There are two reasons for the blanket prohibition on bump posts:
1. Calling attention to your own thread or post takes away from somebody else's thread or post, so it's not fair.
2. Posts with no new content are annoying to other users.
The downside is that you can never say "It's been 10 years and my Mac still won't boot!", i.e., some users might not get help that they might get if they could bump.
We haven't adopted a compromise rule that would allow some bumps after some amount of time because it would complicate rules that are already rather voluminous and be harder for the moderators to administer. Some people get confused over even simple rules, so simpler is definitely better.
Here are some practical suggestions for people who have asked for help and are hoping somebody will respond to their post:
1. Do something to get more information, or try another way to help yourself. If that doesn't solve the problem, add a post explaining the new information or telling what you tried. It's OK to post in your thread when you having something new to add, just not when you have nothing more to say than "anyone?".
2. Search for and read more threads. It's not always easy to find all of the relevant threads, and you may have searched at least once before, but give it another try with other words or phrases you can think of. You may find clues or answers you hadn't seen before.
3. Ask at another forum site. We don't want to drive our users away but when you have a problem forum "brand loyalty" should take a backseat. Post here, post at other forum sites, and even in Apple's discussion forums.
4. More and more of us live near Apple Stores. A trip to you closest store can be fun (new goodies to play with!) and salespeople or geniuses may be able to help with your Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, or other issue. Just don't ask them for help with jailbreaking!
5. If your lonely post was not a plea for help, just a discussion post, let it go. Sometimes what you think is interesting doesn't catch anyone else's fancy. I've had it happen myself.
For clarification, the rule about consecutive posts applies only when the posts are only a few minutes apart. If you have something new to say hours or days after a previous post, that's fine. Editing your previous post is fine too.
