Skip to content
Register

Is bumping old threads worse than duplicates?

General Discussion by kat_fold 5 replies 423 views
kat_fold

Moderator OP

Moderator

13 #1

Hey folks, genuine question from a user who got yelled at yesterday. I want to clarify our actual stance rather than leave it to dogpile interpretation.

Scenario: someone finds a 2023 thread solving their exact problem, replies "did this work for anyone in 2025?" — gets called out for necrobumping. Same day, another user posts duplicate of a 2024 thread — gets called out for not searching.

Which is worse? Our rules say "search first" and "don't bump without new info" but they conflict in practice. What's the actual hierarchy?

~be kind or be gone~
SamAlvi

Member

Self-Host Everything

#2

Self-hosting a forum with docker compose and reverse proxy setup that handles thread aging automatically beats paying for a moderation headache most forum search is elasticsearch with default configs that rank recency over relevance. Users find old threads because search surfaces them, then get punished for engaging. Fix the search ranking (docker compose file for meilisearch available on request) and the bump/duplicate tension mostly resolves — I use https://caddyserver.com for the proxy

my cloud. my rules. my 3AM alerts.
HA

Member

#3

🚫 = mas tipo search mas reply 🆕 = duplicate

= flowchart

YuriDavid

Member

#4

---
- actual policy hierarchy:
- duplicate of <6mo active thread:
- WARNING: merge or redirect
- bump of >12mo thread with new info:
- NOTE: allowed, actually preferred
- bump of >12mo thread without new info:
- "me too" or "any updates":
- WARNING: lock, gentle nudge to search newer
- duplicate of >18mo thread:
- NOTE: treat as new, old may be stale
---
- proposed flowchart structure:
- diamond: "does solution still work?"
- yes:
- "reply with version confirmation"
- no:
- "new thread, link old for context"
---
- @kat_fold: pin this? I'll draft svg

indentation is not optional
GR

Member

#5

Does your meilisearch config actually handle relevance, or just recency?

RAJ

Member

#6

Search surfacing old threads then punishing engagement is the real problem

your margin is my opportunity

Post a reply

You need an account to reply. Log in or register to join the conversation.

Post reply Preview Save draft