makethebrainhappy wrote:

So technically if a topic owner is still active it doesn't really matter if you post on an old topic or not? They are still in charge if they are active?

derpmeup wrote:

davidkt wrote:

joshuaho 4 mod

joshuaho4 mod

joshuaho wrote:

Lately, I have been seeing a lot of necroposting going on in the forums which led me to make this guide on when is or isn't ok to bump old topics.
Note: The following information in the quote box is by Harakou* - I copied it off from the Scratch 1.4. archived forums. (@Harakou: I hope you don't mind that I remixed your guide here - I just couldn't resist after seeing so many people necropost. )

Harakou wrote:

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.

Which necroposts should I report and which necropost should I NOT report?

I will present 3 cases about when there was a necropost. One of them is not a helpful necropost that should be reported, while the other 2 are allowed.

Case 1.

This first case is about a necropost that I made that was not helpful. This necropost that I made was on a thread that was 5 months old without replies and was no longer useful. Furthermore, the necropost I made did not contribute to the thread topic. Therefore, necroposts like these are NOT ok and should be reported.

Yes… even I once necroposted like I did in the case above.
Case 2

The second case was a necropost as well. However, it is a helpful necropost. That necropost contributed to the thread, and, though it bumped a topic a year old, it added new information that had not been added. Therefore, necroposting like that in that situation is OK and should not be reported.

Case 3

This is a necropost. It bumped a thread that has not had a reply from the topic owner in a long time and did not add any new information. While this necropost is like case 1, it was done on an i-topic. Since that's the case, its actually allowed as there is no such thing as necroposting on itopics and stickies. Therefore, necroposting in that situation is ok and should not be reported. However, its still important that the posts contribute to the thread and add value to it. Bumping up an old ITopic is ok, but not adding anything helpful certainly isn't.

What does the Scratch Team do with a necropost?
The Scratch Team might do one of the following if they find a necropost like the one in Case one:
1. Delete the necropost.
2. Close the topic. (however, if the topic was still helpful, they will leave the topic open)

Note: If the topic has not recieved a reply in a long time and someone necroposts, the Scratch Team may consider the topic dead and close it. However, if the topic owner still thinks that the topic is not dead yet, he/she just needs to use the report buton to ask a moderator to reopen the topic.

Hopefully this helps clear up the problems with necroposting.

-XxInkSansxX- wrote:

joshuaho wrote:

Lately, I have been seeing a lot of necroposting going on in the forums which led me to make this guide on when is or isn't ok to bump old topics.
Note: The following information in the quote box is by Harakou* - I copied it off from the Scratch 1.4. archived forums. (@Harakou: I hope you don't mind that I remixed your guide here - I just couldn't resist after seeing so many people necropost. )

Harakou wrote:

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.

Which necroposts should I report and which necropost should I NOT report?

I will present 3 cases about when there was a necropost. One of them is not a helpful necropost that should be reported, while the other 2 are allowed.

Case 1.

This first case is about a necropost that I made that was not helpful. This necropost that I made was on a thread that was 5 months old without replies and was no longer useful. Furthermore, the necropost I made did not contribute to the thread topic. Therefore, necroposts like these are NOT ok and should be reported.

Yes… even I once necroposted like I did in the case above.
Case 2

The second case was a necropost as well. However, it is a helpful necropost. That necropost contributed to the thread, and, though it bumped a topic a year old, it added new information that had not been added. Therefore, necroposting like that in that situation is OK and should not be reported.

Case 3

This is a necropost. It bumped a thread that has not had a reply from the topic owner in a long time and did not add any new information. While this necropost is like case 1, it was done on an i-topic. Since that's the case, its actually allowed as there is no such thing as necroposting on itopics and stickies. Therefore, necroposting in that situation is ok and should not be reported. However, its still important that the posts contribute to the thread and add value to it. Bumping up an old ITopic is ok, but not adding anything helpful certainly isn't.

What does the Scratch Team do with a necropost?
The Scratch Team might do one of the following if they find a necropost like the one in Case one:
1. Delete the necropost.
2. Close the topic. (however, if the topic was still helpful, they will leave the topic open)

Note: If the topic has not recieved a reply in a long time and someone necroposts, the Scratch Team may consider the topic dead and close it. However, if the topic owner still thinks that the topic is not dead yet, he/she just needs to use the report buton to ask a moderator to reopen the topic.

Hopefully this helps clear up the problems with necroposting.

can you help i don't see were you can see how old the topic is! and i also keep being accused because of this im just trying to help! ;-;

-XxInkSansxX- wrote:

can you help i don't see were you can see how old the topic is! and i also keep being accused because of this im just trying to help! ;-;

rasmusolle wrote:

Aand you necro'd a thread about necro bumps (but that necro was allowed, I think)

joshuaho wrote:

-XxInkSansxX- wrote:

can you help i don't see were you can see how old the topic is! and i also keep being accused because of this im just trying to help! ;-;

You can find out how old the topic is by checking the date of the first post located on the top left. It would also be a good idea to check the date of the most recent post, so you can calculate how much time has passed without anybody posting.

rasmusolle wrote:

Aand you necro'd a thread about necro bumps (but that necro was allowed, I think)

Yep - its allowed. Its just like case 3 in the first post of this thread.

Chibi-Matoran wrote:

joshuaho wrote:

-XxInkSansxX- wrote:

can you help i don't see were you can see how old the topic is! and i also keep being accused because of this im just trying to help! ;-;

You can find out how old the topic is by checking the date of the first post located on the top left. It would also be a good idea to check the date of the most recent post, so you can calculate how much time has passed without anybody posting.

rasmusolle wrote:

Aand you necro'd a thread about necro bumps (but that necro was allowed, I think)

Yep - its allowed. Its just like case 3 in the first post of this thread.

Whoops, I may be who XxInkSansxX- is referring to. See this post: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/4858/?page=2#post-2014146

alexphan wrote:

totally not a necropost ;)
I have a scenario which is kind of disambiguous with case 1 and case 2.
Say someone posts on an old topic on the suggestions forums and says just “support” / “i agree”. Does this add to the thread? Or is this reportable?

joshuaho wrote:

davidkt wrote:

Necropost Bump

Please do not necropost if the post does not contribute to the topic.

Oh… wait. I also “necroposted” too.

LOL, just joking!! There is no such thing as necroposting on ITopics….

Wolfyyoyogamer wrote:

I didn't know what a necropost was, so thanks for clearing that up!

when green flag clicked
forever
if <[topic age] > [1 month]> then
give a warnang or ban
if <necropost is helpful> then
stop [warnang or ban v]
end
end
end

awesome5185 wrote:

I necroposted before Oops, am I doing it again?

LionHeart70 wrote:

Sometimes I wonder how necroposting users even find some old topics..

LionHeart70 wrote:

Sometimes I wonder how necroposting users even find some old topics..

yzyzyz wrote:

LionHeart70 wrote:

Sometimes I wonder how necroposting users even find some old topics..

Me too! This is really weird.

FloppyPanda9 wrote:

Or not know that it's old when it's hard to get to and or at the very bottom of the topics it's very odd but I am wondering, sometimes owners contsitly bump their discussion up to the top of the thread like every day so that it gets more attention. Does that count as necroposting? It's constant and a little annoying…