Cobra

[JLC]

I have a question in with the higher-ups on specific ways we can try and improve in this regard....I do see that there wouldn't be much our group could actually do, but still think our goal can be accomplished

It pains me to hear about truly needful questions falling through the cracks. It happens, though. We do our best, as a whole, to catch them all, but we're not a flawless community, and with the size and speed at which things move around here, it is sure to happen more than just once.

What can you (the universal "you") do to help prevent that? WATCH the new threads on a regular basis. Look for threads with zero replies or maybe only one or two replies and then see what you can do to step in and give them the attention they deserve. That's all any of us can do. I say this especially to those that seem to take it personally when a question is not given the attention it deserves...what are YOU doing to step in and make that situation better? Sometimes, even if you don't know the answer to the question, a simple friendly "bump" will bring it back to the top of the active list so that the person who might know the answer has a better chance of seeing it.

As for the practice of "necromancing" old threads...I really don't have a problem with it, and I do get annoyed with the members that seem to make it a habit to mock anyone who dares to bump up an old thread. That being said, I DO see the problem with old threads getting bumped, because people start replying to the original post of the thread without realizing it's a few years old and then feel a bit foolish and like they've wasted their time when they realize their reply is no longer relevant. BUT...when people find and respond to those old threads, it means they ARE using the vaunted SEARCH FUNCTION which so many get told they should use. I don't think there is anything wrong with making a note that an old thread has been bumped because maybe it'll save someone a bit of time replying to a thread they don't need to reply to. BUT, I think it is wrong to ridicule those who do so because more often than not, it's a new person that we WANT to feel welcomed here.

All in all, I think we should all be a bit more tolerant of each other AND learn not to take things so personally.

I don't think we need a special, named "club" to accomplish any of this, but if a group of our members want to get together and make an organized, collective effort to catch those lost questions and make members feel welcomed, then more power to them. Whatever works to make our site better.