OGR Website RIP

[Anonymous]

Another emigre from the OGR forum. I've gained a W, another Brian obviously beat me to it! Too soon to say goodbye to OGR, although the prospect of a fee certainly made me think about quitting
I must admit to being slightly disenchanted with the new management. Rather big brotherish in some ways, and I only managed a thousand or so posts over the years, which diminished in number recently due to this attitude.
What was worse, at least to me, was the reverent acknowledgement by some, of what came down from on high, without consideration for any other viewpoint.
The lamp oil debacle was a good instance, and the article in the magazine on the same subject finally did it.
Whatever one prefers is a personal decision be it good or bad, and should be left as such.
It is not surprising to see so many move on, and whether this will influence OGR remains to be seen.

[Phil1361]

Tony Vitabile:

If you were referring to my use of the word "clique" and this offended you I want to sincerely apologize. I did not mean it in a bad way. I simply meant eventually there would be small group of people left. I didn't mean by any stretch of the imagination that these people were bad people. I thought the word clique meant a small group of people. I'll have to look it up. :) Anyway I hope you accept my apologies.

Happy Railroading
Phil

[Anonymous]

I have been using the website to access the webcams and did not even realize there was a Forum here until the fee was announced on OGR and I paid attention to the alternatives that were discussed. The bickering and non-train topics have almost caused me to quit the OGR Forum several times. So the $18 for posting is not to my liking. I will view both Forums now and see which one I would like to participate.

[Anonymous]

What was the Lamp oil debacle? I asked once in a new thread, and it was promptly deleted. I searched and could not find the original thread, or what was the problem

[drjohn691]

My problem with OGR is the following:
Censorship of reasonable posts. For example, I made a kind mention of this forum in a reply on OGR and it was removed ASAP!
Infomercials by people with vested interests in companies disguised as "reviews". Guess what, always glowingly positive. I liked the organization better under the previous owner. Friendly attitude is gone.

[Anonymous]

Little John. The lamp oil thing was a long drawn out discussion on the virtues of lamp oil -v- smoke fluid. OGR management was vehemently against, closed the subject and published article decrying lamp oil in the magazine.
I hope this forum is more considerate.

[Anonymous]

PHil1361:

It's not so much the term as the tone that some have used, and it wasn't you in particular. But thanks for the apology, it is appreciated.

There seem to be a number of people who are truly upset at the prospect of having to pay for a service. As I've said in several posts on the OGR forum, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I think the reactions of some are unreasonable, but that's just my opinion.

And the eventual status of the OGR forum is a long way from being decided.

Personally, I've found the OGR forum a friendly place and have had good times there. I'm sorry that some feel they have been treated unfairly, for whatever reason. A lot of the people I've met are nice & go out of their way to help others. And while I have found some people have a habbit of using a certain term to describe those that model in other scales, I personally don't agree. I just ignore those posts; disagreeing with them is not likely to change their behavior, anyway.

It would be best, I feel, for people to calm down & stop the name calling. We're all adults. I'm sure we can all act like adults, too.

Tony

[drjohn691]

Cancelled my OGR subscription today. It's not the money, it's the bad attitude I detest. I miss when Myron owned the magazine. Much better time.

[Anonymous]

Dr John, when you mentioned people with vested interests disguised as reviews. Wouldnt be talking about toy trains 1 would ya??

[Bluecometk]

Hello, Im just checking in to see how this is all unfolding. I have been a lurker on both this forum and the OGR forum for some time now. This is going to be interesting.

Bluecometk.

[Anonymous]

Hi. Just stopped by to say I am new to this forum, but not the magazine. I only occasionaly posted on the OGR site, and will probably do the same here now. I'm not going to pay the freight over there since I only had a little over 100 posts in 3 years. Hopefully, this board will be a great place to lurk and learn. (G)

[Anonymous]

Hi Folks
Another defector

[Anonymous]

Howdy y'all, the rebel just advanced northwestward from Ohio to Wisconsin.

[Anonymous]

Long live CTT!

Thanks for welcoming us here.

Us OGR refugees, will need a a little time to get used to things in this corner of the net, but we're grateful and ready to contribute.

[Anonymous]

I'm ready to let this whole thing go. But I am just wondering why Rich says there is no market for ads? This place is crawing with ads.

Maybe the rates are miniscule, I don't know.

Anyway now I have to check 4 O gauge forums. I need a life.[xx(]

[RI Jim]

Hey Guys, I'm yet another refugee. Glad to see a lot of familiar names over here. I was known as Jim S over on the OGR forum. IMHO, I wouldn't count the OGR forum out quite yet as I am taking a wait and see approach. The idea of paying a few bucks a year to use the OGR forum doesn't bother me so much as the fact the I've been an OGR subscriber for over 15 years and now I'm expected to pay for somehting I feel I should be getting as part of the subscription price. Just my two cents. Oh by the way, I've also subscribed to CTT from the very first issue and enjoy both magazines very much.

[spodwo]

No place for ads on the other site? This site represents how many magazines? Kalmbach is a LOT bigger than one magazine...the cost of this site is defrayed by several magazines not just one. You focus on this being CTT - it is Kalmbach and a much bigger outfit.

[Anonymous]

I'm with RI Jim. I find it very interesting and not just a little short sighted that OGR apparently sees little, if any, value add from the forum to its magazine business. Despite the seemingly endless opportunities the forum presents to the magazine......Management has dictated the forum must pay its own way via fees on top of the annual subscription price. OGR charges 39 bucks and change for 7 issues a year. Add on the 18 dollar fee for the forum and you're shelling out just over 57 bucks a year for ogr alone. Everyone has to set their own walk away point and that crossed the line with me. I'm out. Glad to be a member here. Look forward to many enjoyable hours of talking about trains. John Harding

[Anonymous]

Hello Neil Besougloff and the group. This is my first posting so I guess that I am board too. And as a non-subscriber due to family budget restrictions (I wi***o buy my wife a year of People magazine before I buy for myself) I can certainly hope that in the next few years I will be able to buy into a O scale magazine. I have red both "that other magazine" and CTT (back issues) and I have a preference for CTT. Needless to say that I am quite upset at the $18 bording fee at "that other magazine's" forum, and I like the attitude of the CTT crew. My only request is to keep this forum free, and don't spend money on new bells and whistles to run the forum operating fees up too high that it no longer fall under the line item ... general operating budget. I hope to have much happiness at this forum.

[Anonymous]

While I have participated in both forums CTT will be my first and only choice. This forum is as good as any other model RR forum and better than most.
I absolutely refuse to pay OGR a single cent for posting good information on structure building and for sharing my work with others. In essence, many members as myself are providing free articles for the OGR forum and they are being asked to pay for this? Of course there is the occasional question but most of the time this has been answered by another forum member.
I guess OGR feels that members should pay for helping other members and for reading their advertising. Just watch the subscription rate and forum membership increase over here come June. While I have nothing negative to say about the competitive magazines format and content, I will say that charging for a forum membership will cost OGR dearly. IMO, a penny wise and dollar foolish move..

[Anonymous]

Be warned, the following is mostly speculation on my part. I in no way speak for OGR.

I wouldn't say that the OGR management doesn't see value added to the magazine from the forum. Rich Melvin's comment was that the subscriber database & the forum user database are currently incompatible. Now, I don't believe that Rich is an IT guy, and no one has probably offered to find or figured out a way to get the two databases set up so they can interchange data.

That's not to say that if they find a way the OGR staff won't give subscribers a break.

Here's a fact:

As a result of a user suggestion, they've created a "Suggestion Box" forum where people can comment about the forum & the pricing fees. Lots of alternative ideas for the pricing structure, such as free text posting & pay for other services, have been suggested. The OGR management has indicated they're listening.

They haven't promised anything, but at least they're listening. And who knows? Maybe they'll be changing the payment structure.

Tony

[FJ and G]

Wow, the list of defectors from OGR to CTT keeps getting longer. Sad for OGR but that's what happens when you shoot the pooch.

[Anonymous]

I for one will not go back no matter what they do. Seems like they change their minds on a weekly basis over there as to how they want to run the forum. Some of their "senior" members had some pretty nasty things to say about those of us who left. A pity really, I will have nothing to do with their magazine or forum from now on!

[FJ and G]

I'm pretty much in agreement with Razoo. That was one senior (or is it senile) moment too many for me. Anyway, i kinda like it here. Seems like a friendly place.

Dave Vergun

[Anonymous]

WOW, I'm the ONLY Member on board and I leave it on all the time anyway because I'm on Broadband and can switch Instantaniuosly between sites.

[Anonymous]

I was tired of the censorship by Melvin & Co. anyway; they just gave me 18 more reasons to leave;

Things I shared for FREE on the OGR forum

1) a modification to LIFT Bridge so that ALL cars could fit under;
2) pit mounted Lionel turntable;
3) Modified Pitt-Mark Catenary system using Pittman poles and Marklin wire catenary (before MTH botched the idea)
4) Modified Cloud stencils and how to use them with the right sky color;
5) Clearance Car that also showed track radius;
6) Uses of Lionels circuit breakers with MTH TIU;
7) creating custom realistic roadways with simple cardboard using graphic tapes to as a mask to make roadway lines;
8) sidewalks
9) cheap but realistic chain-link fencing using mesh from the grocery store
packaging;
10) making geezer bridges (photo layout not shared yet)
and many more...


And I have more that will never be seen in the OGR forum..


Alan

[Anonymous]

This is my third forum membership. I have belonged to OGR for two years and loved every minute of it.

I believe the pendulum has been given a hard jerk to the left and, in the next two and a half months, will return slowly towards the center, but maybe not all the way. There have been some excellent suggestions posted over there, suggestions that are being considered by the management. They are intelligent people and, I sincerely hope, can see the disaster that their present course is leading them towards.

I can afford the money, but cannot see paying for just a few posts a month. Time will tell. I will not act in anger or haste. A lot of things can happen in 10 weeks.

In the mean time, let's all just enjoy running trains and let the dust settle where it might. Maybe things are not as bad as they seem.

I enjoy both magazines. I will not cancel one in spite and loose the enjoyment it brings to me.

Tony, from the Lorton Auto Train area.

[Anonymous]

I'm here too! No $18.00 forums for me! Looks like we're gonna have one big party![:D]

Joe

[cwhtrains]

I registered here as well. What I find interesting is that the OGR site is free until June 1st, yet if you signed up now your membership was good only for one year from your payment date, so why are all those people signing up now, rather then wait until June?

As for me, I was tired of the selective censorship and the grand adulation of selected people or companies to the detriment of other people or companies.

[nblum]

CWH,

As you know from prior contact :) I agree with you that some very peculiar restrictions were placed upon what could be discussed and what not on the OGRR Forum. For example, when MTH recently sent threatening letters to various HO and N gauge manufacturers of DCC equipment, as well as O gauge three rail firms, all discussion of that major event was squelched on the OGRR Forum ,but discussions took place here on the CTT Forum.

Likewise discussion of the recent MTH suit against Broadway Limited and QSI was verboten on the OGRR Forum, while CTT actually had a brief article noting the event. At least CTT's practicing journalism by covering some of the biggest news in the industry, even if they have to write cautiously since all these companies are advertisers.

There are some other eyebrow raising events I hear about through the grapevine that will no doubt see the light of day eventually. At least these events and actions ultimately will be discussed here as appropriate. This may be a pivotal moment in the history of the hobby and the industry, and it seems bizarre and counter productive if the consumers who pay everyone's salary, at least indirectly, cannot discuss the issues.