Can we revive older Askme posts?

February 24, 2009 6:58 PM

What is the policy on reviving or revisiting (with changes) older Askme threads that lack a clear resolution?

There is an askme thread from last September about what trades might come in useful in a full blown depression (with humorous and scary derails into Mad Max/zombie apocalypse scenarios). I would like to revisit that question in light of economic developments since September and ask a little more specifically about my situation.

I've checked the FAQ and the wiki and can't find anything specific about this situation where one deliberately wants to make something similar to a "double."

I've been lurking since 2003 when William Gibson name checked the blue, and I've posting for two years, but I'm still unclear about the etiquette of revisiting older Askmes. Would any of the more experienced members care to offer any suggestions? I'm a big fan of good signal to noise and essentially want to know if mefites would consider this noise.

posted by digitalprimate to Etiquette/Policy at 6:58 PM (17 comments total)

A September thread on good skills to cultivate mentions Mad Max & zombies. It's still open.
posted by Pronoiac at 7:16 PM on February 24, 2009

What is the policy on reviving or revisiting (with changes) older Askme threads that lack a clear resolution?

Hard to say. Like A Song Of Ice And Fire, MetaFilter has grown so bloated, so out-of-control, so riddled with discontinuities and inconsistencies, that not even the creator truly knows any more.
posted by turgid dahlia at 7:27 PM on February 24, 2009 [2 favorites]

Threads stay open for a year, so you should be fine with something from September 2008.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 7:39 PM on February 24, 2009

I think that if you have a question that's never been asked before, nor really answered, it's valid to ask it. Which means that if you can ask the question with "in light of recent events" or something like that, it sounds fine. Be sure to include a mention of the other post(s) and what's different now and/or in your case to avoid answers redirecting you when you already knew about other questions.

That being said, I can't see what's sufficiently different since September that the content of any old question(s) would not be enough.
posted by Simon Barclay at 7:44 PM on February 24, 2009

So you want to ask a new question or just append a question to the still open thread? Generally speaking if you have a "I've read this question but need more specifics" it's fine. If it's a "I've read this question but it's six months later let's answer it again!" that's less fine, unless something has dramatically changed.

If you indicate that you've read the other questions and answers and still have an information need, go nuts, but five months passing doesn't seem to me to indicate a second thread identical to the first.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:44 PM on February 24, 2009

Thanks all, I appreciate the input. I'll update the September thread tomorrow. Hopefully the zombie apocalypse can wait that long :)
posted by digitalprimate at 7:46 PM on February 24, 2009

Well, questions are rarely deleted for being a double.

That said, is there a reason why the answers aren't what you have in mind? Have the economic developments made most of them implausible? Is your personal situation so different that the majority of the answers don't apply to you?

If so, ask on!

If not, you might be veering into the swampy and fetid territory of "I want to ask a question again, because I didn't like the answers to it the first time around."

Like A Song Of Ice And Fire, MetaFilter has grown so bloated, so out-of-control, so riddled with discontinuities and inconsistencies, that not even the creator truly knows any more.

Feh, I say. FEH!
posted by CKmtl at 7:52 PM on February 24, 2009

What about "I am looking for [specific product/book/song]" questions that weren't answered the first time (and are long closed). Can those be re-asked?
posted by desjardins at 8:16 PM on February 24, 2009

What about "I am looking for [specific product/book/song]" questions that weren't answered the first time (and are long closed). Can those be re-asked?

Absolutely not! If AskMe wasn't able to sufficiently answer a query the first time, the query is unanswerable and should be dismissed to the appropriate corner of the Universe. You know, that place where unicorns and 3==5 and cold fusion and the Pope's little cardboard tube and little white mice all play happily with their pocket paradoxes and ducking, fancy infinities.
posted by carsonb at 8:44 PM on February 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

I volunteer to go in and comment "Don't eat it!" in all unresolved threads...
posted by hermitosis at 9:01 PM on February 24, 2009

but, hermitosis... I thought you invariably ate it.
posted by dawson at 10:04 PM on February 24, 2009

That's why he doesn't want anyone else to eat it.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 4:44 AM on February 25, 2009

Fuck I accidentally tapped ash into my working beer bottle. I'm always doing that.
posted by turgid dahlia at 5:23 AM on February 25, 2009

Worst resolution ever.
posted by electroboy at 7:43 AM on February 25, 2009 [2 favorites]

I see doubles all the time. Asking a similar question in a different way six months later seems ok to me. Who's going to see an update to an old question except those who already answered?
posted by CunningLinguist at 7:50 AM on February 25, 2009

electroboy, you really don't like having your knowitallness challenged, do you? You started with an answer which could be considered helpful. Then chimed in with unwarranted assumptions about how and why and argued about the merits of dug vs drilled wells. I never stated that dug wells were superior, just that some folks think they are. Why should I defend dug wells in a thread about whether dynamite residue might have harmed me? All that was a derail. You ended with mockery. Something is unresolved alright, but it isn't whether you are full of yourself.
posted by Hobgoblin at 6:33 AM on February 26, 2009

I mock because I love, Hobgoblin. I love you so much it hurts.
posted by electroboy at 8:46 AM on February 26, 2009