Forum FAQs and policies

[Bob Keller]

Welcome!

This forum is a great source of information; it's possible that your question has been asked on the forum before - before posting, search for keywords (Legacy, repair, oil derrick) related to your question in the "Search the Community" box on the right side of the screen to find past discussions.

Before posting, please take a moment to review our forum rules.

Stay on topic -- model train talk only, please 

Stay away from divisive topics, like graffiti, hoboes, train-hopping, and what makes a "real model railroader."

Avoid controversial off-topic subjects like race, religion, ethnicity, sex, violence, guns, abortion, politics, unions, and immigration, even in signatures. This extends to images, as well.

Be civil. No name-calling, insults, or put-downs (including accusing others of "trolling").

Keep it clean. No "bad words," even if you replace them with $¥MßØ1$. And no racy pictures or discussion of adult topics.

No selling or advertising. That means no links or references of any kind to items or services for sale or auction. No promoting events, fund-raisers, contests, websites, Facebook groups, or other Forums, either.

If you spot a violation of these policies, have a problem with another Forum user, or want to contact the site moderators for any other reason, use the "Report Abuse" icon at the lower-left of every post.

Here's how to post a photo in the forum:

Step 1: Prepare your photo. It should be saved in JPG or GIF format, and no more than 1 megapixel in size (approx. 1000x1000 pixels).

Step 2: Upload your photo elsewhere. You can't actually post a photo in a Forum message. What you can do is post a link in your message that calls a photo posted elsewhere. So you'll have to put your photo somewhere on the Web that's publicly viewable. Many Forum members use Photobucket, Imgur, Flickr, or their personal websites. Whatever hosting site you use, make sure your settings allow your photo to be viewed by anyone, or all you'll get is a broken-image icon. The Model Railroader User Gallery won't work, because it requires you to be logged in. Any site that requires a login won't work, even if visibility is set to Public. That includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the like.

Step 3: Copy the address. Right-click (or on a Mac, control-click) to view the image by itself, not embedded in a web page. Copy the address of the photo from the address bar at the top. If it doesn't end in ".jpg" or ".gif", you're still looking at the picture on a web page, not the picture itself.

Step 4: Start your post. Create a new post on the Forum as usual, using either the Reply function on an existing thread or the blue "Create a new discussion topic" button in the Forum list view.

Step 5: Insert your picture. Click the "Insert/edit image" button above the message window. It looks like a picture of a mountain and the sun. Click it and paste the image URL you copied into the "Source" box in the window that comes up. Then click OK. Repeat and add text as necessary. Then post as usual.