Forum Suggestions & User Assistance - Old thread dredging

All the year+ old thread dredges that have been going on lately reminded me of a feature that a web development forum I'm a member of has. The forum, like this one, is vBulletin based, and if you try to dredge a thread that hasn't been active in x days/weeks/etc, it tells you:

"You are about to reply to a thread that hasn't been active in x days/weeks/years. Consider starting a new thread rather than dredging up this old one"

Not that there's anything wrong with dredging, but most of the time people aren't aware they're bringing a thread back from the dead, especially if they found it via search.

Oh, and we still need thumbs up/down smileys. :p

agree somewhat and agreed.

I'll bump an old build thread now and then to get the latest scoop on how the owner is enjoying the ride after 500+mi, but there is sometimes a time to start a new thread, and sometimes when to revive an old one. A warning to pull up a thread over a year would probably be useful.

Me wants a thumbs up and down too. :p I like :beer: too though.

I would think that by starting a new topic instead of dredging up an old one will invite lots of comments along the lines of "REPOST" and "how many times do we have to discuss this?"

I'd think that dredging up old posts & revitalizing them would help keep the database & server load smaller, too.

Not to hijack the thread, but I wonder if it'd be possible to have a message come up reading "Did you search for the topic before deciding to post?" when people click the Start New Thread button. The main drawback that I can see would be regular posters would become annoyed after a while. If it could be coded so that it's turned off for contributing members, that would become another incentive for people to donate.

monogodo - an alternative is maybe just a statement like such at the top of the "start new thread" screen or something? Something as simple as "Bikeforums contains a huge database of knowledge, before asking a question, consider searching for simular questions which have already been answered"

I would think that by starting a new topic instead of dredging up an old one will invite lots of comments along the lines of "REPOST" and "how many times do we have to discuss this?"
There would still of course be the option to dredge up the old thread, and often it's the thing to do (as cuda mentioned) but some of them, like an "I crashed today" from 2004, and someone replies with "hope you heal soon" last week, make me think that people aren't checking the date before replying. A warning/reminder would be useful without removing any functionality.

For every "REPOST" you get, you'll get a "Nice dredge", so it's even money on that one.