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.
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.