Guidelines for merging need to be fine tuned

[Lady-Loki]

I’d like to make a suggestion in regard to threads being merged and/or closed. I understand the need to merge threads when they are on the same subject, but I think that when threads get to a particular length they become confusing once merged. In those cases it would make things less confusing if one thread was simply closed with a final post stating:

“Because there are two similar threads, each with it’s own individual train of thought and both of considerable length, this thread will be closed but please feel free to continue the discussion in this thread <insert link to other thread>."
Because each post has a timestamp they merge to those same timestamps and after enough posts are made over a long enough period of time they do not make sense once merged and that makes the entire thread jump back and forth in an illegal manner.

I suggest this because last night when I got back to town and could access these forums I was trying to catch up on new posts and was responding to several. After going through the first three I had to refresh the “new post” and saw that a couple I had responded to were new posts again so I went to see what someone may have said in regards to my post. The thread titled “SnakeEyes” in MoS no longer made sense. For one, I had responded to a post Spirit made and two posts later there I am again saying “hihi and welcome” Normal people look at that and say WTH? Why didn’t she start out with the welcome in her first reply? Well, that’s because “hihi and welcome” made sense where it was originally but no longer makes sense.

And not only did it confuse the thread with all the merged posts but it also left the posts in the original thread titled “GM SnakeEyes” a little messed up too because now we have post #4 where SnakeEyes replies thanks for the welcome AND was replying to moved posts regarding boxers or briefs so it appears that completely out of the blue SnakeEyes comes in and brings up his underwear completely out of the blue. Now that thread is going to make people wonder why he thinks he needs to bring up his underwear since nothing preceding the comment referenced his underwear at all.

Guidelines for merging need to be fine tuned. Just my two sense