For the last several weeks, the Weekend Photo Fun has been locked. The most recent one was locked early Monday morning (the last post was at 7:40am ET) !!!
Why ? Why lock such a popular thread when nothing of any controversy has developed ? Who locks it ?
If its a question of the thread going on and on for weeks on end, then why not lock old "dead" threads that haven't had any new postings in months or years ?
I really don't see the big problem with letting people post there even after the weekend. I could see locking it if there was another flamewar or spam attack. As for old threads you just can't win. Some people will whine about you bumping an old thread and if you make a new thread people will whine about you making a thread about a topic somebody already covered. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't.
As someone who used to kick-off WPF a while back, I fully support this approach. In fact, I wish they would have started to do this much sooner. It would have cut off a lot of trouble.
This topic tends to go stale (and often troublesome) once the weekend is over. Besides, what's the point of calling it WEEKEND photo fun if you allow the topic to continue on indefinitely?
If it's a case were you have more photos to share, then what's the big deal about waiting until the next WPF? If you want to discuss someone's work, then why not start a new topic and/or contact the member directly?
...well, what if someone spends all weekend working on their hobby and taking pictures only to login on Monday to post what they did and find the thread locked....
Make another thread? Whats the point of gumming up the forum 'ware with needless extra threads when the solution could be as simple as:
"Wait till Tuesday to lock it!"
just my $0.02
Dave Loman
My site: The Rusty Spike
"It's a penny for your thoughts, but you have to put your 2 cents in.... hey, someone's making a penny!"
I agree with Claymore. These threads are generally good showcases for the work that people are doing. There have been times when some nut job tries to take over, but typically the moderators do a good job of nipping that in the bud.
I don't mind seeing more stuff added during the week, because there are those of us who don't finish something up until the end of the weekend.
Yet we still have meaningless wastes of bandwidth like Beer Barn and Trackside Diner that go on ad nauseum with off topic nonsense... Many of the other forums I participate in have separate sections for off-topic discussion rather than clutter up the main topic areas.
Let WPF be free!
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
If the issue with the threads/forum in general is that occasionally a topic gets out of hand and slides into realm of heated debate/mud throwing... then locking/banning is more than welcome.
If there is *that* much of it happening, then I believe its time for a fulltime moderator. if that is not possible, then perhaps promoting a few of the trustworthy, level headed community members to Moderator status is warrented.
To be honest, this is the First forum i have encountered that doesn't have any community moderators involved. If the powers that be are worried about placing trust, then have faith and try it. It works as long as you pick the right people and keep them on a medium to short leash :)
I, for one, sit at a computer all day and find myself with enough free time to easily Moderate a forum with a traffic load such as this site. So, I will volunteer if need be.
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
Dave,
There are volunteer(drafted perhaps?) moderators..They don't wear the badge under their name like most forums.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Who cares. If you worked on an item all weekend and find the post locked, here is a thought, POST ON THE NEXT WPF! Now quit ya cryin
alco's forever!!!!! Majoring in HO scale Minorig in O scale:)
BRAKIEDave, There are volunteer(drafted perhaps?) moderators..They don't wear the badge under their name like most forums.
Ah! Ninja Moderators! Neat!
I suppose that's pretty smart then. Can't flame a target you can't see :)
Thanks for the info.
Ditto rs2mike!!! Also, it seems that some of our more prolific posters clog up the last page or two with meaningless chatter - "atta boys" to each other etc!!!
wm3798Yet we still have meaningless wastes of bandwidth like Beer Barn and Trackside Diner that go on ad nauseum with off topic nonsense... Many of the other forums I participate in have separate sections for off-topic discussion rather than clutter up the main topic areas.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
One man's trash is another man's treasure... so one man's wasted bandwidth is another man's trove of information.
Keeping this thread on topic, I think WPF shouldn't be locked unless the posts devolve into childishness.
We do, however, need an 'Off Topic Forum'....
claymore1977 BRAKIE Dave, There are volunteer(drafted perhaps?) moderators..They don't wear the badge under their name like most forums. Ah! Ninja Moderators! Neat! I suppose that's pretty smart then. Can't flame a target you can't see :) Thanks for the info.
BRAKIE Dave, There are volunteer(drafted perhaps?) moderators..They don't wear the badge under their name like most forums.
SHHHHH!
THEY are always watching....
Have fun with your trains
claymore1977 ...well, what if someone spends all weekend working on their hobby and taking pictures only to login on Monday to post what they did and find the thread locked.... Make another thread? Whats the point of gumming up the forum 'ware with needless extra threads when the solution could be as simple as: "Wait till Tuesday to lock it!" just my $0.02
At that rate you would have the bellyachers saying wait until Thursday! to close it---It is called WEEKEND photo Fun guys---get with the plan here---
Must be Cabin Fever----
...although, there just might be one holdout until Tuesday, so really we shouldn't cut it off until the end of the day on Tuesday. Mind you, there is Wednesday.....
Yes, I am being facetious. But, what's wrong with my logic? If Monday might be a good day to post on the weekend, won't Thursday be just as weekendy?
If a person has nothing to post by Monday morning early when the thread gets locked, wait until the next weekend. It's the same as photo contests on other forums. The contest has a defined bound timewise, and those who miss the boundaries miss the contest. Similarly, those who miss the weekend.....
-Crandell
Exactly. Photos taken during the weekend. I never got any indication from any of the WPF threads that the photos had to be *posted* during the weekend... I thought thats when we were supposed to be taking the photos!
...besides.... what does it really matter when the photos are taken and posted? The threads get locked because of the arguments/childish discussions that occur, not because the photos are posted on Monday instead of Tuesday.
Locking a thread will not solve the arguments/childish discussions. Moderator action, aka deletion of posts and restricting/suspending/banning accounts does. Locking the thread will, however, hamper all the good discussion that usually comes of those types of threads.
In my observations, there have been many more 'good' WPF threads than 'bad' ones, yet here we are letting the few 'bad' ones infringe on all the people who honestly enjoy participating in WPF.
...Leave WPF be. Don't lock it. Just delete obnoxious posts.
selector ...although, there just might be one holdout until Tuesday, so really we shouldn't cut it off until the end of the day on Tuesday. Mind you, there is Wednesday..... Yes, I am being facetious. But, what's wrong with my logic? If Monday might be a good day to post on the weekend, won't Thursday be just as weekendy? If a person has nothing to post by Monday morning early when the thread gets locked, wait until the next weekend. It's the same as photo contests on other forums. The contest has a defined bound timewise, and those who miss the boundaries miss the contest. Similarly, those who miss the weekend..... -Crandell
It is called WeekEND Photofun---suck it up--if you want to post photos at other times do it --don't be quibbling over a single thread---
Weekend Photo Fun. Weekend. Post photos. Monday. Beginning of the week. Not weekend.
Trainshow this weekend. Weekend. go to trainshow. Monday. No trainshow.
Then again, where does the weekend begin......
Todd
Central Illinoyz
In order to keep my position as Master and Supreme Ruler of the House, I don't argue with my wife.
I'm a small town boy. A product of two people from even smaller towns. I don’t talk on topic….. I just talk.
When did WPF become a 'contest' ?
TMarsh Weekend Photo Fun. Weekend. Post photos. Monday. Beginning of the week. Not weekend. Trainshow this weekend. Weekend. go to trainshow. Monday. No trainshow. Then again, where does the weekend begin......
Maybe Thursday night?---parties start Thursdays---
chateauricherFor the last several weeks, the Weekend Photo Fun has been locked. The most recent one was locked early Monday morning (the last post was at 7:40am ET) !!! Why ? Why lock such a popular thread when nothing of any controversy has developed ? Who locks it ? If its a question of the thread going on and on for weeks on end, then why not lock old "dead" threads that haven't had any new postings in months or years ?
Timothy and all,
Please let me quickly explain my rationale behind the locking of the WPF threads.
In times past, this thread has been dug up, posted to, and used as fodder by a certain ex-forum member desiring to clutter up the forum. In the hope that this will help to keep the WPF thread from being used in this fashion in the future, I've decided to lock it after a specific amount of time.
When I lock WPF, it's done after midnight on Mondays. This allows for 4 FULL days - i.e. Friday, Saturday, Sunday AND Monday - to posting to the popular thread. Same for this past week's. Even though Packer was the last to post on WPF on Monday morning (~7 AM), it was still open and capable of being posted to the entire rest of the day.
And, although the WPF is locked after Mondays, it is still viewable to everyone who hasn't had a chance to see it yet.
I hope that clears things up.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
claymore1977I never got any indication from any of the WPF threads that the photos had to be *posted* during the weekend
Okay, so now you know. WPF is currently used for photos posted during the weekend.
If the moderators (and Selector, aka Crandell is one of them) wants to lock the WPF threads after the weekend is over to avoid people continuing to post to them until one has several WPF threads running concurrently, then so be it.
If you want to post pictures on Tuesday, post pictures on Tuesday - just call the thread you post in something other than WPF.You could e.g. post them in the long running thread "Show your favorite scene" (http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/p/107078/1238488.aspx).
Or start your own thread.
Is there really a problem here ?
Smile, Stein
I can't help but laugh when some members mention "wasting bandwidth" , like it somehow affects them in a personal way. If your so lazy your complaining about having to move your mouse, you have serious problems.
Locking WTF is a good idea to me. Start your own thread with a "See what I did"
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
rs2mike Who cares. If you worked on an item all weekend and find the post locked, here is a thought, POST ON THE NEXT WPF! Now quit ya cryin
Why, pray tell, does WPF have to stand for WEEKEND PHOTO FUN? Could it not equally stand for WEEKDAY PHOTO FUN?
Look, if you have a photo that is giving you apoplexy POST IT!!!!!
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
jeffrey-wimberlywm3798Yet we still have meaningless wastes of bandwidth like Beer Barn and Trackside Diner that go on ad nauseum with off topic nonsense... Many of the other forums I participate in have separate sections for off-topic discussion rather than clutter up the main topic areas. If you want a good example of a waste of bandwidth then this thread would be one. To me this thread is totally useless. If you can't get your project done in time to post it to the WPF then hold on to the photos and post them on the next one or start your own thread and show off what you did.
LOL. I was wondering when you'd chime in on this. Trackside Diner is your second home isn't it?
I agree with Tom; locking the thread after the weekend makes sense. I've seen firsthand one of the troll attacks before the threads were locked. It made the forum impossible to navigate. Only one in every 5 threads was a new thread and not a ressurected WPF. The moderators stepped in quickly and started locking those threads, but it still took a couple days for them to sink to the bottom again.
I need a bumper sticker that says "I support our moderators!"
And on the last page or so of WPF, there's rarely any new work, just belated comments and the remainders of conversations. I just ignore WPF once it gets slow, because most of the time there's nothing worthwhile.
Just my
Nothing much has changed over here I see......
Maybe this thread could become the new "Whiner's Photo Fun" ....open forever........
I guess I'll start as I seem to be whining about the whining......
Hey! Awesome! It's not the weekend and I can still post photos.....
Karl.A
Disclaimer:- none of these models were built, photographed or posted at the weekend..... I hope thats OK.........
There is another consideration that might not meet the eye; recall that we had severe problems a couple of weeks back with pathological slowness. It was a mess. The IT specialists working with Erik determined that the koffee klatch threads, in all the main forums related to trains.com, had become so large that they were bogging down the server(s). The answer was to cull those threads and let those who frequented them start new ones. So it was done. It should be lost on no one here that the many WPF threads, as they accumulate, and before they are commited to archived status, also constitute a substantial memory burden on the very same server(s). So, it is best to limit the lives of threads where it makes some sense to do so. That is Tom's reasoning, which I endorse.
If a person misjudges their project completion, or the commitment of time it will take them to produce an image for WPF, nothing precludes them from either waiting until the following Friday (here's a thought: launch the next WPF yourself!), or initiate their own thread and invite people to look at their creation.
Both are done regularly by several people. It's no biggie.
If you'd like to comment on a photo you missed on WPF, but find the thread locked, do what the system provides...send a PM or open another thread and head it "So 'n So's great WPF photo!"
Now that Timothy's question has been answered, let us therefore spend the remaining time preparing so that we can post on this week's upcoming WPF. Till then...