Automatic closing/locking of old threads

[Wilhelmus 1]

It seems that, lately, there have been posting to old threads (some have been years old).

 

The forum would automatically lock/close old threads e.g. after n weeks/months(/years), so the mod(s) do not freak out...

 

[DosFreak 2]

LOL! "Mod(s)"=DosFreak the Thread Closer Nut.

 

Yeah, any thread without a reply for...

 

What's a good number? 3 months? 1 month?

 

Considering that the "mission" of the forum is to help people with their problems then any thread which hasn't been replied to within a month should probably be locked. If there's a good thread which hasn't been replied to then a Mod can simply unlock and bump it.

 

Some may ask. Why lock threads at all?

 

Problem is that most people replying to old threads are posting new problems that really do not have much similarity to the original post or topic title, thereby making it harder for them to receive help. I think the reason they do this is that they probably search for their game on google, find ntcompatible, click on the post, register, and then post in the thread to which they found the initial problem.

 

Perhaps the absolute best way around this is to redirect the Hardware/Software/Game Compatibility comments feature to a specialized forum? (Not sure how Phillip has the Compatibility comments and the forum setup) and in addition perhaps open the Compatibility Database into some kind of Wiki format (except NTCompatible registration should required instead of anonymous....perhaps Senior Members only or something)

[AndyFair 0]

I second this - I'm bored of seeing threads that are years old, with a recent (and, as you say, often unrelated) post tagged onto the end.

 

I would say the 4-6 weeks is the ideal age after which threads become automatically locked - if there haven't been any new posts by then, I would consider the thread closed.

 

The only downside of this is that it may encourage new users to start a new thread about the same problem?

 

 

While we're at it, is there any way to prevent new posts being started without a topic heading - to avoid the avalanche of posts we've had recently called "Untitled Thread"...

[DosFreak 2]

Quote:

The only downside of this is that it may encourage new users to start a new thread about the same problem?

Yep, I've been trying to figure out a good way to parse the forums for information to include in a FAQ. I've been doing this in a small amount for VOGONS but even then it's a pain. Ideally, we'd have a FAQ sort of like Arstechnica's, a long time ago I had the ability to modify their FAQ but I never kept up with it.

[Philipp 6]

Quote:

The forum would automatically lock/close old threads e.g. after n weeks/months(/years), so the mod(s) do not freak out..

A mass closing feature (for moderators/admins) is already on my do list for futures versions of Storyteller CMS. However, this may take a while because the next release (2.0) is a full rewrite of the original script. There is still a lot work before the script is ready.

Quote:

Perhaps the absolute best way around this is to redirect the Hardware/Software/Game Compatibility comments feature to a specialized forum? (Not sure how Phillip has the Compatibility comments and the forum setup) and in addition perhaps open the Compatibility Database into some kind of Wiki format (except NTCompatible registration should required instead of anonymous....perhaps Senior Members only or something)

An updated compatibility list module is planned for the near future. The next compatibility list module will more integrate with the forums and will be better automated. Right now 70% of all submissions in the queue are not belonging there