I have been on the A-board since about 1999. While I agree that it could be a bit rowdy, the problem there was with certain members who simply don't know when to shut up.
The thing I'll miss most are the in-depth reviews of products, including non-Atlas stuff. Most manufacturer forums limit conversation to their own products, so everything gets a little vanilla. Even here, the moderators are a bit heavy handed when an advertiser's wares come into the cross hairs.
One of the reasons I dropped my subscription to MR was the fact that the reviews are both wishy washy and terribly late compared to the rapid response modelers now utilize via the forums. Also, the print reviews only cover a tiny fraction of what's out there. Smaller manufacturers with truly innovative products rarely make into print, but the forums capture just about everything. On The Railwire, there are several manufacturers (including some major players) who participate regularly.
As the self-proclaimed flagship of the hobby, the MR forum is a nice place to visit, post pictures and chat about various issues, but it completely misses the boat as a resource for closer looks at projects, products, and innovations. There's too many members, too many posts, and so it moves too quickly to really do a thorough job of it.
Of course, their hope is that we'll pick up the magazine for the deeper material, but even that's trying to be too much to too many. While the coverage is broad, it's not terribly deep.
As for the "noise to signal" ratio on Atlas (as Dr. Dave Vollmer puts it) yes, there was a lot, but if you tuned out the idiots, you could find some really good stuff there.
I for one thank Atlas for putting up with us for so long!
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
I have two reactions to this thread after reading through all of these responses.
One, I refuse to believe that Atlas shut down its forum for financial reasons. There is no way that Atlas is in dire financial straits, and, if it is, then other manufacturers like Bachmann have to be in trouble as well. In my view, Atlas shut down the forum as a sign of the times. Manufacturers of model railroading equipment have no real vested interest in maintaining forums whether the forum membership behavior is civil or not. The reason that this forum survives is that its benefactor, Kalmbach, is all about communication rather than production. Kalmbach does have a vested interest in promoting discussion about the hobby to ensure continued readership of its magazines and books. But, that is not to say that Kalmbach couldn't pull the plug on its forum. That would be an absolute shame because the quality of advice here is unsurpassed by any other forum except for the highly technical forums like NCE DCC and Wiring for DCC.
Two, fears of an invasion of this forum by flame throwing nut cases from another forum is silly. I have been a member of the Atlas forum for years, and I am sure that there are more than a few Atlas members that are members of this forum too. Once Atlas shuts down its forum in a few days, the Atlas members will scatter to the four winds. I just don't see this forum deteriorating due to an influx of Atlas members looking for trouble. One thing that makes this forum successful, over and above its moderators who do a great job of keeping things civil and on topic, is that the forum is intelligently organized into appropriate categories of interest. Questions get asked, questions get answered. Issues are debated and, for the most part, resolved. As far as prior flame wars on these forums go, I have been a member since 2004, and while there have been some rather unfortunate threads over that time, I honestly don't recall any period in which overall forum behavior got out of hand.
I can only say, in conclusion, that I hope this forum survives and thrives. We all know how much we appreciate this forum and the generosity of Kalmbach in sponsoring and supporting it. My fervent hope is that Kalmbach will continue to find merit in sponsoring and supporting the forum as we go forward.
Rich
Alton Junction
Hi!
While I am very sorry to see the Atlas (and some other) boards close up, that just makes me appreciate this Forum that much more. Thank you Kalmbach!
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Personally I have been a member of Atlas for a few years before I came on this forum. I like both of them for different reasons and I hate to see Atlas close. Until the last few months, Atlas was a nice place to be and then certain "loudmouths" took over. I hardly posted on it the past several months, just read it.
I do "recognize" several Atlas members that are also on this forum by the posts they make, don't need a name. So this forum has already been infiltrated.
Bob
At this point I will shutdown this topic as "Atlas Model Railroad Co. Inc." is an important manufacture of our hobby and we don't want any reactions to this to be seen as negative to them being posted here.
Again, we any new members that might join us here due to this news and look forward to your contributions to existing a new topics you or others might start.
Darren (BLHS & CRRM Lifetime Member)
Delaware and Hudson Virtual Museum (DHVM), Railroad Adventures (RRAdventures)
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