discontinuance of stars

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CP5415

The reason I'm here is information & to get to know other people. I believe that is the reason why Trains has set up this forum.
Meaningful dialogue to me is saying "Cool!" to something someone has done. It usually makes them feel good about what they have done.
I'll admit that when I reached 100 posted I thought it was "Cool!"
I'm over that now.
I know for fact that I'm not the most talkative person on the planet
I usually don't say a whole lot in my posts.
I don't think the stars are hurting anyone. They're fun
The way I see it, the more posts you have,the more active you are in this forum.
The more active your are in the forum, you'll give & or receive more information.
It may not be the best information, but you can use it as a learning tool.
The more information you receive, hopefully you'll become a better modeler.

Just my 2 cents

Gordon


HEY LOOK I REACHED 250!!!!!!!![:)][:D][8D][;)][^][;)]

Well said Gordon!

When I first read the header yesterday I wasn't sure how I should take it. I realize I may ramble on at times, add a couple of dittos but I'm having fun. Why? Because I'm talking to a bunch of people who enjoy the same past time as I do. In the Grand Scheme of things there's not too many of us and to have the chance to banter back and forth with others even at times on trivial matters then so be it. Lets be honest Most of our spouses tolerate this thing we do. Some of our co workers look at us and roll their eyes as this is child's play. We are a strange lot in the eyes of some.

If I don't like the thread or if it's getting a bit, in my opinion, "weird" I'll move on. Let's not ridicule each other but rather tolerate one another, after all we are constitutionally entitled to our opinion as well as free speech, as long as we are respectful of others.

And finally I'm not here for the stars I'm here for the comraderie.

Enough Said!

[lupo]

Hey juby4life, you are [censored] right !
no age discrimination

I like the balance between fun- and serious topics, this is the General Discussion Forum, maybe made for interaction between PEOPLE with a common interest, and hopefully some sence of humor.
And look around, the starhunters DO start interesting discussions

[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]( strange that an in an age poll earlier every claims to be younger than their real age )[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D] and watch out CP5170 you are dealing with some serious 2-STAR members overhere . . . . . [:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

[Anonymous]

Pretty well every forum I ever took part in has a "post count", for the participants, and the ones that don't have 'stars' have something else, like titles ''senior member" , or "engine wiper" or what have you.
I don't think it matters.

I do know some of the posters, on all of the forums, who are the MOST engrossed with their own post counts are not teenagers at all...far from it.[:o)]

Why not just ignore the elements of each forum that you don't like ?

I for one just about gag when I see those "Happy Birthday" thread titles in some forums....needing a birthday greeting from a fellow forum poster is either sad or desperate ...maybe both. So I don't open them.

I don't care for the endless "polls" we have here, ever since the format changed to permit them. To me, they are meaningless at best, so I just avoid them.

I don't like threads which have so many "look at me" attachments plastered to them that they take forever to open....I much prefer a link instead, so one can choose whether to look at another's efforts, or NOT look at them.

I don't like posts where a poster sticks a huge picture-laden signature on his post, slowing down the whole thread and widening the page, especially in a thread that was going pretty well up to that point.

We all have our likes & dislikes....the stars, to me, are pretty insignificant in view of other annoyances.
regards
Mike[:D]

[CP5415]

The big reason why I love this forum over ALL of the other forums is that there is a varied difference of opinion on how to do things & no one gets their face slapped for it.
That gentlemen makes this forum better than all the rest. At least in my opinion.

Unlike other forums where you have a very small group of people always saying if it's not done MY way, you're not doing it right & therefore You're a stupidhead!!!
That takes the fun out of modeling, especially those new to the hobby or that have limited modeling skills.

I'm not here saying that anyone has annoyed me, quite the contrary. Everyone has a right to state an opinion.
Last time I checked, there's freedom of speech here in Canada & supposedly in the United States as well.

I hope that Trains doesn't take the Stars or the post count away.

Gordon

PS, we were all teenagers at one time!

[Anonymous]

What possible issue could you have with the 'star system'?

Personally, I could give two quacks whether stars were awarded or not in response to the number of posts one makes. What really matters is that we have a place in which to share our questions, receive courteous and helpful replies, enjoy some fun/humor and, above all else, revel in our special community. The stars serve as frosting on a cake--a harmless perk--and little more.

We also need to remember that not everyone is blessed with a wealth of modeling knowledge. I've read many posts by a handful of modelers--many whom you've named, CP5170--and I stand in awe of their model railroading knowledge...knowledge which seems to have no limits. But these guys are the exception. Does that mean, then, that someone with 1/10 of their expertise shouldn't bother with posting (and, eventually, receiving the dreadful star)? Imagine, if you will, just how hopelessly boring this forum would be if only EXPERT opinions were allowed. What would a newcomer think?

Ultimately, being awarded a star for achieving a certain numer of posts is apt to bring a smile or grin to the face of someone--and little else. Leave it be. It shouldn't add nor detract from the pleasure anyone receives here. If you're annoyed, seek counsel. Seems to me those of you who take issue over such an inconsequential matter have some real life issues--and they have nothing to do with a star.[:(!]

[RhB_HJ]

QUOTE: Originally posted by robmik
I don't like posts where a poster sticks a huge picture-laden signature on his post, slowing down the whole thread and widening the page, especially in a thread that was going pretty well up to that point.

Hey Mike,[;)][;)]

That's your chance to let the "offender" know how to do a nice little sig with picture and all, that takes very little space and loads quickly.[:)][:)][:)]

BTW I've noticed that the same happens if you post a long URL that isn't link referenced. Happens most often with the ebay links.

[Anonymous]

I didn't really even notice this situation until I started pay attention.

There are an awful lot of younger modelers here who seem to think this is a competition and continually post things like:

False information (who makes "x"? "i think athearn does," but no, they don't and it's well known that they don't)...

Silly (what size radius curves do i need? "as big as possible," as if that's not obvious)....

Or just "me-too"s ("i agree.")

Not every post needs a response, unless, of course, you think the goal is to rack up a lot of little stars.

I figured the goal was to pass worthwhile information along, not to see how many posts one could accumulate.

Also interesting: the likelihood that someone is in the "star race" is directly proportional to the length of his/her signature and the number of emoticons they use in each post.

[cmitcham]

someday i hope to get a star...

and i did, i think, use one emoticon in one post. hehe

[Anonymous]

Just being old does not mean that you are well informed. I have discovered that there are pre-teens on this forum that have a knowledge of North American rolling stock and operations that are still nothing but a mystery to me.

Having never been a parent I find the enthusiasm of kids delightful. Simple pleasures such as stars cost nothing and give pleasure to some. Curtailing a childs pleasure is nothing less than mean spirited

[AggroJones]

The correlation between my joined time and my number of post proves I am not a star hog.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ACL Fan

I didn't really even notice this situation until I started pay attention.

There are an awful lot of younger modelers here who seem to think this is a competition and continually post things like:

False information (who makes "x"? "i think athearn does," but no, they don't and it's well known that they don't)...

Silly (what size radius curves do i need? "as big as possible," as if that's not obvious)....

Or just "me-too"s ("i agree.")

Not every post needs a response, unless, of course, you think the goal is to rack up a lot of little stars.

I figured the goal was to pass worthwhile information along, not to see how many posts one could accumulate.

Also interesting: the likelihood that someone is in the "star race" is directly proportional to the length of his/her signature and the number of emoticons they use in each post.

[V][V][V][:0][:0][:0][tdn][tdn][tdn][sigh][sigh][sigh][|(][|(][|(][:(!][:(!][:(!]

[vsmith]

This is a silly topic!

Why does anyone care about the stars? Yes I know I have a lot of 'em, but I've also been on this forum for a long time and I'm active on most of the forums. The number of stars is just a consiquence of time and participation, the longer your active the more you eventually will get, and I dont understand why anyone is getting worked up about this .

Its only an issue if you somehow feel intimidated or something by others ratings, you shouldnt, and this is not something to get bent over. Get bent about Athern discontinuing kits or the Big Boy vs Alley madness, those are better topics than this. Thats all I have to say.

[dave9999]

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

This is a silly topic!

Why does anyone care about the stars? Yes I know I have a lot of 'em, but I've also been on this forum for a long time and I'm active on most of the forums. The number of stars is just a consiquence of time and participation, the longer your active the more you eventually will get, and I dont understand why anyone is getting worked up about this .

The reason people are getting worked up is not the number of stars BUT the way
these star totals are being racked up. I've read a lot of you're posts and you have
something constructive to say. These stargazers post A LOT and never say anything except "yeah, I agree, nope, ya". They start arguements over railroads. These "MY RR Is better than you're RR" topics are a waste of space IMO! It's a railroad for Pete's sake!! None of these guys OWN a railroad. Do they???. Then to top it off they start topics about how many stars they have. Did you hear me, they start entire topics about STARS. Dave

[vsmith]

Calm down Dave, I hear ya!

Yes, the topics about "I got my first star, WooHoo!" are a bit silly, but it is a more or less open forum. Anyone can post any topic they want. The thing is, If no one replys, the posting dissappears really fast. So I guess its really a matter of if you dont like it just skip it, it will go away pretty fast.

As for the one liner replies, Yes, I agree with you,

dont just reply "Ya! Mongo agree!" say why or why not, offer an opinion, not just a statement. they should get involved more. there are at last count over 150,000 members! yet only a realitive few participate, Why?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

. there are at last count over 150,000 members! yet only a realitive few participate, Why?

Has it occurred to you that the topic of this thread--useless replies that clutter up the conversation, meant to generate stars--may be the reason for that?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

This is a silly topic!

Why does anyone care about the stars? Yes I know I have a lot of 'em, but I've also been on this forum for a long time and I'm active on most of the forums. The number of stars is just a consiquence of time and participation, the longer your active the more you eventually will get, and I dont understand why anyone is getting worked up about this .

Its only an issue if you somehow feel intimidated or something by others ratings, you shouldnt, and this is not something to get bent over. Get bent about Athern discontinuing kits or the Big Boy vs Alley madness, those are better topics than this. Thats all I have to say.

This is the most ASININE topic I've ever read.

Gentleman (or should I say CHILDREN?), it's not an issue! I repeat: IT'S NOT AN ISSUE. Get over it. You don't like stars? You dislike 'repeat offenders'? Then overlook them. In the time it took you to write about your dislikes you could have visited Garden Railways, Trains & Classic Trains forums and posted something of value to someone.

Discussion over. Class dismissed. Go home and sulk. For God's sake, I can't believe people are making an mountain out of nothing.

[RhB_HJ]

45 replies and counting!
Ever notice that something completely unrelated to model railroading will get lots of replies?

Being as I frequent a few fora on either side of the Atlantic I have noticed that the "atta boy" replies are dominant on the "star" fora.
That together with the large signatures.

Actually it's not too bad yet; I was slightly apprehensive when I added my standard JPG to my sig that next thing everyone would have a multi-logo, flashing and dancing letters sig.[}:)][}:)][:p]

Of course the other thing that's really amusing: aliases! That together with nary an entry in the profile makes me smile. but hey, to each his own (and a little bit more for me [}:)][;)][:o)][:D])

[Anonymous]

Hello RhB_HJ,

QUOTE: 45 replies and counting!

Amusingly most of them are posts that claim posting to this thread is stupid or silly

QUOTE: aliases! That together with nary an entry in the profile makes me smile.

Sorry mate, but the temptation is too great.

ME TOO

[lyctus]

I don't care one way or the other about the stars, but I like the fact that I can join in with a bunch of like minded people and kick topics around, just like a club, without some guy spilling his coffee all over your shoes or boring you to death. If I lose interest in a topic I can just click out of it.....try doing that face to face and remaining Mr nice guy !

[Anonymous]

Now I really couldn't give a whit about stars or post counts but something else came up here which does get to me. I saw some attitudes about our younger members. Fortunately, most posters here came out in support of our younger folks. I wish it was laways that way. Please bear with me this story might be a little long.

Many, many years ago a list showed up at the hobby shop where I got started in Model trains. A list to start a new club. I was one of the first to sign that list. Still in high school, never built a layout, but I wanted to get involved. Well, we finally held the organizational meetings which led to creating a club which is still in existence today and in fact has had a lot of influence in this hobby. But along the way the meetings were taken over by some guys with major incomes who wanted a big fancy club fast. And that needed money. So they set a dues schedule they could meet but was going to be hard for an average Joe and even worse for a high shool kid. And the result was that I was being asked to give a higher percentage of my income to the club with no say in how it was to run. Not even a guaranteed forum to speak up if the big bucks guys didn't want me to. So I walked away. And I haven't joined any model railroading organization since. Probably never will. Almost walked away from the hobby, but it got it's teeth into me anyway.

Now the point of this is that we sometimes forget what efforts are being put into our hobby by those of few years or few hours or few bucks. People who have a lot to contribute but somehow get told they don't count. Now, I saw just a hint that some of that may still exist. Just a hint, mind you, but enought to dredge up some painful memories. I don't want to see the next potential John Allen or Linn Westcott chased away because someone made them think they weren't valued.

Just give this a thought for a moment and think about why the NMRA is facing the membership problems it is or why this hobby isn't any bigger than it is. Just compare the per capita participation now with what it was when MR and the NMRA started.

Sorry to go on so long but a nerve got touched.

[RhB_HJ]

QUOTE: Originally posted by LightBender

Hello RhB_HJ,

QUOTE: 45 replies and counting!

Amusingly most of them are posts that claim posting to this thread is stupid or silly

QUOTE: aliases! That together with nary an entry in the profile makes me smile.

Sorry mate, but the temptation is too great.

ME TOO

Hey Tony, [;)][;)]

That's the spirit. I'll give you a call next time I'm in Van and have some time. Perhaps we can get together for a coffee or some such. Eh!?

[AntonioFP45]

Until it was mentioned, I wasn't aware of how this "star system" worked. I'm with the majority here in that I'm interested in high quality, helpful information that makes modeling even more enjoyable. As I've stated on another thread, I've learned more in 4 months then I have in the past decade. A number of you in the above responses are the ones that have answered my inquiries and I wholeheartedly thank you all for that.

Yes, some posts are obviously just for the "numbers" but if your connection speed is 56k or higher, it's very easy to glance at a post, gauge the value to see if it's a good post. It it's not helpful or interesting to you, just click and move on. Total of what; 10 seconds? Let the teens be. I'm 40 but I clearly remember my teen years in this hobby and while my experience was good, I would be "snubbed" every now and then by an experienced modeler at my LHS. Not a very cool feeling. By kids standards, I'm the "old timer" now and prefer to encourage them, even if they do seem to have even wackier values than my generation did then.

I won't be concerned about my "star status" as all I'm interested in is what I can learn from you guys & gals, and what I can share with you if I can.
Peace Out! God Bless!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CP5170

I would like to see the discontinuance of stars and the reporting of the number of reponses given. Lately, it seems that too many of the users are more interested in getting their numbers up than the quality of their response. On many posts, we have to wade through the "atta boy" comments to get to the meat.

Personally, when I see that masonjar, dehusman and nfmisso have responded, I am anxious to see what they have to say because their comments are always substantive and helpful. I know that there are a lot of users who add value to the forum and I think that if we eliminate the stars, we'll see more meaningful dialogue.

Just my thoughts...Ken

I thought I would respond to this thread, since I was mentioned in the post that started it off...!

The stars don't mean much to me, although I must admit that when I first started I wondered if I'd ever get one! I don't think that the majority of people put in "way to go" (or false information, as one reply alleges) just to up the number of stars they have.

Having said that, I will have to respectfully disagree with you Ken - I do think the "atta boys" are good on occasion, whether to express admiration for really outstanding work, or to encourage newcomers.

For example: Paul Templar, known for high quality logging layouts has a seemingly astronomical post count on a number of forums. He has tons of experience and knowledge, having been at this for a while now, and he always gives useful suggestions and advice - but he also is liberal with his praise for work done by modellers of all ages and skill levels. Now imagine that you are starting out with your first logging layout and you post some pics of your work. Wouldn't it be great to get a "way to go!" from Paul? Or if you're into gritty city scenes, wouldn't a nice comment from George Sellios encourage you?

Anyway, I take the stars for what they are - a count of posts - and not as an indicator of experience or knowledge. Like Ken (CP5170) I now look for replies by certain people, and for questions or comments that interest me. I skip the rest.


Andrew

PS - Thanks for the compliment Ken [:)]

[Anonymous]

The last time I checked, this place I live in is called America, Home of the Free. I value that freedom and do what I can to maintain it. With that freedom comes freedom of speech. I do believe this includes both oral and written comments. If folks are happy getting their names into the forums a hundred times or a thousand times, let them do it. It should make no difference to any of us. If you are turned off by the stars that seem important to others, why not just ignore them? You do not have to read every post. You have the God given right to ignore the things you do not like. You do not have the God given right to tell anyone else how to conduct themselves. We are all different, all have different interests, all have different modeling skills, all have different interests of one sort or another in the hobby. Why not accept people for who they are? Let them live their lives as they see fit? Let them have their fun? It can do you no harm, and like I stated, you can choose to ignore their input instead of sitting there steaming about it. The forums are for everyone, absolutely everyone.

Tom

[Anonymous]

tpaulsen:

You've clearly never visited forums in which anyone posted anything they wished, on-topic or not. If you had, you'd understand what we're talking about here. That kind of behavior destroys forums, runs off visitors, and eventually gets them shut down.

And if you think you have the absolute "freedom" to say whatever you like here, you're 100% wrong. The US Constitution guarantees that Congress shall make no law prohibiting freedom of speech. It most assuredly does not mean every American can say anything they want anywhere. (If you don't believe me, say something legally actionable on this privately-owned board and watch it disappear..)

Along with freedom comes responsibility and that is was I am asking be exercised in this case.

[dharmon]

I say we just scrap the forums..

All this complaining about posters, postings, polls, pop-ups, personalities....and such

Just shut it down. If everyone can't be happy all the time...just shut it down

[Anonymous]

For those of you who don't know Dan, he is quite the "nut". He was being his humorous self in the above post.

I get around to most of the forums. I spend the most time in the Train.mag forum. But there are many forum hoppers here, including me. I enjoy the forums. I know that sometimes there isn't much substance to a post. So you can judge people by their post and know which ones to skip over. There is a lot of kidding in some threads. I receive kidding and give some. The longer you are a forum member the more "family" oriented it becomes to you. I received emails on a daily basis from forum members, and many send me pictures too.

Don't worry about the starts. Just enjoy the forums, learn what you can learn, share what you can share, be encouraging, be supportive, be helpful. Let other things work themselves out and try not to be a forum "fighter". We don't need any wars in any of the forums.

Don't forget, email me, and send me pics. [:)]

[Anonymous]

Don't scrap the forums!

P.S. This topic is one of the many topics/replies that I have posted that's not short. www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11487

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dougal

Don't scrap the forums!

P.S. This topic is one of the many topics/replies that I have posted that's not short. www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11487

I bet you wouldn't have almost 400 posts if each one was as well-thought out and informative as the one to which you linked. Unfortunately, most of them are like this recent one, quoted in its entirety:

"I agree with all the winning votes"

Why not go for quality (like the one you referenced) instead of trying to prove you can post the most frequently?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005

I hear what you're saying, and I try to keep my postings constructive, but sometimes its fun to be silly. I like the stars, and its clear that the teens that use this site like them too. This hobby needs more young people.

Its easy to skip over topics and ignore them, I do it every time I see the word Athearn, as I have no interest in that subject being in O.

I say let them have their fun.

[#ditto][#ditto][#ditto][#ditto][#ditto][#ditto][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)]