Duplicate Thread post etiquette

I've been noticing a ton of duplicate, triple, etc threads. I'm not sure this the end of the world as many would like for us to believe although I acknowledge it is a bit annoying. The most annoying part of all is the cavalcade of indignant posters following with how this topic was already posted. That's nice I appreciate the information because I would hate to give a thoughtful reply only to find out nobody is reading because they're all watching the first post!

But where is the first thread? If you legitimately want to be helpful rather than just having some fun poking at someone unable to use the search function wouldn't it be best to post the link to the original post?

In addition when you're kind enough to notify the poster of a duplicate and post the link to the original make sure it truly is a duplicate and not in a different forum. The same topic can be attacked from many different angles depending on the forum and as far as I know ATS will allow a certain amount of replication in different forums.

And finally alert the post so the mods can close it!

Once this is all done correctly I believe every person who does this correctly should get an applause for their efforts to make this a better board. And everyone who does it incorrectly should have their IP rerouted to a duplicate thread only version of ATS for 24 hours...

reply to post by Jinglelord


When someone notifies me that I have posted a dupe thread, I hit the alert button and ask the Mods to close the thread myself. Sometimes, if you ask them nicely, they will even put the dupe thread in the trash bin so you won't have the embarrassment of a dupe thread on your profile forever.

The only time dupe threads are allowed is when one is in the Breaking news section and the other is a topical thread. Don't ask me why but, that's how it is. The mods won't close a dupe thread in this case even if you ask them. Believe me, I've tried to have some of my dupe threads closed but they kept it open for this reason.


ETA:

I always include a link to the original thread if I can find it, although it can be hard to find the original if there are several threads on the same subject. I usually leave it up to the OP to do the right thing and alert the mods.

OH You mean duplicate thread... thought you meant 'double post'

For 'double post' just go back and edit it and say something profound other than "sorry double post"

No go ye forth and fix title

Sometimes the search does not work. I would ask that before they trash the duplicate thread, they move relevant posts to the original thread.

reply to post by sonofliberty1776


ATS search may not function too well, and may be slower and more restrictive than a lead gimp suit, BUT, using google to search potential thread titles and so on is actualy better in terms of its ability to show you whats what.

Flagged!!! Wish I could star you too.
I was just posting along these lines in my own thread on this, and decided to make sure (A little late) that no one else had posted it. And there you were Jinglelord. Sauron was nice enough to do the dirty work after I erased the OP.

But I do wish members would just alert a mod, rather than get snippy. It accomplishes nothing to chastise the OP.
Alert someone who can do something. The staff.

Yeah I find it amusing when I see scores of people claiming to be upset at duplicate threads that feel the need to enter those threads just to bash the OP for not searching. A simple "Here is the original with a LINK then alert the mod would be the right etiquette.

Several times I only find a topic because of the new thread because of the speed they go down the list, so a link would be nice to save having to look it up

I was just looking at the "Recent Posts" page and noticed that they no longer list the time and date a thread was posted like they used to do. That made it a lot easier to determine which one is the dupe thread and which is the original, especially when there are more than two dupes floating around out there.


I'd hate to be a mod and have to go sorting through all the dupe threads to try and figure out which one was posted first. I think they should go back to listing the time the threads were posted on the "Recent Posts" page to make things like this easier for everyone.

This is one of the reasons I rarely alert the mods for something like this; its hard to be sure you're alerting them for the right (or in this case, wrong) thread that was posted last.

Once the mods are aware, we close the dupes.

Here's some more detail on how this is done...

First, we look at which thread came first. If all have about the same number of responses (hopefully small, and we caught it early), great, it's easy..we close all the rest, and keep the first (from that day, or few days) open.

Next, we look at size. If a thread has 3 pages of discussion, but an earlier one has 5 replies....we're typically keeping the 3 page one open (and, at least I do this, shoot the OP of the first thread an Applause).

Now, if a thread covers the same topic, but a different angle on it, then both can be open. For example, one thread about the announcement of a rock with alien microbes. But another thread doesn't just announce it, but goes into a discussion about the repercussions, etc. As you can imagine, this is somewhat subjective....

Basically, we follow this golden rule. What makes it easier for the membership? (and act accordingly).

EDIT: We can see which ones were posted when....

reply to post by TrueBrit


Google search is your friend and the ultimate for making sure you avoid a duplicate.

Go to the advanced search page. In the Domain / website field enter abovetopsecret.com and it will limit all searches to ATS, also if you expand the date usage rights and more section at the bottom you can set a date limit. This is especially useful for breaking news. You can limit the search results to pages that existed within a time frame equal to when the article came out to give you less noise to filter through to see if it was posted.

reply to post by Jinglelord


Better yet, just quick scroll down the page prior to posting to be sure there isn't a thread on the first page about it.
That's the biggest thing that boggles my mind...when a dupe is on the same page...

A search is appreciated, but the simple step above will eliminate a LOT of dupes.

reply to post by Jinglelord


I uses the search engine every time, and error always pops up,

Many times someone post a topic after I have posted it, just help them out with the topic, the information is the important issue, not who started it first.

reply to post by Stormdancer777


Right on!

reply to post by Stormdancer777


Oh I know the search can be a huge pain and will not always help; especially if you're thinking of different key words or if in your case it is simply broken. Gazrok is right though, at lease check the first forum page!

My real gripe isn't with the duplicates, It's all the people who feel obliged poke fun at the poster of the duplicate without even trying to help by posting a link to the first thread!

And if you don't know where the first thread is do you recall what forum it was in? Are you sure it isn't only similar but going at it in a different direction?

I found the best way is search with regular google and just add ATS into the search terms.. but heck I have seen the same topic appear in 3 threads just in the area on my ATS which only lists about 5. In fact it happened here in BB another thread on duplicate threads right beside this one

i think that Gazrok guy even posted in it