• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Standard Operating Procedure for Older Threads

kd5uwl

kd5uwl

Guest
Jun 7, 2012
257
218
#1
Hi, TB friends,

I'm hoping you can straighten me out on this:

I see OPs are made fun of for:
  • Not searching for an older thread on the target subject before posting a new one
  • Replying to an older thread
I'm sorry about being confused about this, but I'm hoping you can help.

If you search for an older thread, and then find the info you are looking for, that's good but you can't reply to it, right? Because it is older and S.O.P. is to make fun of someone for doing that, correct? I just want to make sure I lambaste when I'm supposed to.

How many days old can a thread be and it still be ok to reply to? What is the cutoff point? And why is there a "Reply" button if you are not supposed to reply?

Thanks in advance!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tbone76, Gougedeye, ExaltBass and 12 others
#4
The way I see it............

If you read an old thread, and get the info you were looking for, then what is the point of posting and bringing it back to the top ?

Also, if it is an old thread where someone was looking for a recommendation, I would think it is kind of pointless to add a new recommendation YEARS later. I am sure the original poster is not still sitting around waiting.

IMO - the only time to bring back a really old thread is if you can add NEW information that was not already covered.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BassmanPaul, lfmn16, GregC and 3 others
#6
kd5uwl said:
Hi, TB friends,

I'm hoping you can straighten me out on this:

I see OPs are made fun of for:
  • Not searching for an older thread on the target subject before posting a new one
  • Replying to an older thread
I'm sorry about being confused about this, but I'm hoping you can help.

If you search for an older thread, and then find the info you are looking for, that's good but you can't reply to it, right? Because it is older and S.O.P. is to make fun of someone for doing that, correct? I just want to make sure I lambaste when I'm supposed to.

How many days old can a thread be and it still be ok to reply to? What is the cutoff point? And why is there a "Reply" button if you are not supposed to reply?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
It's very simple. There are certain people on TB who complain about everything who are collectively known as "jerks." They are not happy unless they're complaining. They think they are moderators, and they jump at the chance to school someone about anything and everything.

However, they are not to be confused with those who complain about people who spot 10-year-old threads and revive them to answer the question the original poster had 10 years ago. Those people deserve to be schooled.

At any rate, your best weapons against the complainers are a sense of humor and pity for them living such empty and unfulfilled lives.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tbone76, LP Custom, ImNotJoel and 41 others
#7
JimmyM said:
It's very simple. There are certain people on TB who complain about everything who are collectively known as "jerks." They are not happy unless they're complaining. They think they are moderators, and they jump at the chance to school someone about anything and everything.

However, they are not to be confused with those who complain about people who spot 10-year-old threads and revive them to answer the question the original poster had 10 years ago. Those people deserve to be schooled.

At any rate, your best weapons against the complainers are a sense of humor and pity for them living such empty and unfulfilled lives.
Click to expand...

Agreed, but if I want to revive a 10-year-old thread and brag about the great deal I got on a Sherwood Green Dudepit Lakland Skyline from Steve "Dude" Barr, I'm gonna do it !! :roflmao:
 
  • Like
Reactions: mindwell, murphy, Notch Johnson and 2 others
#8
20db pad said:
Agreed, but if I want to revive a 10-year-old thread and brag about the great deal I got on a Sherwood Green Dudepit Lakland Skyline from Steve "Dude" Barr, I'm gonna do it !! :roflmao:
Click to expand...
Dude, you just beat me to that bass. What is it?

And... I'm going to bring back this thread in ten years.

Seriously, I get the OP's confusion. I've felt it myself. Good to know there's no one right answer. ;) If I feel the need to post something related to an old thread, I generally err on the side of consolidating information and posting in that same thread rather than starting a new one, even though that runs the risk of zombie thread confusion.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jeff Scott, HaphAsSard and Doner Designs
#9
JimmyM said:
It's very simple. There are certain people on TB who complain about everything who are collectively known as "jerks." They are not happy unless they're complaining. They think they are moderators, and they jump at the chance to school someone about anything and everything.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm gonna complain about Jimmy's complaining about complainers! :roflmao:
 
  • Like
Reactions: sissy kathy, monsterthompson, mikeyjm2 and 3 others
#11
MarkA said:
If I feel the need to post something related to an old thread, I generally err on the side of consolidating information and posting in that same thread rather than starting a new one, even though that runs the risk of zombie thread confusion.
Click to expand...
Wurd. Also, Bass_Pounder above left out the situation in which you have not found the info you needed in any old thread about that piece of equipment: what to do then? In that case, personally I'd bring one up from the dead, the longest/most informative one (assuming there's more than one - if not, all the more reason to keep all info and questions in one place). Susan me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bass_Pounder
#12
CGremlin said:
Well, I'm gonna complain about Jimmy's complaining about complainers! :roflmao:
Click to expand...

In the canon of the Roman Catholic church, a 'dispensation' is the exemption from the immediate obligation of law.
As the de facto 'Pope' of Talk Bass, Jimmy M. not only enjoys such a dispensation, but can grant and extend the right to you. Hit him up!

(My own supplication involves mimicking the Pope's iconography).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tbone76, mindwell, 47th Street and 3 others
#16
I just start a new thread, because I want an answer to my question and I want to discuss things with people who are active now, not who died in 2002 right after they posted their last post. When somebody says to "use the search function" I ignore them. If they don't shut the hell up I place them on my mute poster list.

In any case, those who say that usually go to the trouble of searching for me, then conveniently posting a link right next to their angry comment, thus doing my work for me.

Not caring if those people hate me and letting them do all the work for me has worked pretty well so far. If you are burdened with a conscience over what some clowns on the internet think of your posting habit, it might not be the best strategy for you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eldorado2001, Awesome Sauce, pravus and 6 others
#19
B-string said:
You're damned if you do and damned if you don't ;). Just preface an old thread response with "I know this is an old thread." Defuses most of the ammunition. :D
Click to expand...
^^^^Well put!

If I want to post in a 10 year old thread because it makes sense, I will. I will start with the explanation (unnecessarily) to the "you can't post in an old thread police" that I know the thread is old.

If I ask a question and the "did you do a search police" ask me if I did a search, I pretty much just ignore them. It is none of their business. They are not relevant. They are not helpful. If you can't add to a discussion, please don't bother.

There are enough friendly, well informed, helpful people on Talkbass that I just don't have time for the others. Any time I had a serious question, I found the answer here. I hope I have also given back.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Tbone76, JackANSI and Spectrum
#20
The way I see it, it's called TalkBass, not SearchBass.

We have a (mostly) welcoming atmosphere, and it's been going strong for many years mainly because people are social beings, regardless of how old a thread is or how many times a particular topic is covered.

Personally, I love it when people revive old threads; it makes me think of where in the world I was during my cruise ship days.
 
  • Like
Reactions: red_rhino, pravus, murphy and 8 others

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back