# Auto-close rules for the Help category? **URL:** \ **Category:** Forum Guide & Feedback\ **Created:** [September 7, 2023, 9:03am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/auto-close-rules-for-the-help-category/286 "2023-09-07T09:03:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gwmngilfen](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/gwmngilfen/32/6_2.png) [@gwmngilfen](https://forum.ansible.com/u/gwmngilfen)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 9:03am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/auto-close-rules-for-the-help-category/286/1 "2023-09-07T09:03:15Z")
I’m wondering if we need something for #Get Help to keep the triage process flowing… #Get Help is a place we expect our volunteers to do work in, so it’s on us to make that a usable experience. We’re have the **Solved** plugin for marking things as solved, which is great - but there are often [posts which don’t have solutions](http://forum.ansible.com/t/getting-ansible-to-work-well-with-my-it-environment/220/3) but which don’t require a response either. I’d like to be able to document an advanced search string, such that our responders can find things to work on. Clearly `#help status:unsolved` is part of that, but it’s not enough. I can see 2 ways to improve it (open to more ideas as well): 1. Set an auto-close rule, say 30 days after the last post. This means you can search on `status:open` and not get ancient unsolved topics. It also avoids “thread necromancy” where people post on years-old topics. However, in some cases it could mean new topics created that probably would have been posted to the old one if it was open. 2. Use a triage tag, say `paused` or something, and then search on `-tag:paused`. This means the topic remains open for future input, but someone has to manage the tags (in particular, if a user returns to say the issue re-occurred, the tag needs to be _removed_). I’m leaning towards 1, and having an auto-close rule. In the rare case of a new topic being created because the old one was closed, we can always merge the topics and re-open it. Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![samccann](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/samccann/32/18_2.png) [@samccann](https://forum.ansible.com/u/samccann)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 2:57pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/auto-close-rules-for-the-help-category/286/2 "2023-09-07T14:57:29Z")
I prefer option 1 as well. Should it become a problem, we can either extend the auto-closed longer than 30 days, or re-evaluate the problem and solution. I lean toward make it simple and change if necessary when change is required. The one question I have - what status does an auto-closed post get? is it the `status:unsolved`? or something else. So long as it’s not `resolved` should be okay. I just wonder what the OP sees/thinks when their unsolved post is auto-closed. ---
**Author:** ![cybette](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/cybette/32/16_2.png) [@cybette](https://forum.ansible.com/u/cybette)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2023, 3:00am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/auto-close-rules-for-the-help-category/286/3 "2023-09-08T03:00:09Z")
+1 for option 1 as well ---
**Author:** ![mariolenz](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/mariolenz/32/108_2.png) [@mariolenz](https://forum.ansible.com/u/mariolenz)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2023, 1:59pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/auto-close-rules-for-the-help-category/286/4 "2023-09-08T13:59:48Z")
I tend to option 1. We can always re-evaluate and change this if it turns out to be necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Leo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/leo/32/23_2.png) [@Leo](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Leo)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2023, 4:14pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/auto-close-rules-for-the-help-category/286/5 "2023-09-08T16:14:59Z")
-1 to auto-close. I’m not a fan of auto-closing unless we are having a lot of issues with necromancy. Considering Ansible life cycles and releases, the same question could be "current’ for quite a while. Instead of closing, we could use a short-cut to an advanced search for “no replies yet”: `#help status:noreplies`. ---
**Author:** ![gwmngilfen](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/gwmngilfen/32/6_2.png) [@gwmngilfen](https://forum.ansible.com/u/gwmngilfen)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2023, 11:12pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/auto-close-rules-for-the-help-category/286/6 "2023-09-08T23:12:16Z")
“No replies” doesn’t solve the case I set out (or the example I linked) where some work has been done but a solution can’t yet be marked. How would you solve that?