I Guess I Should Feel Flattered When Someone Digs Up An Old Discussion...But
By pyewacket
@pyewacket (43903)
United States
July 26, 2010 4:43pm CST
I supposed this has happened to each and everyone of us here at MyLot. Somehow, someone will dig up an old discussion, and when I mean old, I'm not talking about from a few months ago, but YEARS ago. 
I guess I should feel flattered that someone decided to bring an old discussion back to life, but I think people should be aware of JUST HOW OLD that discussion might be. It's one thing if the discussion is a more "timeless" topic, meaning relevant to even present day issues, but many of my old four or three year old discussions were valid ONLY for that time frame and maybe the issue was resolved a long, long time ago.
For instance, one of my four year old discussions was recently replied to. It had to do with the issue I had, meaning problem, of pesky bill collectors trying to get money paid to them that my mother had owed. Like yeesh, my mother died on August 27, 2006, and yes, I was having continuing problems with one particular place insisting that she pay them the money due to them, and yes, this bill collection company addressed it to her despite numerous times of my sending copies of her death certificate. Well folks that issue was resolved four years ago and not valid now.
Anyway, do you often get old, old discussions resurrected from the past? Do you feel flattered or just maybe a tad annoyed especially when the topic discussion may no longer be a valid one? If you reply to a discussion, do you pay attention to how OLD the discussion is?
Do I complain too much?
I guess I should feel flattered that someone decided to bring an old discussion back to life, but I think people should be aware of JUST HOW OLD that discussion might be. It's one thing if the discussion is a more "timeless" topic, meaning relevant to even present day issues, but many of my old four or three year old discussions were valid ONLY for that time frame and maybe the issue was resolved a long, long time ago.
For instance, one of my four year old discussions was recently replied to. It had to do with the issue I had, meaning problem, of pesky bill collectors trying to get money paid to them that my mother had owed. Like yeesh, my mother died on August 27, 2006, and yes, I was having continuing problems with one particular place insisting that she pay them the money due to them, and yes, this bill collection company addressed it to her despite numerous times of my sending copies of her death certificate. Well folks that issue was resolved four years ago and not valid now.
Anyway, do you often get old, old discussions resurrected from the past? Do you feel flattered or just maybe a tad annoyed especially when the topic discussion may no longer be a valid one? If you reply to a discussion, do you pay attention to how OLD the discussion is?
Do I complain too much?11 people like this
40 responses
@Bellapop (1279)
•
26 Jul 10
Well, I always try to answer the discussion of someone who's aswered mine, and more often than not, I just go through and see which topic interests me and sometimes I can go through pages and pages of topics before i find one that I'll have something to say about and that so happens to be a topic from 5 years ago! So, I don't really set out to dig out an oldie topic! :)
3 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
26 Jul 10
Yes, I am actually flattered when someone answers one of my old discussions, but only if the topic is still valid. Many of us love to do "rant" kind of discussions here, usually about some problem going on in their lives at that moment...it's great therapy...LOL. Thing is many of my "problem" discussions are just no longer valid and the problem resolved eons ago, so I find it actually amusing when someone digs one of them up
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
26 Jul 10
I had a four year old discussion not only resurrected from the past but used as the source for a myLot user to open a new discussion. Four years ago my facts were relevant but now they were no longer valid. This really pissed me off as the new discussion never pointed out that the "source" was four years old. It gave my old information about Paypal giving 5.4% interest on accounts. The was true back then but now it only gave about 1%. As my discussion was linked as the source I got called all kind of names and had to get myLot admin involved. GRRR!
I just wish people paid more attention to older discussion and to the original date!
2 people like this
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
27 Jul 10
Because no-one checked the date the referenced discussion was posted!!! Back then the information was true but obviously 4 years later and in our present economy no-one gives 5.4% interest anymore. So I was called a liar and worse when the responders checked with PayPal and it was now no longer the current interest rate.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Jul 10
Why the heck did people attack you though and getting called all kinds of names--that doesn't seem right to blame you
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Jul 10
Don't be surprised if I resurrect some of your older discussions...LOL. Since I'm more active in the "other" place I'm way behind here...also I'm still not getting email notices of when friends start discussions
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Jul 10
Yeah I know about that email..it's IP address is from china...
1 person likes this
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
27 Jul 10
Who isn't flattered when someone show interest by going back to the past to salvage old records. Discussions in mylot are never made history as they are always there for new and old members to read and maybe to respond. No one will dig up old discussions if your present discussions do not interest them. So if your old discussions resurfaced it only shows that your writings are mesmerizing.
Complain? No you are not but bear in mind that people in our age group talk a lot and many people construed our non stop talking especially about past events as complaining which I think is the sign of old age!!!
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Jul 10
I guess I should feel flattered if people think my writing is mesmerizing...LOL. But as with this old discussion in particular I'm talking about, I think it was also a case of the person not really reading the whole thing through...the person was actually giving me advice to hire a lawyer to settle the issue--an issue that was four years ago..
@sid556 (30959)
• United States
27 Jul 10
Hi Pye,
I've resurrected old discussions before. I usually don't even notice how old they are until I've replied. If I do notice and I realize it is something that is not even probably current with that person then I just move on from it. I've had some old discussions brought back to life that I barely remember writing. Usually they are relevant still and so it's kind of cool. I remember one discussion on here when I first joined that this girl had posted of a bad night of drinking and I think a fight with her boyfriend or something. Anyway she was admittedly drunk when she posted it. OMG...that discussion just would not die. It would disappear for a while only to be back haunting her soon after. I don't remember who it was but she had been here for a while and the discussion was ancient and she was begging people to stop responding to it. I felt bad for her.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jul 10
LOL--I've been here so long and started so many discussions that I have to admit I've forgotten I wrote them. Sometimes it's bit sad to see the old ones, especially when I look at the responders and notice so many aren't even here anymore
1 person likes this
@jennyze (7028)
• Indonesia
27 Jul 10
I am new here, so I don't have any old discussion resurrected from the past.
If it happens, I think I would feel flattered. If the discussion does no longer valid, than I would just comment hat everything has been settled a long time ago and ask the person to look at the time of when the discussion was posted. I think you complain too much...
I only go to the top discussion selections, so I have not encountered a very old discussion so far.
If it happens, I think I would feel flattered. If the discussion does no longer valid, than I would just comment hat everything has been settled a long time ago and ask the person to look at the time of when the discussion was posted. I think you complain too much...
I only go to the top discussion selections, so I have not encountered a very old discussion so far.1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Jul 10
I'm trying to figure out how that person found such an old discussion in the first place.
@GardenGerty (160935)
• United States
27 Jul 10
I sometimes do not pay close attention, especially if it is attached to a current discussion as a similar discussion. I have had lots of really old ones come up, and if they come up one time, then someone else will see them and they will be up at least three times.I just go with it if I can.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Jul 10
I just think that if the discussion was about a personal problem/matter and the person sees how old it is, then they should realize that the issue may have been resolved already..LOL
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
27 Jul 10
I would suppose they would have read the responses if they had not just answered it through the email and then would have asked "what did you do?" That is what I would have done, but most of the old discussions are those that have no responses, and I sort of feel that the starter of the discussion is going into a deep depression because no one cared enough to answer it.
I have had discussions I started resurrected later and I thought "Here I was writing something that I really needed help on and why were you not there at the time?"
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
27 Jul 10
Then she should have read the whole discussion, and figured out the date. That is what I would have done. She probably searched for discussions that she could give advise on, but getting a lawyer is so simplistic. If I had seen the discussion back when it was started, I would have asked if you had written to her creditors first and you would have said yes, I did but it did not do any good. Then you probably told the steps you took afterwards.
But I would have never told you what to do, years after the fact. And I would have assumed that you took all the steps necessary.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Jul 10
the person who responded to my old discussion isn't even on my friend's list, so I don't even know how she dug it up and the funny thing she was advising me to get a lawyer...like huh?
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Jul 10
What I found funny was the person was actually giving me advice on how to solve the problem...like hiring a lawyer
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
27 Jul 10
Although not that old, I've had a few old ones from time to time...lately even. I don't mind replying. Maybe they are just now having that same problem and want to read how others handled it and solutions and out comes. They probably did a search on that discussion topic.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Jul 10
Yes I could understand if they were having the same problem, but the person was actually giving me advice that I should hire a lawyer to settle my dispute and problem...LOL
@lumenmom (1986)
• United States
27 Jul 10
Having been the culprit in bringing up old discussions a few times, I must admit Iat first I did not even notice the age of the posts. Then once I learned to look, I would try to be mindful but then sometimes a topic may come to me in ways I am not sure of myself. The topic may be relevant to me at the time I see it, so there I go typing my heartfelt answer, only to then realize the discussion is a year or two old. I don't know if anyone deliberately brings these discussions back to life knowing they are so old, but I know I don't and I try not to do it at all anymore.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Jul 10
I don't think any of us would mind if our old discussions are dug up if they still have relevance and sort of "timeless" topics, but it does seem strange when a person digs up an old discussion of a personal problem or issue. The person who responded to my old and now invalid discussion even suggested I hire a lawyer
@cerebellum (3863)
• United States
27 Jul 10
I have never had that happen to me! Course I haven't started many discussions, and I haven't been here that long. I don't really pay attention to the age of a discussion, as I figure if it comes up, it is new.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jul 10
I have to admit on occasion I'll reply to an old discussion but only if it still has relevance to today
@wickedspies (965)
• United States
27 Jul 10
I think it's great to touch back on old topics and to kind of blow the dust off an old book so to speak. i mean it's not like these topics don't come up eventually. We probably have millions of repeat discussions already ^_^ why not just bring back the oldy but goody haha
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Jul 10
I just think for that particular discussion the person should have realized that the issue was resolved four years ago, since it was about a personal problem
@ptower76 (1616)
• United States
27 Jul 10
I am new to Mylot so i have not had that experience yet. I think though that i would feel flattered and not annoyed at someone responding to old discussion. It seems like to me that most of the post and responses on mylot are sharing knowledge and experiences and I don't think that people that need the help or want the knowledge from your experience worry if it is an old post as long as they can gain the knowledge they need. If the topic were not valid, perhaps they will not respond to it. But if is valid to them, even if only to earn on it, then what harm?
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Jul 10
Well it'd be one thing if the person responding was interested in the old discussion due to them being interested in the topic and maybe could get some advice for a similar problem, but the person who was responding to my old discussion was giving me advice to hire a lawyer for my problem
@ptower76 (1616)
• United States
27 Jul 10
Well, i would have probably asked the person if they could get a lawyer to respond to me before the date and i would have written of the posting and when they saw the date, they might have felt a little foolish and made them realize what they were doing. But i guess that can be annoying.
1 person likes this
@Aurone (4755)
• United States
16 Apr 11
I have had that happen a time or two. It is kind of nice on one hand but it also reminds how long we all have been here. When discussions lose their relevancy like that (like all my discussions about my ex husband) it makes me wish we could delete them. They are no longer relevant and therefore no longer useful to the site.
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
13 Apr 11
Hey there Pye. Sorry for the late response. I've been meaning to respond to this discussion a lot sooner, I just haven't gotten around to it 'til now...
Anyway, I don't get too many of my old discussions resurrected from the past. Though if I did, I wouldn't mind. Most don't have a time limit on them anyway, and for those of them that do, it wouldn't bother me, because I know discussions on here never close. We shouldn't get annoyed if our old discussions get brought back. If anything we should be grateful that these old discussions get recognized at all.
Keep in mind that guidelines state "make sure you search for existing topics before starting new discussions". Even though these guidelines aren't hard and fast rules (as quoted by GAA herself), some users (particularly new users) may mistake them as such.
So, if users are finding discussions this way, we can't get too upset with them. They're just following guidelines, after all.
As for paying attention to how old a discussion is, I usually do just that. However, that doesn't always stop me. I may just respond to it anyway! LOL
Happy mylotting!
As for paying attention to how old a discussion is, I usually do just that. However, that doesn't always stop me. I may just respond to it anyway! LOL
Happy mylotting!
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
29 Aug 10
No, I still have some discussions with zero replies that are years old that I wish someone would answer. No, I've never had anyone go back more than a month or two. I've been here 3 years, so they can't go back 4 or 5 years. I think we should all be greatful for whatever replies we get, but then I'm not in your situation. Maybe at 4 or 5 years, suddenly someone will resurrect one of my discussions. Then I'll know for sure. Take care. Peace and love.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
26 Jul 10
hi pyewacket that is a good question and I am not sure how to answer it; I have seen several interesting sounding discussions and just as I was'about to respond I noticed it was four years old. the topic was some type of family problem that would have to have been resolved four years ago or the family would have collapsed or both. So I just did not think'
I wanted to answer that one. They were having some sort of marital
problems and four years is too long to put those on hold I am sure.lol.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Jul 10
What I found hysterically funny was that the person responding to my old discussion was giving me advice to hire a lawyer to settle my problem...
@allyoftherain (7208)
• United States
26 Jul 10
Well I'm not that old of a member so my "old" discussions are usually only a couple months old when they're revived. At this point it doesn't bother me much, but if it had been years and an issue already resolved... then yeah that would be a tad irksome.
I usually just browse the recently added discussions and don't have to worry about resurrecting something old... but when I'm using the search bar I always check the date of a discussion I'm replying to. If it's more than a year old I usually don't reply at all.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Jul 10
LOL--I sometimes have a hard enough time responding to all my friends newer discussions without digging up old ones...especially since I haven't been as active lately for awhile
1 person likes this
@sweet_pea (3322)
• Philippines
3 Jun 11
Yes, I do reply to old discussions, some even 5 years older. A discussion is never too old to participate in. I respond to them as long as their topic interests me. However, I only respond to topics that are trivial and not something personal as I think my response might be just too late because the issue had been resolved already.
I know the feeling when a topic that you started from way back then comes to life specially if they don't have any responses at all. My first discussion was responded 6 months after I started it by 2 valuable friends. That made my day and I just feel so happy!
