Site Etiquette + Replying to Old Threads

[Bogertophis]

That's a great question about replying to old threads. Unfortunately the answer varies, depending on who you ask, but it has traditionally been frowned on here too.

In the past, some members have been known to taunt anyone adding to a "dead thread", & one even referred to themselves as the "necro thread patrol". Not much anymore though.

And it's easy to see why teasing is hard to resist if the new person posting is actually responding TO an old post, when the OP -original poster- hasn't been heard from for ten years.

Most of us realize that the questions asked are often important to someone that's a new member, just finding their way around, so personally I usually answer them but encourage them in the future to just start a new thread.

But I can also see where continuing the discussion of some topics, even from some years ago, might be helpful to some who reply now & in the future, so another way to "connect the dots" would be to post a new thread, but in the first post, include a link referring to the old original thread if you like. I don't think I've ever seen that done, but personally I think it's a perfect compromise. Why not try that? (Many will not want to read the backstory, but some probably will.)

We actually try very hard to keep this a friendly & conversational forum for all ages & backgrounds to use, & those who harass others are in violation of the rules ("TOS"). I think it helps to remember that those asking questions may be using a forum for the very first time, or that English may be their 2nd language.

See See FAQ: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/faq.php

Thanks for asking, &