STICKIES SHOULD BE ON THE BOTTOM AS WELL, Maybe?????

not for all threads, but like in the case of the Katrina Hurricane thread that got too long, and it was forwarded on to a new thread, but when too many people post underneath the post that gives the new link, some may not see it and forward on to the new post. Just an idea..... God Bless.

What we've tried to do is catch the threads when a new one is starting, and block the old thread from any new posts from being made.

That usually requires someone who is staying on top of the the threads to alert us beforehand or right at the moment they're starting the new thread.

That must keep you busy all day Terry. :>)))
The rate at which some threads grow is amazing - go out in the yard for a couple of hours come back and spend 3 catching up!!

Nawww - most of the time I rely on users to tell me (us) when a thread needs to be stopped in favor of a "Part II, (or III or IV, etc.)"

Sometimes I think it would be good if all threads were automatically cut off at 100 posts - it would probably make it easier for those on dialup and cut down on the need to manually set the thread for no new posts.

then it would be nice for the posts to be forwarded to the new thread or the person ready to post to know it has been forwarded and have the direction. I don't think I have made my point on either my first post or this one. Sometimes it is so hard to explain what I am thinking in my head. By bottom sticky, I meant it would always stay on the bottom, and say "sticky" and give the link to the new one so people wouldn't keep on adding on and perhaps miss valuable information.

I think we're talking past each other.

Ideally, when a thread becomes long, someone who is actively participating in it (or started it) decides it's time to start a new thread.

1) They start the new thread;
2) They post a link to the new thread on the old thread;
3) They contact us and we adjust the old thread so no more posts can be made to it.

When those actions all occur in a short timespan, everyone watching the thread soon knows there's a new one. Long-term, anyone who stumbles across the old thread is directed to the next one.

The old thread begins to slip down the list of most active threads since no new posts can bubble it back up.

i think stickies should be placed periodically throughout the ID forum! that probably isn't possible, but so many people seem to disappear once they post their thread. i love the ID forum when a plant is solved, but alot of the time, you just never know. ps. i'm still fairly new to DG, but it has been a wonderful ride and i plan on staying as long as you'll have me. debi

Well, to be kinda blunt, technology can only do so much to compensate for bad manners.

When someone launches a new thread, whether in the ID forum or elsewhere, the system assumes they want to "watch" the thread. So when their ID thread receives a new post, their home page will let them know they've got a new post to read.

The user can (and should) "close" the thread once the ID is confirmed. If they fail to reply to the posts on their thread and/or "close" the thread, there's not much we can do from a technology standpoint. :-(

Terry, i totally understand. it was more of an "innerwish" kind of thing that i happened to say out loud, if you know what i mean! debi

Hey Terry, I never knew that about the ability to "close" a thread I've started. How does one do that? Thanks :)

Dea

Debi, I hear ya - and it would be nice if we could rely on technology to make up for our faux pas. Unfortunately, most of our human failings and blunders can't be completely masked by automation ;o)

Dea, only certain forums have this feature - the ID forum and the plant and seed trading forums. (Those are the only forums we could think of where the user really needs to let others know they don't need or want any more input - most other forums have threads that can go on ad infinitum.)

When a thread is closed, it can still be posted to by others, but the nifty thing is that when you go to these forums, you can choose to see just the threads that are still "open" - saves users a lot of time searching our trading forums, and a big help to our "power-ID'ers" to be able to cut right to the plants that would benefit from their eagle-eye.