Suggestion Box

[dooBdoo]

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Moonchilde wrote:

@dooBdoo, what drives me crazy (and undoubtedly confuses newer posters who don't realize it) is that if you're actually looking for a specific recent thread, for example, one that is less than 2 weeks old - the listings appear to be random. A year old thread might come up before a 3 week old thread, or even a 3 year old thread; that's just dumb by any standards. I can't imagine what on earth the algorithm is on that.

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           It is a dreadful search engine!   I agree, @Moonchilde!   I've seen 5-year-old threads show up as first choices.   The results are what this archaic software thinks are the "best matches" and often the option to change the "sorted by" doesn't work.    Even the feature to narrow the search by date is inadequate, and the advanced search has a mind of its own.

[catchersmom]

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          @vermint, I think people find the old threads when they use the search box to find a keyword or a phrase.    The list pops up with suggestions that often go back to some of the oldest threads still in existence.   If the poster doesn't look at the thread's date...  they add a post and the ancient discussion pops up to the top of the forum.

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Yes! I've experienced that myself. I've only been back to the forums for a couple of months now and as a "new" poster I used the search feature. I wanted to make sure there wasn't already a thread started with the subject I was interested in--or if there was one I wanted to find it and respond to it.

Unfortunately it does pull up older threads and I can understand how someone would respond to that without realizing it.

I think you explained it very well

[vermint]

@dooBdoo You explained it very well, thanks!

[Marp]

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@SunValley wrote:

@fthunt I have the same questions about getting in trouble for replying to old posts. Especially since you can't see the date until you open the thread, and the boards are so slow that old threads are not buried deep in the pages, often staying on the first page of the forum for months. Anything visible but not locked should be fair game for posting.

I also question the scenario where the thread is closed because the mod thinks it has run its course. Why not let the thread stop when posters decide to move on, especially when there are just a few posts or even none that had to be poofed. Just because the mod is bored with the exchange doesn't mean the posters are. It's discouraging.

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The simple answer to the bolded part of your why question is there are a few posters on the boards that must have the last word.  When two or more of those posters engage each other the thread would go on forever.

[dooBdoo]

            @catchersmom and @vermint,  Thank you and I'm glad it made sense! 

            @Marp, I agree.   It seems to me that those exchanges eventually come across as an endless right-fighting loop, people end up repeating the same points but usually with escalating fervor, and I think the moderators eventually decide it's not productive.