On second thought, after reading the clarification, I'm changing my mind and going to the first option. Mostly because two became a little more confusing and feels more like a punishment for wanting to complete my older threads.

If we could use backtags the same way as we can show activity in the current month being checked, that would be cool. But requesting 8+ comments over two months and then activity for a current month for anyone wanting to use their backdated threads? In my opinion, that's steep for a game that has such a small character base.