Spot on, eam44!

"I can’t see why a post that has been dormant for 3 years can’t be made read-only."

That is a very good suggestion. Have you contacted the H**z people about it?

This sort of thing has always happened, but it not nearly as frequently as recently. I wonder if it's due to the rise in AI/bot posting? No clue, just a thought.

@darbuka, @porkchop_z5b_MI, Thanks for acknowledging my annoyance and for sharing it. I have no idea why it’s happening so frequently now, and no, I haven’t contacted Houzz about it. I wouldn’t know where to begin. But I’ve also noticed some fantastic contributors aren’t around much anymore and I wonder whether this plays a role. Who among us hasn’t grabbed images and typed out a reply only to realuze you’re effectively being punked by a resurrected old thread?

Hi eam44,

As porkchop mentioned, I have noticed recently some weird AI “people” resurrecting older threads. It is very annoying, and I consider it ”spam”.

I did not see the recent Uba Tuba thread you referred to that sent you over the edge. Was it posted in the kitchen forum? I typed Uba Tuba in the search bar, and the most recent thread that came up was this one from 5 years ago. The last comment was in 2024.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5956470/need-help-with-cabinet-color-with-uba-tuba-granite-and-wall-color#n=4

***ETA: I just saw this morning the thread you are referring to on page one. Sorry Eam, I missed seeing it yesterday somehow. 🤪 I see what you are talking about now. I agree that the person would be better helped by starting a new thread of their own because most likely the OP from 5 years ago is not going to respond to answer the question about what material they chose on the island to go with the UT perimeter. I rarely look on page two, so if page one is mostly old threads, I might miss seeing a current thread where I could be of help. That is a problem. Making old threads read-only beyond a certain time frame is actually a great idea!

I must say, I actually enjoy reading resurrected old threads sometimes. Especially if they are from 10 plus years ago. I have clicked on a couple just in the past month. I forget the thread, but a couple of weeks ago I clicked on a very old thread. I was thrilled to read some comments from cherished posters who have been long gone for many years. One was from Marcolo that I had never seen and it was great to read.

For an example of a recent resurrected old thread that interested me, this is on page 2 about raised counters.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2603118/raised-counter-heights-for-tall-cooks#n=50

I saw some old names and they had great advice. It is so sad to say this, but I actually learn so much more about kitchen design and get more joy from reading older threads like this. Btw, YOU are one of those cherished posters!😘

I have tried to contribute and give back in the kitchen forum over the years. I enjoy helping people where I can. I received so much help here about 8-10 years ago. I am so thrilled when someone comes back with an update or reveal to thank people who helped them.

As for "why its happening so frequently now," I agree with @porkchop_z5b_MI that there is a lot more AI/bot/spam posting.

Beyond that annoyance, what I'm noticing of late is the increasing frequency what look like AI bots signing up here as "Pros." My suspicion is that these are being used as a way to advertise without being bothered with substantive contributions, Over the last five months, I've noticed more and more of this even in currently active threads. I've appreciated Sushipup2's efforts to flag these, but it's gettng to be like playing whack-a-mole.

While I make no claim to being a "fantastic contributor," I have been participating here for decades and find the necro/revenant postings indeed are playing a role in discouraging my continued interest in participation.

@Houzz, can you effect this change and make threads in Kitchens Discussions that have been inactive for more than 3 years ”read only?” It will significantly improve the site.

I agree it's very annoying! I even tell people in the Read Me thread to do just that -- search the Forum for an answer for your question and, if you cannot find an answer, START YOUR OWN THREAD!

I generally pass by the old threads -- that means people resurrecting an old thread not only are pulling up a thread that will likely not get an answer specific for them (and the original poster doesn't need help anymore), but many of the people who might have an answer are ignoring it!

"...make threads in Kitchens Discussions that have been inactive for more than 3 years ”read only?"

Except the Read Me thread! It's 5 years old right now but I still need to bump it every few hours. 😊

I'd start it again, but there's something in the thread that is flagged and it won't post until someone at Houzz releases it. That happened back in 2020, which is why I haven't started a new one. (The current 2020 one says "interim".)

I wonder if it would help to add another sort option? If we had "New Posts" in addition to "Latest" then recent comments would be sorted to the top under "Latest" (as is happening now) and all new posts would be sorted to the top under "New Posts." (For example, FB Groups has sort options for "Recent Activity" "Most Relevant" and "New Posts." That helps keep fresh posts on the first page.)

You could try contacting Houzz, that usually gets to them better than random forum posting does. You could ask for help by submitting a ticket, here: https://help.houzz.com/s/article/My-question-is-not-here-How-can-I-ask-for-help?language=en_US&parent=0TO0y000000bzjPGAQ

Or you could use the contact page, here: https://help.houzz.com/s/contactsupport?language=en_US

Or you could call them, here: Call 1-800-368-4268, Monday to Friday from 5am-4:30pm PT

Thanks @beesneeds. I gave it a try and linked this thread. We’ll see how it goes.

Well that was useless.

Maybe I just need to take a break for a bit. If anyone needs backsplash help feel free to contact me.

I dunno about useless, at least now we know. What did you put into the body of the contact for explanation?

Eam44, it seems that whoever responded to your explanation and request, did not understand what you were asking. AI, perhaps?

Probably AI. I didn’t take a screenshot of my request. If any of you is willing to try, ask away, the more the merrier. Absolutely give it a go. It would definitely improve the site.

Maybe what needs to happen is H**z bans bots/AI from posting.

Bots ruined some old beauty product review sites -- they got over-run with bot reviews, I mean no product gets 100s of real-world reviews on a chat board the day it's launched. So the sites became pretty much useless save for the older reviews on older products. What some shopping sites have done now is put a "verified user" or "verified purchase" icon next to a review to indicate the review was done by someone who actually purchased or used via promo the product. It actually does help.

I'm sure all sorts of other types of sites have been, or are getting, over-run by bots -- it's not just this site.

H**z needs to look into BANNING THE BOTS, at least from posting on threads. I think that would cut down immensely on this old thread nonsense. Sure there'd still be some here and there, but not nearly as much as has been occurring lately.

Bots have been around for decades, and Houzz does ban the bots. Pretty much all forums have a bot banishing bit in their platform. Filters out a lot, mostly works off of IP's and sometimes a couple other factors. But there is more activity now than there was 18 months ago. It can take time for the platform developers to get their code updated to try to keep up with things as they develop. The basic AI of two years ago made a jump over the 18 months, and it's only been in the last 6 months that the new generation of AI is becoming fleshed out... it takes time to develop the means to recognize and spam out the newest developments. We might be getting hit with more bots, but they aren't necessarily AI bots.

I kind of doubt Houzz has an AI monitoring system for the forum. AI isn't really used like that right now. But a real human using a ChatGPT formatter is a real possibility. AI for a forum like this probably won't be a thing for another 6-18 months depends on several factors going on in the industry right now. There's a lot.

🤖 They’re all over the place man.

Lol eam, yes they are :)

😂

7 year old thread, just posted now. 🙄

😂😭

Someone just revived a thread from 2008. That’s 17 years ago. 😢😭

Haha, yes…the one about two dishwashers. 🤨

The one about two dishwashers. That comment added nothing to a seventeen-year-old thread, although sushipup2’s comment made me laugh.

That one looks like a sleeper bot. Been here over a year, built up karma. Then starts posting more, I'm guessing this one is for diswashers considering post history. Sushipup has the habit of following those to flag them out. If it was a regular new spammer, Sushi's message would be they are a spammer for flagging.

I thought sushi was joking 😂

So, the answer to my question, can we archive threads, appears to be no. But at least we have a space to come and be annoyed about it. ✌️

It does not annoy me at all to see old threads resurrected. People on the laundry forum get upset if you ask a question that has been asked before and tell you that you should have searched old threads, but sometimes the old threads do not have complete answers that someone needs.

Houzz seems to encourage resurrecting old threads because it keeps posting links to them on the right side of the page.

I am going to disagree. The old threads ARE the value here. 10 year old how to's are largely still valid. Without them folks will just be searching on Facebook.

Also consider things from an automotive pov. Much of the knowledgebase on repairing 90s cars has been created. There may not be a steong or as knowledgeable group of owners on Facebook. Loose MarkVIII.org and a lot of data disappears.

Me, if a thread is old I can skip it if I want or read it. I'd rather have the option.