At what point does a thread become necro?

[Mad_Jack]

I think the definitive answer to the question is that a thread is necroed when people see it pop up again and go, "Oh, hell, not this again?!?!"... Whether that's a day, a week, a year or a decade doesn't make much difference.

Reopening an interesting discussion after sufficient time has passed to generate new and/or different perspectives on the topic isn't a necro.

 

[aco175]

Depends. If the topic is still valid or being asked again like certain classes being overpowered and you want to like the new thread to one we had last year and the year before that. There might be a new playtest that comes out so the thread is 'new' again.

I find that a lot of old threats come back from new posters who might come across something in a Google search and join the site to ask something not knowing it was an old thread.

Generally I think most threads are necro after a few months and all after a year of nothing.

 

[Joshua Randall]

I disagree that thread necromancy is always inherently bad. But, for very old threads (to me? >6 months) you have to ask yourself if a new thread would be just as good.
Sometimes the old thread has relevant info: complex rules discussions on which new light has just been shed for example. This would be “non bad” thread necromancy. (Although you also could’ve started a new thread where your first post quotes the relevant old info.)
Or the old thread is some kind of awesome old story hour or humorous post (“these men are not acrobats”) that deserves to be seen by a new generation: also non bad necromancy to me.
But if you just reviving an old argumentative or hostile thread form months/years ago? Bad necromancy. Don’t be a jerk.

 

[aco175]

I disagree that thread necromancy is always inherently bad. But, for very old threads (to me? >6 months) you have to ask yourself if a new thread would be just as good.
Sometimes the old thread has relevant info: complex rules discussions on which new light has just been shed for example. This would be “non bad” thread necromancy. (Although you also could’ve started a new thread where your first post quotes the relevant old info.)
Or the old thread is some kind of awesome old story hour or humorous post (“these men are not acrobats”) that deserves to be seen by a new generation: also non bad necromancy to me.
But if you just reviving an old argumentative or hostile thread form months/years ago? Bad necromancy. Don’t be a jerk.

Just got in under the necro-wire, now we can restart it.

 

[cranberry]

It's alive. It's ALIVE!

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

No thread is ever truly dead, but rises again, stronger.

"That is not dead which can eternal lie, / And with strange aeons even death may die."

 

[Ry]

I mean… does it create a corporeal indeed? No way. Does it create an incorporeal undead? Well, maybe a ghost.

So if we see a zombie, skeleton, or crawling claw? Probably gone wrong. If we see a ghost or shadow? That’s good necro.

 

[James Gasik]

So the question is: do you think people will jump onto the thread just to call out your necromancy, or, alternately, jump onto the thread just to inform you that there is already a thread on this topic?

 

[Deset Gled]

So the question is: do you think people will jump onto the thread just to call out your necromancy, or, alternately, jump onto the thread just to inform you that there is already a thread on this topic?

I suspect people call out necromancy more when timeliness matters. For instance, if you bump a thread about Keep on the Borderlands after it's been dormant for 6 years, it's not that much of an issue because there haven't been too many major, relevant updates to the module in that time. And after all, one of the major benefits of this message board over Twitter, Facebook, etc, is that it's a better medium for long form discussion. But if you posted a thread about Weapon Sizes in early 2003 and it was necro'ed 6 months later, it would be very relevant to call out the necro, because Weapon Sizes rules changed in the 3.5e release that just came out.

Which is a long way of saying: expect thread necros to become a bit more noticable and relevant in the next year or so, as people tag into old conversations and there's a little confusion about what rules people are discussing. And the naming BS does help at all.

 

[James Gasik]

I'm also a sucker for a necro thread, lol, this one being a classic example. The thread pops up on my feed, I read it, make a comment, only to later find out "oh this thread is from 2013!".

It never occurs to me to check timestamps, and I get suckered in every time!