Only You Can Prevent "FORUM FIRES"!!!

[Big_Boy_4005]

Thank you all for your support!

Oh, and Willrothfuss, I consider this to be your pond too. You and I may not be as far apart in our philosophy as you might think. I have read almost all of your posts, but I don't honestly expect you to have read all of mine. When you do run across mine, I do hope that you will read them, then you will see what I mean.

Please don't think of me as a snob, or a bully but as an advocate for this forum.

Sincerely, The Lorax [:)]

[spankybird]

Hi All,

Well said Brian and Elliot,

We use E-mail a lot at work. Biggest problem with it is miss-reading peoples attitudes. Try looking at it from the other persons view once. Then go play with your trains for an hour.

tom

[Anonymous]

This is all very good advice.[tup]

[Anonymous]

Part of the problem is the medium of internet forums. I would bet just about everyone would not be this "uncivil" face to face. Unfortunatly just typing words on a screen gives people courage(kind of like beer muscles) and for some people this is a dangerous thing. If this behavior continues then there probably will be some kind of moderator or if there isn't things will just get worse. So like I tell my 5 and 7 year olds" you better clean up or I will do it for you and you will not like my way."

Also just because there are alot of new people (myself included) does not mean it gives anyone the right to act badly. Everyone knows the etiquette if they have been online for any length of time so there really is no excuse for bad behaviour.

Finally I don't really care one way or the other about using big bold letters in a post. For me it is actually easier to read!!

[Anonymous]

Okay, thanks for letting us swim in your pond!

[brianel027]

Thank you Elliot. Well said.

And to think, 100 years from now, this could be one of those 100th Anniversary Cars Lionel does... "Smokey_Boy_4005 says Only You Can Prevent Forum Fires." [:D]

Gosh, never mind if Lionel is around in another 100 years. Can you imagine what the list price on that would be!!!! [:0]

[MA and PA JCT]

One word says it all: AMEN.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Only You Can Prevent "FORUM FIRES"!!!

This is a public service announcement. This message is for every member, and not aimed at any individual in particular, but applies equally to both old and new members.

This is OUR hobby!!

There is NO right or wrong way to do things!!

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but personal attacks will not be tolerated. It is acceptable to disagree with other members, it is not acceptable to attack other members by name calling or ill wishing.

This forum is not moderated in the traditional sense, and it is not censored. It is however monitored by the sponsors and the members. The purpose is to provide a pleasant and fun way for people interested in trains, to communicate and share, experiences and ideas.

If you find yourself getting angry over something that you see here, instead of responding with more anger, simply take a break. Step away from the keyboard, or write an email to a friend, but do not "fire" a post in anger.

Your help in this matter will make this forum more fun for everyone!

---

Those of you reading this message may wonder "who does this guy think he is, and what gives him the right to tell everyone else how to behave?"

The answer is that I am just another member like everyone else. The only difference is that I have more experience in this particular forum. Many other people have been members longer than I have, and some have more posts on other forums, but few have spent as much time participating and contributing to this one.

I have met a lot of people here over the last few months, and made a number of new friends, and look forward to meeting everyone as time goes on.

The impending changes in the OGR forum have presented this forum with some interesting challenges. This transition period will be awkward for for everyone, because of the major differences in the way that the two forums are organized and function.

I have taken it upon myself to try to provide some leadership, in what would otherwise be a chaotic and potentially unpleasant period. I would like to thank those of you who accepted my invitation to introduce yourselves, and move right on to train business.

I expect that as the June deadline draws nearer, we will see the number of new members continue to increase, and with it the activity level and number of new topics.

Because this forum is designed as a simple single stack, every post to a topic will pull that topic to the top of the stack, and push every topic down in turn. The more active topics we have the more difficult it will be to find the topic you are looking for.

It may be possible to get additional stacks started in the future, to help organize topics better, since some of Trains.com's other forums have multiple stacks for that purpose.

Trains.com has six different forums representing 5 magazines, and being a member of one makes you a member of all. I frequently visit the Model Railroader, and Trains Magazine forums as I have a lot of interest in topics more in tune with the focus of those magazines.

I strongly encourage you all to check them out, and use them to address questions about things not specifically related to the 3 rail O or standard gauge and 2 rail S trains. Their active members are very knowledgeable on prototype and general model railroading topics respectively, in spite of the fact that they do not run the same type of models that we do.

While my personal taste in model trains has shifted more toward the scale end of 3 rail O and the high tech, and is perhaps better in tune with the attitude of OGR, I will never forget my roots!!! Beside, all of that stuff only came about in the last 15 years of this hobby, which really started over 100 years ago.

I AM THE VOICE OF CALM AND REASON, PLEASE LISTEN, ENJOY, AND HAVE FUN RESPECTFULLY![:)]

900