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Underground > Policy & Help >

When threads are no longer valid

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

23:24 / 19.09.06

This came up here when the thread announcing the upcoming release of the final Animal Man TPB. There had not been a comment on the thread in 3 years and someone posted an image of action figures featuring Animal Man.

Discussion followed regarding the figures and a moderator asked that the thread come back on topic.

Now, since the topic that began the thread had not been talked about for about 3 years, I wonder if the thread should have been locked. The action figure post could then have found its way to either the 52 thread (closer match) or its own thread.

What do the supercontext dwellers think about locking threads whose topic is set in the future which is now our past?

00:53 / 20.09.06

How do we know when a thread is never going to have any more on-topic posts added to it?

04:58 / 20.09.06

On a fifth dimensional level, all things past, present and future, are happening in all at once. As any fule kno.

10:38 / 20.09.06

Alex's Great Aunt, your posts consistently have so much to add. Dead Megatron gets slated for this kind of posting all the time but you must be occupying the Barbelith blind spot.

pointless & uncalled for

10:47 / 20.09.06

Define valid. Sure this event has long since passed but is it definite that no one could possibly say something valid about the event after it has happened?

I hardly think a tangental blip of four or five posts warrants consideration for locking. Should this continue though then a new thread should be started.

Janean Patience

10:48 / 20.09.06

I enjoy Alex's posts and I enjoyed that one. Chiz chiz.

Mordant
(prev. This is *my* hole.)

12:26 / 20.09.06

Alex's Relative, was that a sample of the kind of post which might indicate that the rot is setting in?

13:07 / 20.09.06

There had not been a comment on the thread in 3 years and someone posted an image of action figures featuring Animal Man.

Discussion followed regarding the figures and a moderator asked that the thread come back on topic.

Now, since the topic that began the thread had not been talked about for about 3 years, I wonder if the thread should have been locked. The action figure post could then have found its way to either the 52 thread (closer match) or its own thread.

Sincerely, on what level does this actually matter? As far as I know, nobody's said anything unkind in the 'Animal Man' thread, so who's to care whether it's locked or not?

I suppose, as well, that 'Animal Man' is a work of fiction. There are, no doubt, people out there who haven't read the thing yet, but still might like to, or, having done so, care to share their thoughts on the subject, subsequent to the event.

Really, *we* may as well lock threads to do with James Joyce's work, on the basis that the silly old fool hasn't done actually done much of significance for ... well, it's been a while. Hasn't it, James?

13:19 / 20.09.06

Although I'm sure any thoughts about 'Buck Mulligan' action figures would have to be treated seperately.

13:32 / 20.09.06

Elijah - complete non starter. Old threads are there to be resurrected! I love reading old ones people pull back from the brink.

Lula, the difference is this: Alex is funny and DM is not.

The Great Green Elbow

14:17 / 20.09.06

Which makes no difference in Policy, Head Shop, and Switchboard threads (and arguably others)

Also, let's keep on topic

Why lock a thread just because hte IRL event it may be related has come and gone? Just add a reminder of such fact in the title and/or abstract (case in point: "Animal Mal at Last (The Aftermath)" could be an example), and that's it.

In fact, I find it not necessary to make broad generalisations on what shoub be done to what and why or what for, moderation-wise. Such instances should be acessed in a case-by-case basis.

But that's just me.

And who's to judge what is or is not funny in a objective manner?

14:51 / 20.09.06

And who's to judge what is or is not funny in a objective manner?

Jesus. Plato. Kant. Probably Haus.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

17:06 / 20.09.06

Oh I was not suggesting anyone was being unkind, I was just curious as to what people thought about keeping things on topic when the original topic has come and gone.

I am all for keeping old threads around, and I suppose if they were locked we could end up with new comers making redundant threads.

West Baltimore Hausing Project

17:42 / 20.09.06

Well, one issue is that if a thread is taken out of mothballls and the angle of discussion changes, then somebody might not realise that the kind of discussion that is actually going on at the end of the thread is markedly different from the discussion and the subject matter at the start. But this can be dealt with by adding a supplement to the thread summary, I think. Ultinately, whether to exhume or start a new thread is probably personal choice.