Old Threads

I don't mean to ruffle feathers, or point blame at anyone, but it seems to me there have been a lot of old threads on the various boards popping up after years of inactivity. It's only a minor annoyance for me, and I know how to avoid the problem personally, but I think there are others who might want a more definite solution. I understand if someone has the desire to revive an old topic, but it seems clear from the posts that bring them back to the top of the list(s) were made by individuals who weren't aware of the age of the last post.

Now, while I agree that it should be up to the individual poster to pay attention to things like that, I think some steps could be taken to prevent confusion. Certainly, there's no reason to just delete a post just because it's old, as even old posts can contain some museful information. But right now, anyone has the ability to bring any old topic right back to the front of the line just by posting a reply. Now, this is great for active topics, but something that has been essentially dead since 2008 doesn't need to be brought back in this manner, especially when the poster isn't (seemingly) aware of the age.

Thus, I propose that threads beyond a certain age be automatically (if possible) locked to prevent accidental revival through replies. Anyone wishing to revive the old topic would then be forced to create a new thread, but we'd see less of the old topics that people assume are new when they're at the top of the list, and keep the problem going by replying. The cut-off age would of course be ultimately determined by Luther, but I suggest the 5 year mark for starters. Anything older than 5 years would be automaticlly locked from replies, but still available for reading. If someone wants to bring the topic back to life, they would need to create a new thread for it, which is not that difficult what with block quotes and hyperlinks.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I'm sorry if I've stepped on anyone's toes, I just thought this was worth discussing.