# Warning message for users replying to a "solved" topic that didn't participate before it was solved
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/warning-message-for-users-replying-to-a-solved-topic-that-didnt-participate-before-it-was-solved/66847
**Category:** Feature
**Tags:** solved
**Created:** [July 26, 2017, 12:11pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/warning-message-for-users-replying-to-a-solved-topic-that-didnt-participate-before-it-was-solved/66847 "2017-07-26T12:11:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Sujan](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Sujan)
#### Post date: [July 26, 2017, 12:11pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/warning-message-for-users-replying-to-a-solved-topic-that-didnt-participate-before-it-was-solved/66847/1 "2017-07-26T12:11:23Z")
People finding old posts via Google very often just post there related, but different, problem as a reply - event if the topic is marked as solved. Problem is that of course these topics don’t get nearly the same attention as a new topic with a proper title.
It would be great, if one could configure a “warning message” shown to users, that come into solved topics, and try to respond the first time.
That way, we could tell them something like this:
> You are responding to a topic that was already marked as solved. As you haven’t posted in this topic before, please make sure you open a new topic if you have a problem that needs a solution itself. Posting to this topic your post probably won’t receive the attention it would get in its own topic. Thank you.
or even
> Please don’t respond to solved topics with new problems. Open a new topic for that please. Thanks.
(Similar messages could be used for old posts in general…)
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2017, 8:36am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/warning-message-for-users-replying-to-a-solved-topic-that-didnt-participate-before-it-was-solved/66847/2 "2017-07-27T08:36:46Z")
Why don’t you auto-close old topics in these categories, if replying is unwanted?
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### Author:  [@Sujan](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Sujan)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2017, 9:05am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/warning-message-for-users-replying-to-a-solved-topic-that-didnt-participate-before-it-was-solved/66847/3 "2017-07-27T09:05:32Z")
Because these posts are like closed Github issues. It’s fine for a) the original posters or anyone having alternative solutions, additional insight, updates on the situation etc. to reply and participate. But b) people coming in with “related” (in their mind) issues should not.
So closing would stop the wanted a. activity. And keeping it open bring users in from Google that then just hit “reply” to create b.
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### Author:  [@lindsey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/lindsey)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2025, 4:33pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/warning-message-for-users-replying-to-a-solved-topic-that-didnt-participate-before-it-was-solved/66847/4 "2025-11-10T16:33:03Z")