desertdogSome readers may remember that at one time there was an Atlas model railroad forum. Every thread turned into a battle of some kind or another. Finally, Atlas got fed up with constantly having to moderate, suspend offenders, etc. and got back to their primary business of making model railroad equipment. Kalmbach is different in that they are in the media business and forums are media. Nonetheless, if they pull the plug on this forum, they can easily justify it based on the number of warnings and locked threads over time. John Timm
I will note that Atlas has kept their old forum as an archive. As opposed to dumping the data. I find myself occasionally going there.
I thank Atlas for keeping it available. Good on 'em!
Ed
ericsp Murphy Siding For fun, some enterprising person should start an internet forum for and about trolls. The entertainment value would be built into the forum and it wouldn’t require much in the way of moderation. It should be in the bylaws that no one can use their own name and each member has to have a two screen name minimum. I can think of an appropriate sponsor right out of the chute- Pissed Off! Energy Drink. (a real product) They would have to suspend members for insufficient trolling.
Murphy Siding For fun, some enterprising person should start an internet forum for and about trolls. The entertainment value would be built into the forum and it wouldn’t require much in the way of moderation. It should be in the bylaws that no one can use their own name and each member has to have a two screen name minimum. I can think of an appropriate sponsor right out of the chute- Pissed Off! Energy Drink. (a real product)
For fun, some enterprising person should start an internet forum for and about trolls. The entertainment value would be built into the forum and it wouldn’t require much in the way of moderation. It should be in the bylaws that no one can use their own name and each member has to have a two screen name minimum. I can think of an appropriate sponsor right out of the chute- Pissed Off! Energy Drink. (a real product)
They would have to suspend members for insufficient trolling.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
"No soup for you!" - Yev Kassem (from Seinfeld)
Thank you Brian,
Thanks for the heads up. I've been a subscriber since 1957.
Folks, there are no plans to close the Trains Magazine forums now, as long as they remain relatively trouble free. If you want to ensure the long-term survival of the forums, then you all need to take a role in them. Post quality content. That means your own thoughts and ideas, and not mindlessly sharing links to other sites without any description or context. Be respectful of each other. That means to discuss the ideas and not the people who present them. Ignore obvious trolls. That means just what it says.
Brian Schmidt, Editor, Classic Trains magazine
Many (too many) years ago my family had an Atari computer and we were buying all sorts of oddball games for it... anything cheap... from a place known as "C.O.M.B" (a sort of surplus and production overrun store). One of the games we found for 50 cents was named "Abuse". This was an interactive text game similar to the game "Eliza", wherein the player typed in sentences and the computer would print something in response.
I understood how "Eliza" worked in picking apart your input sentence and having standard replies that it could add your sentence to as a reply. It could conjugate the verbs and such to produce some intelligence in the reply (such as "I am" in the input would become "you are" in the reply). You might type in, "I want a million dollars" and it would respond with, "What would you do if you got a million dollars". But if you typed nonsense in, it would reply with the same nonsense, such as, "I had I am I am I am for yesterday" it might reply with "What did you do with you are you are you are for yesterday".
But "Abuse" was much different in that it could come up with replies that were not part of what you typed in, yet were relavent to the subject. It somehow scored what you typed based on how abusive your statement was. It did not allow "profane" or "obscene" language, but really encouraged "Don Rickles" type insults. If you typed, "Ah your mother wears combat boots!" it would respond with "Oh yeah, well your mother has to use both a belt and suspenders to keep her pants up."
My point in bringing this up is that my son played "Abuse" for most of one Saturday afternoon and when he came out of the study he commented,
"I really like 'Abuse'!"
to which I replied,
"Well, then come over here you big dummy and I'll smack you upside your head."
He has never lived it down!
I have found several versions of "Eliza" on-line and I have the source code so I have executables that will run on a stand-alone PC. Though I have found many different games on-line named "Abuse, the closest I have found for that original game is in the various on-line forums, but they are not nearly as much fun as that old computer game was.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
selector Murphy Siding For fun, some enterprising person should start an internet forum for and about trolls. The entertainment value would be built into the forum and it wouldn’t require much in the way of moderation. It should be in the bylaws that no one can use their own name and each member has to have a two screen name minimum. I can think of an appropriate sponsor right out of the chute- Pissed Off! Energy Drink. (a real product) And it were accessible only by paid-up subscription, it could be an elite trolling site with a better class of troll. I might even join out of idle curiousity.
And it were accessible only by paid-up subscription, it could be an elite trolling site with a better class of troll. I might even join out of idle curiousity.
just one question! I thought you both [Selector and Murphy Siding] had had enough of mediating "pig wresllin' matches", and "food fights"..
Are these posts requests to be thrown back into the fire? Warm-ups for more abuse, and Masochism? Y'all must have been bored, over this past week-end?
ROFL...!
And if it were accessible only by paid-up subscription, it could be an elite trolling site with a better class of troll. I might even join out of idle curiousity.
zugmann (anyone remember the Atlas model RR forum?)
(anyone remember the Atlas model RR forum?)
I remember it was easy to tell when it was offline because of all of the threads here asking about it and it seemed like an army of trolls would descend upon this forum.
zugmann So, do we have a designated rallying point to go if we wake up tomorrow and the forum is no more? Anyone want to create one?
So, do we have a designated rallying point to go if we wake up tomorrow and the forum is no more? Anyone want to create one?
Good idea Zugmann...I'm sure that has entered everyones mind while reading this thread...that and some way to save what has been as there is a heck of a lot of stellar information accumulated.
Some way to back up what we have and make it portable in case the worst happens.
tree68 It does seem, on occasion, that something we discuss on the Forum turns up not much later in the magazine...
It does seem, on occasion, that something we discuss on the Forum turns up not much later in the magazine...
Same could be said of many newspaper discussion forums over the years. I know we had one locally the newspaper staff used to pry for content on a regular basis. But many have been shut down, going to a Disqus/facebook commment type. Of course many of those sites were plagued by bands of trolls that had no real lives and only existed to cause trouble, it seems. I know we have our bad days on here - but this place is downright calm and civil compared ot those sites.
But all the RR discussion sites are ghosts of what they once were, whether it be here, TO, RR.net, etc. And even if they are active, all it takes is a change of heart and *poof* it's gone. (anyone remember the Atlas model RR forum?)
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
K.P., the answer could be state taxes.
Wisconsin is still a very high state income tax state.
Florida has no state income tax.
For the same salary a person in Florida will have 6.27% more take home pay.
Of course, there could be other reasons, also.
But that is one for the discussion hopper.
Florida!
A phenomenon being noted is more and more Florida addresses at this website. Astronomy Magazine I believe has a Florida address. Will TRAINS Magazine soon forsake Waukesha in the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin for Florida? Possibly for cheaper Cuban labor? Can you imagine someone answering the phone, “TRAINS Magazine … We love Fidel!” Seriously, it has to be wondered if the whole Kalmbach outfit was sold to a bigger conglomerate in Florida. Why else would a relatively new Waukesha building that houses Kalmbach move offices to Florida?
A new conglomerate owner may see getting rid of forums as a way of profiting. And, saving money is the name of the game.
It sure would be enlightening if a TRAINS staffer in the know wrote some input here on all this.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- K.P.’s absolute “theorem” from early, early childhood that he has seen over and over and over again: Those that CAUSE a problem in the first place will act the most violently if questioned or exposed.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
DSchmitt I think the Railroad/Model Railroad Forums will be around for a while. While many of the discussions reflect what is in the magazines, they and others that go further afield show the interests of the community and can influence future magazine content. The give quicker and more broad range feedback than letters, thus are a valuable tool for the editors if the care to use them.
I think the Railroad/Model Railroad Forums will be around for a while. While many of the discussions reflect what is in the magazines, they and others that go further afield show the interests of the community and can influence future magazine content. The give quicker and more broad range feedback than letters, thus are a valuable tool for the editors if the care to use them.
Exponding a bit on what Dschmitt said, I'd hope the editors look in on the various Forums from time to time for the reasons Mr. Schmitt gave. I know on the "Classic Toys Trains" Forum they do, sometimes to make sure everyone plays nice, and sometimes for the ideas and feedback. I'm sure it's not easy, I mean if you spend all day chained to a computer do you want to be in front of one in the evening when most of the Forum action's happening? Roger Carp and Bob Keller on "CTT" are to be commended for their interest. I wish the "Trains" staff would do the same. Maybe they do, but just don't care to join in.
And thanks for the compliment Sam!
"...Easy decision for me if it comes to that, I am a "Trains" subscriber and "Classic Trains" as well, so if the price of admission to the Forum is a Kalmbach subscription I'm already there. I may just go for "Classic Toy Trains" as well but haven't made up my mind on that one yet, although I do enjoy the mag and usually purchase it at my local hobby shop..."
Have to agree with both of these positions!
Hopefully. in K.P. Harrier's sounding the alarm, it might be a long term (mis-?) reading of the 'tea leaves"(?)
But as BaltACD SAID "...Never expect anything you value on the net to be permanent. Expect the things you never wanted to see again to last forever..."
After all, this Forum is a Free Service of a 'For Profit enterprise', and its' admission henges in-part on Subscriptions. Kalmbach can give, and Kalmbach can take away....
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
RME Interestingly enough, when you follow one of those 2011 links to look at the 'community', you eventually get to the 'reasons to register' page, and this message: "Register to become a member of Astronomy.com FOR FREE and get access to these great online features: ... Share your thoughts on the latest science stories." This is separate from the preceding item "post comments on blogs" ... so what else could it describe on astronomy.com but the [now-vanished] forum section? With that as a common theme, I can see a bunch of possible reasons why the whole schmear might 'have to go away' suddenly and with crApple-like silence for the reasons-why. They only begin with the sort of user-comportment thing Mr. Sweeney was criticizing over on the Hunter medical thread. Copyright infringement or hot-link violation for papers? Religious zealots producing polemical diatribes? The evolving choice of interpreting post text as something mods weren't supposed to edit - only to delete? Dueling curmudgeonry escalating ever more from B to O at double-digit magnitude? K.P. might even remember what, if anything, was controversial at the last time he posted. I for one would like to know precisely what situation arose, what official cause for termination Kalmbach found, and why the reasons aren't provided to us ... so that none of our forums slip into ther same fate.
Interestingly enough, when you follow one of those 2011 links to look at the 'community', you eventually get to the 'reasons to register' page, and this message:
"Register to become a member of Astronomy.com FOR FREE and get access to these great online features: ...
Share your thoughts on the latest science stories."
This is separate from the preceding item "post comments on blogs" ... so what else could it describe on astronomy.com but the [now-vanished] forum section?
With that as a common theme, I can see a bunch of possible reasons why the whole schmear might 'have to go away' suddenly and with crApple-like silence for the reasons-why. They only begin with the sort of user-comportment thing Mr. Sweeney was criticizing over on the Hunter medical thread. Copyright infringement or hot-link violation for papers? Religious zealots producing polemical diatribes? The evolving choice of interpreting post text as something mods weren't supposed to edit - only to delete? Dueling curmudgeonry escalating ever more from B to O at double-digit magnitude?
K.P. might even remember what, if anything, was controversial at the last time he posted.
I for one would like to know precisely what situation arose, what official cause for termination Kalmbach found, and why the reasons aren't provided to us ... so that none of our forums slip into ther same fate.
It's now more popular to go on Facebook and scream at people you disagree with and call them nasty names. That way you can cut out that bothersome middle part of the conversation where you try to listen to and understand someone else's viewpoint.
Easy decision for me if it comes to that, I am a "Trains" subscriber and "Classic Trains" as well, so if the price of admission to the Forum is a Kalmbach subscription I'm already there. I may just go for "Classic Toy Trains" as well but haven't made up my mind on that one yet, although I do enjoy the mag and usually purchase it at my local hobby shop.
Suppose you had to make an either-or decision. Your choice is that you can remain a subscriber to the magazine or have access to this forum. Which would you choose?
I know the folks at Trains work hard to deliver a quality product, and I respect that. Nevertheless, I'm not at all sure which I would choose.
Murphy SidingCould it be that it disappeared because it had few members and those only made posts every couple of years?
That's pretty much my take. Either that, or they made our worst day (behavior-wise) look good...
I do not believe that Kalmbach ever intended to operate the forum as public service. Why would anyone do that? They provide it with the intention of generating revenue in whatever way it can. One of the ways is to promote their magazine by broadening its subject matter in this public discussion. However, it may be quite difficult to quantify the contribution to the bottom line by the forums to the extent that they help sell magazines. And there certainly is the possibility of a decision to close this down because of the mistaken belief that it contributes nothing to the revenue stream.
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