[Captain_Bob]

Thought I'd throw this question down here in the Tech Forum to keep it out of the fray...

My question is this:

Why is it really that bad to post in an old thread? In the most recent example... we have a JC newbie who did exactly what we preach to every other newbie on board... he did a search for the info he was looking for... and when he found a post that had specific information he wanted... he posted in it.

The thread was subsequently closed/locked with an admonishing remark to not post to old threads.

If that's the case... then why don't we just lock all threads past a certain age... or at least place a NOTAM in "The Rules" that forbids folks from posting in a thread past a certain age.

Now I know that the most recent issue had to do with a "hot topic"... but the guy seemed sincere.

By contrast... If someone truly has questions or something to add... and they start up a new thread... then they get the old: "Not this again!", "Oh Boy... Here we go again!", "Horse... Water... Why ain't you drinking?", or "Do a search!".

I believe that there are very specific differences between true "necroposting" vs. searching for the apporpriate information and posting to add or gain more info. Have we truly said all that there is to possibly say about every old topic that's been posted on JC? I'm sure some would say yes... but if we eliminate the potential for open discussion... then we just become a simple online archive vs. an interactive networking forum where people help people.

Bob