Old Q/A questions get necroed by invisible 'updates'
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1. I keep seeing old Q/A questions back on the front page. When I check, I find it's old, and nothing has been added to it. Except that under the original question it says something like 'update 18 hours ago' - only there is no version history, indicating there is no update at all! Example: How Do I Replace A Word In A Text File In C++?[^] posted years ago, 'updated' 18 hours ago, but no new version, no new comment or solution. Similar issue: A Q/A question on the front page that claims it's been 'updated' 2 days ago, but when you go investigate, the question and all solutions and comments are from 2012. There has been one update to the question in 2018 - but that is not '2 days ago'! See complexity analysis of this code[^] Since I also keep seeing people necroing old questions by posting comments and solutions, I wonder if that 'updated' date refers to such a change that may have been deleted afterwards? If so, can the web code be changed to make sure the update time stamp gets reset as well?
GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)
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1. I keep seeing old Q/A questions back on the front page. When I check, I find it's old, and nothing has been added to it. Except that under the original question it says something like 'update 18 hours ago' - only there is no version history, indicating there is no update at all! Example: How Do I Replace A Word In A Text File In C++?[^] posted years ago, 'updated' 18 hours ago, but no new version, no new comment or solution. Similar issue: A Q/A question on the front page that claims it's been 'updated' 2 days ago, but when you go investigate, the question and all solutions and comments are from 2012. There has been one update to the question in 2018 - but that is not '2 days ago'! See complexity analysis of this code[^] Since I also keep seeing people necroing old questions by posting comments and solutions, I wonder if that 'updated' date refers to such a change that may have been deleted afterwards? If so, can the web code be changed to make sure the update time stamp gets reset as well?
GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)
It's because "old questions" are a fertile ground for spammers to post on, in the hope that we won't notice. The spam gets rejected, but the question has had a "response" which pushes it back up the list. I'd agree that it looks wrong ... but it's difficult to see what can be done without adding a fair number of special cases to the codebase - and I'm never that fond of those in my code! :laugh:
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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1. I keep seeing old Q/A questions back on the front page. When I check, I find it's old, and nothing has been added to it. Except that under the original question it says something like 'update 18 hours ago' - only there is no version history, indicating there is no update at all! Example: How Do I Replace A Word In A Text File In C++?[^] posted years ago, 'updated' 18 hours ago, but no new version, no new comment or solution. Similar issue: A Q/A question on the front page that claims it's been 'updated' 2 days ago, but when you go investigate, the question and all solutions and comments are from 2012. There has been one update to the question in 2018 - but that is not '2 days ago'! See complexity analysis of this code[^] Since I also keep seeing people necroing old questions by posting comments and solutions, I wonder if that 'updated' date refers to such a change that may have been deleted afterwards? If so, can the web code be changed to make sure the update time stamp gets reset as well?
GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)
Actually, there were answers posted yesterday, but they were close/deleted due to poor quality. Unless you have certain permissions, such as being an administrator, you would not see these answers. I agree this may be confusing.
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."
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Actually, there were answers posted yesterday, but they were close/deleted due to poor quality. Unless you have certain permissions, such as being an administrator, you would not see these answers. I agree this may be confusing.
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."
Maybe adding a "got X answers" (but only "Y" are visible) could help to spot this cases?
M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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It's because "old questions" are a fertile ground for spammers to post on, in the hope that we won't notice. The spam gets rejected, but the question has had a "response" which pushes it back up the list. I'd agree that it looks wrong ... but it's difficult to see what can be done without adding a fair number of special cases to the codebase - and I'm never that fond of those in my code! :laugh:
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
I don't see anything hard about adjusting the date to the latest among the visible date - exactly what I was doing when looking through these Q/A postings. It doesn't matter what special case led to that state.
GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)
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Actually, there were answers posted yesterday, but they were close/deleted due to poor quality. Unless you have certain permissions, such as being an administrator, you would not see these answers. I agree this may be confusing.
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."
I don't mind getting confused now and then, but more than once I (and many others too) have fallen into the trap of thinking this was a new question and spent time writing an answer. Not only was that time most likely wasted, adding a new solution also makes that Q/A's date seem more legitimate than it should be, leading to further contributions and time wasted. There's no point beating on a dead horse. And that is the reason (or one reason) why most forums and similar platforms have the option of locking a dead horse. Errrm ... thread. ;)
GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)
