What is the defined time for necroing threads?

[Falcrack]

I've noticed that mods are sometimes, but inconsistently, locking threads that are "necroed". What is the exact length of time between posts that would result in such a thread lock? If there is to be a policy, why not spell it out, or better, change the forum code so that any thread that is of a certain age and has not been posted to for a certain time simply gets autolocked so that there is no need for a moderator to lock any thread because it is a necro?

[CBJ]

I would have thought the answer was pretty obvious. There is no exact time; it's a matter for moderator judgement. If a thread is dug up for no good reason, and is likely to contain out of date information about previous versions of the game, then a moderator will probably lock it and ask the poster to create a new thread. If it's dug up for good reason, and/or has no real "expiry date" on the information it contains, then they won't. That's also the reason why an automated system wouldn't be appropriate. Just remember that moderators are volunteers, so they may not spend a long time reading every single post in a 10 page thread to check whether it can be kept open or not. If you think they've made the wrong call then you can always drop them a friendly PM to see whether they'd be willing to reconsider, but you will need to respect their decision if they decide not to.

[Alan Phipps]

Also note that necro'd threads are quite popular as targets for spammers of which some seem pretty genuine on the surface; some even use AI chat tools and/or quote/copy older posts from the thread to try to seem more so. Where it seems more likely to just be a genuine posting oversight (and we all make them, including moderators ), we try to give appropriate and gentle advice.

Personally, my rule of thumb is that if the bulk of the resurrected thread is about long-gone gameplay aspects, then it will likely end up locked. We tend to be far more strict about this in Tech Sp than maybe in other forums, and for obvious reasons.