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Bob Nichol · Jul 13, 2011, 8:41 PM

Could we get the forum software lock a thread to be read only after it has been dormant for several months? In the last few weeks I've seen the following:

Revived a six month old thread with an unrelated question: Canon A710 IS

Revived a 5 1/2 year old thread with more current information: SD vs CF, which is superior?

In many cases reviving old threads can cause confusion because the contents can be out of date. In other cases someone has hijacked the thread with a new question and caused more confusion.

If someone wishes to comment on an old thread they can always link to it.

JimC · Jul 14, 2011, 6:59 AM

I missed the first one about needing a manual for the Canon. But, it was a Spammer that revived the thread (had spam in their signature). When I see a post to an old thread, red flags go up, as more often than not, it's a spambot making the post that revived the thread. :-)

I've now deleted the new posts in that thread and banned the member that revived it (since members replying to a new post missed that it was revived by a spammer advertising books for sale in their signature).

As for the second post concerning CF versus SD, I saw that one and decided that it was probably revived deliberately to show how much cards have changed over time, since it started out "SD Cards are now commonly available up to 32 GB..."

in any event, vBulletin doesn't have a built in option to lock inactive threads automatically. So, a custom code modification would be needed, and I'd be reluctant to support a mod like that since posts to old threads don't happen very often unless it's a spambot making the posts (and I'm going to delete those posts anyway), or it's being done on purpose for some reason (for example, I've sometimes encouraged members with CCD problems to make new posts in some of the old threads about sensor recalls so that other members know if they're still replacing them for free).

Bob Nichol · Jul 14, 2011, 5:05 PM

Custom code mods are scary! Stick to the code out of the box, it's more stable. Thanks for the reply.

Jul 13, 2011, 8:41 PM	#1
Bob Nichol Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Eastern Ontario Canada Posts: 811	Locking dormant threads Could we get the forum software lock a thread to be read only after it has been dormant for several months? In the last few weeks I've seen the following: Revived a six month old thread with an unrelated question: Canon A710 IS Revived a 5 1/2 year old thread with more current information: SD vs CF, which is superior? In many cases reviving old threads can cause confusion because the contents can be out of date. In other cases someone has hijacked the thread with a new question and caused more confusion. If someone wishes to comment on an old thread they can always link to it.

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Jul 14, 2011, 6:59 AM	#2
JimC Administrator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Savannah, GA (USA) Posts: 20,836	I missed the first one about needing a manual for the Canon. But, it was a Spammer that revived the thread (had spam in their signature). When I see a post to an old thread, red flags go up, as more often than not, it's a spambot making the post that revived the thread. :-) I've now deleted the new posts in that thread and banned the member that revived it (since members replying to a new post missed that it was revived by a spammer advertising books for sale in their signature). As for the second post concerning CF versus SD, I saw that one and decided that it was probably revived deliberately to show how much cards have changed over time, since it started out "SD Cards are now commonly available up to 32 GB..." in any event, vBulletin doesn't have a built in option to lock inactive threads automatically. So, a custom code modification would be needed, and I'd be reluctant to support a mod like that since posts to old threads don't happen very often unless it's a spambot making the posts (and I'm going to delete those posts anyway), or it's being done on purpose for some reason (for example, I've sometimes encouraged members with CCD problems to make new posts in some of the old threads about sensor recalls so that other members know if they're still replacing them for free).

Jul 14, 2011, 5:05 PM	#3
Bob Nichol Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Eastern Ontario Canada Posts: 811	Custom code mods are scary! Stick to the code out of the box, it's more stable. Thanks for the reply.