The 'still active or not on POTN' notice

[SkedAddled]

I see that @Inphoto has made a wonderful effort in creating placeholders
for some of the active photo-sharing threads, and I admire the effort.

I see that @Shasta created the thread for abandoned/dilapidated, but hasn't been active since 2011,
and the thread here is closed to new replies/posts.

I am now wondering what steps or processes are in place to make a determination
about such threads which may seem to have been abandoned by the OP,
or even if an OP is still active or has any interest.

I'm in full support of giving an OP the chance to revive a thread here if they wish,
but is a dozen years of inactivity too long or too short a time?

 

[West Coast Birder]

I don’t think we have a hard and fast rule. I would say that if the OP hasn’t posted at POTN for a year, then the thread is fair game.

 

[SkedAddled]

I don’t think we have a hard and fast rule. I would say that if the OP hasn’t posted at POTN for a year, then the thread is fair game.

If this is so, then how to unlock a placeholder thread?

 

[West Coast Birder]

Let me add that even if the OP on the thread is long gone at POTN, the thread may be, for all intents and purposes, associated with a different (active) person. Perhaps they are the ones who post most frequently and the thread has take its character from them. Admittedly this is a rather vague criterion but I would tend go let such a person be the one to re-start the thread here if they choose to come over. Again, I think the best approach is one of deference - to let the person who most represents the thread to have the opportunity. I hope that makes sense.

 

[SonomaTim]

Let me add that even if the OP on the thread is long gone at POTN, the thread may be, for all intents and purposes, associated with a different (active) person. Perhaps they are the ones who post most frequently and the thread has take its character from them. Admittedly this is a rather vague criterion but I would tend go let such a person be the one to re-start the thread here if they choose to come over. Again, I think the best approach is one of deference - to let the person who most represents the thread to have the opportunity. I hope that makes sense.

That does make sense.

The 52 Week Photo Thread is a good example. The original OP hasn't been on POTN for 4 years. Don, myself and and a few others have been the most active, we messaged and agreed I would begin the thread here.

 

[Wilt]

It seems that with Pekka's recent clarification about Dec. 31 being the true end to POTN availability, that we can set that as a hard cut-over regardless of OP status.