Necroposting Rule - Add your questions here for the Forum Moderation Team «123...Next Go

Schmoloop

Can there be a way to add a warning before making a comment on an old thread? Also, it would be really helpful to know how old a thread has to be before it's considered necroposting, otherwise it can be confusing to know if you're breaking the rules or not.

EA_Leeloo

Hey @Auroraskies, thank you for your feedback and opinion on that matter!

Hi @Schmoloop! Unfortunately, we cannot add warnings to inform forum users before they post in old threads. About your second point: I understand that it can be quite confusing to know when posting would be considered necroposting and when not. But there is no clear-cut answer to this I'm afraid because it really depends on the type of thread as outlined in the necroposting information:

How old is 'too old'?
The answer to this question is not that straightforward; ‘old’ is a rather relative term that is entirely dependant on the type of discussion or issue.
A good starting point to figure out if a thread might be 'too old' is to look at the timestamp and the last comments. That way you will see if the discussion is still active and relevant before you post and can avoid necroing the thread.
That means bumping a conversation that has naturally ended or posting without adding new info would be necroposting (for example, just saying "cool" in a thread that has been quiet for 2 years).

Having said that, creative threads are usually fine since they don't have an 'expiry date'.

- Leeloo

lisasc360

Schmoloop wrote: »

Can there be a way to add a warning before making a comment on an old thread? Also, it would be really helpful to know how old a thread has to be before it's considered necroposting, otherwise it can be confusing to know if you're breaking the rules or not.

@Schmoloop, according to the nercoposting rules listed in the rules section it states 2 years old even though I have seen 1 year old threads to 6 months old threads being closed depending on the relevance of the thread. It's been suggested to have some type of warning to pop up before we hit the post button but they would just prefer for the members to report any old and outdated threads to them so that they can review them and make the choice to close it or to keep them open. There has been a rare occasion or 2 where an old and outdated thread does stay open depending on the topic of the thread.

This is what EA_Leeloo posted in the "Forum Rules & Guidelines" thread listed up in the Forum Rules section located at the top of the home page.

Don't "necropost." Reviving, updating or bumping old, outdated and irrelevant threads is not helpful for our community. It's best to check when the thread was created before you hit post, just to make sure it's not 2 years old for example.

A lot of the bumping that I see taking place is new members that are Sims 4 players bumping up old Sims 3 threads because they end up typing in whatever issue that they're having with their Sims 4 game and posting in whatever threads that have the same issues that they're having without checking first to see what the date is or where they thread that they're posting in is located at on the site. These new members come here with Sims 4 questions not really knowing that this site also has the older Sims games listed as well.

Auroraskies

Hey @EA_Leeloo, thanks for recieving, but it would be better if you explained why it is so important for the Forum Managers of this forum. I see a lot of effort spent on this issue.

Mockingbird781

Useless comment to build up posts so i can ask my question. If this is what it takes then this is dumb but necessary. What is necroposting? I don't understand the context of these comments on this page.