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Author Topic:   Thread Post Limit
Jon
Inactive Member


Message 1 of 14 (586185)
10-11-2010 9:15 PM


Hey all...
I kind of liked the old days when topics were closed after about 300 posts. I was surprised to learn a while ago that this was only because of software limitations on the old boards; I had been under the impression that it was to keep the place new with fresh ideas and prevent single threads from overtaking the efforts of this place's brilliant minds.
So, I'm wondering, with that purpose in mind, is it conceivable that this 'feature' might ever be brought back, and are there other members out there who would also like to see its return?
Jon
Edited by Jon, : No reason given.

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Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by nwr, posted 10-11-2010 9:20 PM Jon has not replied
 Message 3 by Adminnemooseus, posted 10-11-2010 9:39 PM Jon has not replied
 Message 4 by purpledawn, posted 10-11-2010 11:21 PM Jon has not replied
 Message 12 by CosmicChimp, posted 10-14-2010 4:04 PM Jon has not replied

  
nwr
Member
Posts: 6408
From: Geneva, Illinois
Joined: 08-08-2005
Member Rating: 5.1


Message 2 of 14 (586189)
10-11-2010 9:20 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Jon
10-11-2010 9:15 PM


Jon writes:
..., and are there other members out there who would also like to see its return?
Yes.
The discussion becomes pretty sterile when a thread gets too long.

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 Message 1 by Jon, posted 10-11-2010 9:15 PM Jon has not replied

  
Adminnemooseus
Administrator
Posts: 3974
Joined: 09-26-2002


Message 3 of 14 (586199)
10-11-2010 9:39 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Jon
10-11-2010 9:15 PM


Adminnemooseus is an "aye"
From Topic number of messages limits in the Private Administration Forum (Sept. 18, 2009):
Adminnemooseus writes:
I still like the 300 message arbitrary cut off point, unless there is some specific reason otherwise. Although there might be a rare exception, the chances of a topic remaining on topic and sustaining a quality debate is about zero. Even if the topic hasn't gone totally to hell, redundancy of messages is probably the case.
Actually, I suspect the typical high quality topic lifespan is about 20 messages.
Adminnemooseus

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Replies to this message:
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purpledawn
Member (Idle past 3457 days)
Posts: 4453
From: Indiana
Joined: 04-25-2004


Message 4 of 14 (586212)
10-11-2010 11:21 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Jon
10-11-2010 9:15 PM


A Limit is Good
After 300-400 posts the same arguments start being retread. New participants to a topic after 300 posts don't usually want to read all the arguments made in the topic before joining the discussion and this causes the older participants to repeat their arguments again.
If the participants are repeating old arguments, it's time for summaries and closures.
I always liked the summaries. We don't see those much anymore since we stopped closing at 300 posts. It was a way to see if the primary participants came to any conclusions different than when they began.

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jar
Member (Idle past 394 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 5 of 14 (586214)
10-11-2010 11:25 PM


I'd love to see the 300 post limit reinstated. If there is still more to be said do a reboot.

Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

Replies to this message:
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Omnivorous
Member
Posts: 3978
From: Adirondackia
Joined: 07-21-2005
Member Rating: 7.3


Message 6 of 14 (586217)
10-11-2010 11:54 PM
Reply to: Message 5 by jar
10-11-2010 11:25 PM


Yeah, 300 is good.
By then, the thread is about something else, and even that is being repeated.

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GDR
Member
Posts: 6202
From: Sidney, BC, Canada
Joined: 05-22-2005
Member Rating: 1.9


Message 7 of 14 (586218)
10-11-2010 11:54 PM


I definitely prefer the 300 post limit and I'm inclined to possibly limit it to as few as 200 or 250. It seems to me that at that point any discussion can be summarized and sprung off into a new thread if it is worth continuing.
I know I'm not normally going to read 200 posts or more to enter into a discussion. JMHO

  
Nij
Member (Idle past 4889 days)
Posts: 239
From: New Zealand
Joined: 08-20-2010


Message 8 of 14 (586224)
10-12-2010 1:26 AM


A lot of threads have become repetitive by the time you reach 200; some before 150 or even just 100, because for some subjects there is only so much you can say or think or argue.
Rather than a blanket "300 and that's it", would a graded system be appropriate? When a thread reaches (say for example) 150, it gets reviewed by moderators to check for "on-topicness" and quality of the posts as well as how much has become repeated argument. Then if it passes, a further review is given every 50 (or 20 or 9pi) posts following that to ensure it stays fresh and focused.
Thoughts? Just tossing ideas.

  
Dr Adequate
Member (Idle past 284 days)
Posts: 16113
Joined: 07-20-2006


Message 9 of 14 (586227)
10-12-2010 2:00 AM
Reply to: Message 3 by Adminnemooseus
10-11-2010 9:39 PM


Dr Adequate's Law
As the number of posts on a thread tends towards infinity, so does the average distance between the content of the posts and the original topic as measured by any given metric.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 3 by Adminnemooseus, posted 10-11-2010 9:39 PM Adminnemooseus has seen this message but not replied

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Admin
Director
Posts: 12998
From: EvC Forum
Joined: 06-14-2002
Member Rating: 2.3


Message 10 of 14 (586251)
10-12-2010 7:27 AM
Reply to: Message 9 by Dr Adequate
10-12-2010 2:00 AM


Re: Dr Adequate's Law
I do have a concern about the 300 post limit that it might cause some threads to be closed prematurely. I agree that most threads have petered out by 300 posts, but there are a fair number still going strong in a constructive way. The post count can sometimes become artificially high, perhaps because there were one or two hundred posts taken up by a troll or by moderator messages because of some problem or because it took time for the topic to become clear to everyone or for other legitimate reasons. And then there are some threads that should be kept open to address continuing issues that only get occasional attention, such as Good Calories, Bad Calories, by Gary Taubes or ICR Sues Texas.
So I'll vote for imposing the 300 post limit more often, I'd just like to see it done after a brief assessment of the merits rather than blindly. I think Adminnemooseus's tendency to err on the side of closure is fine, since we have the Thread Reopen Requests 2 thread.

--Percy
EvC Forum Director

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Replies to this message:
 Message 11 by Jon, posted 10-14-2010 12:33 PM Admin has seen this message but not replied

  
Jon
Inactive Member


Message 11 of 14 (586701)
10-14-2010 12:33 PM
Reply to: Message 10 by Admin
10-12-2010 7:27 AM


Re: Dr Adequate's Law
Admin writes:
I think Adminnemooseus's tendency to err on the side of closure is fine, since we have the Thread Reopen Requests 2 thread.
I actually think this is a pretty good idea; along with the fact that old topics can and often were (under the old system) restarted with fresh points in new threads if anyone cared enough to continue debating them. I feel that if nobody cares enough of the topic to start a new thread, then it's probably not worth debating further, and anyone still debating the topic is likely only doing so from obligation to finish what they've started, which is not a very good reason to debate, in my opinion.
Jon

Check out the Purple Quill!

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CosmicChimp
Member
Posts: 311
From: Muenchen Bayern Deutschland
Joined: 06-15-2007


Message 12 of 14 (586748)
10-14-2010 4:04 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Jon
10-11-2010 9:15 PM


Yes, I too want to see it limited BUT with the summaries called for. Also the caveats that Admin has pointed out above. Oh, and Dr A is right.

This message is a reply to:
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Adminnemooseus
Administrator
Posts: 3974
Joined: 09-26-2002


Message 13 of 14 (601765)
01-23-2011 11:18 PM


The "300 messages per topic" concept - The bump
There seems to be a broad approval of the idea of closing topics after about 300 messages, subject to exceptions and the possibility of there being a reopening.
There also seems to be a general favor towards having summary statements just before topic closures.
Currently, there is one prominent topic I feel is long past closing time. It is Potential falsifications of the theory of evolution, currently at 585 messages. New and more theme specific topics are needed.
On the other hand, there are "no specific theme" type topics, such as Humor V and Topic Proposal Issues. There is no general need to close those at C. 300 messages, except maybe the case of the topic having gone totally bad (such as being infected with large doses of irrelevant stupidity).
Thoughts of others?
Adminnemooseus

Replies to this message:
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Coyote
Member (Idle past 2106 days)
Posts: 6117
Joined: 01-12-2008


Message 14 of 14 (601766)
01-23-2011 11:20 PM
Reply to: Message 13 by Adminnemooseus
01-23-2011 11:18 PM


Re: The "300 messages per topic" concept - The bump
Topics dealing with politics could be closed earlier, say at 5 or maybe 10 posts.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 13 by Adminnemooseus, posted 01-23-2011 11:18 PM Adminnemooseus has not replied

  
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