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AtlantaDan
07-21-2018, 08:01 AM
I have noted a recurring suggestion/preference for posters to start new threads rather than add posts to existing threads on general topics

This was most recently raised with regard to the ongoing saga of national anthem protests by NFL players


The NFL caved and it has nothing to do with Artie Burns. Again...the story changed. Please make new posts and let the old ones die in cyberspace. If you are pulling up months old threads to post new story angles..............that's your clue that you should be probably be making a new thread. Please.

Rather than raise the issue in the Artie Burns thread on the national anthem protests I am following the suggestion in the thread above and starting a new thread

I admit to having limited clues as to the mods current policies on when a new thread should be started.

With training camp starting there fortunately will be more to discuss. I personally have no interest in sorting through 2 dozen threads on what happens at St Vincent's everyday (should we have a new thread for every day at training camp? - a thread for every sportswriter who tweets or writes an article about training camp?) but obviously will try to post in accordance with whatever guidelines those who oversee the board deem to be appropriate

Accordingly, I would appreciate some guidance on general factors that a poster should take into account (aka clues) when adding an observation to an existing thread or starting a new thread.

Thanks

:drink:

vader29
07-21-2018, 08:22 AM
This thread should have been posted in the help desk forum and not Steelers talk. :heh:

AtlantaDan
07-21-2018, 08:25 AM
This thread should have been posted in the help desk forum and not Steelers talk. :heh:

I reposted it there as well - since the issue is being raised repeatedly in the Steelers Talk section I thought it would be helpful to have it addressed here (just as there is a sticky thread here on SU Do's and Dont's that applies to all posts)

:drink:

Dwinsgames
07-21-2018, 08:38 AM
the reason they want a new thread for every new detail is new threads auto post to social media , it gets a link back to the site thus advertising the site without someone having to physically make a post on social media .... to get that free advertisement

I understand the logic ...

that said following protocol for it does not make the board as fluid and easy to navigate as it could be when there are 7 threads about the same topic as a poster you are reading the same basic thing over and over again and jumping around like a chicken with your head cut off trying to reply to the same basic thing 7 times in 7 places by 7 different people ...

personally I feel like 1 Artie Burns anthem thread is enough ... now if Artie beats up a cab driver I would expect a different thread etc ...

But this is not my board and I do not start many threads so I will just click and post in other threads most of the time and let everyone else worry about it , when I get sick of chasing topics to 7 threads I take a break from the board for a week or so and return and mark all topics read and start over haha

Born2Steel
07-21-2018, 10:26 AM
So...basic yes or no, if a new article/development comes out in the form of Burns talking about the NFL/Anthem debate, start a new thread with said article?

Dwinsgames
07-21-2018, 10:43 AM
So...basic yes or no, if a new article/development comes out in the form of Burns talking about the NFL/Anthem debate, start a new thread with said article?

grey area for me and not my place to determine ...

DesertSteel
07-21-2018, 11:01 AM
Personally I don't like digging through a 4-month old thread to find the latest info on a topic. There's a shelf-life to most threads. I'm not sure there's a science to it, but for people who've been on message boards for years, there's definitely an art. Steelers Fever went too far the other way. Literally, draft day threads on a player would be used during their entire rookie season and sometimes beyond.

If it's the same player but different story, start a new thread. If it's the same story but a new major development, start a new thread. And it's a given that some players who are polarizing like Bell are going to have multiple threads with similar discussion.

It's just a message board. Not that complicated.

stillers4me
07-21-2018, 11:38 AM
Personally I don't like digging through a 4-month old thread to find the latest info on a topic. There's a shelf-life to most threads. I'm not sure there's a science to it, but for people who've been on message boards for years, there's definitely an art. Steelers Fever went too far the other way. Literally, draft day threads on a player would be used during their entire rookie season and sometimes beyond.

If it's the same player but different story, start a new thread. If it's the same story but a new major development, start a new thread. And it's a given that some players who are polarizing like Bell are going to have multiple threads with similar discussion.

It's just a message board. Not that complicated.

Bravo! :rockon: We have a winner!

Thanks for the common sense approach to the problem.

The basic rule is ...please do not insert new articles into old threads if at all possible. There are a few rare instances where it makes sense to do so, but most of the time, it's just not necessary to post an article that's simply reworded that says the same thing as another one. It's not rocket science to determine if the new article has enough new information to warrant a new thread. Old threads can then die off into cyberspace. And I don't see anything wrong with quoting a bit of new info and linking it to a different article. (if it's the same subject as the original topic) This keeps the subject matter on topic as well as the entire forum current and up to date.

Can't tell you how many times I've posted a new article, only to later find it has been posted inside a months or weeks old thread. Before I post anything, I scan the forum threads to see if has already been posted or not. If they are buried, it gets lost, SU members can't find the new stuff, and people that like to post new articles have no clue it's been buried somewhere else. Visitors are seeing old subjects and think the site is stale and inactive.

That being said, all of our mods and admins greatly appreciate the contributions of all of our members. You guys have made SU the best Steelers fan forum ever (IMO). Many other forums have gone the way of the dodo simply because they didn't take advantage of the benefits of linking to social media and how well it really works to drive traffic to the site and grow our little community. And your very generous donations have allowed SU to literally stay alive.

Thanks for addressing this and Go Steelers! :tt03:

DesertSteel
07-21-2018, 12:21 PM
I, for one, appreciate the volume here at SU. Some sites have very little activity at all, especially in the offseason. This one keeps it moving.