I don't really understand all the expressed angst over the resurrection of old threads. I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of people who revive the threads don't think to themselves "wow, I can't wait to jump in on this conversation that's been dead for 3 years!" Also, it's very likely that they didn't just sift through the pages until they found a good thread. They might have found it by searching for a topic, OR it could have popped up in the "Related threads" area on the bottom of another thread they were reading.
Can't we just give them the benefit of the doubt, assume they just didn't realize it was an old thread, and either gently inform them or ignore it? They might be new to forums and not understand how they work. I know I was guilty of doing the same thing for the first few weeks I was here because CC is actually the very first online forum I've ever joined.
I get that it's annoying to see old threads pop up when we'd much rather have new conversations, but I wonder sometimes if the impatience and frustration (albeit in jest.. sometimes) displayed in response to them might discourage new members from engaging in fruitful fellowship with us.
*shrugs* I don't mean to sound condemning or condescending. It's just something that's been on my mind for a while now. I'm guilty of feeling the same irritation, but I'm trying my best to keep it to myself.
Can't we just give them the benefit of the doubt, assume they just didn't realize it was an old thread, and either gently inform them or ignore it? They might be new to forums and not understand how they work. I know I was guilty of doing the same thing for the first few weeks I was here because CC is actually the very first online forum I've ever joined.
I get that it's annoying to see old threads pop up when we'd much rather have new conversations, but I wonder sometimes if the impatience and frustration (albeit in jest.. sometimes) displayed in response to them might discourage new members from engaging in fruitful fellowship with us.
*shrugs* I don't mean to sound condemning or condescending. It's just something that's been on my mind for a while now. I'm guilty of feeling the same irritation, but I'm trying my best to keep it to myself.