Necroposting and rules


by CrashT
Tags: necroposting, rules
CrashT
#1
Feb9-12, 10:54 PM
P: n/a
Are there any rules against "necroposting"? A mod deleted the very first message I posted on this forum (regarding partial and total derivatives) because he called it a "necropost". I read the rules carefully, and did not see anything like this, so I am wondering if it is standard for mods to delete users' posts and then site a reason that isn't listed among the rules for the deletion.

Also, I knew the thread that I replied to was three years old, and I had every intention of replying to it despite this. I firmly believe that the subject of derivatives is timeless.


I also tried replying to the warning that this mod gave me, but the mod has ignored my message so far. Is it also standard on these forums for mods to ignore replies as well?



Eventually, it seems to me that I will have to follow the guidelines for "Appealing an infraction", but I'd like to get some feedback before I bother with this. I'm still new to this forum, so I'm still gauging how valuable it would be for me to bother pursuing this.
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checkitagain
checkitagain is offline
#2
Feb9-12, 11:27 PM
P: 99
Quote Quote by CrashT View Post
Are there any rules against "necroposting"?
After I looked over the rules again, it would be "no."
There are no explicitly stated rules against necroposting stated in the rules,
as it isn't even addressed in the rules.

The closest thing to it I have read in the rules is:


"Do not re-post comments from a locked thread."

So, my guess would be that this is one of the changes/amendments
to the rules that the rules warned about that there could be
unannounced changes to the rules.
Ryan_m_b
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#3
Feb10-12, 04:14 AM
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Updating the rules for necroposting is currently being debated by the mentors as our current policy is not clear. I'm sorry that you arrived before the conclusion of this discussion.

If you ever need to contact a mentor but are not receiving any feedback feel free to contact another, a full list of mentors is available from the staff link on the banner at the top of every page (we're the ones with green names). Also please note that this is an international forum and all members are volunteers, if you do not receive a response promptly it may be because the mentor is busy or currently asleep.

ZapperZ
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#4
Feb10-12, 05:29 AM
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Necroposting and rules


Quote Quote by CrashT View Post
Are there any rules against "necroposting"? A mod deleted the very first message I posted on this forum (regarding partial and total derivatives) because he called it a "necropost". I read the rules carefully, and did not see anything like this, so I am wondering if it is standard for mods to delete users' posts and then site a reason that isn't listed among the rules for the deletion.

Also, I knew the thread that I replied to was three years old, and I had every intention of replying to it despite this. I firmly believe that the subject of derivatives is timeless.


I also tried replying to the warning that this mod gave me, but the mod has ignored my message so far. Is it also standard on these forums for mods to ignore replies as well?



Eventually, it seems to me that I will have to follow the guidelines for "Appealing an infraction", but I'd like to get some feedback before I bother with this. I'm still new to this forum, so I'm still gauging how valuable it would be for me to bother pursuing this.
Just to be clear, you were not given any infraction or warning. You were giving a "General Information" notice, even if it appeared as a warning.

We are formulating our policy on necroposting. Up until now, this is done on a case-by-case basis. Some time a member posts in a very old thread in which the topic was discussed before our current Rules were in place. So that thread would have contained topics that we would not have allowed at this time. In such a case, we would either lock, or delete the thread, and send an informational notice to the member to pay attention to the DATE of the thread. In other cases, we simply mention to the member that maybe the info that he/she is providing is no longer needed or necessary, considering how old the thread is. In others, we just let it go.

So it very much depends on the nature of the thread that was resurrected. A rule of thumb here is that one shouldn't try to revive a thread that had its last activity more than a couple of years old. Chances are, those involved in such a thread may no longer care (or even remember) what was going on then.

Zz.
atyy
atyy is offline
#5
Feb10-12, 10:24 AM
Sci Advisor
P: 8,009
At the bottom of threads there are suggestions for "similar threads". These seemed to me invitations to post in those threads too. As some of these suggestions are very old, they may lead to necroposting. If necroposting in some threads is not preferred, it would be clearer to users if those threads did not appear in the suggestions.
micromass
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#6
Feb10-12, 10:26 AM
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Quote Quote by CrashT View Post
Are there any rules against "necroposting"? A mod deleted the very first message I posted on this forum (regarding partial and total derivatives) because he called it a "necropost". I read the rules carefully, and did not see anything like this, so I am wondering if it is standard for mods to delete users' posts and then site a reason that isn't listed among the rules for the deletion.

Also, I knew the thread that I replied to was three years old, and I had every intention of replying to it despite this. I firmly believe that the subject of derivatives is timeless.


I also tried replying to the warning that this mod gave me, but the mod has ignored my message so far. Is it also standard on these forums for mods to ignore replies as well?



Eventually, it seems to me that I will have to follow the guidelines for "Appealing an infraction", but I'd like to get some feedback before I bother with this. I'm still new to this forum, so I'm still gauging how valuable it would be for me to bother pursuing this.
Yes, you did send me a message, but I forgot about it, sorry

I didn't really gave you a warning. It's called a warning because the forum software doesn't allow us to rename it. You should rather see it as some kind of notice or friendly heads up. If the "warning" is called "general information", then you shouldn't see it as a warning. I should have been more clear on this.

Necroposting is currently not covered in the rules, but the mentors are discussing the situation as we speak.


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