Auto-locking/archiving old threads

[albummaster]

Ok, the idea on the old threads topic is a bit controversial, so let's put it to vote.

What's being proposed is to auto-lock threads after a set time period of inactivity. this means threads from four years ago that are still active won't be affected, but those 'lost' threads that people have forgotten about and haven't been touched in over a year can be archived.

If the subject needs to be raised again, it can be created afresh (and people can still quote older threads if they want to). If you go to page 60 onwards (approx) in the music forum, you can see most of these threads have run their course and that's approx where the cut-off will be.

These are the 'for' and 'against' arguments (copied and pasted snippets from the other thread):

"For" auto-lock:

• If a thread hasn't been commented on in that time...there really isn't a good reason to keep it open. The only reason someone would comment on a thread that's years old is if they're bored and want to give their opinion on something for no other reason than to say it (you aren't going to get a good conversation out of long gone members). I'm sure there is evidence of a 'ressurected' thread that did start an interesting dialogue, but it'd be in the minority.
  
• I think reviving a thread that's a few months old is ok, but a thread that's four years old is not. The members that wrote a thread that's four years old, for the most part, probably won't be here any more. A thread that's a few months old is still topical.
  
• It keeps the forums current and less cluttered with 'old stuff'
  
• There are pages and pages and pages of threads that noone has commented on in years and are unlikely to bring back any-time soon. An archive is one of the best ways of managing this and will make the forums a lot easier to navigate through!
  
• It will keep the forums a bit tidier and discussion can be between existing members.

"Against" auto-lock:

• No thread should be closed just because it is old.
  
• Anybody can revive ANY kind of thread, be it four years old, or a month old.
  
• Nobody should complain about digging old threads up.
  
• It's alright to dig any old thread up if you find it interesting.
  
• New users can breathe new life into old topics.
  
• A topic can be discussed at any time by anybody; it doesn't have anything to do with "existing members". If I create a thread about Beefheart, and for some reason it gets ignored for a long time, and I may have left by the time somebody posted on it. Does that matter to the one posting? No, because it's not like the topic was created so just the members who first discussed it would keep discussing it.
  
• There were many topics that were created at an earlier period when there were far less people than today, so there wasn't much activity on the forums then, and these topics got buried in this way.

[RFNAPLES]

Can you guess which choice the OP prefers from the Pro and Cons?
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[GARY]

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I owe $100,000 and wasted 4 years of my life.

And all I got was this silly hat



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[albummaster]

[Eggman/Walrus/Taxman]

Here's an "against" argument:

A topic can be discussed at any time by anybody; it doesn't have anything to do with "existing members". A topic is a topic, and I don't really see why people are mentioning anything related to "existing members"or members who have left. Now, if I create a thread about Beefheart, and for some reason it gets ignored for a long time, and I may have left by the time somebody posted on it. Does that matter to the one posting? No, because it's not like the topic was created so just the members who first discussed it would keep discussing it.

Also, there were many topics that were created at an earlier period, when, I think, there were far less people than today, so there wasn't much activity on the forums then, and these topics got buried in this way.
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(space blank until I find suitable controversial quote)

[Eggman/Walrus/Taxman]

Right now, it is 50/50.

Let's see what happens now.
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(space blank until I find suitable controversial quote)

[RFNAPLES]

[Eggman/Walrus/Taxman]

[albummaster]

because you can't add a poll to a thread after it has been created...

[Norman Bates]

Voted for 'Don't Care', cause I don't.