Can it be changed, please and thank you. I think it no longer serves its original intention as the forum runs on new software, and although the rules state that its to keep topics on track, newer members will keep asking and speculating about the post limit and why a thread is locked at 200.

It also kills the momentum of bigger threads, and helps threads run off the front page. A potential 50 page thread chopped up into 4 or 5 separate topics is redundant, and clutters up forums. Maybe raise the post limit to 1000 ? It would cut out the majority of repeat threads being created to continue topic discussions

A thread with 1000 posts usually makes people looking at the thread to run in terror.

I'm in agreement with this. I never saw the point in the 200 post limit. Good threads that reach it end up getting a new thread made, bad threads just end up getting locked. So why still have the post limit in place?

Exactly my opinion, if a thread has 80 pages no new people are going to post and it just ends up as a gossiping point for the people who do. That's my main problem with other forums.

It does sorta hit whatever discussion was taking place near the end of the thread in the head with a rock, but...
I don't mind the post limit. It keeps things fresh... and repetitive.

Indeed. Most people wouldn't even bother reading the majority of the thread, probably only reading the last few pages, and this will cause off-topicness to run to the extreme.

I've been to forums with no post limits (I've seen threads on the TaleWorlds forums that are 1000 pages long, let alone how many posts were actually in them), and it tends to get ridiculous.

Somewhere in between then? I've been on many forums, and never seen this post limit thing before. threads that have 10 or 20 pages tend to die out on their own accord. And threads that reach 50 pages reach that because people want to keep discussion going. If people ran in terror, than the thread would die. Locking and reopening the thread every 6-8 pages doesn't help the discussion. And will often lead to it going off the front page, and newer members creating repeat threads on similar topics.

The post limit needs to be changed to 300 to match the new forum settings

I actually like the 200 post limit, on another forum I regular, the "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" thread was 4500 pages until it was locked for a new thread, and after seeing that, I thought about reading all the pages, but instead I made http://lolmart.com/files/2011/07/Laughing.png

EDIT: My Little Typo: Spellcheck is Magic

Then whenever someone asks why the post limit is 300 we can say "THIS. IS. BGSF!"

True, but that happens with a thread that only has 6 pages as well. They read the first post, and maybe the first page, and the last page. The pages in-between get ingored by most new readers to the topic anyways. The point is, restarting the thread doesn't really help either, because then you have people derailing it and speculating about the post limit.

On another forum I regular, I don't see a problem with having giant threads. They tend to stick to the first page topic quite well. That same post limit applied to giant discussion there would only cripple them, and dilute the forum with hundreds of repeat threads.

I'm not reading through 50 pages of stuff before I post. I like the 200 post limit because it's such a pain to sort through hundreds and hundreds of posts on a topic. Other forums don't have the restrictions and it turns into all the forum action into additions to two or three threads, which isn't very interesting.

I agree with this, but only if it makes threads 10 pages instead of 7.

but when a thread is divided up, you're not sorting through the previous posts anyways. you're looking at the first page and the last page. Are you going to use the search function and read through the previous 3 locked topics on the same subject?? not likely... and if you do, well, then good luck, but I don't see that as being any EASIER then just 1 topic.

I was wondering why threads got locked at page 7 earlier..aa

I'm for it just for this.

But yeah, I do think having a post limit is a nice way of keeping threads on topic. A thread that gets derailed before it reaches post limit often snaps right back on track once that new thread is made.

Could you imagine that 200 post limit being applied to 4500 pages ?! Yes, locking a mega thread and starting a new one when it gets THAT big makes sense, but trying to apply a 200 post limit to a mega thread like THAT, most certainty does not make any sense at all. Again, there would be hundreds of repeat topics. As absurd as a 4500 page megathread is, it would be that much more ridiculous to try and compartmentalize it into hundreds of separate threads. Absurd would be an understatement.

The MLP thread here is on #28, so over 5000 posts. Works perfectly fine. Others are in their hundreds, they work fine. The limit inconveniences mega threads slightly (but probably keeps discussion going strong in the long run). It's an overall good thing for small threads. They die when they should die.

These forums really aren't active enough for 4500 page threads anyway.

Though I think it does need bumped to 300 posts, because locks halfway through page 7 are kind of awkward.

Real quick, as to the idea that locking threads at 200 posts only serves to kill conversation and force discussion off the front page:

Well, just look at the first couple of pages right here in Community Discussion. And most of the sub-forums here have their own examples of that.

When a thread is locked for 200 posts, unless otherwise stated, it is assumed that anyone who wants to continue the conversation can make another thread on the same subject. It's also considered polite to link to the previous threads in the opening post of the new one.

The only way any subject on this forum is going to get pushed off the page by other threads is if no one wants to talk about it any longer. The same will hold true no matter what the post limit is going to be, as I see it.

because its easier to track down something some one said in a thread series that have #'s because you can narrow your search down by chonology of when they were posted as opposed to clicking the next button 100 times.

also i don't want to have to read through hundreds of posts of spam.

I've noticed the exact opposite. Often certain posts that make "progress" or change the discussion are lost in the older threads, often requiring people to directly link to said post, or requote them. Bigger threads and discussions naturally change slightly over time (and I'm not talking about trolling or derailment), its the point of conversation. "rebooting" a topic doesn't help.l And the locking of threads, often leads to offtopic discussion anyways, when new members inevitably start asking about the post limit, or even making new threads and speculating about why mods lock threads. And no matter how often you link people to the rules, new members won't read them.

I agree with everyone else, I can't read threads that have over 7 pages of it.
An example would be the My Little Pony thread, I'd go asleep for the night and the next morning there would be 7+ pages to read.

Why does it matter? Both options have their pros and cons, why can't we just stick with the one that we've been using here for years, and has not caused any problems that I can think of?

It's just post limit. Not really something to have an argument about.

a 100 page thread divided up into multiple older 'locked' threads, isn't going to help. do you read through all the old threads? Not only will you be be clicking next 100 times anyways, you'll also be using the search function, and perusing multiple threads. that wastes MORE time.The logic behind the post limit fails in practice. It only seems to stifle conversations and lets topics drop off the front page.

just because you don't read the rules does not mean you don't have to follow them.

also, every point you have made has already been made many times over and what it comes down to is that they don't want to run the forums that way. they don't need a reason beyond that, its bethesda's servers and they let us have our conversations on it at their expense.

also, there is no point in demanding the mods change any thing, they enforce the rules. not make them.

Edit: reply to OP [post 23]

actually your quite wrong. its less inconvenance to have multiple locked threads. trust me, I participate in the unofficial minecraft discussion threads which number up to 71 threads, which is 5400 posts. if i wanted to find one thing that was said way back. i prefer to go to the thread # and look through 200 posts. 200 posts to search through is > than 5400.