How old is too old (LJ-wise)?

[drwex]

How old does an LJ entry have to be before you decide it's too old to respond to?

Sometimes I don't read LJ for several days and can find myself going back nearly 200 messages on my friends page. That can be 3-4 days and I sometimes hesitate to comment on entries that old, feeling that it's no longer relevant or the person/conversation has moved on.

What do you, my friends, do and what would you have me do if I find an old entry of yours?

Comments

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

It depends on the person to whom I'm commenting - would they find it creepy? Then I don't comment.

As far as me, if you find something on my journal on which you wish to comment, I don't care how old it is, comment away.

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

I've replied to posts that were 2+ years old.

[marmota.livejournal.com]

If someone has responded to an entry more than one or two back from current, I'll likely not notice. I think a lot of people have some sort of email notification turned on though, and if they do, it shouldn't matter how old a post is. If they haven't deleted it, it's fair game to comment on.

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

I think that as long as the post isn't time-sensitive, there is no statute of limitations.

If it's like, hey, who wants to hit a movie? then replies might just be silly and moot.

I actually think there can be a value in replying to old entries. Like, "hey! check it out, you thought very differently about X a while ago, and now you're posting about it in Y context, you might think about these two things together!"

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

Which is why I sometimes recycle specific older posts, like my wish list. It helps me to know that sometimes I get the things i wish for, and to remember to be grateful.

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm a space cadet with replying.

ALSO, if the late reply is or seems to be a "Hey, this post struck me and I didn't know how to reply and I thought about it some more and pondered and came up with THIS" then I really like it. It shows an appreciation for what I'm writing that goes beyond the in one ear and out the other feel that a lot of social media has.

[heinleinfan.livejournal.com]

I, personally, love any response (almost) to LJ posts, late or otherwise. I know that posts can get lost in the scramble of real life, so better late than never.

[gosling.livejournal.com]

Respond. :-)

I can go up to a week without having time to check lj myself.

[inahandbasket]

Comment. Always. ^_^

[selenite.livejournal.com]

I've gotten comments on posts a year or two old occasionally. I think my current record is a comment three and half years after putting up the original post (http://selenite.livejournal.com/33087.html).

[ciani.livejournal.com]

I just comment. If it's years out of date and I actually notice that I might pause, but I hardly even check the date.

[ckd]

If you have something to say, say it. I've got notifications turned on, so as long as they're working I'll see it. Days/weeks/months/years old posts are still there to be commented on.

[keyne.livejournal.com]

Since I know some people don't turn email notification on, I usually don't comment after three or four days unless I think they do have it on — and (a) I have new information I think the person will appreciate long after the fact, or (b) something really strikes me as worth commenting anyway.

[taura-g.livejournal.com]

I've had people comment on entries from months prior, because they were new to my journal and reading back a bit....

*shrug* It doesn't really bother me. More often I'm flattered they have taken an interest in something to comment on it.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

It depends on the person whose entry it is, and on what the subject is. If the person was looking for information and it wasn't time sensitive, it's never too late to give the info. If the person was looking for advice on a personal situation, but it's been a while and the situation hasn't come up again in their entries, I'd leave it be. After all, if I fight with my boyfriend and then we mend things, I don't want someone coming in a few days later and saying, "Oh wow, he was such a jerk!" or "don't you think you were overreacting?" If it's just an average post about what the person has been up to, I might feel free to comment a few days later with, "Oooh, I loved that movie too!" or whatever. If the post caused a big drama flare-up and that seems to have since died down, I'd stay well away from it, and would contact the person privately if I felt it important to discuss it with them. In general, 3-4 days is fine for me unless it was one of the exceptions I listed above.

[c1.livejournal.com]

I think half of that (at least) requires that the poster is checking frequently enough to notice.
Personally, I'm glad to get responses, no matter how late (unless it's a "who wants to go out tonight?" post): indeed, I use email notification so late comments don't get missed. Fire away!

[rdhdsnippet.livejournal.com]

If I think what I have to say is pertinent, I say it. If someone has something pertinent to say to me, I want them to say it.

I get comments emailed to me (though I honestly am not always up to date with reading them, I usually get them eventually). I don't keep up with LJ at all any more, so I will randomly read back in someone's journal to the point that I am somewhat caught up, and I don't do every person every time, so it's not unusual for me to comment on a post that's a few weeks or even months old.

[cutieperson]

depends :)

[roozle.livejournal.com]

I use email notification for comments. Otherwise the conversational element of LJ would be lost on me. So for me, if the comment is still relevant, whenever.

As for what I do ... if it's within the last three or four days and it's not time sensitive, I don't worry about it. If it's older than that, there's some scale of how important it is for me to say $thing vs age of post, but it's hard to quantify. I assume people have email notification on, but it's good to take away from this discussion the reminder that that is not a good assumption.

[slfisher.livejournal.com]

I respond and always prefer to hear others' responses.

[marius23.livejournal.com]

Comments on my LJ are welcome at any time.

Unless it's clearly time sensitive, as in "we're going to foo tomorrow night, want to join us?" I usually don't worry about how old the entry is. Unfortunately my lag time can be very long. (I was tempted to post the reply a week from now.)

[rmd.livejournal.com]

i get comment notification via email, so i'll probably notice regardless of how old it is.

depending on the post being commented upon, i might mock the commenter for it, but, you know, always a risk.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

definitely comment -- i get comments in email.

if that doesn't seem quite apropos, send email with a link to the post.

your comments are often on-target, and so very useful.

[celticdragonfly.livejournal.com]

I'd want you to respond to it.

I figure sometimes people get busy and can't catch up on LJ for a while - certainly happens to me, especially now that I'm in the game. Or someone new might find me, and go read my older stuff - most people wouldn't bother, but if someone does, I'd love to get comments.

[awfief.livejournal.com]

I both respond and appreciate responses days or even years later.

Often I don't post to a post like that because what I'd wanted was to be part of the conversation -- in which case I might post to my own journal with a reference, or something.

[mrw42.livejournal.com]

I always appreciate responses. I'll see them even if they are late, via e-mail.