BATMANMRR has a FB page but maybe the forums should be formatted there along with more content, a one stop shop.
If it was only accessible via FB, they'd lose me. I'm here, at least in part, because I don't do FB. I'm sure I'm not the only one. I won't turn this into a bash FB reply, but FB has "issues" I can do without.
Like many, I've long anticipated an updated forum, but like all things that costs money. Our hosts may be choosing to put that off to see where things are going or because it's simply too expensive, but adding in featiures and capabilities plus a spiffy new look could bring back higher levels of participation. It will never be like when it first came online, because there are just too many options for those looking to engage with fellow readers. But I think the forum or other place for focused reader engagement remains an essential feature that FB just can't deliver.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I'm still around, I also joined a few other forums but it's all the same. Talk or don't talk if the interest isn't fascinating or worthwhile.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
Clicks are revenue these days. I don't know what the math is for putting a magazine 100% online but if everytime I click on an article or photo they get paid, I would really be heading in that direction. I don't think ad blockers work for FB (at least they don't on my computer)
Having a complete interface of forum and magazine would be great. Is MRR the big boy on the block as far as this hobby goes? I have no idea.
Having a bunch of photos to go along with each article would be great and the cost to the magazine is nothing except more clicks when you enlarge them. Having to select one or two good pics because of cost in this day and age doesn't make sense.
I like photos and videos, especially when it comes to "how to" articles, there are no shortages of either on FB.
I like having a magazine in my hand, especially one I have been holding onto over the years. But sometimes you have to leave the train behind and get on an airplane.
There are a lot of how I did it articles on this forum submitted by we the participants, Kalmbach would be getting click revenue if those were on FB.
MRR has a FB page but maybe the forums should be formatted there along with more content, a one stop shop.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
It used to be that if you created a new post of a morning, by that night it was usually on page 3. Now it's likely still on page 1 and pretty near the top.
When this website - and this Forum - was bright and new, the other popular thing to do for those of us on AOL (and most of us were on AOL) was ... chat rooms. I belonged to some on music and some on, if memory serves, Star Trek. For most of us, having a PC or a laptop or both was also bright and new. YouTube was a different experience back then too. And because access was via PC or laptop you had to set aside a bit of time to fire up the computer and take part. It was addictive but it also asked for active involvement in the process. So you felt you had something invested in the time spent on a Forum or in a chat room.
But here is the thing. The technology and the capabilities were all bright and new, but we the human element were still old fashioned types who craved human interaction and involvement. We were not self absorbed automatons staring at a screen or playing a video game while driving. So what we had then for a brief while was the ideal combination of technology/content and the desire to utilize and exploit the new ability to have conversations and interaction with an entirely new set of folks outside of our day to day life. I suspect there were many railfans and model railroaders and toy train types who had never really had so many like minded people to "talk to" all of a sudden. So there was pent up excitement and involvement. That has now diminished
When these Forums were new Erik Bergstrom was Kalmbach's assigned Forum master and he played an active role in the discussions. We'd arrange Forum member get togethers at train shows and events like Galesburg's Railroad Days, etc. And we had "Forum Member" T-shirts that had the logos of the various Kalmbach magazines aimed at trains or model trains. The staff members of the magazines played a more active role in the discussions as well. It was new and different and exciting.
Now it's all ho-hum. Things have moved on. People have moved on. I don't think it is just seasonal disinterest although that likely plays a role. And yeah things that made sense on a PC or laptop screen make less sense on a device with a small screen, which accounts for some of the changes on YouTube. But another thing has changed, too: these Forums could be shut down tomorrow and somewhere in the thousand and thousands of threads, and thousands and thousand of things written on those threads, doesn't it seem like all the topics have been pretty much covered? How often is it that something really new is talked about? The only sad thing is that many fine photos that illustrated some very thorough tutorials have disappeared forever - together with the modeler him or her self -- because of the way the Forums were set up for photo sharing.
And at the risk of being just another grumpy geezer, I think to a certain extent MR/Kalmbach act like they are tired of the Forums as well. I think they could have made posting pictures easier if they had sincerely wanted to. I think they could have done a better job with the "all magazine" index that they purchased from the original creators some years ago
I also think they failed to learn from the lessons that snake bit them in the early years of VHS videos - MR jumped in with special content for videos but foolishly they assumed people would pay $70 or so for a VHS tape of layout tours! Then they tried renting them but even that was too much money. They have tried to monetize everything from MR Video Plus - yet still post free videos -- and the all acesss pass to the complete set of back issues (complete except for the single issue they left out which nobody at Kalmbach seems to know anything about based on a recent inquiry to "Ask MR Video Plus"). So here is MR trying to charge for stuff that others are giving away for free. And the free stuff used to be crap but now much of it is good.
There is a sense in which things are better. When the entire notion of an internet Forum was new, there were so many immature (and perhaps one could even say, ill and troubled) people who posted junk just to get a rise out of people -- and predictably, people took their bait every time. Unmoderated weekends were particularly to be dreaded. That era at least is over and not missed.
Dave Nelson
rrebell Has anyone else noticed that the number of people that participate in forums for model railroading has declined and not just model railroading too.
Has anyone else noticed that the number of people that participate in forums for model railroading has declined and not just model railroading too.
Yes and it doesn't appear to be seasonal like before. I suspect many has moved on to the modeling, layout ,operation and prototype SIGs found on Facebook or the more serious modeling forums.
The reason is simple how many times has a question been ask repeatedly?
IMHO the modeling world is changing from generic modeling to more prototype modeling and thus forums that doesn't meet that change will fade away.
For those that doubt this change just look at the prototyical cars and locomotives we have today.
This change started years ago with Life Like's line of P2K locomotives.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
The participation here has gone down over the years. When I joined this was the place to come for help, however FB has sooooo many MRR groups and more important specialty groups where you can learn so much and there are thousands of participants. I chat with the gang from Rapido on FB and join in their crazy banter, it is all fun. Jasons visits here have seemed to come to an end. I use to post his crazy latest video and it would be quickly removed so I stopped. They all get posted on FB though and brighten the day, which makes a visit worth while.
On some of the FB sites I chat with some who are here as well, though I have a completely different alias on FB.
This site is more like a small club now, along with its share of grumpy old men. I am surprised it attracts newcomers at all and I would not be surprised to see it come to an end in the near future.
I will likely hang out here until its demise.
I'm more of a "seasonal participant", as I have been since I joined in 2010. Many others are, as well.
I don't mind the status of being a "part time model railroader". I have way too many other projects going on in the summer, such as working on old garden tractors, (currently a Simplicity 7016) and working on our property in the north woods.
I'm back every fall, winter and early spring for full time model railroading.
I still ocassionally chime in when I take a scroll through the forums.
Happy 4th!
Mike.
My You Tube
It's been a seasonal thing for as long as I remember. The months coinciding with warmer weather in the northern hemisphere are always slow. There's also a ton of model railroad content on other social media (Instagram, FB, etc.) that retains somewhat more active participation when it's reduced on the modeling-specific forums like this one.
Rob Spangler