I''ve seen APs post just the word "necro" several times and I''ve also seen several topics locked on account of that for no understandable reason. Does "necro" have some hidden meaning on these boards? I hope this doesn''t get locked for something I just said out of naïvety.

Necro usually refers to finding a really old thread and posting a new message. This brings the thread to the top of the list. Often this is done to try to confuse people. In some cases there is some merrit to it but mostly it''s just people looking for some attention.

Andrew

Ah, gotcha. I usually see it called gravedigging. I don''t pay much attention to the dates of posts, but I certainly don''t go digging for old posts.

And necro comes from the latin word for black (negro niger). Necromancy means black magic and is often mistaken for evil, but it's actually all magic dealing directly with life, taking or giving (also healing). <- Sorry.. been awake for 26 hours..
Fruny: I'm not saying that you're wrong. I'm just saying I'm right
EDIT: Though I may not be
As a previous poster necros is greek for death, but I'm certain I've heard the definition I wrote above somewhere as well..
EDIT2: I stand corrected:

Necromancy \Nec"ro*man`cy\, n. [OE. nigromaunce, nigromancie,   OF. nigromance, F. n['e]cromance, n['e]cromancie, from L.   necromantia, Gr. ?; ? a dead body (akin to L. necare to kill,   Skr. na(?) to perish, vanish) + ? divination, fr. ? diviner,   seer, akin to E. mania. See Mania, and cf. Internecine,   Noxious. The old spelling is due to confusion with L. niger   black. Hence the name black art.]   The art of revealing future events by means of a pretended   communication with the dead; the black art; hence, magic in   general; conjuration; enchantment. See Black art.         This palace standeth in the air, By necromancy         plac[`e]d there.                         --Drayton.   

On topic:

A very common reason for necroing is the search.. It doesn't sort posts by date (I haven't found an option for it except "since" and it doesn't sort either) and for some reason many recent threads aren't listed at all. Because of this it's hard to find the most recent thread in a topic and many (newcomers) post in a very old threads instead of a newer. Another reason is that many newcomers don't know that it's bad to resurrect old threads. FAQ is nice, but sadly all to often neglected.
acraig: I haven't noticed anyone necroing threads just to get attention (except bumping, but that's another topic). Usually it's just someone who has additional questions or opinions about a topic, but doesn't know it's better to reference the original thread. Granted I don't read every thread, so there may be a lot of malignant necroing going on without me noticing it.

Sorry if I'm rambling, but as mentioned I'm so tired I'm practically a zombie.

EDIT1: Greek necros
EDIT2: Dictionary excerpt
EDIT3: negro -> niger (well.. I didn't have latin in school )

[edited by - frostburn on April 23, 2004 4:36:55 PM]

[edited by - frostburn on April 23, 2004 4:40:51 PM]


[edited by - frostburn on April 23, 2004 4:45:10 PM]