duplicate threads

Admin, is there an easy way to eliminate duplicate threads? There are so many of the same subject its a chore to find the one you posted on.
could an automatic program be devised which when somebody submits a thread title, pops up a list of current thread titles containing the same keywords and ask if its nessesary to start another?
I think theres atleast 5 evolution threads current, im also finding duplicates of other subjects aswell, and the original thread has been left with just a few post.


[edit on 023131p://29122 by instar]

Speaking of evolution, there is a law of unnatural selection that applies to duplicate topics; it's not always the strongest that survive.

Pet irritation: exactly the same content in a discussion thread and a "news" thread.

Too much information, not enough time?

Did i just duplicate a thread called "duplicate threads" ? That would be a funny irony! I hope not.

Originally posted by instar
Did i just duplicate a thread called "duplicate threads" ? That would be a funny irony! I hope not.

Yeah, there is about 30 of them. Maybe after pressing the post button, a search box should come up and you should have to search for your topic befor continuing.

Originally posted by instar
Admin, is there an easy way to eliminate duplicate threads? There are so many of the same subject its a chore to find the one you posted on...im also finding duplicates of other subjects aswell

The Admin (and anyone elses answer for that matter) answer is to use the search function (forever your friend at ATS), and to utilize the wonder that is "My ATS" and the more recent "My Recent."

Proof that it can happen to anyone:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

[edit on 20/12/2004 by Mirthful Me]

I have sometimes posted about duplicate threads, and it's a very popular theme where the last post often reads "Thread closed".

Sometimes the Search function doesn't quite work as people expect and members have started to use that as a copout, no longer searching before initiating a topic. And then there are those who may not care to search in the first place. Not everyone goes through "ATS 101" before they start posting on the board of a million posts.

[edit on 20-12-2004 by MaskedAvatar]

I feel so Blonde !!!! ...........

There are some topics that people get very emotional about. Take evolution for example. So it will get more attention. The problem with the search function is that information contained in these threads is too cumbersome. Not many people on this forum really want to read through 248 posts on a thread started 8 months ago to get a handle on whats going on. So when they look at these threads, they don't even bother with them, out of lazyness...or common sense. I know this, because I act this way. I want to hear what people are thinking now. Someone made a few posts on evolution...and some people followed suit. It brought an important topic to the fore-front, and gave people a chance to voice their opinion...nomatter what others thought about it. I am glad I had the oppurtunity to speak my mind on those posts.

If you use the search function...and post on an old thread...it is likely to go completely un-noticed, even though that thread will be pushed to the front of "recent posts". Who wants to participate if no-one is paying attention? There should be some control of multiple posts on things like this...but with much discretion. The forum should be a place that people can let their voices be heard. Let them post. If it is too cumbersome for you to post on more than one thread...stick to just one of them. Maybe it will centralize the whole discussion anyway.

Originally posted by Seapeople
If it is too cumbersome for you to post on more than one thread...stick to just one of them. Maybe it will centralize the whole discussion anyway.

Nahhhh.... the ATS biosphere doesn't "select" that way. I'll believe it when I see it.

Well, I said maybe..........

Originally posted by Seapeople
The problem with the search function is that information contained in these threads is too cumbersome. Not many people on this forum really want to read through 248 posts on a thread started 8 months ago to get a handle on whats going on. So when they look at these threads, they don't even bother with them, out of lazyness...or common sense. I know this, because I act this way.

That's precisely the kind of "Army of One" mentality we don't need here at ATS soldier! Your duty is to the Corps, and to uphold the finest of it's traditions, using the Search Function is one of those traditions. If this man's ATS allowed every Tom, Dick, and Seapeople to start a new thread whether there was a perfectly good thread already issued, what kind of disarray would we be in! The Commies could sneak up on this board and make a bunch mindless hive workers if that was the case. Not on my watch!

Review your discrepant conduct and adjust that gig line!

Carry on.

Originally posted by Major Discrepancy
If this man's ATS allowed every Tom, Dick, and Seapeople to start a new thread whether there was a perfectly good thread already issued, what kind of disarray would we be in!

(respectfully)

Take a look at the carnage, sir! And there are Janes doing the same too! Are they going to be courtmartialled, sir? Sir, yes, sir!

This is a general dilemma at times. Soldiers don't know how much of it has all been said before. You can't teach this current breed of new dog old tricks... can you?

My ATS is a wonderful tool that once you use, you'll find indispensible...try it.

As for duplicate threads, we do try and lock them down when noticed, and give a redirect to the (first) thread on the matter, as much as possible, but we're only human. If you see such a case, probably a good idea to U2U a mod of the forum in question, so that they can take care of it (please include links to the threads in question, so that they can evaluate them).

Thanks!

Review your discrepant conduct and adjust that gig line!

Anyone else see this as a general dilemna?

[edit on 20-12-2004 by Gazrok]

You all really need to step back and look at the situation more attentively. First off, I didn't make the duplicate threads.

Secondly, if any of you have ever read anything I have written, you at the very least should know that I do have passion and truly care about issues enough to research them on my own. Just as many on this forum do. That doesn't mean I want to look back at a year old thread, try to figure out what the climate on ATS was at the time, and why things were written the way they were. Information should always be made current. Or it becomes clouded.

New people come to this forum. With NEW ideas. New information. Current information. Issues important to them. Searching out old threads on a search function that is difficult to use at best anyway can be overwhelming to them. It can be discouraging to those who have not been here a while. You want your forum numbers and quality up? Encourage new people to voice their ideas....whether they have been voiced before or not. Thats the type of ATS soldier you should be looking for. You never know what you will miss out on by unintentionally pushing ideas away. And thats what this all comes down to.

I agree with the search first policy, especially when it comes to a new member who posts something like, "What's this Illuminati thing? Can anyone fill me in?" or "NEW THEORY: 9-11 WAS A GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY!!"

Buuuuuut, it's annoying when you have something you want to post, then you do a search and find that it has already been posted. Dutifully you check the post and find out that although it started out similar to what you want to discuss, 6 pages later it has devolved into a slinging match between two members who effectively hijacked the post, and then it ran out of steam with a last post of "Whatever, dude.".

In this situation, you know that if you post your thoughts there, NO-ONE has enough time or patience to read through the entire thread to get to your post, and thus won't figure out that you are trying to restart the discussion. So you either decide not to post, or you post a new thread and hope that no-one will deride you for posting something that has been done before.

One possible solution would be the archiving of threads over a certain age, say 2-3 months. The archived threads would have a page of their own and could be sorted into various categories by forum and subject and used by new thread starters as reference material.

e.g. "Please see Conspiracies in Religion Archived Thread 787634 Page 4 Post Number 28 here for a good post on the blah blah aspect of this topic."

Another possible solution, although work intensive, would be for moderators to take a more active role in encouraging people from staying on-topic, or at least preventing hijacking of threads.

Personally, I don't mind dupe threads (which is why I'm for locking them, not trashing)... You simply provide a link to the thread being duped (or one of them), so that:

1. The poster can get a quicker response to their question, by already reading other comments on the issue in the past.

2. Reading the old thread may spark the poster to further refine the question or issue for a new thread.

3. A simple question needing a simple answer, should be answered and then locked if a dupe (again, with a redirect to an earlier thread), just out of common courtesy. If you have an answer to such a question, by all means give it....maybe then politely suggest the search option....


Here's an example...

Q: "What's this Illuminati thing?"

Typical response: "Try using the search option newbie!"

Better response: "The idea that there is a secret society (or societies) vying for world control through politics and economics, and has been doing so in an intricate chess game for hundreds of years. Try typing "Illuminati" in the Search option, while looking in the Secret Societies forum, for many more threads that may help answer your questions about it."

[edit on 20-12-2004 by Gazrok]

Originally posted by Gazrok
Better response: "The idea that there is a secret society (or societies) vying for world control through politics and economics, and has been doing so in an intricate chess game for hundreds of years. Try typing "Illuminati" in the Search option, while looking in the Secret Societies forum, for many more threads that may help answer your questions about it."

That's friendly and informative and encouraging.

I nominate Gazrok to be the Better Response Officer (BRO) for all duplicate threads about 9/11, Illuminati and Bilderbergers, Is There A God?, Chupacabra, and "hey let's have a convention" threads, LOL.

In my short time here on ATS I have been almost guilty of posting duplicate threads. Some threads that I have created were done after I used the search function but probably didn't use the right key words so they ended up being close to others. The problem is though, that your topic might be similar but you might want to take your post in an entirely different direction. I don't want to high jack anyones thread so I decide if it is worth risking a similar thread and go from there. It upsets me to post a response to anothers story and for whatever reason that post takes over their thread.

The problem is though, that your topic might be similar but you might want to take your post in an entirely different direction.

That of course, is a different matter....and should remain separate threads. For example, there are many theories on where Altantis is/was and why. Certainly, each idea could be a separate thread... The best guard for this though, is plainly state where you are coming from... In the title if possible, but if not, then at least in the opening lines of the post.

nominate Gazrok to be the Better Response Officer (BRO) for all duplicate threads about 9/11, Illuminati and Bilderbergers, Is There A God?, Chupacabra, and "hey let's have a convention" threads, LOL.

Consider the following canned responses....

9/11

Many believe the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11 was in fact organized by either the Bush Administration or the Shadow Government. There are numerous arguments both for and against this theory, including several details that are disturbing on both sides of the argument. Frequent ideas are that the hijack that was thwarted was actually brought down by the military, or that a plane didn't crash into the Pentagon. Further ideas are that the WTC was taken down also by explosives, timed to go off when the planes hit. Please feel free to use the Search function to see what existing threads may analyze the various ideas on this issue. Good keywords are "9/11", "WTC", "Pentagon", etc. in related forums.

Illuminati

Already given

Bilderbergers

Thought to be an annual, or otherwise periodic meeting of international leaders of the Illuminati (or world political and economic leaders) to meet and discuss their plans for their continuing world domination. The name stems from the Bilderberg hotel where meetings are sometimes held, and the name has since stuck in the conspiracy community. Feel free to try the Search option, using keywords such as "Illuminati", "Bilderberg", etc. to see other threads on this subject, especially in the Secret Societies forum.

Is there a God?

Well of course, I suppose one must define which God is being questioned of their existence? Allah, the Christian God, Buddha, Krishna, etc.? There are many continuous threads on this topic, with various views and supporting evidence on both sides. Using the search feature, try keywords like "God", "Exist", "Creationism", "Evolution", etc. to find related threads of such ongoing discussions.

Chupacabra

Or, "goat sucker". This is a diminutive little creature that is thought to exist in many latin american countries. It has amassed quite a legend, with many claims of livestock being killed, even children attacked, etc. However, most suspected "carcasses" or skeletons end up being wild dogs, or other common creatures....sometimes even deliberate hoaxes. Still, the legends persist, and there is likely something going on to form the basis of such encounters. To see some of the many threads on this subject, please use the search feature, using key words such as "Chupacabra", "Goat Sucker", etc., in the Cryptozoology forum.

Hey, let's have a Convention!

We've tried this many times here at ATS, but never in an official capacity. Why? The simple answer is...we don't have the dough! With many members all across the globe, about the best we can hope for is a member-sponsored meet and greet with local ATS members in the same state/region, etc. Such events are left to the members to put together, and have occured apparently (though not often or on any regular basis). Who knows, it could possibly happen in the future, but no official ones yet. Your best bet is to try and organize one yourself. To see what attempts have been made, I'd suggest searching a few forums, Introductions, Board Questions, Website Related, Members (BTS), Chit Chat (BTS) on keywords like "ATS Convention", to get an idea of what members are where....

Posting such informative and polite responses is of course a great idea, particularly for new members (myself included) as it prevents them from being discouraged. Unfortunately I don't think the mods have enough time to do this effectively. When they do notice a duplicated thread topic, they usually post a "Thanks, but this has been done. Check out link here. Thread locked."

The only way to use such considerate responses would be to have already composed ones that you could copy and paste depending on the subject. Is that whatyou mean by "canned responses"? If so, I agree.

Failing that it would be up to non-moderator members to post such replies. If you can be bothered, then go for it, but you'll also risk coming across sounding smug since it's not really your place to do so.

I still think archiving old threads would be a boon. Sometimes those old threads are just too rusty and cobwebbed to be started over again.