53 minutes ago, DavinCreed said:
When I moderated a forum, there wasn't an option to auto-lock threads, and it's a lot to ask the mods to go around checking the dates of the last posts on threads to see whether they should lock them out.
Yup. The cutoff date varies a bit based on which area of the site you're looking at. In some high-traffic parts of the site one month is old and stale. In low traffic areas two or three months might be stale.
It also depends on the topic, there is a difference between a quick discussion that took place on a single day and had a clear ending like "I found and fixed it, thank you" taking place in a high-traffic part of the site, versus a discussion that has been active for a year with replies every few weeks in a low-traffic part of the site. Even if both have been dormant for three months, the first is likely to get a warning but the second is likely to be allowed.
This type of aging tends to be true on forums across the Internet, always glance at dates before replying so you aren't accidentally reviving a long-dead discussion.
As for warnings, that type of warning (one or two warning points) isn't an issue and they are only visible to staff and moderators who actively go looking at them. The warning points generally disappear after a few weeks, although for serious and repeat offenses they can last longer. Penalties don't start until 9+ points.
Bumping topics is normally one point that lasts for two weeks so you'd need to do it many times and get many warnings for it to become an issue. Contrast with more serious infractions like abusive behavior that gets several warning points, or promoting warez sites that have enough warning points for an insta-ban. A one point, two week warning merely lets you know you violated the norms, akin to a quiet notice of the rules rather than a hand-slap or being sent to the box of shame.
