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Posted by Murphy Siding on Sunday, December 15, 2019 9:52 AM

Convicted One

 

 
Murphy Siding
I've always wondered why I never see articles in Trains Magazine promoting their forums. You'd think it would be an easy way to cross-polinate the branding.

 

That's a good point! I've subscribed to magazines in the past that did so, and my web persona even managed to make mention in the coveted ink parent component.Coffee

 

I hope it was in a good way. Laugh

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by Convicted One on Sunday, December 15, 2019 10:26 AM

Murphy Siding
I hope it was in a good way. 

Actually it was....I subscribed to their magazine and hadn't really given the then latest edition a thorough going over.....but I logged on to the forum one morning and everybody was jealous of me and one other member who had made the grade.Star

It was a computer enthusiast magazine, and the regular columnists would even participate in the forums if you started a particularly well thought-out thread that was specific to one of their articles. There was kind of an effect of unintended consequences at work there. The columnists would only engage you if you were civil in your normal forum involvement. To have a columnist respond to you in the forums gave you immediate forum "creds", so there was an incentive to be a good netizen.  The trouble makers were pretty much shunned by the staffers.

BTW, the magazine already does have a strategy  working between the mag and this forum, with their "subscribers only" locked content.

And then every once in a while they will unlock one of those stories  for the masses and start a thread here for discussion...I think that makes a productive synergy between media types.

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Sunday, December 15, 2019 12:52 PM

Convicted One

 

 
Murphy Siding
I hope it was in a good way. 

 

Actually it was....I subscribed to their magazine and hadn't really given the then latest edition a thorough going over.....but I logged on to the forum one morning and everybody was jealous of me and one other member who had made the grade.Star

It was a computer enthusiast magazine, and the regular columnists would even participate in the forums if you started a particularly well thought-out thread that was specific to one of their articles. There was kind of an effect of unintended consequences at work there. The columnists would only engage you if you were civil in your normal forum involvement. To have a columnist respond to you in the forums gave you immediate forum "creds", so there was an incentive to be a good netizen.  The trouble makers were pretty much shunned by the staffers.

BTW, the magazine already does have a strategy  working between the mag and this forum, with their "subscribers only" locked content.

And then every once in a while they will unlock one of those stories  for the masses and start a thread here for discussion...I think that makes a productive synergy between media types.

 

Thumbs Up

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by BaltACD on Thursday, December 19, 2019 9:59 AM

I was getting 'errors' from my attempts to access the Forum from about 2000 on 12/18 until now. 

Was this the 'scheduled outage' to roll in the 'new' software?  Or was it just another of the routine issues?

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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  • From: Henrico, VA
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Posted by Flintlock76 on Thursday, December 19, 2019 10:20 AM

Beats me.  In the past if there was going to be a scheduled outage they let everyone know it was coming, this time it came out of nowhere, I was on-site when it died.

What are you gonna do?  So, I went on the YouTube and watched "The Chieftain"  touring tank museums for the rest of the evening. 

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Posted by Deggesty on Thursday, December 19, 2019 10:22 AM

BaltACD

I was getting 'errors' from my attempts to access the Forum from about 2000 on 12/18 until now. 

Was this the 'scheduled outage' to roll in the 'new' software?  Or was it just another of the routine issues?

 

It was new to me, and I wondered if it were connected to the plan for a new communication--or simply a fault with the existing system--or,even worse, a fault in my computer.

I was quite happy when the website came up a few minutes ago when I followed my usual procedure.

Johnny

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Thursday, December 19, 2019 10:34 AM

Johhny, what I do when the Kalmbach site acts up is go to another website I'm interested in and see what happens.

The the other website comes up with no problems, or other websites come up with no problems, then I know my computer's fine, the problem's on Kalmbach's end.

Wayne

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Posted by BaltACD on Thursday, December 19, 2019 10:39 AM

Flintlock76
Johhny, what I do when the Kalmbach site acts up is go to another website I'm interested in and see what happens.

The the other website comes up with no problems, or other websites come up with no problems, then I know my computer's fine, the problem's on Kalmbach's end.

Wayne

Which is the practice I also follow.  Some times, even when the site is 'working', it will time out on me.  I check another web site to ensure that the issues are not mine (I have a wonky modem that will sometimes act up on its own).  Come back several minutes later, and the Trains site is working again.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by Deggesty on Thursday, December 19, 2019 10:39 AM

Yes, Wayne; I was able to get into other sites last tnight and this morning, which kept me occupied utill a few minutes ago.

Johnny

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Posted by BaltACD on Thursday, December 19, 2019 10:40 AM

Flintlock76
Johhny, what I do when the Kalmbach site acts up is go to another website I'm interested in and see what happens.

The the other website comes up with no problems, or other websites come up with no problems, then I know my computer's fine, the problem's on Kalmbach's end.

Wayne

Which is the practice I also follow.  Some times, even when the site is 'working', it will time out on me.  I check another web site to ensure that the issues are not mine (I have a wonky modem that will sometimes act up on its own).  Come back several minutes later, and the Trains site is working again.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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  • From: Northern New York
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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, December 19, 2019 11:37 AM

There are several variables that can affect any given website.

This was definitely a problem with whoever provides the space for Kalmbach.  It may have been a glitch in the code.

Your trip to a website will involve a number of "hops."  Think of them as interchanges (or interlockings...)  Each involves a router that receives your data and sends it out the correct pipe on it's way to the web server - and vice versa.

If any one of them has an issue (ie, too much traffic), you'll get a time-out.

Going to another website will involve a different path.  In fact, your next visit to the same website may involve a different path.

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
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There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

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Posted by BaltACD on Thursday, December 19, 2019 2:29 PM

I don't know if it is me or not - BUT - the forum seems to be responding quicker after the most recent outage.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by BaltACD on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 1:06 PM

Steve Sweeney
BALT and All: Consider this a low-key announcement — We're working on a new website. I cannot offer specifics, but I can say that our current fora and websites are not long for this world.

We're sorry for breakdowns and malfunctions and the harm this causes to your experiences here. We feel bad because we know how much you guys enjoy discussing on the forums, but also because the breakdowns reflect badly on us. 

When there's more I can share with readers and customers, you will be among the first to know. -Steve

Well Steve - it has been almost 2 months - any further updates?

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by Deggesty on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 2:11 PM

Also, Steve, I hope that we will continue to be able to communicate through these forums that Kalmbach has provided. 

Johnny

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Posted by Convicted One on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 4:41 PM

Wondering if those crafty IT people have devised a scheme where our ad-blockers are actually the culprit inhibiting the search function?  Mischief

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Posted by BaltACD on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 5:34 PM

Convicted One
Wondering if those crafty IT people have devised a scheme where our ad-blockers are actually the culprit inhibiting the search function?  Mischief

I am not using adblockers and search doesn't work - so that is one theory disproved.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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