first couple of replies.

I don't use the app but I don't think it's used there at all.