The discussion revolves around improving how ‘solved’ topics are handled to prevent outdated threads from attracting new, redundant replies. Sujan notes that users often reply to old solved threads found via Google, unaware they’re closed, leading to ignored or unhelpful responses. codinghorror suggests closing solved topics outright if no further replies make sense, and proposes setting category-level auto-close rules — for example, closing topics (x) days after the last reply or after being marked solved. uwe_keim and david explore auto-closing topics a set number of days after being marked solved, though david notes this feature doesn’t yet exist. codinghorror observes that auto-closing after being marked solved is functionally similar to auto-closing after inactivity, unless the solved status triggers a much shorter timer. Sean_R supports using the ‘Marked as Solved’ action to trigger workflows for Q&A or problem resolution. sam agrees, noting that auto-close after solved allows for faster closure — for example, setting 2 days after being marked solved in a support category, versus 2 months after last reply — to encourage prompt resolution and reduce clutter.
We have people finding old posts via Google that were solved ages ago. Because they think they have the same problem, they just post their own dump on the bottom and hope for answers. Most regular users tend to ignore “solved” topics though - so this doesn’t end in happy users
Might it be useful to add some kind of information when posting into a solved topic that mentions this somehow?
You are responding to a topic that was already marked as “solved”.
You are more likely to get a new set of eyes on your problem by creating a new topic.
I suggest closing topics if they are definitively solved and further responses make no sense.
You can also set the category preferences so that topics in that category auto-close (x) days after the first post, or (x) days after the last reply, if that works better for you.
