When is it appropriate to top an old trip report?
 

I am new and was doing some research on Scandinavia and topped some old trip reports. When is it appropriate to top an old report, when is it wrong or annoying? :)

I see nothing wrong with topping an old trip report, especially if you have some questions and interest. ((b))

I also see nothing wrong - just because it sank to Fodor black hole doesn't mean it doesn't have value for current readers, who, if annoyed, can easily click off it in a mega second. And maybe someone will add something new.

It's OK- especially if you make a note that you're toppingfor current research, so people understand why an old one showed up again. Maybe even add a few details or questions about your own upcoming trip.

It is never "wrong" and if it is "annoying" then that's obviously someone else's personal problem. I diagree that you have to add some sort of rationale for doing so but more importantly, why do you have to "top" something? You can read it without topping it.

I think if someone takes the time to write a great report and you enjoy it they should know. It seems posts in some area i.e. Scandinavia are not read by as many people as other areas so I wanted people to know that it was good reading. I would be sad if I posted and no one read it whether it is new or old.

If it's for your own use, why do you have to top it? Topping just pushes someone else's more recent string further down making it harder to find.

You can email the old report to yourself or you can print it.

It's OK to top if you have a question to post, or think that it contains information that should be viewed by others. Otherwise enjoy the report but don't top it because pushes more current and presumably urgent questions to the bottom.

I'm sure tinyteacup asked this because yesterday I suggested he/she didn't need to top every thread she wanted to read. In about 4 minutes she topped 6 old threads about Scandanavia -- not questions or anything, simply topping them.

There is absolutely <b>NOTHING</b> wrong w/ topping a thread if you want more info about it, or want to add questions. Or topping it to help someone find a missing thread (though giving the link is more efficient)

But just topping to top really doesn't make sense. Each of those old threads knocked a more recent thread farther back the queue.

what is useful about topping is that the thread can then be located under the top-er's screen name. If the thread is very old, I usually copy and paste the content into a word document on my computer. Or email it to myself.

There should be a reason for topping. If everyone topped a trip report because they liked it, the top 50 posts would be trip reports. Every 'topping' pushes another valid post lower.((R))

topping

ira, that's funny. I was thinking of topping this thread this morning. :-) ((b))

I top so that it will appear unde my screen name and I can refer to it in the future or to see if anyone else has added comments. Printing it doesn't quite do the trick as that's the end of it, no more comments. I have seen many old threads topped because someone thought it was interesting, cute, informative etc. I don't think we need topping police, if a thread is interesting to someone, it may be interesting to others. Just my opinion. Barb

BabsB,

Given the number of threads in which you have participated, I would think that it is more efficient to save a thread in your bookmarks instead of topping it. And unless you have a comment to add to a thread, or a specific question to ask, why top it under the presumption that others are interested in that particular thread?

The thing that I object to about old treads is that they sometimes were posted to ask questions in preparation for a specific trip, and some of the more dim-witted among us, such as myself, post a response before we've noticed the original poster has long since flown the coop and no longer needs our overwrought advice.

Michael, OK, I'm a bit computer challenged, how do you &quot;bookmark&quot; it? This may be a great alternative, but I don't know how to do it..... Also, I still think it's OK to top (gosh I'm doing it now) because quite often I will miss something the first time around and enjoy it when it comes to the top again. Barb

To bookmark a thread, in the left-hand title column, right click on the title name, select &quot;open in new window&quot; -- In the address window of the one you just opened, it will have the 7 digit thread number. Add it to your favorites, and name it what you want to. ((b))

Thanks Budman, I think I follow you so far, but will the comments appear that are posted after I bookmark it? Barb

Yes, the comments will appear.