People, Search Your Topics
By Suebee
@Suebee (2013)
Canada
May 1, 2012 12:10pm CST
It is a good idea to get into the habit of searching your topic on mylot before making it into a discussion. Even though I am a newbie I have had 5 responses deleted already. Not because my responses were inappropriate in any way whatsoever, but because the topic I responded to got deleted because it was a DUPLICATE topic. What a waste of time responding only to have it wiped out. It becomes very discouraging. Sooo, do a search, it doesn't take long and can benefit not only you but others who respond as well. And hey, there is the possibility of an added bonus. The more you use the search the more chance you have of getting rewards. I just searched a topic and got a pop-up saying congrats, I just won a 6 cent reward. Don't be afraid to search it first people.
3 people like this
8 responses
@petersum (4522)
• United States
1 May 12
Good points! Using the search is profitable over time.
Sometimes I know it is a duplicate but I still post if I feel strongly about the topic. I just assume that some people will read my comment before it gets deleted, so that makes it worthwhile.
Then sometimes it doesn't get deleted! Who are we to determine what the admins will do each time?
But generally, you are correct. We should search first and try to avoid repeats.
2 people like this
@Suebee (2013)
• Canada
1 May 12
I have to admit that I have responded to duplicates for the same reason. Or I have responded first and done a search afterward only to discover it is a duplicate. As far as determining what the admins will do each time, we can't. All we can do is report what we think is a duplicate or violation of the guidelines and then leave it in the hands of the admin as to what action to take. Sometimes the admin might see something in the discussion that makes it original or unique that we just don't pick up on.
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
1 May 12
We are indeed told in the Guidelines to search for existing topics before we start a new one but sadly many don't do this.
The longer you stay here the more you will become familiar with the topics to avoid, though I know that until then it will be annoying.
One doubt though - how do you know that the reason for the deletion was 'duplicated topic'? The motivation only appears on the notification sent to the user who started the topic.
If you lose a comment on a response which was deleted, then you will see the motivation but not when an entire topic is removed.
1 person likes this
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
1 May 12
Ah! There are many reasons for topics being deleted and duplicated/repeated topics is not one of the main reasons. Many topics are polls, some are plagiarised, some are promotions, etc. and the only way that we can have a better idea is by readin the 'don'ts' in the Guidelines:
http://www.mylot.com/o/guidelines.aspx
Then, instead of responding and wasting a post, we can report it 
@Suebee (2013)
• Canada
1 May 12
Ok I just read the guidelines yet again and it appears that the closest thing on duplicate discussions is found in the DO section. It says make sure you search for existing topics before starting a new one. Although this doesn't exactly say do not start duplicate discussions it suggests it.
@sid556 (30959)
• United States
1 May 12
Well the search doesn't always work so well. I did a discussion on Steven Tyler singing the National Anthem back when it caused so much buzz. I was told by one responder that i might get deleted for it being a duplicate. In fact she said there were a ton of discussions made on it. Thing is, I did the search in several ways prior to doing the discussion. Even afterwards, I tried searching my own and went so far as to even use the tags....NOTHING. Try it and see if you can find it. I typed Steven Tyler, Steve Tyler, Steve Tyler sings the National Anthem, National Anthem and many more....nothing. So you see searching first does not guarantee a thing.
1 person likes this
@nonersays (3335)
• United States
2 May 12
The downside to the deletion of "repeat" topics is that...sooner or later there are no NEW topics because everything has been talked about before.
I had a discussion deleted last night, I guess it must have been a common question because it didn't break any of the other guidelines.
But, since I didn't JUST ask a question and talked about other stuff in the discussion as well, I thought it should have been left up.
1 person likes this
@nonersays (3335)
• United States
2 May 12
Yeah, some of the guidelines are a little vague, and even some admins have admitted this and tried to clarify.
It WOULD be nice if they could do some gentle housecleaning from year to year without effecting the people involved in the discussions. That way you would be save to revive and old inactive discussion without worry.
1 person likes this
@Suebee (2013)
• Canada
2 May 12
It's hard to know what is considered a violation by the admins. In order to do that you have to think like an admin I guess. Too bad there wasn't a way of deleting old topics, say those started 5 or more years ago, or ones that have not been had any action in the past 5 or so years without it having an effect on the people involved in the discussion. A sort of separate deleting system of "house-cleaning" file.
@ryanong (9665)
• Vietnam
2 May 12
I try to be careful to reply topics but i still got many notifications from mylot too, my discussions are deleted because the topics are deleted. Many topics are similar and i really don't know which one is violation.
However, I haven't used a search like you yet.
@Suebee (2013)
• Canada
2 May 12
I'm with you on that one. It is difficult to determine which ones are violations. I do the search and have avoided answering some discussions if I think they are blatant violations, however as people are pointing out, a search doesn't always turn up everything. I still think a search is worth doing though. It may not eliminate duplicates but will certainly cut down on them significantly.
@AwesomeGuy250 (334)
• United States
1 May 12
I so agree with you. I've had a couple of my posts deleted as well, just because I replied to a duplicate thread as well. It kinda sucks when you get a email saying your post has been deleted. Although it can be hard to go through and find the original topic, there are so many topics on mylot. But of course it is best to search before you post.
1 person likes this
@Suebee (2013)
• Canada
1 May 12
Do you use the search to look for duplicate discussions? It makes it a lot easier but yes, I agree there are sometimes a lot to look through. In that case however, I just don't start a new discussion on the topic, I pick an old one and reply to it.
1 person likes this
@AwesomeGuy250 (334)
• United States
1 May 12
Yes I do use the search function to find any duplicate threads. Or if I wanna start a new topic, I'll search, just to see if it has already been started. It helps keep mylot more organized.
1 person likes this
