Ever notice this about allnurses?

Yup, thats true! LOL.

Very true. Sometimes, it seems to be more preferable to begin a new thread to speak of an old issue in a new way than to respond to an old thread with new thoughts.

Very true. Sometimes, it seems to be more preferable to begin a new thread to speak of an old issue in a new way than to respond to an old thread with new thoughts.

This is true.

But a lot of the time, those threads aren't bumped as the result of a search. Something strikes someone as interesting and they post. And those are often threads in which someone has experienced a terrible personal problem, such as being fired or losing a child. Those themes resonate.

Yes, I have noticed it. Whenever I'm told that, I respond that although the topic has been discussed before, I wasn't part of the discussion, and I wish to be now. We don't do that in real life- refuse to answer someone's question because "I've talked about that before"!

It regulary happens that someone posts a question or brings up a topic, and is immediately told "This has been discussed before. Do a search."

Then-

When someone does a search and posts in the threads they find, someone will tell them "Did you notice how old this thread is?"

I've noticed this same thing at another board I've visited.

I think it's perfectly fine to bring up a topic that has been discussed in the past on a new thread, and I think it's rather unwelcoming to knock someone for doing so. I, personally, dislike joining in on a thread that is well established, with pages and pages of posts, since I feel like an outsider. I prefer to post in a fresher discussion. On old threads, sometimes the OP doesn't even post here anymore.

Yes, I have noticed it. Whenever I'm told that, I respond that although the topic has been discussed before, I wasn't part of the discussion, and I wish to be now. We don't do that in real life- refuse to answer someone's question because "I've talked about that before"!

Good point!

People don't come to Allnurses just for information, but to interact and discuss with real life people and develop online relationships that are mutually supportive. Cutting someone off by saying "We discussed that 3 years ago, look it up!" is denying them that.

There is no one best way -- and some people use better judgment in these matters than others. Sometimes, it's clear that the OP didn't bother to search before posting and that understandably irritates some regular users. Sometimes, people respond to a very old OP without bothering to read the thread and without noticing that the OP got her answer years ago. That's also irritating.

There are some repetitive threads one expects - the looking for the magic number of NCLEX questions, divination of NCLEX results by which answer was wrong when - the threads that are generated by anxiety and the need for individual attention.

Personally, I get tired of answering the exact same Excelsior/TCN/Rue questions over and over and over again, in clear sight of the huge stickies with those answers. So rather than continue to get annoyed I stopped answering.

When a new thread is about a topic covered in an old one, I think it's kindest when someone posts a link in the new thread to the old one. A smart newbie will learn to do a search, and many users interested in the thread's topic will appreciate the convenience.

What I find more troublesome than new threads on old topics is threads with ambiguous titles. It's easier to select threads of interest when posters make the effort to create descriptive subject line; I also think it increases the signal-to-noise ratio of the search results, making redundant threads less likely.

I'll be honest, I would NEVER tell someone to go "look it up"...probably just about every topic has been discussed at one time or the other, and if everyone just researched old threads...it would be a pretty dead board.

There are new people joining the site every day, and some are not familiar with message boards. Not something that makes you feel welcome!