Duplicate Threads

[Mitochondrial Eve]

At risk of sounding like the forum nag, I have noticed recently that there are a large number of duplicate threads being created about the same topics. I have included some examples below.

 

• UK government's vaccination consultation - at least 5 threads

 

• Chromosome 8 "bombshell" - at least 4 threads

 

• Dr Vernon Coleman - at least 3 threads

 

 

When we sign up, we are asked to agree to forum rules which include the following:

 

 

Thread Topics

 

The “general” section is for all matters of a general nature and the Moderators reserve the right to move posts into more appropriate sub-forums at their discretion.

We have many sub-forums and we ask that before posting a thread you consider where your post might best be suited. We also suggest before posting that you use the search function to see if there is already a thread you may add your post to rather than starting a new thread on a subject that may have recently been discussed.

 

The rationale behind this, I assume, is so that the forum doesn't become cluttered with lots of duplicate threads and repeated information scattered about all over the place. This can have the effect of pushing other important threads down the visibility list whilst also making it difficult to find all the information relevant to the topic in question in one place.

 

I would like to ask members to, before starting a new thread, check whether an existing thread can be used for the information. There are plenty of threads out there - particularly in the Covid forum where most topics now probably already have an existing suitable thread - so there is a good chance that there may already be a suitable place to post it.

 

Perhaps the mods could merge some of the above threads?

[Nobby Noboddy]

Very sorry. Have been careless. Will do better in future.

[Grumpy Owl]

Thanks, I will have a look through these.

 

But, to be fair, I'm sure I'm not the only member who's been getting "500 Server Error" of late, and if someone is starting a topic, or replying to an existing one, that can also cause these 'duplicates' to happen, if they try to 'refresh' the page and are prompted to resubmit information.

 

In the meantime, if you get a '500 Server Error' and end up posting a reply or topic twice, please use the Report function to notify us, and we'll remove it for you.