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Migration to NEW software & server

Discussion in 'Site Feedback/Bugs' started by Fat Controller, Feb 23, 2026 at 7:50 PM.

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  1. Plantminded

    Plantminded Total Gardener

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    A clearer means of indicating that a thread is an old one would also be useful to prevent the occasional resurrection, often by new members, where the original poster is no longer active. Perhaps an automatic archive or purge after a prescribed time.
     
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2026 at 10:47 AM
    Plantminded, Feb 28, 2026 at 10:31 AM
    #61 Quote in Conversation
  2. Fat Controller

    Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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    There isn't necessarily a problem with an old thread being resurrected if the discussion or question is still pertinent... I'm also not sure how effective auto-archiving would be, not least as it would be creating a huge lake of old threads of various subject matters, so a bit of a nightmare to find anything in.

    One of the biggest issues (and indeed, I believe a mistake that was made in the past) was the "similar threads" pop-up that appears when someone is posting a thread -- whilst I see the intention behind it was to prevent duplication of threads, what it actually did in reality was facilitate the dragging up of old threads.

    The natural action of a forum means that a thread will drop further and further down the list to the point that it won't be seen and therefore is quite unlikely to be replied to or dragged back up... unless of course, a 'helpful' pop up shows you a link to it ;)
     
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      Fat Controller, Feb 28, 2026 at 10:36 AM
      #62 Quote in Conversation
    • Plantminded

      Plantminded Total Gardener

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      I wouldn't suggest auto-archiving everything @Fat Controller, but selectively removing those that are no longer considered helpful or relevant, like the threads you mention in your second paragraph.
       
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        Plantminded, Feb 28, 2026 at 10:44 AM
        #63 Quote in Conversation
      • Michael Hewett

        Michael Hewett Total Gardener

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        How old does a thread have to be before it is considered 'old' , or how long does it have to be unused ?
        I am asking because the thread I started about my garden changes called 'Mike's Evolving Garden' (although anyone can actually post anything on it) is sometimes not used for a few months, like over winter, because I haven't made any significant changes to my garden.
        I'm hoping to post more often in it now the spring and summer are coming, but winter is a quiet time for it, so does that mean it's 'old' ?

        I originally started the thread so that I could easily find my posts about what I've done in the garden, and how it changes over time, instead of them being all mixed up with other posts ... which I hoped would not contravene any rules - something like Shiney's greenhouse thread.

        Sorry if it's a daft question !
         
        Michael Hewett, Feb 28, 2026 at 11:09 AM
        #64 Quote in Conversation
      • JennyJB

        JennyJB Total Gardener

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        Maybe old threads (no posts for a year, maybe?) can be made read-only? Then if the person who started the thread wants to re-open it, they could ask for the mods to do that. That way the often useful information in older threads would still be available for people to read and reference.

        The old threads that get re-opened with "I have a similar problem/question" would often be better off put in a new thread. If people want to point in the direction of information in a closed older thread, they could give a link (same as you would to information elsewhere on t'interweb).
         
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          JennyJB, Feb 28, 2026 at 11:14 AM
          #65 Quote in Conversation
        • pete

          pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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          Good question, but there are threads popping up from time to time from 2006 or 2008 and no reply since.
          I was only lad when some of it was written.:biggrin:
           
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            pete, Feb 28, 2026 at 11:21 AM
            #66 Quote in Conversation
          • Fat Controller

            Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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            No such thing as a daft question!

            We don't have a hard and fast rule, nor indeed would I personally advocate that we need one - I think it has to be considered on a case by case basis. Clearly if a thread hasn't had a reply for 18 months to two years, it is entering the 'old' territory at that point, but it may still not be suited to archiving.

            It is a discussion that we'd need to have as a team to be honest as I think we will all have our own opinions on it - my own view is that the more we can let threads simply slide down the list rather than moving to archive, the better... every time we move a thread, there is an internal 'trail' in the database created, so it is better to keep things where they are originally and avoid unnecessary work for the server
             
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              Fat Controller, Feb 28, 2026 at 11:23 AM
              #67 Quote in Conversation
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