Threads shouldn't be closed

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T

TrantaLocked

PCHF Member
Jun 13, 2018
22
2
The thing I really dislike about this forum is how quickly threads are closed after not having the OP respond for a few days. There are two threads of mine that I want to update with my solutions which I can no longer reply to or edit because it was locked literally within a couple weeks of inactivity. That is really annoying and unnecessary. Follow the 6 month rule (or no limit at all because I doubt spam is an issue here) and the experience will be much better.

I guarantee there are others like me who eventually found solutions to their problems but couldn't share because their own thread was locked. And no, I won't ask a mod to unlock a thread. I shouldn't have to and won't legitimize that route by using it. If a thread is marked as solved then fine, but you don't need to close a thread to mark it as solved. Both closing and then asking to re-open a thread is just a waste of mental resources and time and prevents valuable information from being posted.
 
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Hello

As far as the quickness of threads being closed,it is usually 2 weeks total before a thread is closed because of no replies. The standard is to close thread after a certain length of time across most forums and it would not be 6 months. It is hard enough to keep everything tidy in a forum,much less having threads open for 6 months. One reason at least here is that we keep threads closed (unless requested to be re-opened via pm) that it does keep out spammers,because spammers love to get on old threads a post there spam. So the norm is if you want to re-post on said thread,send a pm with the link involved and we will be glad to re-open that thread.. Thanks for understanding.
 
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If I may add an additional couple of important points, one from the perspective of staff and members who help out on forums and two that affect those asking for help on forums.

We are all volunteers who give our time for free to try and help others here, this time would be better spent actually helping our members and not asking for updates to numerous threads that have been abandoned, sad to say this but there are a folk out there that think that it is acceptable to post on numerous forums and abandon all but one of their opening posts.

The more threads that staff have to check on for updates the longer a member may need to wait before receiving a reply to their OP and would members be happy if the person that was helping them suddenly disappeared for days, weeks or months on end and left them with no resolution to their computer problem/s, I suspect not and would expect such behaviour to lead to a member complaining to admin and/or joining another forum.
 
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I suggest a modification to how threads are closed. Either slightly extend the time before closing, by a couple weeks, and/or allow only the OP to post in a closed thread. The OP can still post updates that help google searchers but will keep the alleged spammers from posting.

The OP should always be allowed to post/edit within his own thread indefinitely. There are creative ways to make that happen while still keeping spammers out.

And about keeping things tidy. Go back to what I suggested about tagging a thread; instead of closing you could just tag a thread as inactive or solved but still left open. If you mean tidiness as in making it clear which threads members still need to respond to to then yes, tagging can solve that problem.
 
The only compromise I can think of is a "Request Reopen" button on the thread, which would send a notification to the admins and mods to reopen, much like the "Report" feature. I don't see how this is that much different than sending a conversation message to all admins and mods, since you'd have to wait for their approval anyway. An automated feature would welcome spam, so manual approval is a must.

If it's possible through code, maybe the "Request Reopen" button can link to a new conversation page with the "To" and "Subject" fields filled with all admins/mods and the thread link respectively. This is strictly for convenience sake, it doesn't speed up the process.
 
Yes that could be useful for non-OP members. And If an OP is actually trying to shill in his own thread then he was destined to be banned eventually anyway, so keep threads open to OP forever and then improve how threads can be reopened at the request of non-OP members.
 
You don't say why you wouldn't support threads being open to OP though. And for a non-op poster to offer solutions or other helpful information.
 
TrantaLocked said:
You don't say why you wouldn't support threads being open to OP though. And for a non-op poster to offer solutions or other helpful information.
Click to expand...
Of course we have ! Again if you want a thread re-opened just request that thread to be re-opened. This is how it's works here at this forum.
 
vger said:
Of course we have !
Click to expand...

Just to let everyone else reading know, the two reasons provided to me for why things are how they are are #1 to prevent spam and #2 tidiness. Nothing else has been provided as to why a thread poster cannot get access to updating his own thread indefinitely. A thread poster is highly unlikely to spam at a later date and tidiness wouldn't really be sacrificed to a noticeable extent; if someone has useful information to share then it's worth having more slightly more active threads being shown in a forum than for threads to be hidden.

This isn't a tidiness forum, it's a help and information for PCs forum. Every day people search google for answers to their problems and will often end up on this forum, and the more they can get out of their own search without needing to post a new thread regardless of which forum it is, the better.

Just because it's technically possible to get a thread re-opened doesn't mean that effective access to information is not hampered by the current process. I've rarely if ever seen such a rule in place and I've been a member of at least a dozen forums of various types. What makes PcHelpForum so special that it needs to lock threads so early when other websites like newgrounds.com or reddit.com are way more likely to receive spam and still don't set such a short limit?
 
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If the OP were so inclined to help the public with additional information or an additional solution, waiting an hour for their thread to be reopened shouldn't be a dealbreaker for them. From what I've seen, admins/mods here are online at all hours of the day. OP's thread would be reopened within the hour if such a situation arose.

In my opinion -- as a member, not staff -- this isn't really as glaring of an issue as you're making it out to be. Visitors have been satisfied with the volunteer work PCH has provided for years now.

As mentioned above, PCH consists of volunteers that take time out of their day to help people. Comparing the non-profit work done here to the profitable structure of newgrounds and reddit doesn't really make sense. The resources between the compared examples do not equate, or even come close.
 
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it is what it is, this forum has that rule, so be it.

but otherwise, great discussion - can someone pass the popcorn... :cool:
 
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The rules are in place for a reason. The rules will not be changed unless myself and the staff see a reason for it.

We are not like other places. This is a known fact. I did not resurrect PCHF to be like Reddit, or any other site. PCHF is PCHF alone and always will be. I'm sorry if you feel like our policy doesn't suit you, but please know it is in place for good reasons.

If you have further concerns, you may reach me directly via the Contact Us link.
 
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