Thread Necromancy what is it?

[Capt Jack]

Could someone explain Thread necromancy? AM new user. Does it mean leave old threads alone? Or what ?

[wedge_hammersteel]

I haven't experienced it here. I say, go ahead and post to an old topic if you have a relevant comment. Anything to keep things active and jazzed.

[mjwest]

Thread necomancy is where you take a long dead thread (oh, say last post was in November 2009) and tack on a message to the end as if the conversation had no delay between the last post and the previous post. Doing this is considered bad form by most users (believe me, I will be told when it happens a lot) and is generally discouraged on most forums.

In general, I don't mind it much, with a few caveats:
1) Acknowledge in the post that the thread has been long dormant. This helps people realize that the conversation is actually disjointed.
2) Add actual content. Don't just make a simple comment or throw-away line. Add enough content to justify bringing the thread back.
3) Do it in moderation. Don't spend the day just pulling lots of threads back from the past. If you need to bring a thread back, bring it back, but don't do several all at once.
4) Make sure there is not an active thread that is more appropriate to use.

So, unlike some forums, we are not saying don't do it. We are, however, saying do it in moderation and really add to the conversation.

[Capt Jack]

Thanks! For reply.