Scratch

Recently I've been noticing quite a bit of necroposting, and it's been bothering me. I regularly (almost daily now) see an old topic that is often no longer relevant bumped back to the top of a forum. As a result, I decided to post this thread to clear some things up about necroposting and hopefully prevent some unneeded confusion in the future.

First things first: What is a necropost?
A necropost is generally referred to as a reply to an old, abandoned thread that has been considered "dead" for a while. Basically, a thread that no longer serves any purpose is bumped back up to the top of the forums by someone posting in it.

How old should a thread be before it is considered "dead"?
This depends on the thread and the forum it is in. Some things to consider:
-Has the initial question been resolved?
-Is the subject no longer relevant? (For example: a thread suggesting an input box. Since Scratch 1.4 added this functionality, this thread has no real purpose.)
-Is the thread relatively old? If the original poster was asking for help, they're probably not watching it anymore if it's over a month old.

Is it ever okay to necropost?
Yes. If you believe you have something to add to the subject that no one else has mentioned, and the topic is still relevant or unresolved, you can give your input; it may spark new discussion! However, do some searching and make sure the subject hasn't been resolved or continued on somewhere else since then. In addition, some topics, such as Show and Tell threads, are never too old to post in. Since those are there for you to give feedback, rather than hold a discussion, you can always leave a comment for the maker. There's nothing like bringing a great project that has been forgotten back into the limelight.

For more information, see the Scratch Wiki article on bumping/necroposting.

Note: If you feel that anything could be changed or added to improve this thread, feel free to suggest it in a reply.

Last edited by Harakou (2011-06-29 01:06:24)