Mod:Merge threads

The simplest way to do this is via the forum display screen.

• On the forum display page, select the threads you wish to merge by clicking the tickboxes on the far right-hand side.

• Now click the "Moderation" menu at the bottom of the screen (you may have to scroll down the page in order to find it).

• Click on "Merge Threads".

• The "Go" button should now display the number of threads that have been selected. Click "Go".

• On clicking "Go", you'll be taken to the "Merge Threads" screen, where you're given a number of options.

• Select which forum you wish the merged thread to reside in (99% of the time this will not need changing. You'll also need moderator privileges in both the originating and destination forums if you want to change this).

• You now have the option of specifying which thread will be considered the 'destination' thread. The destination thread is the thread that will be retained (the other thread being hosted within it will be deleted).

• In most cases, you will not need to change the destination thread (as the software automatically recognises the older thread and designates the older thread as the destination thread). However, in the above example, the destination thread has been changed to the newer thread.

• Press "Merge Threads" and the threads are merged.

• As you can see, the forum displays the title of the destination thread. However, when threads are merged, the posts are mixed together and sorted by timestamp. Because there was an older post in the discarded thread, it now takes the position as the opening post.

• Please note - ownership of the thread (which post is the original post) does NOT need to be the oldest post. When merging, whichever thread you select as the destination thread becomes the 'host' and it's original post is the "first" in the thread. All subsequent replies are then sorted based on timestamp.

• Please note - When merging a thread, you have the option of leaving a redirection link. This can be set to permanent (the link never goes away) or temporary (for a timeframe you specify, typically 1 week) or to leave no redirect at all. As a courtesy to the members, you should try to leave a redirect so they can find their posts later, however to keep your forum clean you are encouraged to utilize an expiring redirect (1-2 weeks should suffice) so it will remove itself after having notified enough people of where the content now resides.