Archived Topics

[IntheKnowHouston]

I'm unsure when the implementation of archiving topics took place, but is there anyway to undo this? There have been discussions on Someburger's patio renovations on various social platforms. I was going to post the photos to the respective topic only to find it archived. 

The topic was open last year. I'm not sure if the recent forum update implemented the archived status to older topics that haven't been updated in a while or not. 

Also, archived topics don't appear in the search results, per responses on Invision's support forum. It would seem on a forum dedicated to Houston's ever-changing landscape and discussions of architecture, hidden archived topics from search can be an issue.


https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/topic/1942-someburger-stand-at-745-e-11th-st/

 

Edited April 21 by IntheKnowHouston

[IntheKnowHouston]

@editor can you please provide further information about the recent addition of archiving topics? Why was this feature added? Are topics archived by a moderator? Or are topics automatically archived after a certain amount of time has passed?

I've messaged a few members and they noticed this as well in recent weeks. We're wondering if it's possible to remove this feature. Or at the very least, limit it to other subforums where there is little to no activity.

There have been new developments for several topics I wanted to share, but that's not possible. The topics are archived. There's no way to search for them on the forum because they don't come up. They are completely hidden. You have to search on Google to find them, and that's only if Google crawled the page. Or one has to scroll through pages on the subforums to find a topic that's archived. And when you find the topics, you're not able to post anything because it's closed.

I could see a need for archiving topics in subforums like HAIF on HAIF, Off Topic, Way Off Topic, and The Weather. Many users or visitors don't post or visit those forums often. But the other subforums? Mainly the Going Up, Neighborhood, and Traffic and Transportation forums have topics where projects and developments are discussed off and on over the years. That's largely in part because renovations may happen down the line, new ownership, and the list goes on.

For example, there's upcoming renovations for the Westheimer Center. I was going to post about it, but couldn't find the topic. I knew it was here. I saw the topic a few months ago. So, I Googled the center's name and the forum to find it. Lo and behold, the topic exists, except it's hidden from the forum search. Why? It's archived and closed for further discussions.

I understand the cost of running this site and storing everything on servers is not only expensive, but takes a lot of storage. But I'm hoping there's a better way to keep topics open. Especially ones in the neighborhood and Going Up forums.


https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/topic/39286-westheimer-center-at-1212-1232-westheimer-rd/

 

Edited April 25 by IntheKnowHouston

[editor]

I responded to your PM about this already, but I'll note here for everyone else that I'm looking into whether this can be put back the way it was.

[hbg.50]

10 hours ago, IntheKnowHouston said:

@editor can you please provide further information about the recent addition of archiving topics? Why was this feature added? Are topics archived by a moderator? Or are topics automatically archived after a certain amount of time has passed?

I've messaged a few members and they noticed this as well in recent weeks. We're wondering if it's possible to remove this feature. Or at the very least, limit it to other subforums where there is little to no activity.

There have been new developments for several topics I wanted to share, but that's not possible. The topics are archived. There's no way to search for them on the forum because they don't come up. They are completely hidden. You have to search on Google to find them, and that's only if Google crawled the page. Or one has to scroll through pages on the subforums to find a topic that's archived. And when you find the topics, you're not able to post anything because it's closed.

I could see a need for archiving topics in subforums like HAIF on HAIF, Off Topic, Way Off Topic, and The Weather. Many users or visitors don't post or visit those forums often. But the other subforums? Mainly the Going Up, Neighborhood, and Traffic and Transportation forums have topics where projects and developments are discussed off and on over the years. That's largely in part because renovations may happen down the line, new ownership, and the list goes on.

For example, there's upcoming renovations for the Westheimer Center. I was going to post about it, but couldn't find the topic. I knew it was here. I saw the topic a few months ago. So, I Googled the center's name and the forum to find it. Lo and behold, the topic exists, except it's hidden from the forum search. Why? It's archived and closed for further discussions.

I understand the cost of running this site and storing everything on servers is not only expensive, but takes a lot of storage. But I'm hoping there's a better way to keep topics open. Especially ones in the neighborhood and Going Up forums.


https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/topic/39286-westheimer-center-at-1212-1232-westheimer-rd/

 

Thanks for posting this.  Before I open a new topic I always perform a search to see if one already exists.  I did this recently with Hollywood Cemetery.  Nothing came up on search so I opened a new topic.  Within an hour a mod merged my post with an existing topic.  I thought I was going crazy.  The “archived” issue explains it.

Thanks!

[IntheKnowHouston]

13 hours ago, editor said:

I responded to your PM about this already, but I'll note here for everyone else that I'm looking into whether this can be put back the way it was.

Thank you. I see you sent a personal message later in the morning after my post. I appreciate it. I'll respond momentarily.

Fingers crossed that the archiving issue can be resolved. Thanks again.

[IntheKnowHouston]

7 hours ago, hbg.50 said:

Thanks for posting this.  Before I open a new topic I always perform a search to see if one already exists.  I did this recently with Hollywood Cemetery.  Nothing came up on search so I opened a new topic.  Within an hour a mod merged my post with an existing topic.  I thought I was going crazy.  The “archived” issue explains it.

Thanks!

You're welcome.

I do my best to search the forum beforehand to see if there is an ongoing thread. However, I noticed topics weren't appearing in the search. I began second guessing myself because I remembered seeing the topics. Still, the search brought up nothing. I then scrolled through the forum and found the topic, clicked on it, and it was archived.

Now that we know that archived topics is a recent action across the forum, let's hope it can be undone.