OGR Forum Refugee Roll Call

[Anonymous]

I see my good friends coming here. The best forum of all.

[:)]pax

[Anonymous]

I see Dr. John has joined us.

pax[#welcome]

[garyseven]

David Vergun

Since when did you become a Major (two star) General?!?[bow]

[NYSubway18]

Hey all,

Was away from the OGR board for a while, and just found out about the new $18 fee. [:(!] When I was posting a lot it might have been worth it, although I never would have even gotten started there if there was a fee - too bad for newbies, and dealers as this will hurt getting newcomers to the hobby, which already has a problem attracting new members.

I'm on the fence about whether I'll stay at OGR after 5/31, but with my job change last June, my house, and the thought of actually playing with my trains, my posting is severly down, and this may be just the wake-up call I need to get off my butt and do more. [;)] Just found this place so let see how it is here before making any lasting decisions. [V]

Now, the main question - to see if there are any subway fans here...[?]

Chris C. Shaffer

[chorst01]

I'm here and come 05/31 I not there unless they provide some break for mag subscribers.
--chh

[Anonymous]

First post on CTT. I've been a subscriber of CTT and OGR since 1989 and enjoy both mags. I spend about one to one and a half hours a night on train forums,OGR,Aol/Lionel/MTH. I guess I will be pushing two hours per night now.[:D]

[Anonymous]

Hi guys,

I left the OGR forum months ago, and found that I had more time and more fun working on my little layout. I finally decided to try this site today. I think I will post on occasion here.

I am NOT looking to start any fights, but I did get tired of dealing with the scale vs toy thing there. As an ex-HO scale modeler, I really don't care to even think about scale ever again. I hope that does not become a problem here too.

It is my belief that OGR will be forced to become a Hi-rail mag, as scale modeling and non-scale toy trains have just never mixed very well, at least in my experience. Others say that is not correct, but if true, why are there OGR refugees here?

Okay, I got that of my chest. And I'm glad to know that there are still toy train fans out there.

Long live 3-rails, manly couplers, and the Lionel name!

Santa Fe Kent

[Anonymous]

The Rock is no refugee from the OGR forum! Although he isn't thrilled by the $18.00 fee, he's not on this forum to trash OGR or it's owners.

Santa Fe Kent, The Rock agrees with you that OGR seems to focus more on the hi rail rivet counters. However, both OGR and CTT are fine magazines and he'll continue to subscribe to both.

[Anonymous]

I agree with you, Rock! CTT is getting better, but OGR is the best still. I won't let my subscription lapse until they go 90 percent or more Hirail.

[Anonymous]

Yippee!!! The Rock is here too!!![#welcome][#welcome]

[Anonymous]

I am glad to see the Rock, and I just figured out that FJ and G (did I get that right?) is David V.... glad to see the Master of Train Creative Writing! I wonder how Thor is doing?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't go as far as to use the word Refugee. Most of us who had parents who lived through the Great Depression know the value of a dollar, and I'm sure that's the reason for the exodus from the OGR Forum.

The OGR Forum is a great Forum, but sometimes good people make bad mistakes. Like the $18 Fee. I can't see shelling out $18 just for the privilege of posting on the Forum. And even though I would lay my hard earned money down and become a paid member there is no guaranty that the moderator will not delete my well intended threads. Besides it already has enough know-it-all's. www.modeltrainjournal.com

[Anonymous]

The Rock is also a member of the www.modeltrainjournal.com forum. It's a great place with a lot of familiar people from the OGR forum. No cliques or know-it-alls over there. Check it out and join us![;)]

[Frank in Steam]

Count me in . I will not trash OGR, I really like the mag; and I have subscribed to CTT as long as I have been back in the hobby. I have my reasons for not paying the fee for the OGR forum that I will address directly with Rich.

I trust that this dyed in the wool 3 rail,scale dimesnsioned steam head will be welcome here. My previous signature was as the train gourmand = no not eating them but enjoying all trains.

[Anonymous]

I am here also, as always posting under my real name. I've been a member of the two forums for a while but will leave the "other" forum when the $18 charge goes into effect.
I predict that not many members will be ignorant enough to pay that forum for the privilidge of sharing their ideas, opinions, thoughts, technical expertise, layout photos and mini-articles on this hobby. We join a forum to help each other and gain knowledge on what others are doing. In essense the members ARE the forum and though our contributions we all benefit.. It is immoral to charge a fee for a discussion forum and IMO only an idiot would pay the fee.

[NYSubway18]

I agree, a forum is nothing without it's members and their content. Just as a magazine would be nothing without it's writers. Now they charge for a magazine, but the writers are paid. Does this mean they will pay their posters for their content? [%-)]

[Anonymous]

diagrua
It is interesting and revealing about you to hear the low regard you have for your fellow O-gaugers! At once the "ignorant" and "idiot" types as you classify them( for paying $18).

[Anonymous]

Leonard:

Diagrua's choice of words were a little harsh. It's my opinion that he should have used the term
Lobotomized Zombies in place of ignorant and idiot.

All kidding aside, OGR sponsors a great Forum. Their decision to charge a membership fee was a bad decision made by good people.

None of us know for sure why they have decided to charge the free. One would think that if the magazine was making a decent profit then that would have more than covered all expenses related to hosting their Forum.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't call it idiotic to pay for using a forum, but I wouldn't pay for it! It does seem like a double standard when they pay for articles, but charge people to contribute to the forum. The only reason I can figure for doing that is to make their website a profitable venture.... quite a change in philosophy, considering that most companies consider it a valuable sales and service tool. They can even increase the subscription and I will pay, but I won't pay to use their website.

FrankinSteam, I'm probably overly sensitive to the scale vs toy issue, but even I welcome hi-railer (scale) guys. I think we should just respect each other's choices, and recognize the value of both sides. When I left the OGR forum, it was because I saw thinly-veiled attacks on tinplate, and "It's only toys!" comments fired back in defense. And my presence there was not helping, since I made the mistake of re-opening and trying to discuss the issue. Man, that must have been like ripping a scab off a massive wound, the bad feelings just oozed all over.... I will never do that again! Now, I will only go to toy train friendly sites. I hope this is one.

Kent
PS Please note that I do not wi***o start any fights, and respect both sides of the Model Railroading Hobby.

[Frank in Steam]

Kent, you can rest assured, no abuse from me because of your preference for 'tinplate'. Please note my last sentence, I like all trains. I enjoy running the Lionel size trains of my youth and occasionally buy an off scale sized item that catches my eye. It does not mean that you won't get kidded by me, as I expect it in return. Also, as far as I am concerned, if its not 1:1 it is a toy train = meant to be (run) played with. Finally, I can appreciate a collection, but to me a collection is what I have accumulated to run.

[Anonymous]

OGR is not going to make enough from the $18 fee to make the forum profitable. And it wouldn't be profitable even if all of the people who have left the forum had paid the fee. I know a lot of people don't believe that, but I think a lot of people just don't know what the costs are to keep a forum as busy as OGR's up & running.

The only people that know what the costs actually are are at OGR, and they're not telling. But Rich Melvin has posted a couple of things in the new Suggestion Box forum there indicating that the average throughput on the site is 60 Gigabytes per month, with over 130 million web pages served up. That's a very busy web site, folks.

At any rate, my opinion on the scale vs toy train thing is: It's your pike, do what you want on it, but make sure you're having fun.

At least, that's how this "ignorant idiot" feels about things.

Tony

[Anonymous]

Very well said, guys!

[Anonymous]

I like it over here and im here to stay!! [:)]

[Anonymous]

I think they chargin the fee to kill the forum. They don't want to fool with it. How many will stay, a hundred? Maybe that is what Rich wants.[soapbox]

This is the best forum anyway.[:)]

[Anonymous]

vitabile Tony,

No one is falling for that story that Rich put on the forum.

pax

[Anonymous]

I'm not going to bash, but I'm a little confused as to the justification
of charging for the OGR forum access. Mr. Melvin says he can't meet
expenses. The subscription price has gone up recently to the magazine,
the latest 147 page issue has a ratio of approx. 2.5 pages of ads to
every 1 page of articles (and that is including full-page photos as an
"article" page), the ads are by mostly big-name vendors, so they are
paying a premium. It appears that the writing/editorial staff is barely a
skeleton crew (as an example the "article" on the toy train industry was
written almost exclusively by the vendors themselves) and the editing
is obviously done by Mr. Melvin himself. Add newstand sales, and you
have a pretty good-sized revenue base! I understand that he has costs
such as printing and mailing as well, but in comparison to other mags,
he is running a slim operation there. The site (which is a wonderful
"information mine") could be used for hobbyists to submit ideas and articles
for possible publication, but instead Mr. Melvin wants to charge for the
privilege of folks sharing info and helping others, charging for the new
arrivals' privilege of asking innocent questions, charging for anyone's
privilege of trying to promote this hobby.

The problem, as I see it, is that Mr. Melvin is merely looking for another
easy source of revenue. He talks about how difficult it is to administer
to his site with how many thousand registered posters? ...And how many
pages of info handled daily? Has he looked at how many HUNDRED
THOUSAND registered posters are at this site? ....and how many pages
of info are handled daily here? These folks are not charging! These folks
are gaining a LOT of FREE advertising through posters, and FREE public
exposure of their brand name(s), and FREE technical advice for their
subscribers. Cost?..........PRICELESS! (apologies to the credit card folks)

That's a shame.

[Anonymous]

If it wasn't so pathetic, it would be laughable. Joe Polska, claiming to be a refugee. Joe Polska aka Hans Zimmer aka Jans Bimmer aka a dozen different names aka D.P. Christopher, who holds the record for being thrown off the OGR Forum for being a complete and total jackass.

[Anonymous]

Ah, I see things are quite heated here. Makes for entertaining reading. I'm here because I'm a rare poster, perhaps 2-3 times a month. I'll just lurk over there and continue an occasional comment here. Regards all.

Dave

[Anonymous]

Must be 10ben10 or Michael Illinois Central or Chrissie. The Truth or should your name be The Lie?[#welcome]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Leonard

diagrua
It is interesting and revealing about you to hear the low regard you have for your fellow O-gaugers! At once the "ignorant" and "idiot" types as you classify them( for paying $18).

Leonard. I have only benevolent thoughts concerning my model railroad brethren. If you read my post my comment was followed by IMO= in my opinion. I have my opinion just as you have yours and I hope that you believe that I am entited to an opinion. I was just making a point in strong and perhaps comical terms. The point is that "other" forum charges for the exact same thing that ALL the other forums offer free. Am I missing something here, or do you believe that the inteligent person buys the identical something that can be had for free Does this make logical sense or am I missing something here??