Pretty sure it’s posting a comment in a long dead thread, if you go back LOTS of pages and post a comment like “the link still doesn’t work” it will (I think) move it to the top of the list. No one wanted to read that.
Pretty sure it’s posting a comment in a long dead thread, if you go back LOTS of pages and post a comment like “the link still doesn’t work” it will (I think) move it to the top of the list. No one wanted to read that.
Most of them are about campaigns or encounters that are already long-over.
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All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
There used to be a forum rule against it, but it got lifted a while back. After that restriction was lifted, it became more common. They never said the exact reason for lifting it, but it was probably because it resulted in new players/new members getting hit with the negative points. If you search for a rule or something in Google, and got a 2018 forum post about it, then joined and posted a follow up question, you shouldn't be penalized for that. (So lifting the restriction makes sense.)
To clarify, the rule against thread necromancy was lifted largely because contributing fresh or useful information to a topic shouldn't be discouraged just due to a topic being quiet for a time. For example, should a long standing issue be fixed or long ago requested feature be added, it'd be a meaningful contribution to reply with "hey, there's been an update". Or maybe a discussion died off a while ago, but a new release brings more interesting elements to the fore.
However, the forums still have rules against non-constructive posting, which applies equally if the thread is 10 months or 10 minutes old. Just as replying to an old post can be constructive, so can replying to a new post be non-constructive.
So as long as you're contributing something constructive to the discussion, it shouldn't really matter how old the thread is. That being said, it never hurts to exercise a bit of judgement and actually look at the threads age.
The counterpoint, Sigvard, is that thread necromancy is enormously frustrating because someone can post in a thread that's been dead since dinosaurs walked the earth, but unless you hit your Spot check you don't necessarily know that the thread is old, dead, outdated, and mostly useless. You may find yourself responding to years-old posts the poster forgot they made and trying to continue a conversation that cannot be continued. This is especially troublesome when threads are asking about mechanics that have changed drastically, such as the oft-necro'd threads asking about kalashtar or warforged which were started when those species were introduced in the Wayfinder's Guide to Charging Twice For The Same Content Eberron, with wildly different mechanics than the Eberron Rising versions. The old conversations about those species are actively harmful to new players, who usually have no idea why people are talking about things that don't match what they see on their sheets.
Many forums have rules against thread necromancy that are selectively waived when the necromantic ritual in question actually contributes to a discussion, rather than DDB's method of "everything is okay until it's not." That's usually the better way to do it, as otherwise you get situations like what happens in the Class subforums where every single gods damned thread is an ancient thing from 2018 that there is absolutely no point whatsoever to posting in. Makes it very difficult to try and have any meaningful discussions on specific classes in those forums. Blegh.
I'm curious, and hopefully it's appropriate to ask Davyd or another mod in this space. Say a thread is necromanced in an unconstructive manner and reviving post gets deleted. Does that return the thread to its original place in the forum's queue?
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I deleted a post I made yesterday in a thread which has mercifully died, a few minutes after making it and realizing it wasn't needed. The thread did not return to its place in the queue, it remained bumped.
(Thread) Necromancy: A Chaotic Evil forum act for good reasons, folks.
A fair amount of the thread necromancy I see is on threads in the form "I have a problem, can people advise", where it is almost never useful to post more than a few weeks after the original post.
A fair amount of the thread necromancy I see is on threads in the form "I have a problem, can people advise", where it is almost never useful to post more than a few weeks after the original post.
I see it mostly in the Rules forum where an obviously old and obviously answered thread gets necro'd by someone simply stating what is in the above posts just 2-3 years later.
I get not wanting to "punish" new players with points because of a necro thread rule - but maybe a little auto thread locking.... like threads from 2018 with no updates really don't need to still have the ability to post.
Another issue is where - and I've caught myself almost doing this multiple times - one googles something they're not sure of and gets a forum thread link as a result. They read a bunch of the comments but neglect to check the thread date before either chiming in or commenting.
It's honestly an inevitability when dealing with forum-based conversations due to the archived nature of forums. In most cases it's best to create a new thread to ask a question instead of reviving an old one since it'll be faster to get relevant, and more likely correct, information without having to worry about Johny "Fast-Fingers" McGee reading the first couple of comments before posting their two cents on a question that is oft times irrelevant or already answered.
tl;dr - Someone posting a question in a long-dead thread won't be what's noticed by most commenters. Due to the nature of forums many people only read the first couple comments thus causing the "what I've said has already been said elsewhere in the thread" issue.
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What on earth is thread necromancy
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My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature
Pretty sure it’s posting a comment in a long dead thread, if you go back LOTS of pages and post a comment like “the link still doesn’t work” it will (I think) move it to the top of the list. No one wanted to read that.
Posting on a thread(Especially useless posts) that's been dead for at least six months(Sometimes less).
I have a weird sense of humor.
I also make maps.(That's a link)
Most of them are about campaigns or encounters that are already long-over.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
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Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
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If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
I've seen threads where the last post was from 2018 or 2019 suddenly bumped back to the top by a new comment.
That is necroing a thread. When one comments in a long-dead thread thus bringing it back to life. :P
There used to be a forum rule against it, but it got lifted a while back. After that restriction was lifted, it became more common. They never said the exact reason for lifting it, but it was probably because it resulted in new players/new members getting hit with the negative points. If you search for a rule or something in Google, and got a 2018 forum post about it, then joined and posted a follow up question, you shouldn't be penalized for that. (So lifting the restriction makes sense.)
To clarify, the rule against thread necromancy was lifted largely because contributing fresh or useful information to a topic shouldn't be discouraged just due to a topic being quiet for a time. For example, should a long standing issue be fixed or long ago requested feature be added, it'd be a meaningful contribution to reply with "hey, there's been an update". Or maybe a discussion died off a while ago, but a new release brings more interesting elements to the fore.
However, the forums still have rules against non-constructive posting, which applies equally if the thread is 10 months or 10 minutes old. Just as replying to an old post can be constructive, so can replying to a new post be non-constructive.
So as long as you're contributing something constructive to the discussion, it shouldn't really matter how old the thread is. That being said, it never hurts to exercise a bit of judgement and actually look at the threads age.
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The counterpoint, Sigvard, is that thread necromancy is enormously frustrating because someone can post in a thread that's been dead since dinosaurs walked the earth, but unless you hit your Spot check you don't necessarily know that the thread is old, dead, outdated, and mostly useless. You may find yourself responding to years-old posts the poster forgot they made and trying to continue a conversation that cannot be continued. This is especially troublesome when threads are asking about mechanics that have changed drastically, such as the oft-necro'd threads asking about kalashtar or warforged which were started when those species were introduced in the Wayfinder's Guide to
Charging Twice For The Same ContentEberron, with wildly different mechanics than the Eberron Rising versions. The old conversations about those species are actively harmful to new players, who usually have no idea why people are talking about things that don't match what they see on their sheets.Many forums have rules against thread necromancy that are selectively waived when the necromantic ritual in question actually contributes to a discussion, rather than DDB's method of "everything is okay until it's not." That's usually the better way to do it, as otherwise you get situations like what happens in the Class subforums where every single gods damned thread is an ancient thing from 2018 that there is absolutely no point whatsoever to posting in. Makes it very difficult to try and have any meaningful discussions on specific classes in those forums. Blegh.
Please do not contact or message me.
I'm curious, and hopefully it's appropriate to ask Davyd or another mod in this space. Say a thread is necromanced in an unconstructive manner and reviving post gets deleted. Does that return the thread to its original place in the forum's queue?
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I deleted a post I made yesterday in a thread which has mercifully died, a few minutes after making it and realizing it wasn't needed. The thread did not return to its place in the queue, it remained bumped.
(Thread) Necromancy: A Chaotic Evil forum act for good reasons, folks.
Please do not contact or message me.
A fair amount of the thread necromancy I see is on threads in the form "I have a problem, can people advise", where it is almost never useful to post more than a few weeks after the original post.
I see it mostly in the Rules forum where an obviously old and obviously answered thread gets necro'd by someone simply stating what is in the above posts just 2-3 years later.
I get not wanting to "punish" new players with points because of a necro thread rule - but maybe a little auto thread locking.... like threads from 2018 with no updates really don't need to still have the ability to post.
Another issue is where - and I've caught myself almost doing this multiple times - one googles something they're not sure of and gets a forum thread link as a result. They read a bunch of the comments but neglect to check the thread date before either chiming in or commenting.
It's honestly an inevitability when dealing with forum-based conversations due to the archived nature of forums. In most cases it's best to create a new thread to ask a question instead of reviving an old one since it'll be faster to get relevant, and more likely correct, information without having to worry about Johny "Fast-Fingers" McGee reading the first couple of comments before posting their two cents on a question that is oft times irrelevant or already answered.
tl;dr - Someone posting a question in a long-dead thread won't be what's noticed by most commenters. Due to the nature of forums many people only read the first couple comments thus causing the "what I've said has already been said elsewhere in the thread" issue.