I've recently noticed that quite a lot of threads are labeled as "thread closed" meaning you can't add to them. Never really noticed this before, but that could just be me being unobservant, does anyone know what causes a thread to be closed?
Does it happen after a certain amount of time without a post? It would seem odd if this is the case as it means if you want to discuss something already posted but which is closed you have to start a new thread, which is sometimes frowned upon.
Hello! All threads over 1 year old that haven't been posted on for over 30 days are now automatically closed. We've taken this action because we want to keep conversations fresh and current, while still keeping wise old threads open for reading. Starting new threads is definitely not frowned upon - Lovehoney Forum Rules.
Splendid idea!
Members come and go and their opinions often change as they have new experiences so it is always nice to revisit old topics but this way old posts are archived and available to read for those that wish to search for them, I like it.
oh this is great for me as I can end up adding to very old threads...i am so dippy lol
This is a great idea, keeps things fresher.
That's a great idea Alice. Good way to get new people to discuss things that may have been talked about ages ago and forgotten.
Finally!
I think it's a real shame....some of the older threads have some wonderful information and advice in them - especially from some long gone but very experienced members (such as Lubyanka - queen of all things dom) it's a shame that these will all be kept in lots of different places and separated from some of the wonderful information and advice from newer contributors and 30 days really isn't long....wait, that will mean the much loved and regularly used squirting thread has gone, that hasn't been bumped in 30 days?!
I can see why newer threads are useful, especially for newer members looking for specific advice - but this place is wonderful for advice and answers to common questions and frank and open discussion and this can be helped by older threads as people can find answers more quickly, reopen interesting discussions and add their own points to it.
Adx
Ad, people can still view threads, they aren't gone.
I think it keeps things fresher and more people posting. Afterall, there are always new people and new opinions which are equally as important as what older members have said.
Lovehoney - Hella wrote:
I personally wanted to see a stop to people shooting new members down when they start a new thread because back in 2007 some people were talking about the same subject! It doesn't give a very good impression of the forum or its members. This system has already already cut those instances and I'm really pleased.
Couldn't agree more. Sometimes this is done in a friendly "you might be interested in...." sort of way which I have no problem with. But at times I've seen it done in a more aggressive or patronizing "we've talked about this before!!!" kind of way which does little to welcome new people or demonstrate the true friendliness of the community.
I'm glad to see people urged to start new threads. If they are accurately named and don't suffer too much drift it makes it easier to find the information you are looking for. I'm not sure if automatically closing older threads is needed - I can't recall another forum that I use actually doing that. There are a couple that I use where people often come back to a thread to update the situation of their OP many months after so it would not be appropriate in those cases. I'm not sure how often that happens here. Avrielle mentions the "what are you doing tonight?" sort of thread which is a fair point. They are the sort of thread that really belongs in a social network environment rather than a forum so how should a forum handle them?
If we all take the trouble, where possible, to include links to old threads on related topics when opening a new one then we get the best of both worlds - a new thread offering perhaps a slightly new angle on an old topic and easy access to the back-traffic.
Hella makes a good point - I certainly felt intimidated about starting a new thread which is why I only ever started one in the last 4 years!
Lovehoney - Hella wrote:
I personally wanted to see a stop to people shooting new members down when they start a new thread because back in 2007 some people were talking about the same subject! It doesn't give a very good impression of the forum or its members. This system has already already cut those instances and I'm really pleased.
If the conversation isn't current, then I think there's no harm in starting a new thread. If you don't like it, you don't have to reply. You're also welcome to reference old threads, but it just looks mean if you simply tell people 'this has been talked about before' and send them to an ancient thread.
Fact is they didn't have to come here for advice, they could have just Googled it. You post in a forum because you want to talk about something, not read about it.
I agree with Hella on this. I think it's put some members off when people have directed newer members to threads that are very old. I do understand that multiple topics on the same subject can be annoying, but most new members wouldn't think about posting in something that's over a year old. Also sometimes people start topics that are more personal to them, and even if some of there questions can be similar to older posts, as they have made it personal for them to talkl about, they may feel upset being directed to a thread someone else started - not sure if this makes sense, I hope it does.
Avrielle_Aniko wrote:
Personally, I don't want to see several hundred threads popping up with silly things like "what are you doing tonight?" that is what the Good Morning Thread is for. Also I find I don't want to repeat the same advice I gave other people 3 times already on the same topic in different threads. I suppose you could still direct people to the 'archived' threads, but when trawling through 3 pages of "Squirting" threads to find the one page I found good advice on, or a particular thread through the one of the very common topics that I or other members left fab advice on, it gets increasingly difficult when more and more threads with the same title pop up!
Not being able to bump on old topic that had a fab discussion that is still valid today and still very much something people would be interested in adding to will be something I will miss.
30 days seems quite a short amount of time to me.
Granted there are LOADS of threads on the forum that are now very out of date. Topics about products long since discontnued, threads where people got a small bit of advice and that was all they needed. etc etc.
But it seems that we 'oldies' are becoming a bit used to the old ways while the 'newbies' like nothing more than up to date change and a 'facebook' way of life... "Hang on dearie, I'll have to get my reading specs out.. what is this Face Book?"
Sorry for that, it is kinda how it feels though.
But at the end of the day if the other members are happy with that, then I guess I can't complain at all.
If a thread is over a year old and hasn't been posted on for over 30 days it will automatically close. So a thread will stay open for an entire year as standard, and then even longer as long as people are posting on it. That means threads like Pander to me, Good morning etc will stay open as they're old threads that get posted on regularly. 
Lovehoney - Hella wrote:
I personally wanted to see a stop to people shooting new members down when they start a new thread because back in 2007 some people were talking about the same subject! It doesn't give a very good impression of the forum or its members. This system has already already cut those instances and I'm really pleased.
If the conversation isn't current, then I think there's no harm in starting a new thread. If you don't like it, you don't have to reply. You're also welcome to reference old threads, but it just looks mean if you simply tell people 'this has been talked about before' and send them to an ancient thread.
Fact is they didn't have to come here for advice, they could have just Googled it. You post in a forum because you want to talk about something, not read about it.
yes i agree, ive felt when a new member posts a new thread some of the regulars tell them off that this has already been asked etc so have always thought if that happened to me i wouldnt be back, so i think its a great idea. keeps it fresh and nice to see newbies asking questions without feeling bad
Just a suggestion on threads, I don't know if this could work or is even possible but maybe when people start a new thread a search function works on what the title and context of the first post.
For example, is someone was asking about squirting then some popular threads could come up saying something like "these may be of interest to you" or something like that.
That way people can start new threads if they wish or simply view older threads if they wish too.
I hope that made sense.
Just a suggestion on threads, I don't know if this could work or is even possible but maybe when people start a new thread a search function works on what the title and context of the first post.
For example, is someone was asking about squirting then some popular threads could come up saying something like "these may be of interest to you" or something like that.
That way people can start new threads if they wish or simply view older threads if they wish too.
I hope that made sense.