It seems fairly pointless, yes, and Greg is onto something when he points out that it's narcissistic to feel that a debate can't possibly be finished until you have added your opinion to it. But how is it rude, or does it negatively affect anyone? If anyone feels like reading Joel's posts in old threads and maybe replying to them, what's wrong with that? It probably won't do much in terms of reviving the board, but it doesn't harm it either.