Repeat Discussions?
By echoforever
@echoforever (5180)
United States
January 5, 2013 7:49pm CST
How does this happen?
I've seen this on occasion and at first it really boggled my mind, how does this keep happening?
What it is... is this:
I see one topic pretty random in reality and then a few hours later I will see the exact same topic as a repeat discussion but its not the same discussion. Meaning the user didn't copy and paste it.
For example I saw one about mylot not being "elite" this morning on a ptc site or something in the myLot section and I just saw another one in the "recent" tab, not the same discussion but exact same topic "elite" mylot.
The only explanation I can get from this is some users are going through the discussions and finding random ones to "copy" sort of by using the content but not copy and paste ... like... making their own carbon copy of it. I've seen this a lot though! And it kind of bugs me!
Are those topics I see ones I can report as "repeat" discussions or not? They aren't repeated more than once or maybe twice... we're allowed to do that but in the same day these very random topics are repeated by someone.
Your thoughts?
4 people like this
7 responses
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
6 Jan 13
wow... youd think they could even come up with a better topic than that one. How are you dear? warm here today, 46....
@echoforever (5180)
• United States
6 Jan 13
You would think they could come up with something better, yeah. As Season would say "Bikini weather!" but yeah I don't really think that. Still cold! 
1 person likes this
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
6 Jan 13
It looking like rain now here, we did get 2 days without it here. Take care.. see you soon. Here or there...
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
6 Jan 13
echo forever if I write a discussion on a friend of mine who is a teacher and is sick of being told she has it so easy because of the summer vacations, and another person has written about a teacher's union etc. that does not in my eyes say I am using the other persons topic. My friend is my topic and the other person is talking about teachers and unions. So many here are too gung ho to say because one word is used in both discussions you are copying or duplicating someone else work. I never never had a discussion deleted because they thought I had duplicates someone else's discussion.
@echoforever (5180)
• United States
6 Jan 13
I have done the same Hatley.
I've sometimes gotten a discussion idea from someone's discussion but that doesn't mean that I completely took their topic. What I mean though is there are some random topics being duplicated recently hoping most members won't notice... however I have. I'm wondering if I can flag those as repeats or not though?
@echoforever (5180)
• United States
6 Jan 13
Well I know there's been people who have said this same thing probly THROUGH THE YEARS. but I am seeing this all of the time! Every other day!
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
8 Jan 13
Problem is sometimes people just are wanting to start a discussion and they will see something posted and started here, and then decide they want to start a discussion as well about that same topic, and usually do not even take time to change the title. Then everyone ends up sometimes having their discussions removed, all because the second person could not be more creative.
It does get annoying, and it makes you wonder why some people are like this.
@echoforever (5180)
• United States
11 Jan 13
Yep those were my thoughts exactly.
I am sure it is laziness in most cases like this. I don't know why else someone would do that otherwise.
@ctryhnny (3460)
• United States
6 Jan 13
It would be hard not to have the same discussion because there are so many people here who have the same ideas as each other. A lot of people just think alike and I don't think their copying but the discussion gave them an idea about something similar that happened in their lives.
@echoforever (5180)
• United States
6 Jan 13
I've done that myself, used a part of a discussion, an idea to create my own but its usually a different topic that sparked. Not the same topics.
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
6 Jan 13
I didn't see these discussions but could it be that the person has two accounts here? Sometimes thats how they mess up...by repeating the same discussion, not duplicating, but repeating with the same type of wording. If that's the case, then that is of course a violation also.
@echoforever (5180)
• United States
6 Jan 13
it could be, I had not looked that hard at them either but I probaly should have and I will now.
@Sindelle (824)
• United States
6 Jan 13
I'm guessing people are not looking very hard to see what is already there before they start their own discussions. I've noticed that too a lot myself. The one example someone here provided where a discussion has been repeated years apart is acceptable to me since they're different people and time can also change opinions but the same day is irritating. I posted one myself that had little to no responses then an hour later I saw basically the same discussion with everyone jumping all over it. Mine was not worded poorly or anything. I found it quite annoying.
I think within reason its just bound to happen nobody is perfect but it happens entirely too much.
@echoforever (5180)
• United States
6 Jan 13
Over time its impossible to not have some topics coming up again. If its within a week or maybe like 3 weeks even, it would be considered a repeat discussion that's more likely to be deleted. I just wonder how these completely random topics end up being duplicate if not by someone seeing it and starting one just like it...
@StLouisMetroTutoring (678)
• St. Peters, Missouri
6 Jan 13
Echo, it would seem to me these would qualify as repeat topics. Regarding the elite topic, that was actually a topic some time ago. I saw one spring up today and it seemed repeat to me. Just announcing the same thing as the last one. I didn't see a 2nd today - but I haven't been here a good part of the day either.
The thing is, you aren't deleting anything. By reporting it, you're just saying it looks to you like it doesn't follow the rules. Admin makes the final call. So if you flag something that isn't considered a repeat, nothing will happen. As long as you don't start going around flagging a lot of conversations that shouldn't be, you're doing what we've been asked. I've started reporting conversations that, in my mind, cross the line. As long as I'm not randomly flagging, I'm good. And so are they if they didn't actually break any rules.
@echoforever (5180)
• United States
6 Jan 13
Thank you for that,
I am grateful for your response it helps me realize that these may be violations and I can help to be rid of them.