Urban Legends, Trolls, Flamers and AW's

[dharmon]

If that's the way you're gonna be.......then FINE. I'll take my old Athearn I got for $5 bucks and the $7 worth of detail parts I'm putting on it and leave!!

[Anonymous]

After reading the post where someone had said that MR has dismissed On30 as a 'toy" and the post that said "why would the poster attribute a quote to an industry outsider and open himself to libel" I have to say it happens all the time. MR is not going to spend the time or the money to track down everyone that posts a false statement. For those that are new to this world of bulletin boards and emails here's a summary of things I have learned and how I identify them.

Urban Legends: "MR editor says that On30 are toys" This is the same as "Man wakes up in tub full of ice with letter than says someone has removed his kidney." Ask yourself - "Does this make sense?" "Would MR really say that?" "Where is the evidence?" If it sounds totally stupid - it probably is.

Trolls: These guys will post something just to see what the reaction is. "I am a real model railroader - I only buy BLI or Brass steamers and Kato diesels. To do anything different would mark me as a stupid beginner who will never amount to anything in this hobby." If there is a post that gets your blood boiling, that is probably what the poster wanted. Sick people.

Flamers: These guys will attack a poster. Either they are really trolls hoping to spark a battle, or they are insecure in their own selves. Examples are: "You use Athearn blue box diesels and call yourself a model railroader?"

AW: Attention Wh_res. My fiance sees this alot on a wedding planner bulletin board. "I can't believe that after spending $20,000 on a wedding cake the caterer had the gall to put it on a platter that was worth at the most only $800." An example here would be "I just decided that my current roster wasn't good enough so I just placed an order for 10 BLI Cab Forwards and 40 Kato diesels. I figure that the improvement is worth a whole month of my hobby budget." Just ignore these guys.

Bottom line: there are people that seem to enjoy upsetting others and starting trouble. Ignoring them usually gets them to leave.