Is bumping threads rude?

BlueLucario

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I was only asking if bumping a thread is rude. For those who don't know bumping means to reply to a very old dscussion. Some members find it annoying, nd I was banned from my other one for doing that, so I decided not to bump threads here, because I found it rude.

I search the tread for a very interesting discussion, I want to reply but i can't and I fear breaking the rules.

Yes, i use the search feature all the time. And if there's something I don't understand, I make a new thread.

Is bumping allowed here? Is it rude?
 

blueobsidian

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I search the tread for a very interesting discussion, I want to reply but i can't and I fear breaking the rules.

I'm not quite sure I understand this statement. Why can't you reply to the thread? If you have something to contribute to an old thread, you can feel free to post.

However, if you are just typing "bump"... well, don't. That is rude (and annoying).
 

CACTUSWENDY

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Some of these threads date back four or five years. And it is considered rude, but not for the reasons you may think.

If I see a thread that has my reply on it and is being active....I drop back in to see if anyone has said anything to me or my post. When we get threads that are super old....it is a bug in the butt...lol

If you find the topic needs your reply..then start a new one on the same type topic. You may get someone saying that there is an old one by that same topic. You need to ask yourself....do I need to really add to that old thread, or was it said well enough back then?

Just my two cents.
 

writerterri

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I get confused. Shut up rob!



It's just plain annoying too. Try puting up a new thread and quoting something you liked or not in the old one. You can also create a link to the thread you wanted to participate in. Be creative. I like to bring up old threads but with todays date. Like, I like nick names. I've started two threads like this and feel like it's time for another one.
 

Ol' Fashioned Girl

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Actually... it's okay to bump a thread that just a couple days old. Maybe has just fallen to page two or three in an active forum. Otherwise, we'd just as soon y'all didn't start multiple threads on the same topic - especially if it's a Zombie Thread that's weeks or months or years old. Now... I know it happens, but we'd like to discourage it if for nothing else than tidiness sake. If you've searched for threads with a subject that interests you and no one has addressed your unique perspective on the issue and you're just aching to throw your .02 in the pot, you might want to contact the mod of that particular forum and see what s/he has to say about resurrecting the dead.

And we all know about resurrecting locked threads, right? Don't. Just... don't. It would be bad.
 

Sean D. Schaffer

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If the thread's a couple days old, no, it isn't rude... provided you don't bump it just for the sake of bumping it. You should at least have something to say.

If the thread's a couple years old, that's a tad bit different. It confuses the heck out of some people (like me) to see a thread from June of 2005 with two pages' worth of posts. If the thread has been dead for three years, let it sit there. You can always start another one.
 

benbradley

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I was only asking if bumping a thread is rude. For those who don't know bumping means to reply to a very old dscussion.
I think "thread rescussitation" would be a better phrase for replying to a very old discussion, or thread zombieism (bringing a dead thread back to life), or something like that.

Bumping means posting to a thread with the sole intention of bringing it to the top of the "New Posts" list, even if the content is more than the word "bump." It doesn't matter if the thread is two hours or two years old.
Some members find it annoying, nd I was banned from my other one for doing that, so I decided not to bump threads here, because I found it rude.

I search the tread for a very interesting discussion, I want to reply but i can't and I fear breaking the rules.

Yes, i use the search feature all the time. And if there's something I don't understand, I make a new thread.

Is bumping allowed here? Is it rude?
Yes, bumping, by either definition, is usually considered rude. It's rather rare that "bumping" a thread is considered appropriate - it was sort-of okay in the "Roadeo" thread, because those involved felt (legitimately) it was important for everyone to see it, but that's the only good case I can think of.
I'm not quite sure I understand this statement. Why can't you reply to the thread? If you have something to contribute to an old thread, you can feel free to post.

However, if you are just typing "bump"... well, don't. That is rude (and annoying).
It depends. If it's one of those threads on things like Associated Content in Freelance, then add your comment to the appropriate thread rather than starting a new one, as it says in the Freelance stickie threads. (See, I actually read those things!) For most others, if the last post is older than a month or so, it's probably better to start a new thread.
 
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BlueLucario

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Okay, so If I made a thread and let it die, and come back a month later because I had a question, is that bumping? OR should I just make another thread?
 

Sean D. Schaffer

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Okay, so If I made a thread and let it die, and come back a month later because I had a question, is that bumping? OR should I just make another thread?


I've seen threads go a month without posts, then someone bumped them and no one complained. It's when we start talking some ridiculous amount of time since someone has posted, that I think it begins to border on rudeness.

I believe the Learn Writing With Uncle Jim thread has actually been bumped a month or so after the last post. So, from what I've seen, a bump on a post a month old, isn't so much rude as one on a post six months old.

Of course, now that you mention it, I've never actually heard bumping referred to as 'rude' before this thread. It's been treated with some disdain by some people, but I've never seen it called 'rude.' I suppose it's all really just a matter of the individual opinions of posters... and of course, the official rules of each respective message board. :eek:
 

Silver King

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Okay, so If I made a thread and let it die, and come back a month later because I had a question, is that bumping? OR should I just make another thread?
In most cases, you shouldn't start new threads that are overly similar to older discussions you've set in motion. If you do, then it makes it seem like you've disregarded the advice from previous threads. I think most folks would rather see an older discussion bumped than have a nearly identical topic raised anew by the same poster.

By the way, Blue, one of the dancing bananas in your sig line could use some help (the seventh one). :)
 

Shweta

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Edit: I'm using "revive", given the definition of "bump" in veinglory's post.

I think it depends on the thread and the forum. Sometimes a zombie thread is fun; sometimes it's rude. Sometimes, as Silver King just mentioned, it's more rude to start the conversation over again without reading the older one.

So let's look at rudeness a bit. That might make it clearer when starting new threads or reviving old ones becomes rude behavior.

1) It's rude to ignore what other people have said.
So if you're asking for advice, it's rude to start a thread without searching and reading old threads to see if it's already been answered.
If an old thread has some of the answer but not all, I don't think it would be rude to revive it and add another question. If you can't find any related threads, it's rude to revive an unrelated one to change the subject, but not rude to start a new thread.

2) It's rude to demand that people tell you things that don't benefit them.
Apologizing for the bother doesn't make it less rude. So if you're asking for advice, it's rude to ask again and again in different places if you don't get the answer you want. It's rude to argue with the answer and say "That's not what I meant" -- one should start the thread carefully, trying to ask what one really means to ask. And if nobody answers, that ought to be okay. It's nobody's job to answer.

3) It's rude to have your fun at the expense of other people.
So probably in Office Party or other fun forums, it'd be rude to revive an old thread that everyone already had fun with to have your fun and bore them with it. It's less rude to revive serious, writing-related old threads than old fun threads. However, it's rude to revive an old writing-related thread without asking a new question or offering a new insight -- that's wasting people's time.

4) It's rude to not respect other people's time.
So if you ask for advice and get it, you should take that advice rather than just asking for more, whether you're starting a new thread or reviving another.

Does that help?
 
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benbradley

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Bumping threads was a common thing to do when I was on the ebay popular online auction site discussion boards a few years ago. I used this Classic Image to "bump" threads there:
bump2.jpg
 

NeuroFizz

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Bumping threads rude? Yes, of course. Take off the threads before you get to bumpin'.