We have some great archived content. Some is not very old at all. In the Canon SLR board, non-active threads get archived after one year. Once archived, they can still be searched and read but cannot be replied. Should we change the code so that archived threads could be replied and come back to the main table?
If so, should we have some restrictions of who could do that? Perhaps members with a certain number of posts and/or registered for a certain number of years... Perhaps limit the ability to bring archived threads to live per day, etc.
I would like to hear your thoughts before any changes are made.
Thanks for your feedback.
Fred
Or perhaps have a sticky with the best archived threads on it so that they can be rapidly accessed and not disappear from the collective memory? They have that on the Alt forum don't they?
I think it would be useful to enable automatic reactivation of archived threads, in response to a new posting to the archived thread. I'd favour having very few restrictions at first, and then implementing them as required, if required. The patterns of abuse (if present) would provide guidance on what type of restrictions might be most useful.
We have a current FAQ sticky on the Alt forum, but no sticky archived threads that I'm aware of.
P.S. Fred, thanks for asking. This is a good example of a "continuous improvement" outlook, which is one of the reasons that FM is such a great place!
jcolwell wrote:
I think it would be useful to enable automatic reactivation of archived threads, in response to a new posting to the archived thread. I'd favour having very few restrictions at first, and then implementing them as required, if required. The patterns of abuse (if present) would provide guidance on what type of restrictions might be most useful.
We have a current FAQ sticky on the Alt forum, but no sticky archived threads that I'm aware of.
P.S. Fred, thanks for asking. This is a good example of a "continuous improvement" outlook, which is one of the reasons that FM is such a great place!...Show more →
Well said, Jim, I'm in complete agreement!
Just to play devils advocate on this - why would we want to do this?
Should this be implemented i don't see any obvious reason why we would want to restrict who can do the resurrection so i'd vote for the suggestion that there be few restrictions until such time as abuses occur.
As a slightly off-the-wall idea: How about having a random thread re-activation. Perhaps once a week a randomly chosen thread is revived and thrown to the top of the board. Obviously it would need to be chosen according to some sort of criteria, but it might stimulate (or re-stimulate) some interesting discussions.
I think once a thread has dried up it should go to the archives and stay there. However, it would be nice if there was list of some of the best threads of the past to peruse and learn from.
The archives are like a library of information. Why would you even consider restricting their access. Thats like saying you can only read the new books received at the library but not the older ones. Making then available for further discussion and new points of view keeps us all updated with current information on old subjects.
There is probably many threads that need to stay archived but some are a treasure chest of infomation and education for new photographers coming to the forum.
How many times have you heard someone ask a question that has been answered a thousand times in previous archived threads. Make them available for further discussion or refeshing someones mind.
I think its okay to close and archive a 1 year old inactive thread. And to reopen it, if there is a need. But why reopen it to a selected group to write into it only?
Let history remain history. Keep them available for reference, but start a new chapter. Maybe copy/paste functionality, but keep them archived. As relevant information changes, so do opinions. Just my thought.
Fred Miranda wrote:
We have some great archived content. Some is not very old at all. In the Canon SLR board, non-active threads get archived after one year. Once archived, they can still be searched and read but cannot be replied. Should we change the code so that archived threads could be replied and come back to the main table?
If so, should we have some restrictions of who could do that? Perhaps members with a certain number of posts and/or registered for a certain number of years... Perhaps limit the ability to bring archived threads to live per day, etc.
I would like to hear your thoughts before any changes are made.
Thanks for your feedback.
Fred ...Show more →
Interesting question. I wonder if perhaps those who want to refer to an old thread could simply do so in a new post, and you could keep the old ones archived. It would be pretty rare, I would think, that one of those old threads would actually need to come back to life.
Photon wrote:
Well said, Jim, I'm in complete agreement!
Add another in favor of that possibility. Good books -- like some posts on FM -- continue to be useful. I've gone back to books in my and the local public library. I helps to review info that has been helpul.
Whats dead is dead, keep it that way. Having the ability to still search and read them is more than enough IMO. Nothing worse than seeing a B&S thread brought to the top that is 10 months old because someone asks if its still available....
for a gear forum, opinions change as price changes. Right now for instance, we're seeing more threads on the 1dII 1dIIN...mostly because they've dropped in price to the point where a new tier of photographer (like me!) is willing/able to purchase and try one out. There's a lot of information on camera that's been archived. I think that rather than reinventing the wheel, it would be benificial to have the ability to re-activate a thread.
I hardly think that we'll be overwhelmed by mass reactivation of archived threads. Sometimes new circumstances make an old thread handy not only as an archived reference, but as a good background and "funnel" or guide for current posts. The simplest way to have the appropriate materials handy is if they are in the active thread.
It might be prudent to not allow reactivation of Buy/Sell threads. That seems to me to be different from gear and presentation threads. I'm also assuming that assignment threads would not "qualify" for revival.
New insights or a follow-up on old specific topics might be worth it. Even though some topics are beaten to death in many similar threads. So, maybe a restriction here isn't a bad idea. But how will you do that? Don't know about the restrictions for newer members though. New members may have something valuable to say too. To me it is all about sharing info.
