Topic automatically closing.... system new message

Is it absolutely necessary that the system add a new message to a thread in order to close? If I click on the “Unread” on the header, sometimes there are dozens of messages there that have simply been closed.
At the very least a checkbox for selecting and dismissing would be helpful.
Shep

I have no idea why topics are closed in the first place. There are many valid reasons for going back to an old topic, e.g. add a note when an issue has been fixed, or when you know you have the exact same problem.

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…which is ironically a closed topic.

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This is exactly what I was getting at, "the system " is cluttering the forum using weapons grade irony.

Shep

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As to topics closing, I am all for it. It has been too common for people to add their “I have the same problem” messages to the end of long threads without bothering to read the previous posts that for the most part already contain the solution.

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But is it better to have users start new threads with the same topic than commenting in the old one?

As I wrote in the other thread (which would be the same thread as this one if it hadn’t closed…) it seems as Sages have the power to re-open threads.

Minutes ago I needed to re-open the info thread for one of my plugins as I published an update for it. Creating a new separate thread would have made very little sense, regardless of the fact it hasn’t had any activity for months. If anyone else needs to re-open a thread you can PM me.

I don’t seem to have this power. Not that I’m going to be losing sleep over it…
Here’s a snip from the recent crop of unread closed threads.

Shep

That is odd. Discourse works in mysterious ways.

I believe anyone can reopen their own threads…

even Sages…

john

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It is not a badge thing, it is a (trust) level thing

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You are correct. I can reply to my own thread from two years ago.

Shep

I thought Sage was both a badge and a trust level. Guess I was mistaken.

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I noted in a PM on this that the thread is still closed, but admins (and Sages) can post to closed threads.
It is a good thing as you can post a solution to a closed thread that never had one. (Ie, perhaps because a new SketchUp release fixed something, or added new features to the API, etc.)

This isn’t ideal, because the forum system just does an automatic new related topic which takes the “same issue” comment out of context.

NO it is worse. It cause gurus / sages to just point the new thread back at the top of the old one. Then you have a bunch of these little stupid meaningless threads!

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I think I’ve gotten the hang of it. I can both reply to close threads without re-opening them and re-pen them. I haven’t re-open the other thread on this subject and don’t know if I should now that there’s a discussion in this thread.

I agree completely that new threads simple being references to other threads are a larger problem than threads being resurrected months or even years later. Trying to differentiate threads that discuss the same topic is just confusing. If people are bothered by notifications of threads they were active in years ago they can just stop tracking the thread.

Agreed. And it inflates search results, just making it harder (and more time consuming) for people to find information.

Yes. And they can stop tracking whole categories if they perceive too much notification “noise”. (But thread tracking overrides category muting, … which is a general Discourse issue.)

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simply increasing the time frame to a sensible value would defuse the issue to a seldom occurence.

But there is no time frame that automatically makes a post outdated.

There can be a 4 year old post about an issue in the API and a workaround for it, that needs to be appended when the issue is fixed and the work around is no longer needed.

A plugin can be updated years after it was first released and its info thread was last active.

Someone running an old computer with an old SU version (e.g. someone who can’t afford a new computer) could run into the same problem as someone has posted about years earlier.

sure, not a cure more a workaround… a little.