If the information is so out of date that we need to lock it, can we also delete it, or at least hide it from search engines? It’s frustrating to be directed to information that is out of date and locked.
Conversely, if the information is still useful enough to keep available, then it should stay open for further discussion, IMHO. It’s frustrating to be restricted from updating or commenting on information that needs updating.
I don’t think anything should get deleted. But threads aren’t just information that can go out of date, they contain ideas and discussions that might have naturally concluded amomg the participants. I find it jarring (and typically not useful) for a new person to join such a discussion many months later.
Maybe this is just personal preference and I should mute things more. But if lots of people were experiencing the same thing then maybe there’s a more global tweak that could help. I don’t think the conversation here indicates that, though.
I admin another discourse for an open source project and we auto-lock after three months. It is absolutely an increased burden on folks who are already donating their time for free, to have to sort through some necro-thread to determine what is or isn’t relevant to some new post three years later. Respect contributors time and just open a new thread, with all relevant, current details in one place, linking to anything older if it’s truly important.
To note, much of the same motivation seems to be behind this thread, and the suggestions and opinions here inform our response, so I encourage those interested here to share their thoughts to this as well: