Is there a limit?

I notice people on 75 group use sequential threads during the same year. Is that because there is some kind of limit? Or is it for some other reason (readability, date sections, maybe?). Still I wonder is there a limit of some type per topic?

To my knowledge there is no absolute limit past which point no new comments may be added — it is possible I am wrong. After a certain point, I believe around 200 messages, LT gives a link at the bottom of a Talk page to make a continuation. This could be done for many reasons, but I imagine primarily it reduces crazy amounts of scrolling. Reasons why any one individual does it can be as varied as the individuals doing it, but I have seen some people in the Category Challenge group divide by quarters or 6-month increments. I've seen some people compare using a new sequential thread to using a new notebook at the beginning of the school year; a chance to start on a new blank sheet of paper with organising and listing reads.

>2 GraceCollection: Completely correct. Here is an example of a thread where I'm glad it's broken up every ca 200 messages :-)

https://www.librarything.com/topic/374004

Mostly, it takes too long to load. I imagine this is doubly true for reading threads with loads of touchstones and images, but loading even just discussions becomes lengthy at some point.

Yes, it's both scrolling purposes and loading purposes. People have much better internet now but when the 75ers was most active 12ish years ago some members' internet was very slow and long topics wouldn't load.

Nowadays sometimes members will break up their topic on a schedule, such as one topic per quarter, but the origin of that practice was scrolling and loading issues

Since Talk threads aren't paged they just get longer and longer and eventually take too long to load.

Thank you all! Makes sense. Good to know LT will "help" you at the 200th message to start a continuation thread.

>7 DebiCates: Continued threads also remember if you've starred the previous one, so they'll continue appearing in your 'group and posts' feed.Handy when following only some threads in a group

>8 SandraArdnas: Sweeeet. That is handy. Thanks Sandra.

I got to thinking--everyone make room, anything can happen--is there a way to "invoke" that new thread? I ask because of the automatic way it handles starred following. But what if you wanted to invoke a break before the 200th message? Say, related to a new month?

You get the option to continue in a new thread at 150. It diesn't do it automatically. You have to click on it. Look at https://www.librarything.com/topic/373965#n8964515 The link to continue is below the 'Add a message' box. You can then edit the subject line of the new topic.

>10 DebiCates: Once the topic hits the right number of messages (it's actually 150), the link will appear at the bottom. The new topic isn't started until someone clicks the link (which takes them to the "new topic" page) and then creates a new topic.

If you want to create a new topic but you haven't hit 150 messages yet, you will have to create a new one manually, and it will have no connection to the old topic.

>12 norabelle414: There's a tradition in some groups of having a piffle party when someone wants to start a new thread but they haven't quite reached 150 yet, in which people make silly random posts until the magic number is reached.

Edit: Maybe it's just the Green Dragon

I've seen similar behavior in other groups without any particular name to it.

I've seen similar behavior in other groups without any particular name to it.

>11 MarthaJeanne: Thank you.

>13 jjwilson61: LOL. Clever. And fun.

>16 Bookmarque: is that the image you post to let people know to help the thread get to 150?

Lots of fun traditions here.

Yeah, I do most of my illustrations for new year threads.

>20 Bookmarque: Is that your image, then? Even more fun!

ETA: I mean, you designed it? Is it for anyone to use or just your own "thing." Want to respect that if it is.

I used Canva, so it's an amalgam.

>22 Bookmarque: Well, I like it. I don't know Canva so if I ever get to that point where I want a piffle party I might have to figure out how to get creative myself.