BTTT / Marked topics (page 2)

St George of England

I sometimes do this but not to push the thread to the top.

I do it so I can easily find something I think is really good or useful. I don't find the "search" facility particularly good and my memory is even worse.

George

bigmac

i'm guilty for bumping my thread "ex jw uk"----but i do it if i see a new UK poster on here. i think it serves a worthwhile purpose

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/197364/1/ex-jw-uk

Please note: I am not trying to be unreasonable. There is a huge difference between someone doing a single BTTT on an odd topic when it does come back into the news for some reason vs posting 30 or so identical posts on several topics all at once or when the last 5 posts on a topic are the same BTTT comment by the same poster.

As I've already explained, one measure I use for deciding whether something should be allowed is whether everyone would be allowed to do it. If even 10 people decided that they were going to constantly BTTT their topics then the forum would become unworkable.

If I am not going to allow everyone to do something then I can't really allow anyone to do it either as that would be unfair.

As I said, I'm not being unreasonable and look at the circumstances and freqency etc... It's not a blind rule with no thought behind it.

nonjwspouse

I find the search function barely useful. It is like a web search, not a forum search. I recenly put in multiple words, multiple ways, trying unsucessfully to find topics I know are here, but don't know where. I am glad when a topic like the recent court case is put back to the front page so another top post of the topic is not started. When another one is started on a hot topic, the topics and replies get kind of convoluted/mixed up.

When we have a hot topic it might be useful to have a special place to access "hot topics'?

Simon

You can search the site on Google, just include "site:www.jehovahs-witness.net" when you do.

There are advanced options that allow you to search by date range etc... as well.

WTWizard

Funny thing, much of this could be sidestepped simply by putting the posts in the appropriate section. You have political debates, put those in the political debate section. You have posts where child abuse is being discussed, there is a section there. You have a thought about some scandal involving the washtowel, there is a section to start those types of threads. You have a specific announcement, you put it here. Technical issues, you find the technical issue section. That way, your topic has a better chance of still being on the top page of its sub-forum a few weeks later. They are that much less likely to be buried under mountains of "Did you hear about the new donation", "They just read a letter about [stupid campaign or mission]", or "I can't believe how terrible the meeting was" threads.

If you insist on seeing a specific topic whenever, there is the bookmark feature. You can bookmark the page the topic is on directly through your browser, and then that page will be on your bookmark lists with the browser or Google. As for keeping a topic active, "BTTT" in a thread generating a million replies is going to do nothing because the next reply, possibly only minutes later, will do the exact same thing. And, fewer of those stupid bumps means fewer pages to get to the replies that add something to the discussion. Yes, it may be nice to bump an old topic that now has relevant meaning--preferably by replying to it. But I agree that stupid bumps (that is, those that accomplish nothing but force people onto Page 2 or 3 when more would have fit on one page) need to be kept down to a minimum.

smiddy

While I have been guilty of this in the past I can see where you are coming from Simon .

I think this is where the search engine should should take priority in referring people to older threads .

I dont think the search option is utilised as much as it should be .

smiddy

Listener

Another option is to put in a link on a current discussion to a relevant discussion from the past.

Phizzy

I agree that it should be used sparingly, and especially the people who simply "Mark" a thread for their own convenience, so as to read it later, need to be given a stern warning, perhaps a P.M from you Simon.

But I have noticed that some important Threads have almost died until someone spots them and bumps them, but as you rightly say, a short word as to why it is important to bump it is needed.

If your "bump" cannot be 100% justified , then don't do it.

(Why does that last sentence sound like Birth Control advice ?).

AnnOMaly

OK, 'marked' is overused, granted, but it's a darned sight easier and quicker just to go to 'Topics Posted On' and find a recent thread than trawling through pages of random threads. Often I can't remember the thread title or it's not where I thought it was or there are similar ones to sift through. The search facility can waste far more time than just 'marking' a thread and finding it in my 'Topics Posted On' section.

As for 'BTTT' or 'Bump,' perhaps a brief comment could be added as to why a thread is being bumped - especially long dead and buried ones?

BTTT / Marked topics

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