'Similar threads' Dredging up Old Threads

[black_cat]

I think that the 'similar threads' bar is confusing, especially for people on phones, and is getting mixed up with the 'New Posts' bar, causing old threads to be dredged up when the OP hasn't been online for 10 years. In my opinion, because of this, the 'similar threads' bar is more of a nuisance than a help. Is there a way to change it so that there's a certain date for the last reply that it won't go past?

 

[CHlCKEN]

I think that the 'similar threads' bar is confusing, especially for people on phones, and is getting mixed up with the 'New Posts' bar, causing old threads to be dredged up when the OP hasn't been online for 10 years. In my opinion, because of this, the 'similar threads' bar is more of a nuisance than a help. Is there a way to change it so that there's a certain date for the last reply that it won't go past?

its helpful in many situations, like when your bird is having an issue. You can find advice from questions just like your own. It doesnt help much in Random Ramblings, but keep in mind it does many good things in the other forums!

 

[CHlCKEN]

Maybe an option to turn it off could be helpful.

 

[Weeg]

I agree. Something in you settings so that you could put in a date like the "newer then" and "older then" buttons in the search bar. That would be awesome!

 

[black_cat]

its helpful in many situations, like when your bird is having an issue. You can find advice from questions just like your own. It doesnt help much in Random Ramblings, but keep in mind it does many good things in the other forums!

Yes, I know. I've recently seen multiple sexing and breeding threads from 2015 or older where someone is trying to be helpful and often giving good advice, but none of the previous participants have been online in years. Those are also just the threads I generally click on when I see them in 'recent', so I'm sure there are more. I hadn't thought about how it might help in the emergency forums, which is a good point.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The issue too is because now that I see this happening, I'm having to skip any thread that has an older original post date without even looking at it. So if someone new doesn't realize it's a bad idea to piggyback on old threads, they're potentially missing out on feedback due to more experienced members/heavier posters skipping threads because of the post date (which other members have admitted to before).

I already spend a couple hours on here a day trying to answer what posts I can, and all this has done is increased the volume of my "workload."

 

[AngBantamLuv]

I think that the 'similar threads' bar is confusing, especially for people on phones, and is getting mixed up with the 'New Posts' bar, causing old threads to be dredged up when the OP hasn't been online for 10 years. In my opinion, because of this, the 'similar threads' bar is more of a nuisance than a help. Is there a way to change it so that there's a certain date for the last reply that it won't go past?

Next, someone is going to complain that it allocates "points" incorrectly with the latest response

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Thanks for the feedback!

Like a lot of the tools, features, processes, rules, etc. etc. etc., in forum-land, this new feature has pros and cons... and some aspects people think are pros, others may consider cons, and vice-versa.

We're keeping an eye on the way our members use this new "similar threads" tool. While there are cases where it can be more "problematic" when something is bumped (like a chicken for sale 10 years ago), there are TONS of great examples of helpful info and content that are bubbled-up, and are proving helpful.

Fortunately, BYC's content is more "evergreen" than most forums (vs. say, a tech site), for example: a tread about "how do I treat bumblefoot" 10 years ago is going to contain pretty much the same info as a bumblefoot thread from a week ago. We are seeing some really epic content from many years ago getting new-life!

All that said, we'll keep an eye on the trends, usage, and feedback, and make tweaks where we can (for example, removing BST threads) and where we can't (unfortunately there's no way to disable the feature by user).

 

[Kusanar]

Fortunately, BYC's content is more "evergreen" than most forums (vs. say, a tech site), for example: a tread about "how do I treat bumblefoot" 10 years ago is going to contain pretty much the same info as a bumblefoot thread from a week ago. We are seeing some really epic content from many years ago getting new-life!

While I agree whit this, I recently was "tricked" into a mealworm thread from 2009 because someone had found it, presumably in the similar threads area, and then quoted several posts from 2009 essentially just saying that they are all wrong and that there is no way that people can raise mealworms at their own homes (incorrect, I have done it and it is really easy) but it is unlikely that they will get any response due to the thread being so old that not many people will even know it exists anymore. I didn't respond because they seemed combative and I didn't have the energy to be nice so I just didn't say anything but I may have been the only person to have seen those posts.

Maybe setting threads to lock after they have been inactive for a period of time? 6 months to a year? Then people could still READ them and get the information from them but couldn't zombify them and expect responses that they just won't get.

 

[black_cat]

Maybe setting threads to lock after they have been inactive for a period of time? 6 months to a year? Then people could still READ them and get the information from them but couldn't zombify them and expect responses that they just won't get.

I love this idea!