Year Old Threads

U

UW Mitch

Joined
Nov 2, 1999
Messages
1,437
I don't mean to ne very critical, but I wonder why some people tend to dig up very old threads? I've noticed lately people digging up threads that are a year old or more, and just posting replies like the thread started yesterday!

IMHO wouldn't it be better to start a new more up to date discussion? One exapmle was someone was looking for opinions for a user knife. The thread was a year and three months old, and whoever dug it up just added in their recommendation. I'd like to think that after a year and three months the person would have decided what to get.

I don't mean this to rank on people. I'm just wondering why they do it? Perhaps someone can enlighten me on the value of very old threads.

~Mitch
 
I dunno. If I wuz gonna rant I think I'd rant about the people who never look at anything but current threads and keep asking questions they could find comprehensive answers to in less than a minute with the search function.

Old threads never die ... they just sit there waiting for someone to look at them....


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-Cougar Allen :{)
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This post is not merely the author's opinions; it is the trrrrrruth. This post is intended to cause dissension and unrest and upset people, and ultimately drive them mad. Please do not misinterpret my intentions in posting this.
 
We may have to start pruning old threads anyway. We should create a "Best of BFC" forum to save old posts that contain valuable info.

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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW RIGHT NOW! YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!
www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/001202.html
 
Cougar, I agree with the part about some people not using the search function. So for those people who can't find it:
http://www.bladeforums.com/cgi/search.cgi?action=intro&default=32

smile.gif


Mike, I like the idea of making a "Best of the BFC"

~Mitch
 
Mike, plase give us fair warning before you start trimming threads.

There is just too much useful info here. Especially in the shop forum. I'll need a bit of time to save it.
Thanks

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~~TOM~~
 
Don't go dremeling away at those old threads, Mike!

If digging up old threads becomes a problem, make it so people can look at them, but not reply to them.

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Yeah! Drop the chalupa...
 
Mike,

Please leave the old threads just as they are. It's just like an encyclopedia of knife knowledge. The ideas and opinions of you more experienced folks sure have improved my enjoyment of my new hobby. Shoot, I might have even learned a few things! And to all of you that contribute, thanks.


Dave

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Were things ever really as good as they used to be?
 
The only reason I see for people responding to old threads is that they are reading everything on here and finding them. If its there first time reading it then it would be a new thread to them. I would rather see people bringing up old threads then having constant new ones starting with the same old questions. Everyone says use the search function and it seems some people are doing just that. With all the information that is here its good that new members are checking out all the threads.
Bob

[This message has been edited by Strider (edited 02-17-2000).]
 
I don't think I've ever been guilty of digging up an old thread, but if I was searching through old posts and found something interesting that provoked a thought that I wanted to post, wouldn't it be easier just to reply to the old thread than to start a new thread where you'd have to preface your thought with a reference to the old post, which others would then have to dig up to figure out what your'e talking about?

I think that's the longest sentence I've ever written!
smile.gif


Ryan




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For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23


 
Mike, for numerous reasons the threads make Bladeforums what it is. If they were deleted on a periodic basic then I am betting you would see a drastic decline in posting. In any case if you do start to hack away give the members some notice so they can make copies of what interests them.

-Cliff
 
If the old threads must be weeded out, how about archiving them in .zip files, or even a searchable cd (if that's possible).

There's WAY too much valuable info here to hit that delete key!
 
One way to solve the problem is to buy another new server. Cost? About $25,000 for one that will allow us to run really damn fast. Hopefully we can get there overtime but right now it is not in the cards.

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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
 
Guys, we have to face facts here...

Server space is finite. The UBB was not made to handle the amount of posts that we have, nor does it have a mass archive feature.

There are no better software solutions right now, and in order to keep the number of posts that we currently have, we'd have to cut down on other features, like searching (eliminating that completely), signatures, and editing posts. Even if we did switch software, we'd lose all the posts that we currently have.

Anyone want to go without those features? I didn't think so.

I've already started moving some threads to archives, and we'll probably be offering some of the older stuff as CD-ROM's later on, but that doesn't eliminate the need to take action now.

Guys, the forums don't get the support they need right now, let alone to upgrade to a Sun Solaris / SPARC box. We barely got 125 subscriptions to the magazine, remember? It's been almost a year, and we STILL haven't sold all of the Blue Natives.

So, while it's nice to say "We absolutely must keep this!!!", the reality is that BladeForums.com just doesn't have the means to do so and continue running. Thems the breaks, that's the facts.

I'm not trying to be harsh here, but we need to work with a clear grasp on the realities involved, ok?

Spark

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Kevin Jon Schlossberg
SysOp and Administrator for BladeForums.com

Insert witty quip here
 
Spark while I can understand the number of hits making a larger server necessary what difference does the number of threads make? Isn't that just a matter of disk space which is dirt cheap by the gigabyte? Can you clue me in here?

-Cliff
 
Cliff, you are correct that space is pretty cheap these days, unfortunately, BladeForums.com isn't the only site on the server! Also, HD's for servers are a great deal more expensive than HD's for desktops because of the faster seek times, and other esoterics... Anyone with a computer business want to sell us a 40gB server HD for wholesale?
biggrin.gif


Though the threads themselves aren't all that large, there are CGI files and other back end issues that wind up making BladeForums.com very large indeed. We currently take up over 2.5 gB of HD space, and you see what a stress that is putting on the software / server.

Space isn't the only consideration, however. Like I said, the UBB wasn't designed to have this many posts in this many forums, due to some back end programming. In order for the search to work, and for all of the topics to be displayed, there are search index's and thread files that are maintained behind the scenes.... whenever you have a lot of posts those files get huge. The bigger those files are, the longer it takes to process them, resulting in slow downs on the server, especially if an error happens.

Remember the times when the general forum won't show up? That's because somehow or another the threads file for the general forum has become corrupted, whether through an attack, a server hiccup, too much traffic, etc.

UBB is developing an Enterprise solution that should work a lot better. Actually, we've been waiting for it since we opened. Unfortunately, we just learned that it's going to be hosted, instead of being able to be installed on our server. I'm not thrilled about this, and neither are a lot of the other UBB owners / users.

We'll keep you posted....

Spark

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Kevin Jon Schlossberg
SysOp and Administrator for BladeForums.com

Insert witty quip here
 
There is a way that you *The Member* can help us. No more donations, magazines, accessory products or whatever. Starting March 1st there will be a way for you to support BladeForums, and if it works right, you will all have a ton of kick ass features coming your way.

Stay Tuned as Spark and I are on the project right now.

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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
 
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