Should discussions be stopped if the same topic already exists?

[Ziskinberg]

I've seen many threads where users reply that a similar topic has been discussed before and suggest locking the new thread. I wanted to bring this up to get opinions from our fellow members.

Since some topics naturally resurface over time, should a new thread be locked if an older, inactive thread on the same subject already exists? Or is it better to allow new discussions to keep the conversation fresh?

[Don Pedro Dinero]

It depends, and the forum moderation acts on a case-by-case basis. If there are two identical threads coexisting at the same time, the last one to be created will be trashed or at most merged with the first one. It is also necessary to take into account if they are exactly the same or if there is a different angle in the other one. If it is an old thread that has not been updated for some time and a new similar one is created, it could be tolerated depending on whether it is assumed that with the old one all points of view were exhausted, or not, or if with the passage of time it gives rise to new opinions.

As I said at the beginning, it all depends.

[UserU]

If you were to be presented with multiple same results with various years/ dates on Google, chances are you'd rather go with the latest one.

Hence with such threads open from time to time.

[notocactus]

I've seen many threads where users reply that a similar topic has been discussed before and suggest locking the new thread. I wanted to bring this up to get opinions from our fellow members.

Since some topics naturally resurface over time, should a new thread be locked if an older, inactive thread on the same subject already exists? Or is it better to allow new discussions to keep the conversation fresh?

Report, report and report if want to reduce this posting style and thread creating style.

Except if it a famous spam, shilling and is reported a lot by community, forum admins or moderators can code a little bit to filter out future topics or posts with those key words, to stop them automatically. If it's not the case, you have only one option, report.

• [Unofficial Guide] Reporting effectively

You can see such threads in Bitcoin discussion, Trading discussion board, and you can report it to moderator for locking it.

A likely exception is Beginners & Help board when newbies or non-newbies create similar threads like "I want to learn, I want to have bold step to navigate, ...". You can report those threads but I believe chance of locking them is not high.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

I think forums should generally let new discussions happen even on repeated topics. When you lock threads just because "we already talked about this," you kill the community vibe.

Tech and crypto change so fast - last year's Bitcoin discussion is already outdated. Plus, new members bring fresh perspectives that would be lost if we always redirected to old threads.
Instead of shutting conversations down, maybe just link to previous discussions while letting the new one continue. This gives context without stifling engagement.
The best forums feel alive with conversation. A bit of topic overlap is worth it if it keeps people talking and sharing ideas. After all, forums are about community, not just being a perfect archive.

[sheenshane]

As I said at the beginning, it all depends.

I tend to agree with this, yes, it all depends on how OP opens the thread.
Considering it's an already existing topic, the thought doesn't show redundancy, so it's acceptable to discuss it as new.

Sometimes OP may not find the existing thread, but if you know which one it is, you can link the new thread to the old one that you think covers the same topic, so that asking OP to promptly lock his or her existing thread.

[Helena Yu]

That depends with the discussion.

Recently someone create a thread which is better gold or Bitcoin, such discussion has been discussed multiple times and I don't see any reason why people have to discuss it now.

But, if someone create a thread to discuss about his own analysis and state which is better between two to invest in this year, he deserve to create a new thread because he talk about in specific period instead of talk in general.

[FatFork]

Whether duplicate threads get locked sorta depends.  The mods look at each case by itself.  If two identical threads pop up at the same time, they'll probably lock or delete the newer one. But if it's an old thread that has no new posts in ages and someone starts up a new one on the same thing? The mods might let that slide.

[stadus]

You should be able to tell if the thread you opened is a duplicate or not. If it’s a duplicate and there are already active threads on the topic, it can be closed.

Sometimes, we can’t avoid creating a thread without realizing there’s already an existing one. But if someone points it out and provides the link to the original thread, as the thread starter you know the drill. ^(lock-it)..

[BenCodie]

That depends with the discussion.

Recently someone create a thread which is better gold or Bitcoin, such discussion has been discussed multiple times and I don't see any reason why people have to discuss it now.

But, if someone create a thread to discuss about his own analysis and state which is better between two to invest in this year, he deserve to create a new thread because he talk about in specific period instead of talk in general.

In examples like this where the topic is almost an exact match, I think that the threads should be merged.

Otherwise I agree with Dread:

I think forums should generally let new discussions happen even on repeated topics. When you lock threads just because "we already talked about this," you kill the community vibe.

Tech and crypto change so fast - last year's Bitcoin discussion is already outdated. Plus, new members bring fresh perspectives that would be lost if we always redirected to old threads.
Instead of shutting conversations down, maybe just link to previous discussions while letting the new one continue. This gives context without stifling engagement.
The best forums feel alive with conversation. A bit of topic overlap is worth it if it keeps people talking and sharing ideas. After all, forums are about community, not just being a perfect archive.

[Pablo-wood]

Sometimes there could be conflicting information if a new thread is created which is similar to an existing thread. In my opinion I will prefer both threads get merged so that misinformations and inaccuracies can be treated easily, if there are two identical threads misconceptions might arise and users might find it difficult which thread to rely on for more accuracy.

Except the new thread is tackling the discussion from a completely different perspective but if the discussion is pretty much the same as the existing one, then there is no need creating a new thread but rather stick to the existing thread to avoid spamming.

[Bitcoin Smith]

I've seen many threads where users reply that a similar topic has been discussed before and suggest locking the new thread. I wanted to bring this up to get opinions from our fellow members.

We see such suggestions from members only if the same topic has been created in the very recent days, like it exists in the first page itself but the creator of the thread didn't notice that and went for a new one. It is subjective, there is no rule that is against that but it's better to discuss in one place than scattering all over the place.

But it's almost impossible to stop discussing the old subjects that has been discussed already will come over once in a while.

[Mia Chloe]

I've seen many threads where users reply that a similar topic has been discussed before and suggest locking the new thread. I wanted to bring this up to get opinions from our fellow members.
Since some topics naturally resurface over time, should a new thread be locked if an older, inactive thread on the same subject already exists? Or is it better to allow new discussions to keep the conversation fresh?

Sometimes is depends on context. For example if a question is being asked I believe it's okay for a new thread to be created for the reason of better visibility especially if it's a technical question. However on a general basis of regular discussions there would be no need to create newer threads.

Cases where you see new threads being created is because of some kind of news most times where most people want to be the first to break it to the forum and so they don't bother checking if there is an already existing one.

[Etranger]

If there is a similar topic in which similar discussions have already been raised, then the main question is, why create a new topic with a similar plot?

But I often come across topics that are a branch of others. For example, in one topic users discussed some issue and slightly deviated from the main line of discussion. And during this deviation, new aspects appeared that are interesting for discussion. And in order not to be off-topic in the first thread, they create a new one, with a similar plot, but with different accents.

[lovesmayfamilis]

There are many identical topics on the forum, and if you discuss one question in one thread, it will simply turn into a mega-stream. The moments when one topic should be blocked, and the second continues to exist, the entire decision will always depend on moderators.
But I would like to draw attention to several similar topics opened almost simultaneously with the same news. If the OP himself does not close the topic, having learned that a similar one already exists, then stopping users who cannot help but notice that they answer the same thing in different threads is equivalent to stopping the wind or the ocean.
Fulfilling their signature quotas is much more important for many than comprehending the same content.

[Mrbluntzy]

Since some topics naturally resurface over time, should a new thread be locked if an older, inactive thread on the same subject already exists? Or is it better to allow new discussions to keep the conversation fresh?

It will depend on what seem more appropriate to the moderators, they have the final decision to make in such situation.

In a case where there's a duplicate topics which are 100% the same, locking one of the topic is the option, except a situation where the first topic is no longer inactive, then the moderators can just allow it but if a new topic is being started meanwhile there is still a very active same topic like that, one of the topic might be locked if reported and the moderators honors the report.

If the decision of locking duplication topics made, there's always reasons for that which is to reduce spamming. For example, if user x writes a comment on the first topic, when he comes across the same topic duplicate topic that was created by another user, should he go ahead to repeat the same comment he made on the first topic? So, moderators usually have some criterias that they look at before they lock any duplicate thread, they don't just do it unnecessarily because it's a duplicate topic.

[hugeblack]

If you believe that responding to the topic's thread will enhance its quality, it's best to continue the discussion in the same thread. Otherwise, creating a new thread is preferable, especially if it contains new ideas unrelated to the previous discussion.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

I've seen many threads where users reply that a similar topic has been discussed before and suggest locking the new thread. I wanted to bring this up to get opinions from our fellow members.

Since some topics naturally resurface over time, should a new thread be locked if an older, inactive thread on the same subject already exists? Or is it better to allow new discussions to keep the conversation fresh?

If you're aware of a subject matter being discussed already, then you don't have to create a duplicate for that again, what you may do is to either reply on such or create another one if you think its brings in a new idea or format totally different form the first thread and you can then make a reference to the existing one, so that other members can know you're already aware of the existing similar thread but stating your own personal reason for creating a new one, we just have to be more of being professional form the way of our postings, if we truly understand what the forum talks about posting etiquettes, all these are included.

posting etiquettes
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5184741.0#post_altgiveaway

[notocactus]

Otherwise, creating a new thread is preferable, especially if it contains new ideas unrelated to the previous discussion.

If new topics created with more and new inputs for discussion, they are acceptable and not necessary to be very high quality topics. Unfortunately, most topics created to discuss about a same thing, news have nothing new inputs, and they are unnecessary and zero value topics.

Your recommendation is right but unfortunately, with no value topics repeat previous topics, it's only choice, report to moderator to either lock it or delete it.

[Zoomic]

I think forums should generally let new discussions happen even on repeated topics. When you lock threads just because "we already talked about this," you kill the community vibe.

Tech and crypto change so fast - last year's Bitcoin discussion is already outdated. Plus, new members bring fresh perspectives that would be lost if we always redirected to old threads.
Instead of shutting conversations down, maybe just link to previous discussions while letting the new one continue. This gives context without stifling engagement.
The best forums feel alive with conversation. A bit of topic overlap is worth it if it keeps people talking and sharing ideas. After all, forums are about community, not just being a perfect archive.

What I notice about duplicate threads, especially the ones created around the same time and with generic subjects, is that there are usually no new discussions being raised in the newest threads, just a series of spam posts covering two or more pages. Some kinds of "vibes" will actually reduce the forum's cleanliness.

Once, there were lots of threads about how to stop crime on the Politics and Society board. Why do we really need duplicate threads on such a topic when everyone knows crime cannot be stopped? At that point, it was very necessary to lock further duplicate threads like that.

I am of the opinion that posts that appear as I have described above should be locked. But before they are locked, the link to the earliest post should be shared so that those who may find the topic interesting can continue the discussion there.