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Reviving Old Topics and about Locked Topics

Started by Babybearjs, September 29, 2017, 08:28:39 PM

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Babybearjs

when you have a old topic thats been inactive for over a year or more, how can you revive it? or do you have to start a new thread....
John

AL_as_needed

Can you just post a new reply on that thread to bump it back up? Or are they locked after a such a period of time?
TWinbrook7

TelePlay

Quote from: AL_as_needed on September 29, 2017, 08:41:18 PM
Can you just post a new reply on that thread to bump it back up? Or are they locked after a such a period of time?

1) Yes, as long as the reply continues the topic point, doesn't go off topic

     and

2) No, old topics are never locked for that reason.

If a reply is tangent to the topic, does not continue the topic point, a new topic should be started for the new point/problem/question.


AL_as_needed

Quote from: TelePlay on September 29, 2017, 08:57:27 PM
1) Yes, as long as the reply continues the topic point, doesn't go off topic

     and

2) No, old topics are never locked for that reason.

If a reply is tangent to the topic, does not continue the topic point, a new topic should be started for the new point/problem/question.

Yes, we do not need a repeat of recent past "incidents" .
TWinbrook7

Babybearjs

OK, then the forum needs to set a 90 day period that deletes the posting completely to make room for new posts. I was trying to bring up an old post to update the subject, but it seems it didn't work.
John

TelePlay

Quote from: Babybearjs on September 29, 2017, 10:22:23 PM
OK, then the forum needs to set a 90 day period that deletes the posting completely to make room for new posts.

That would not be good for the forum, to only have topic created and/or posted to within the past 90 days, or year or even 2 years.
The wealth of information with respect to plastic repair, wiring solutions, Bakelite restoration, trouble shooting, etc,  most of which was posted more than 2 years ago, would be lost forever.

There is plenty of room on the forum for new topics and replies to any topic no matter how old it was.


Quote from: Babybearjs on September 29, 2017, 10:22:23 PM
I was trying to bring up an old post to update the subject, but it seems it didn't work.

Post a link to that topic. I would like to check it out. There are some topics that are locked but those show up in the listing. For example, the first 3 topics in the Auction Contest Board are locked and locked for good reason. There is not reason for any member to post replies to the past contest image topic, the standing topic or the hall of fame topic.

Some of this past summer's topics that were mostly meaningless and contentious in nature were locked for another good reason.

Some were locked at the request of the member who started the topic for their own reason, whatever they may be or have been.

Locked topics show up in the board index with a locked padlock icon to the right of the topic title, as shown in red in the auction contest index below.

Post or send the link in question in a PM to me, thanks.

Babybearjs

this is true.....but there must be someway of clearing up more HD space.... and maybe the forum needs to design a way to archive old postings in its own place. like making a folder for "Legacy Postings" and putting all the old posting in that....
John

TelePlay

Quote from: Babybearjs on September 30, 2017, 01:28:48 AM
this is true.....but there must be someway of clearing up more HD space....

I know of no space issues other than that allocated within the servers for processing images which is a type of stack overflow issue due to server size  limits placed by SMF or the system administrator to process images.

As far as I know, there is no server storage limit for text posts or the images attached to them once the server completes its security check and recoding protocol prior to allowing the image(s) upload to the server farm and then backed up to other servers to permit restoration should  the active servers be compromised.

The servers hosting the forum SMF program and saved information have more than enough memory available. It's not like a 200 MByte PC hard disk running out of space due to expanding installed program size due to newer, larger versions. Terabytes of memory are available and that is a lot of memory.

If more memory space were needed, it could be added for a small sum of money and would be added rather than delete historically important information and destroy the overall quality of the forum.

Topic are not locked to save space. They are locked to prevent tampering or to stop replies from being added to the topic, for whatever reason causes that. I would guess that over 99.7% of all topics on the forum are not locked.

I don't see where this concern to create more disk/server space on the servers is coming from, on what it is based?

I saw a topic that was dormant for over 5 years be reactivated a few months ago. The only problem with reactivation is that members reply to other replies in the topic not realizing that to which they are replying may be many years old and the member who posted it may not have logged on to the forum in 3 or 4 years, and will not answer questions posed.

Finally, what is the topic that is locked not allowing it to be revived into current time with a simple reply?

AL_as_needed

Quote from: Babybearjs on September 30, 2017, 01:28:48 AM
this is true.....but there must be someway of clearing up more HD space.... and maybe the forum needs to design a way to archive old postings in its own place. like making a folder for "Legacy Postings" and putting all the old posting in that....

One thing to consider with CRPF, and I think you have also reached this conclusion, is that the forum is also a research database  for members and non members alike. The point could be made that despite the overall light nature of most postings, there is a wealth of technical data and communal knowledge we have gained over the years in nearly all of them. Only reason I found CRPF is because I needed a wiring diagram....and was sucked in by all the pretty pictures of phones......
TWinbrook7

Pourme

Benny

Panasonic 308/616 Magicjack service

Babybearjs

OK..... then let fill up the server with lots of new posts.....
John

AE_Collector

Up until several years ago when adding a new post to a topic that hadn't been posted to in over 90 days a message popped up informing you that you were posting in a topic that hadn't seen any activity for at least that long. And it asked if you were sure you wanted to post there rather than starting a new topic. You could generally hit post like normal if you wanted to.

I had a discussion with Dennis around the idea that on this forum I thought that we shouldn't discourage additional posts to old topics as whatever the topic happened to be, new or additional info would not be unwelcome and keeping all comments about a specific phone and situation in one place for the future was good, not bad.

Dennis managed to remove that 90 day pop up window.

As much as everyone can try to add to their previous posts as well as to posts from others about a particular item (without getting too far off the topic) rather than starting new posts is cobsidered to be a good thing to do. Moderators will merge some topics together on occasion as well.

Terry

andy1702

There's no problem with old topics. They do indeed contain some useful information as has already been pointed out. The problem is there are so many sub-categories and then topics in each one that the precious information can never be found, especially after some time has lapsed sonce the topic was active. I suggest a forum is the wrong place to keep useful archival information (eg wiring diagrams or restoration techniques etc) and they would be better suited to a stand-alone website. Forum softtware and design is more geared towards day to day chat, which is why many forums delete topics after a few weeks or months.

If I find anything useful in the forum I download that section to my computer. I never even attempt to go back and look for things these days because they are so difficult to find.
Call me on C*net 0246 81 290 from the UK
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TelePlay

Quote from: andy1702 on November 08, 2017, 02:38:28 PM
There's no problem with old topics. They do indeed contain some useful information as has already been pointed out. The problem is there are so many sub-categories and then topics in each one that the precious information can never be found, especially after some time has lapsed sonce the topic was active. I suggest a forum is the wrong place to keep useful archival information (eg wiring diagrams or restoration techniques etc) and they would be better suited to a stand-alone website. Forum softtware and design is more geared towards day to day chat, which is why many forums delete topics after a few weeks or months.

If I find anything useful in the forum I download that section to my computer. I never even attempt to go back and look for things these days because they are so difficult to find.

How many time and in how many topics are your going to make this point?

     http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=19208.msg197195#msg197195

This turning into a windmill?

Can't find something, ask the forum. That's why and how it works for 9 years now. Your memory may fail for something but I'll guarantee you that some other member can find the infor4mation for you, and quickly. Nothing is going to change based on your suggestions. It is what it is. There are other telephone sites and forums out there which may be of better use or help to you. Consider that suggestion as advice.

HarrySmith

Quote from: andy1702 on November 08, 2017, 02:38:28 PM
There's no problem with old topics. They do indeed contain some useful information as has already been pointed out. The problem is there are so many sub-categories and then topics in each one that the precious information can never be found, especially after some time has lapsed sonce the topic was active. I suggest a forum is the wrong place to keep useful archival information (eg wiring diagrams or restoration techniques etc) and they would be better suited to a stand-alone website. Forum softtware and design is more geared towards day to day chat, which is why many forums delete topics after a few weeks or months.

If I find anything useful in the forum I download that section to my computer. I never even attempt to go back and look for things these days because they are so difficult to find.


I have never had a problem finding anything on here using the search function. It works great!
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"