Not new, but resurrection of old topics used to be rare. We used to get that once awhile. Now, it seems (percentage-wise) more frequent. This was particularly so, a couple weeks ago. A bunch of old and and popular threads got dig up.
I sense the resurrection has been going on for some months. Some of them really obscure. The resurrector has always seemed to be a new poster. On two or three occasions, Iâve asked the OP what they were searching for that found the thread - and was it a Google or site search. On each occasion, my post has been quikcly deleted - which prompts the conspiracy theorist in me to think âAH-HA!!â
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Hi, Harters:
Maybe the fake Amazon and Yelp reviewers are on the payroll?
My bet is on them being mostly newbs, who donât see anywhere else to go but down into the library stacks for help. I think they miss the point that CH used to be a living, breathing thingâŚ
Aloha,
Kaleo
Iâd have to tell you that the resurrection of old topics has been going on there, in significant numbers, since the format began showing users âother things they might be interested inâ. Thatâs been years. Googling has always added to it. The debate over old postsâ usefulness has gone on all that time. My impression is that if older post numbers seem greater now it may be because new posts are reduced.
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One thing I also notice is that there are more new users asking for recommendations in very short generic posts. Trying to drum up activities perhaps?
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Maybe⌠but I still cannot get it wrap around my head. Letâs say only 25% of people create new posts because only 25% of the original people frequent the site. Why then the old posts do not go down by the same percentage? Anyway, you may have a point about the new format encourages/highlights old topics.
Chem, actually I think the new format has lessened the links to older posts directly from the site since almost all the space is filled with ads, photos and Chow-side links. What I meant was that used to be the case until this last change. BUT⌠all the page links to communities and tag boards seem to have taken users to pages that have a lot of older posts on them. Not really sure why.but it may be that itâs Google links that are doing it.
It may also be that the type of poster who has left was much less likely to pick up on an old topic because theyâve âbeen there, done thatâ. What I CAN tell you is that the older posts donât bother me across the board, only the ones that are seriously out of date and that becomes obvious as soon as you begin reading.
No, it does not brother me at all. Unlike most people I was never bother by old posts resurrection and in fact still donât understand why they do. The only ones which mildly irritated me are the ones with clear expiration dates. For example, the original posters may have written: âI am going to New York in 1 week. Please suggest a few New York pizzieraâŚâ. The original post was written 5 years ago, and the original poster clearly does not need the advice anymore. Suddenly, someone didnât read the post date and responded as if the original post was written yesterday.
I have absolutely problem when people dig up posts which are more timeless, like: How to season a carbon steel pan? or How to make cookies more chewy?
Short posts are definitely easy to write, read and respond to. Reach into the hole and you will likely pull out a CH management weasel. 
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Any time I look at one of my followed threads, there are 3 or 4 suggested posts at the top of the page, and almost always they are months or years old. This was also an occurrence last revamp, when the suggested posts started appearing in the sidebar. They kind of got a handle on the age of posts then, but now they donât seem to care.
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Oh, good point. I only go to my site to then go to ST but youâre right. I see those posts and think WTH.
Insightful.
I thought they were the most helpful posts to bring back up. Let me explain whyâŚ
It was a big pet peave of mine over there when folks would ask about a particular area they were traveling to and were told that all they needed to do was to essentially get off their ass and research the myriad of threads about the subject. The threads that are years oldâŚyeah, thanks but no thanksâŚhalf of those places are closed. At least when someone does what they are told by the helpful folks at châŚthey might get some.help from someone who posted 5 yrs later.
You were damned if you do and damned if you dont over there. It wasnt lost on me that as of late every question was a dumb question unless.you were deemed worthy of a response after your posting history was researched.
Ah. It works in a double-negative way.
HehâŚyeahâŚ
Iâm not suggesting anything. People can make their own conclusions or not.
Then I guess I donât understand your reply to Chem at all.
Itâs probably because Iâm elderly, an American whoâs lived here a long time etc. My husband
doesnât always understand me either. What I originally meant was that even though there were always outdated posts on CH, I always felt most had been, as suggested, just a misreading of the date, not paying attention etc. Now they seem more prevalent.People can infer whatever they want of that⌠who knows?
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I was told that recently by a very nasty poster on CH about a post I had just created. I had a legitimate question about a particular restaurant, very expensive, to people who had eaten there about how much it would really cost. She basically told me to do the research. Got very nasty too.
I am sorry to hear. I do remember a lot of time some people ask others people to âstop being lazy and do a searchâ. To me, Chowhound (or even this site) should be a dynamic forum, not a static one. What I mean is that I thought of Chowhound more like a âservice deskâ or âclassroomâ and less like a âlibraryâ. Moreover, everyoneâs question is slightly different.
That being said, I know people sometime get topic-fragility when they get asked the same question three times in a row in a week, and that they want to direct the same questions into one single thread. This is the case, say a new law got passed â say âNew Yorkâs Ban on Large Soft Drinkâ or âSeattle $15 minimum wageâ. People donât want to see 3+ posts on the same topic and diluting the conversations.
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