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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.

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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 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 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?

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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.

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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
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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.

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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 10:39 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 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 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 10:20 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 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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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.

 

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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 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

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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Sunday, December 15, 2019 8:23 AM

I believe that is true, also.  But I am not sure if it is because Kalmbach editors assign such or if someone here decides to take it upon themselves to write about it.

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

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Posted by tree68 on Saturday, December 14, 2019 11:41 PM

Convicted One

Part of the fun of these boards is watching how subjects covered in the magazine sometimes shade the course of discussion here. Johnstones comments about Amtrak's allocation of costs being one noteworthy example.

Sometimes I wonder if the fora are testing grounds for future magazine articles...

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
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Posted by Convicted One on Saturday, December 14, 2019 8:34 PM

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

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Saturday, December 14, 2019 8:06 PM

Convicted One

Part of the fun of these boards is watching how subjects covered in the magazine sometimes shade the course of discussion here. Johnstones comments about Amtrak's allocation of costs being one noteworthy example.

For me, the magazine would lose value without these boards supporting them. 

 

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.

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by Convicted One on Saturday, December 14, 2019 6:28 PM

Part of the fun of these boards is watching how subjects covered in the magazine sometimes shade the course of discussion here. Johnstones comments about Amtrak's allocation of costs being one noteworthy example.

For me, the magazine would lose value without these boards supporting them. 

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Posted by Convicted One on Saturday, December 14, 2019 6:21 PM

Many organizations that once provided public message boards have gotten out of them all together. When major league baseball outright ended all their boards I was both shocked and depressed.  I hope that Trains doesn't follow suit.

But there are considerable intangible costs in the form of liabilities. So, I am holding my breath.

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Posted by Miningman on Saturday, December 14, 2019 5:33 PM

It'll be fine. We all go to zero and start all over again. What's the big deal.  ( maybe we can purchase all the 'old' comments on one handy disk) 

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Posted by Convicted One on Saturday, December 14, 2019 5:08 PM

Overmod
New marketing paradigm and new marketing partner arrangements mean software changes.

"Say,...we've noticed that you are running an ad blocker..."

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Posted by Overmod on Saturday, December 14, 2019 3:12 PM

I assume most of you are now familiar with Telligent error pages and 404 messages.

New marketing paradigm and new marketing partner arrangements mean software changes.  Whether we in the 'enthusiasm community' on the bleeding edge of the experience will like it as much as Kalmbach remains to be seen, but we appear to be viewed somewhat like fish in a barrel going forward.

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Posted by MMLDelete on Saturday, December 14, 2019 2:51 PM

Oddly enough, sometimes I can get the Kalmbach sites to load better if I turn off wifi reception. This is the case on my phone and on my desktop computer.

Go figure.

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Posted by BaltACD on Saturday, December 14, 2019 2:51 PM

Paul_D_North_Jr
 
Steve Sweeney
. . . I cannot offer specifics, but I can say that our current fora and websites are not long for this world. . . .  

Does this mean all of the good stuff in the present fora will go away?  

That would be depressing. Sigh

- PDN. 

Some of the forums I have been associated with have been able to save existing data as they moved forward  to new servers/software.  Some didn't.  Those that didn't never recovered from the change.

I have not idea of the difficulty involved.

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Posted by Paul of Covington on Saturday, December 14, 2019 2:47 PM

Lithonia Operator

 

 
charlie hebdo

 

 
Steve Sweeney
We're working on a new website.... I can say that our current fora...not long for this world.

 

I trust this means there will be fora after the new website is completed?

 

 

 

Maybe they'll even have flora and fauna.

 

   Or fora et flauna?

_____________ 

  "A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner

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Posted by Paul_D_North_Jr on Friday, December 13, 2019 8:34 PM

Steve Sweeney
. . . I cannot offer specifics, but I can say that our current fora and websites are not long for this world. . . . 

Does this mean all of the good stuff in the present fora will go away? 

That would be depressing. Sigh

- PDN. 

"This Fascinating Railroad Business" (title of 1943 book by Robert Selph Henry of the AAR)

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