Bump (Internet)

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To bump a thread on an Internet forum is to post a reply to it purely in order to raise the thread's profile. This will typically return it to the top of the list of active threads.

1 Motivation
2 Netiquette
3 Sticky threads
4 Trivia
5 References
6 See also

[edit] Motivation

Many Internet forums show as their first page a list of the 20-50 topics or "discussion threads" most recently posted to. Someone wishing to keep a thread on this first page, or bring an old thread back to it will post a reply to it purely to do this. If they are open about this, the post may simply be the word "bump".

[edit] Netiquette

Thread bumping is commonly considered a breach of netiquette and some moderated forums forbid it. Users may get around that by posting what is ostensibly a genuine reply. Sometimes this will mockingly contain the word "bump" in it, such as "Wandering the forum, he bumps into this thread...", or be a trivial question or response such as "Anyone?".

[edit] Sticky threads

Many forums now have features allowing administrators to make a thread "sticky", meaning that the thread will remain at the top regardless[1].

In a similar way a few forums create an area specifically for bumping (which usually does not count for a user's postcount). The thread is usually used as a way for forum goers to post on nothing in particular, or just pass time talking to themselves, and allows the moderators to lessen the clutter of pointless threads.

[edit] Trivia

BUMP is sometimes used as a backronym for "Bring Up My Post/Post count" or as a recursive acronym "Bump Up My Post".
Bumping old or inactive ("dead") threads is occasionally called "necroposting", and the bumping posts referred to as "frankenposts".