Dave - in all those three forums, these are the most frequented categories, followed by "Member´s Layouts". Some of the threads in there go on over years.
On ModelRailroadForums.com, there are 11 forums divided into 42 subforums.
Rich
Alton Junction
SouthPennIf the forum had a search function that actually worked, there wouldn't all the repeats of "basic stuff".
off topic I guess, but if you want a search function that works, use google with "site:cs.trains.com" at the end.
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
I don't like forums with all of the different catagories. It reminds me of one forum that I stopped reading. Too many catagories with nothing new in most of them, with the most current post being a few years old. What good is that?
I like the way the old Atlas forum was set up. If you were in HO, go here, if you were an N scaler, go there, etc. That made things simple and there were always interesting topics.
I think that interest in forums, in general, has gone down. My theory is that so many would be posters get turned off by the know-it-alls.
Chuck - Modeling in HO scale and anything narrow gauge
trwrouteI don't like forums with all of the different catagories. It reminds me of one forum that I stopped reading. Too many catagories with nothing new in most of them, with the most current post being a few years old. What good is that?
So we all agree to disagree once more! I should have known ...
It is interesting to see that those forum members with a rather small number of posts seem to put little value to the forum and dislike the what they call know-it-alls.
A forum is a platform to exchange information - in all directions. Whereelse could a newbie get the answers to his queries if not in a forum and from an "expert".
I see little value in further perusing this subject - I am out!
Sir Madog So we all agree to disagree once more! I should have known ... It is interesting to see that those forum members with a rather small number of posts seem to put little value to the forum and dislike the what they call know-it-alls.
Since you quoted me, I'm pretty sure you are directing this my way.
Yes, I have a small number of posts because I only post when I feel that I can contribute. If I disagree with you, why is that a concern?
I enjoy this forum...not sure why you say otherwise. Like I've said before, this is one of two that I still read. Just because my post count is low, that doesn't mean that I can't make any suggestions or have any ideas. Now if the OP would have posted that only members with 500 posts can respond, I would have been quiet!
As an example, the Atlas Rescue Forum is one that I don't look at anymore. They have several that seem to control every thread. That, to me, is a big turn off. I can see where that would make the newbees not want to post anything.
Adding more forums is not the answer. I do think that the state of this forum is just the way that forums in general are now. The newness has worn off.
Chuck - nothing personal
trwrouteI do think that the state of this forum is just the way that forums in general are now. The newness has worn off.
That seems to be true for this forum, but by far not for the others I have mentioned. They are very much alive.
I have to admit that I have lost a lot of my former interest in this forum and I contribute a lot less than I did not so long ago.
Sir Madog Chuck - nothing personal trwroute I do think that the state of this forum is just the way that forums in general are now. The newness has worn off. That seems to be true for this forum, but by far not for the others I have mentioned. They are very much alive. I have to admit that I have lost a lot of my former interest in this forum and I contribute a lot less than I did not so long ago.
trwroute I do think that the state of this forum is just the way that forums in general are now. The newness has worn off.
I don´t think Steve Otte will mind me mentioning those two English language forums, as they are located way over at the other side of the Big Pond and are in no way competing with any Kalmbach activity.
Take a look at RMweb and Narrow Gauge Railway Modelling Online.
Sir Madog I don´t think Steven Otte will mind me mentioning those two English language forums, as they are located way over at the other side of the Big Pond and are in no way competing with any Kalmbach activity. Take a look at RMweb and Narrow Gauge Railway Modelling Online.
I don´t think Steven Otte will mind me mentioning those two English language forums, as they are located way over at the other side of the Big Pond and are in no way competing with any Kalmbach activity.
Chuck,
Yes, I also find the practice of breaking down a forum by scale useful. On the other hand, I can see why MR practices a General Discussion format. That's sort of always been their approach to the whole differing scale issue in print, run them together, so it fits here.
There's also an issue with breaking things down into more categories results in a few busy sub-forums alongside otherwise rather barren ones.
trwrouteAdding more forums is not the answer. I do think that the state of this forum is just the way that forums in general are now. The newness has worn off.
I agree. I think the concept is long in tooth -- but then so are many of us I don't have a cell phone yet, may never have, and the brief back and forth of what keeps kids interested just doesn't work for me. So I'll likely be a forum user to the end. The key is figuring in fresh content. I've actually had pretty good luck with search here, but the fact that something has been posted before, often years earlier, is no bar to a fresh look at it, rather than a knee-jerk reflex call to check the archives when someone asks a question, as a new discussion started can go very different directions from the first time around. Just IMO.
trwrouteAs an example, the Atlas Rescue Forum is one that I don't look at anymore. They have several that seem to control every thread. That, to me, is a big turn off. I can see where that would make the newbees not want to post anything.
Yeah, one has to have a thick skin to be a narrowgauger there A few act like modern modeling is the only thing worth discussing. One great feature there that, ahem, helps with this is Ignore. That blanks out those folks whose primary goals are (in no particualr order) 1. running up their post count and 2. making it seem as if they know it all. Not an inviting prospect if you're new, to be sure, but I think the "know it all" aspect is the more off-putting one.
Kalmbach's approach seems to be more proactive about behaving well, so little need for the Ignore button. Others are more hands off with such behavior and you need Ignore to make things bearable. They do create very different atmospheres. Both have their place, but I can see your point.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I feel I have achieved my aim at this point...to get more of you talking about 'stuff'. The topic seems germane, in a general way, because it bubbles to the top a couple of times each year.
I hope I didn't suggest to anyone that I think the forum needs to be bifurcated into newbie and advanced corrals. That topic has led to some heated discussions with accusations of elitism, and most of them got shut down before long. But, if there were a sub-forum titled with a word suggesting advanced techniques, I don't see that it would necessarily forbid, or discourage, inquiries and discussion between newcomers (whether to the hobby or just to the forum) and the Olde Salts.
As an example, we have the open topic newly titled in favour of our late friend, Jeff Wimberley. It is rightfully popular and well attended each day. Why shouldn't another thread, maybe a sticky, work the same way? Or, should it be a sub-forum akin to the DCC and electronics?
I will close now and not offer further comment unless asked (I will keep reading). I am happy to see so many of you offering your reasoned thoughts. Also, Ulrich, I hope you will return and continue to either refine, or to defend, your thinking on the topic. It counts as much as anyone's.
-Crandell
selectorWhy shouldn't another thread, maybe a sticky
Please, no more stickys. The three consecutive Steve O. mug shots on the front page are bad enough. A fourth would be unbearable.
carl425 selector Why shouldn't another thread, maybe a sticky
selector Why shouldn't another thread, maybe a sticky
Now, now. Hits below the belt or above the shoulder are unsportsmanlike. Y'all should be glad I'm not the forum admin...just saying.
Really a good time to bring up the fact again that the most basic way to improve forums is to add good content. It's not "all those people" that always seem to get blamed and need to be wrangled in the eye of the beholder into better order. Nope, good content is entirely up to YOU.
mlehman Now, now. Hits below the belt or above the shoulder are unsportsmanlike. Y'all should be glad I'm not the forum admin...just saying.
No disrespect to Steven, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing the page with his fellow employee Jenni.
This would certainly make the idea of a sticky more attractive
Bob
Don't Ever Give Up
selector Every once in a while a change can mean a way to advance, or even just a way to maintain what we have. I have been on these MR forums for just about eleven years now, and the last six or so saw quite a few lamentations that the threads here tend to be geared for newbies. They are therefore repetitive in nature, and few of us get much new from them once we have waded through a dozen or more. What if....suppose...we could convince our hosts to have a sub-forum under the MR family that addressed strictly advanced hobby techniques? Scratchbuilding, weathering, how to modify coupler pockets, repairs to screw mounts, applying brass details to denuded generic locomotive or rolling stock bodies, advanced photography....the list goes on. It won't take off like a lit fuse. It will require some caretakers who are willing to supply some time and some experience, and to type it out and post it. If we launch such a sub-forum, it might eventually become a great resource and meeting place, both for our hosts and for us, the modellers. Or, it might just be a thud. Thoughts? -Crandell
Every once in a while a change can mean a way to advance, or even just a way to maintain what we have.
I have been on these MR forums for just about eleven years now, and the last six or so saw quite a few lamentations that the threads here tend to be geared for newbies. They are therefore repetitive in nature, and few of us get much new from them once we have waded through a dozen or more.
What if....suppose...we could convince our hosts to have a sub-forum under the MR family that addressed strictly advanced hobby techniques? Scratchbuilding, weathering, how to modify coupler pockets, repairs to screw mounts, applying brass details to denuded generic locomotive or rolling stock bodies, advanced photography....the list goes on.
It won't take off like a lit fuse. It will require some caretakers who are willing to supply some time and some experience, and to type it out and post it. If we launch such a sub-forum, it might eventually become a great resource and meeting place, both for our hosts and for us, the modellers. Or, it might just be a thud.
Thoughts?
The problem as I see it, is that even those "new" subjects to 'experienced' modelers will, after a time, become just as boring to those who have asked/answered them a few times!
Its all relative.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Selector,
MR’s forums are great for asking questions and getting info on topics and products. Many people also like to “chew the fat” with their fellow modelers online. For me there is the random inspirational component when I see some great modeling or a new technique.
As for advanced topics: It seems to me that there is nothing preventing this kind of posting as the forum stands now. I have noticed that these kinds of topics get limited views and tend to sink rather quickly.
Most advanced topics or How-tos take lots of time to photograph, write and upload. I must be frustrating to take lots of time on something and watch it quickly fade with little or no reaction/commentary. Many of these posts blur the line between posting on a forum and web publishing. I think the time factor limits these types of posts.
Many of us choose to present this type of stuff by either writing magazine articles or through blogs and personal websites where the material can be more permanent and more tightly controlled (no smart aleck, trolling comments, arguments about off-topic subjects, etc…). Another factor is the software here is a bit limiting and very clunky once you get out the basic posting mode.
I am happy that there are some are willing to put in the effort to generate content that requires more work and thought and post it here. I have little interest in generating it myself.
Your mileage may vary,
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
trwroute I don't like forums with all of the different catagories. It reminds me of one forum that I stopped reading. Too many catagories with nothing new in most of them, with the most current post being a few years old. What good is that? I like the way the old Atlas forum was set up. If you were in HO, go here, if you were an N scaler, go there, etc. That made things simple and there were always interesting topics.
I totally agree with this, that forums with too many sections or categorys for the activity level end up a forum that looks dead to visitors. I've seen this happen upteen times when someone created a new forum, went hog wild and created a section for everything under the sun, and most were dead with no new posts. It wasn't justified, not for a new forum. It's like the admin set it up as if the traffic would be huge, and of course it never is to begin with. A forum really needs to reach a critical mass before you can justify many categories or it will appear dead and people will wander off.
Atlas forums always seemed fairly busy but it only had a few sections, DCC, O, HO, N and maybe one or two others. The admin who created the Atlas Rescue Forum, wisely followed that format and that forum normally appears fairly active due to that structure - which is a good thing and helps the forum remain active IMHO. Experience seems to bear this out over and over.
Sure, no body likes no-it-alls, so if there is a enough of that, it would drive people away or intimidate them. Thats never good anywhere - forums or otherwise.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
riogrande5761no body likes no-it-alls
Jim,
You know, I think you've finally figured out the best way to spell that. "No to it all" seems to sum up the negative relationship many of these folks seem to have to the hobby -- and their fellow human beings.
Truth be told, everyone has a role to play, even of it's only occassionally useful. Still, when you have to sift through so much cruff to find nuggets of wisdom, it can make for a dreary read. That's why I find my very limited use of Ignore helps my attitude stay positive where it or a similar feature is available.
Crandell didn't seem to indicate that was part of his thoughts in differentiating basic vs advanced, but I suspect it's a factor in how forums are perceived. It's not like they should be some episode of Happy Days where any conflict is brief, not too important, and quickly resolved.
Conflict -- the good kind that drives thoughtful discussions -- is a VITAL ingredient to forum discussions being interesting. Some folks reduce that complex formula to all conflict, all the time. They may believe it reflects mainly on the subjects of their ire. But most people figure out pretty quickly why you're dragging that dead horse around every place you go and quickly decide whatever you had to say they probably learned in reading your first half-dozen posts.
Then they tend to go looking for better quality material. If it's easy to find, like right there next to that annoying post you just encountered, so much the better. So that's another good reaons to not dilute things with too many subforums, especially if you want to try to be patient with such folks.
riogrande5761 no body likes no-it-alls
I hate to be a "no it all", but the correct spelling is know it all.
(unless you mean some one who is against everything, in which case NO it all might be appropriate)
Trust me, maxman, the no-it-alls are out there.
They often know a lot of facts, but their preferred mode of operation is to tell others how much they do not know, whether or not there's any call for it.
Same thing goes for discussing practically every new product, price increase, shortage of desired items, back orders, not quite perfectly road-specific details, etc, etc. Makes you wonder why they bother with the hobby, since it seems to invariably disappoint them, but for some reason the only thing they don't say no to is sharing their bitterness with everyone else.
Wish there was a filter for it, but once you know it when you see it, it's easy to put into context as largely inconsequential -- unless you give in and let it bother you. My advice is to tune it out -- and if you haven't noticed it, perhaps you already have.
After I pulled my American Flyer trains out of their 45-year storage in 2010, I began to frequent the Class Toy Trains forum. At one point, I suggested that it be divided into O gauge and S gauge sub forums. I did so because the Lionel guys dominated the forum, and I was hoping, along with a few others, to encourage more participation from American Flyer enthusiasts. But, alas, the CTT forum members and its moderator would hear none of it. They preferred the dominance of the O gauge crowd. No-it-alls ! Yuck, I still hate Lionel.