We’ve been discussing auto-closing older topics in our community, but for now the consensus is that it’s better to leave them open than to force people to create new topics on the same subject. Having said that, it might be nice to show a warning when someone tries to reply to an old topic to make them pause and think for a minute before they post. Is there any way to do this, or to add it through a theme component?
AI-generated summary
In a discussion about whether to show an extra invasive warning when replying to old topics, bartv suggests adding a more prominent alert to encourage users to pause before posting, as auto-closing old topics was deemed less ideal. david notes that a warning already exists in the composer (desktop only) and suggests adapting an existing theme component to check the “bumped at” timestamp instead of “closed” status. bartv acknowledges users often ignore the current composer warning and seeks a more intrusive alternative. codinghorror counters that such warnings already exist and cautions that users will ignore even the most invasive prompts. bartv agrees with this pessimistic view but remains determined to try improving visibility anyway.
You could probably adapt this component:
Rather than checking the “closed” attribute, check the “bumped at” attribute instead
But also, remember that we already show a warning in the composer when you reply to an old topic (desktop only)
I’ll give that a try, thanks!
I’m sorry to say, but in my experience our users ignore those notices in the message composer. An ‘in your face’ warning would be better for us.
This feature already exists! You are asking for something that already happens. Try replying to a many years old topic here on meta for example.
If your argument is that you need a more invasive notice, you have seriously underestimated what users can ignore — they will ignore every single thing on the screen, no matter how “invasive” you make it.
I’m afraid that is true, yes 
Gotta try though!