Automatic locking of Topics

[D_Hailsham]

Why are topics left open permanently, except when they locked by Admin or a Moderator, usually for abuse?

If a topic has had no replies for a few weeks it is dead and buried. Any additional posts after that time are made because the topic has come up either as the result of a search or it appears as a "Similar Topic" under an open topic.

So either a reply is posted answering a three or four year old question, which has already been answered, or someone posts a new topic (allegedly similar to the original) effectively hijacking the original topic.

I keep topics on my Watch list for a week and a day after the last reply. If there has been no action in that time, I assume the topic is closed.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Sometimes the OP does reply after a while and sometimes there is a justification for tagging something onto an existing thread. Does it really matter?

 

[DIYnot]

Sometimes replies are follow ups or comments that are relevant which are useful to the topic, so that is the main argument against auto-locking older topics. If a non-relevant reply is spotted it will usually be split.

 

[noseall]

I keep topics on my Watch list for a week and a day after the last reply. If there has been no action in that time, I assume the topic is closed.

Good for you!

You think all of us feel the same?

 

[gregers]

ive just read a topic that has had a reply 8 years after the original post

is that a record???