Close them so that no new posts can be made to said thread.
The value in an internet forum like this one is finding useful up-to-date information. To that end I think the EF should close by default all threads older than say six months, unless they are continuously receiving updates.
No having multiple threads just leads to duplicate questions and answers and results in long search lists.
I prefer existing threads on a topic getting an update - simplifies the results of a search
Some of the forums I'm a member of have a big banner when replying to a thread older than 6 months...
This is useful, especially when a spammer digs up and old thread, but then their post gets deleted...
I am obviously against it. Old threads are still found and have plethora of information. Sometimes, wrong, some times interesting, sometimes boring, and sometimes useless chatter. Forums which closes threads are does with lot of multiple threads with unanswered questions.
I have been too many times in this situation:
Source: https://xkcd.com/979/
But also too many times found the answer to the problem, just not be able to post it for others as the thread was closed. Opening a single new thread with just the answer is pointless. Specially if the other, unanswered thread, was found pretty easily.
If anything brand-new post should be merged into previous posts on the same subject.
But I imagine that would be a real pain-in-the-ass for the mods.
But I would like to see some attention given to posts that are replies to two or three (or more) year old discussions.
Again a PITA for the mods.
Leave them open.
Adding to existing threads and expanding them is much more useful than creating new ones at no end.
Take private drone laws and regulations, a topic that keeps evolving and getting more complex. Nothing's gained from having each additional question in its on thread, quite the contrary.
Or take bigblue2(?) 3D printing thread, and imagine it was split instead whenever it got revived. Yikes!
And don't even think of splitting the main covid thread. Or Brexit, there'd be at least ten by now.
Actually, the mods do quite a lot of this, especially if the duplicate or look-alike is pointed out to them. And I think that, for the most part, they're doing it very well.
D'you mean there aren't, already?
Never enough for massive catastrophies !