Unless I'm mistaken, the "no reviving threads" rule was revised fairly recently to give a little more leeway if there's some merit to that particular thread instead of a new one. Or at least I remember some discussion on that. I've mostly just seen it enforced in generic FF threads where someone posted a generic, unnecessary response 3 years later.

The swear filter is the main rule I've never liked, but I've accepted it over the years.