Unless there was a particular post that I was very involved in. There haven't been many lately.

but now that I'm home most of the time, I never scan over much past the first half of the first page.
I think the folks you see scanning back further are only here 2-3 times a month.

I've also noticed that the most interesting and the most controversial get read a lot more... the 411s get skipped.

When a newbie first discovers TER and specifically the boards, it is hard not to read back several pages. Most are usually fascinated or hooked and reading back several pages helps them understand what this hobby is all about.

I had already been in the hobby several years when I first discovered TER through a now retired escort's website. I saw the limited reviews, the scores and ways to become a VIP member. At that time I thought TER was a scam and only gave it a passing thought.

It was not until a couple years later that I visited TER again and visited the discussion boards that I figured this was real. I remember I read back several pages, maybe months. It is what helped make the "sale" for me. I also learned plenty and saved me the trouble of asking several redundant questions.

Curiosity and newbies are the biggest reasons I suspect older threads keep getting reads.

Another reason is if an older post has been linked to or referenced in a newer post. All those who click on the link will increase the read count.

Personally I read just the first page unless have gone several days or longer without visiting TER, then I ma read backwards to see what I might have missed.

...so there's rarely a reason to go back. Even on other boards that I follow from time to time, I rarely go back past the current page one unless I feel like catching up on the photo threads.
But I have noticed that phenomenon too. If a thread leaves page one with 300 or so reads by the time it reaches page 8 the reads might me up by several hundred.

And when that happens I may end up readings posts from a year ago or longer.