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Look up BUMP or bump in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
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This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (September 2008) |
To bump a thread on an Internet forum is to post a reply to it purely in order to raise the thread's profile. This will typically return it to the top of the list of active threads. It has been suggested that 'bump' is an acronym of Bring Up My Post[1] however this is almost certainly a backronym and the usage is entirely consistent with the verb "bump" which means "To knock to a new position".[2]
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Motivation
Many Internet forums show as their first page a list of the 20–50 topics or "discussion threads" most recently posted to. Someone wishing to keep a thread on this first page, or bring an old thread back to it will post a reply to it purely to do this. If one is open about this, the post may simply be the word "BUMP".
Netiquette
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This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (November 2007) |
Thread bumping is commonly considered a breach of netiquette and some moderated forums forbid it. Users may get around that by posting what is ostensibly a genuine reply. Sometimes this will mockingly contain the word "bump" in it, such as "Wandering the forum, he bumps into this thread...", or be a trivial question or response such as "Anyone?" Bumping old or inactive ("dead") threads is occasionally called "necroposting" or "thread necromancy", and the bumped posts referred to as "frankenposts". "Dead" threads that are reawakened are often called "thread necros". People who resurrect old threads are often called "threadomancers". On some boards, bumping a new thread with no replies in order to elicit a response is tolerated, but resurrecting an old thread that has run its course and has been inactive for a period of time (usually anywhere from a few days to a month) is prohibited. The acceptable practice is usually to start a new thread and link to the old thread so that readers can become familiar with the background information. "My Ninja Kiwi" is an example of a site that strictly does not allow thread bumping - you can get banned after a single offense.
Sticky threads
Many forums now have features allowing administrators to make a thread "sticky", meaning that the thread will remain at the top regardless of the time of the latest entry.[3]
Necroposting
The act on posting something irrelevent on a really old topic to bring it to the top of the list topics. This can be intentional (such as someone necro-trolling) or unintentional (usually a new person to the forum replying to very old threads). The name comes from the fact that you are bringing it back from the dead, thus Necro.
References
- ^ "BUMP". The Free Dictionary. http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/Bring+Up+My+Post+(messaging%2FBBSs). Retrieved on 2009-01-29.
- ^ "bump: definition". http://www.answers.com/bump.
- ^ "1. What is a "sticky" topic?". http://www.honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/distance/phpbb/index.html#moderator01. Retrieved on 2009-01-29.
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
