I think this is what you are asking moxnix... if the date is flashing it means the post is out-dated.... I'm not sure exactly how long a post takes to reach that point, but after a pre-defined amount of time the date will start flashing at the top of threads... This means that the post is old.... From time to time we'll see people reply to old threads.. sometimes a year old.. and it's cluttering at times.. and usually the topic has no reason to still be discussed.. So that is what people are refering to.