I really, really miss the old forum....

[jwar]

Me too and we lost a few great modelers that had headaches posting. But then agro I surley dont miss the polling and the stars....John. .

[tigerstripe]

Me too,  I'm glad to see all the polls and trolls are gone. but it just ain't the same.

A lot fewer posts and new topics. Also before you could see the threads that are new and new replys

since your last visit that were a different color.  I dont know if I'm just stupid or what but I can't

figure out alot of the new features.

I also miss my daily Spacemouse fix.

[canazar]

Oh, its not all that bad.  There are few features that are diffiicult, or wishfing that had done something else.  But then, they are quite a few things that I like too. 

 Like the fact that you can see my happy dance under my name.

 

 

Nice to see your face again.  Hope to see more of it.

[ATSFCLIFF]

Agree with you, it is NOT user friendly.
Cheers,


http://cliffordconceicao3310.fotopic.net/c328807.html

[Dave-the-Train]

Hang in there please guys!  We need to keep going to build this forum back up.

I agree that the change has been annoying.  I think that they didn't appreciate how stuck in our ways we get and how PC challneged some of us are.

I've only just figured out how the "My Forums" and "Persoanl messages" work... and I'm not entirely thick... mostly just not used to the jargon.

Would it help if I posted more weird questions for you to comment on?

To tell the truth I get a bit concerned that I post a lot and long stuff... I don't have Spacemouse to compete with currently...

COME BACK SPACEMOUSE! 

WE MISS YOU!

[Fergmiester]

I've been waiting for someone to broach this subject and yes I couldn't agree more with most of the comments made.

I do not find it user friendly nor very navigable.

A lot of the friendly banter that I thouroughly enjoyed is gone.

I dare not say more as I may invoke the wrath of the "Old Wife's Club"

However that said it is still one of the better threads for getting quick answers to questions asked.

Fergie

[Anonymous]

Couldn't agree more.  I'm fairly new at this, but the change, in my opinion, has not been for the better.  I have recently spent more time trying to find other model railroad forums than lurking here.  I have noticed a marked drop in participation, which seems to be getting worse.  Hopefully the powers that be at Kalmbach will take notice and make changes (quickly?).

In the meantime what are some other forums that I should visit.  I've already tried Atlas, which isn't all that bad as an alternative.

Tom

[Pruitt]

I might be considered part of the "Old Wife's Club" - I don't miss a lot of the inane chatter. It was just static on an otherwise informative channel.

The forum change is kind of a wash - some better features, some worse.

[electrolove]

Aggro,

I think the worst thing is the totally lack of interest for solving the problems on this so called new and better forum.

I have emailed Bergie but I don't even get an answer.

As a Mac user I can't do much here. I have all kind of problems. The pdf videos for example that seems to be the new great thing is not for me, I can't use that feature at all.

Mac users are model railroaders too, but when the importent thing is money, things like that does not mean much... I'm 100% sure they calculated and said, we can sacrifice Mac users because they are a minority.

[Anonymous]

Well,

The age old Mac Problem. Not sure what it is, but I am sure it will get worked out. I've volunteered to help, not sure if it's needed or not.

I stay here inspite of change. I never posted much. Too many people with better ideas and experience than I have. I post where I feel my point can be made after reviewing the topic. Sometimes I even make a post on a topic I need help with. That is what I thought a Forum was all about. Giving and receiving help.

I have learned a lot here in 2 years, post count be damned.

Chris

[MAbruce]

I don’t know.  While the new format is not perfect, I think it’s better than what was there before.  But then again, I’m not a high post count members that is reading/posting through nearly every topic and demands advanced features.  I’m an average user that realizes this is a free forum and works with what they have.    

[Anonymous]

Do I miss the old forums? Yes.

These forums are ok. Just overbuilt and cumbersome.

I have a feeling a little something may have gone by the wayside when the new forums was implemented.

The recent troubles over the weekend assured me that some things never changed.

[pcarrell]

Spacemouse has been hanging out in the layouts section lately.  He's still here!

As to the new format.....I don't miss the polls or the stars, but I do miss being able to copy from a post before it's posted.  It was handy for my spell checker, you know?  It's not as user friendly, but it has it's good points as well.  It's kind of a tradeoff. 

Also, does anyone know how to look up a specific members profile without having one of their posts to click on?  Like lets say I want to look up Spacemouse, and I don't have any of his posts to just click on.  How would I find his profile?

And TMLEWI, there's one in my signature.  It's kind of new so the membership isn't what this one is, but it's pretty good.  Since there aren't a lot of members yet you really get to know everybody.

[MisterBeasley]

To me, there's really not much that's different.  Sure, the keystrokes have changed a bit, but it's mostly the same things.  I would say that the performance is better, particularly in the daytime hours.  The old one used to hang up for 10-20 seconds once in a while, and I don't see that problem anymore.

I don't know if Kalmbach did a server upgrade along with the forum change.  Since the old forum has been around for quite a while, it may be that the old forum software wouldn't even run with new servers and new OS's.  This happens a lot when you upgrade.

[MisterBeasley]

Also, does anyone know how to look up a specific members profile without having one of their posts to click on?  Like lets say I want to look up Spacemouse, and I don't have any of his posts to just click on.  How would I find his profile?

Go to the top or bottom of this page and click on "Model Railroader Forums."  That's one step up from the General Discussion or Layouts Page.  Find the line that says something like:

There are 34 of 28,821 member(s) online

And click on the big number (28,821 in this case.)  That takes you to the member directory.  I think I'll bookmark that page, because getting there is really obscure and I'm not sure I could do it after a couple of beers.

[CSX_road_slug]

Some members of the "old" forum don't visit as much because they don't have as much free time as they once did; others have changed their screen name (myself included).  IOW many of the changes may not totally be the result of the new software.

[Don Z]

 Also before you could see the threads that are new and new replys

since your last visit that were a different color.  I dont know if I'm just stupid or what but I can't

figure out alot of the new features.

I also miss my daily Spacemouse fix.

Tigerstripe, instead of using the "Back" button on your browser, click on the forum name that you are reading in (General Discussion, for example) at the top or bottom of the page, and when it reloads, the topic you just read shows up in grey, while the unread topics are blue. Also, when coming back to the forum, those grey topics will again be blue if a reply was posted in your absence.

I hope this helps,

Don Z.

[grayfox1119]

Change comes very hard for some people. Working in high tech comapnies most of my working career, I had to deal with many radical changes. I had to help people through many of these changes as I had over 100 techs working for me.
You will get through it trust me. Change is how we get better, grow stronger. Heck, if our bodies never changed, we would still look and act like Neanderthals.....ohh ohhhhh, some still do!!!! LOL

[simon1966]

I am in high tech as well.  I deal with new software and changes all the time. Yet I echo many of the complaints written above.  I am dissapointed with the new forum.  It really is not a significant improvement in any way, except for speed.  It is faster to load, no doubt, but I can not think of a single other improvment over the old forum.  I don't hate the new forum, I am just ambivalent towards it because it does not seem to have provided the user any advances. 

[cripp12]

I've only just figured out how the "My Forums" and "Persoanl messages" work... and I'm not entirely thick... mostly just not used to the jargon.

Coould you explain how they work?

[Anonymous]

I guess to each his own, but quality has gone up and quantity is down. This forum has become better imho, more train talk, less idle banter, much ado about nothing...............

[CAZEPHYR]

Sure the new forum might be a little difficult for some people to figure out but they will eventually.  I don't miss the dumb polls or the rediculous posts though from the old forum. 

I agree with your comment on the dumb polls.  Most of the polls were repeat subjects over and over. 

 

[Paul3]

You know what I miss?  I miss:

1) Typing in plain text.  Yep, I figure that in this reply window, we're actually typing html, not plain text.  Because of that, things like copying and pasting from other websites is a mess.  For example, try copying and pasting from Wikipedia.  All their text highlights are there and you can't get rid of them.  I find myself having to manually type things into this reply window to get rid of unwanted text highlights.  That's annoying.

2) A single line return key.  For example, see the extra space above this line?  That's because I hit the return key once, yet it double spaced it.  Why?  I have learned that if you hold down the shift key while hitting the return key, it makes it a single space.  But why this extra step?  It's annoying.

3) A reliable delete button.  I tend to go over my posts and edit them before posting.  Yet for whatever reason, my delete key sometimes doesn't work.  To erase anything, now I use the backspace key and make sure I put the cursor to the right of any corrections.  That's annoying.

4) Not seeing the whole thread page when replying.  It means that if I want to reply to multiple posts, I either have to make individual replies to each post in question, or I have to open another browser window in order to see all the posts I want to reply to.  That's annoying.

Paul A. Cutler III
*************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*************

[Railphotog]

Boo Hoo!  Things change.  Live with it.

[Casey Feedwater]

As a Mac user I can't do much here. I have all kind of problems. The pdf videos for example that seems to be the new great thing is not for me, I can't use that feature at all.

Mac users are model railroaders too, but when the importent thing is money, things like that does not mean much... I'm 100% sure they calculated and said, we can sacrifice Mac users because they are a minority.

I am also a Mac user. But as I reported on pages 2 and 3 of this thread http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/3/895844/ShowPost.aspx#895844 the solution is to download Firefox for Mac OS X and use it instead of Safari when logging on to this forum. I use Safari everywhere else I go on the internet with no problems, so it seems reasonable to assume the problem is with the Trains.com forum software and not with our Macs.

I installed Firefox yesterday and discovered that the photo posting problems have disappeared and that I'm also able to use the text formatting options in the posting window - something I was never able to do with Safari on this forum.

[Darth Santa Fe]

I've gotten used to this new forum, but I still like the old one better. Logging in and posting was easier (login box at the top of the page, quick reply box), pictures and urls were easier to post, and everything loaded in half the time it does now for me. When you've got an 8 year old computer and less than a cable connection (like me), loading this place can take a very, very long time.

[modelalaska]

I don't like this forum software either.  One really annoying "feature" is that some posts don't have a scroll bar available and I can not read the entire message unless I cut and paste it into some other program.  Anyone else have this problem and a solution?
Peter

[jfugate]

I am probably considered part of the "Old Wifes Club" too, but I agree with many of the concerns about this forum's software -- and especially with the odd silence on the part of MR about them. It would be nice to hear *something* from MR, even "get used to it".

KNOWN PROBLEMS
As to the posting problems, it is clear from reviewing CommunityServer's bug reports on their support site that two major snafu's exist in their code:

1. IE 7 is a problem. If you are using that browser, the version of CommunityServer MR is using on this forum has *serious malfunctions*. CommunityServer is developed by a Microsoft-Centric development group, so no doubt they will address the issues in time to be out with the release of Vista next year, but that also means MR will need to plan an immediate upgrade in early 2007 or they will have a major mess on their hands.

2. Macs and Safari are a problem. Since the CommunityServer developers are Microsoft centric, it appears from their responses to their bug reports that they rigorly test their software on the two major browsers, and that's it. The two top browsers right now are IE 6 and Firefox 1.5. If you are not using one of these browsers, then you will have problems, period.

MY PROFESSIONAL OPINION AS A WEB DEVELOPER
Since I am a senior internet software developer in my day job, I have a couple of professional observations on these issues.

1. Browsers are free, and if you want the least hassle and the most enjoyable internet browsing experience, then keep your browser updated, and get familiar with using one of the two top browsers on your computer. You need a working copy of IE 6 or Firefox 1.5 installed on your computer and you need to be familar with it. Even if these two browsers are not your favorite, you need one of them as a second browser for sites like this one that require one of these two browsers for a good browsing experience.

2. On the other hand, web software that only works well in lastest versions of the top two browsers and misbehaves badly in anything else is a really sloppy development practice. It appears the CommunityServer developers' official stance is: "If you use our software and it doesn't work right for you, get one of the approved browsers and use it. Browsers are free, so if you are unwilling to download and use an approved browser, then getting bad behavoir using our software is your own darn fault." Yes, sloppy, unrealistic, and rather heartless.

MR's SILENCE
MR's deafening silence on this whole issue doesn't do much to dispell the rather heartless aspect of CommunityServer's stance on their software problems, either. I've emailed Bergie myself, but it appears he has lots of irons in the fire at the moment, and my guess is the upgrade caused him to get behind in his other responsibilities and he's playing catch up. But it would be nice to at least hear a peep out of him now and then.

[selector]

I agree, Joe, and said as much recently.  I have gotten used to the new flavour, but I was never a big fan of plain old vanilla.  Thanks to Jon (alco_fan), my picture problems are history.

I am no more comfortable with change than the next person, but a wise old Roman said, "Who does not advance falls behind."  I am happy there are no more polls, althought the enterprising person could figure out how to make one work.  Don't, please!

BTW, where is Dave Kelly?

[Anonymous]

What is there to miss about the "old" forum?

The same whiners are still here.

[IRONROOSTER]

I find the new forum to be visually better.  Functionally, I can still do everything I did before.  But a number of functions have to be done differently, some with more keystrokes.  Overall I'd say it was a little less friendly and more cumbersome, but not enough to keep me away.

I miss:
The polls
The rants and raves against them.  
Having a good laugh  over people getting their knickers in a twist over the polls and stars.

Enjoy
Paul

[grayfox1119]

RC 1 is shipping next week to some of us who are Beta testing IE 7.0 I am still having problems with Beta 2 version, I cannot get the drop down boxes when I reply to messages on this forum. It seems they really tightened up security, so much so that we have all sorts of problems with some web sites. I hope RC1 clears this up.
Joe, I wanted to send you a sad face icon, but I cannot get the drop down boxes, so please know that you have my sympathy on the water problem at your home.

[howmus]

I miss what this forum used to be.  But that has nothing to do with the new software.  Yeh, it took a little bit to figure out some of the new "improvements" but I quickly went over to the Apple Users forums and did some research among Apple people (like myself) and got the browser problems worked out.  I don't think there is anything you can do with a PC that I can't do here with my MAC..... 

What I do miss is the helpful, friendly, cheerful responses that used to be the norm here a couple years ago when I joined.  The threads that get all the answers are the topics where someone is complaining about everything.  Look at this thread.......  SpaceMouse has all but stopped posting because every time he started a topic some &*%%$#@#@ jumps all over him and calls him names. 

What I really miss is the useful help that used to be here (still here, usually found on page 3) as well as the fun and good humour.  While I still pop in from time to time, I find that another forum nearby doesn't have the childish attitude that this forum has developed recently......  So I spend most of my online time over there.

[NS2591]

This new format sucks. I espescially don't like the Subscriber only content

[Anonymous]

and Ray, you're not complaining? Spacemouse is a big boy, he should be able to speak for himself, and there was more childish BS on the old forum, open your eyes.........mike

[SpaceMouse]

I also miss my daily Spacemouse fix.

Me too.

Lately I have been starting a holistic health practice and studying for my naturpoathic degree, so I have very little time for the boards. To add to that, my home computer went south this weekend. I figure it's just the power supply, but I have had little time to devote to it. My model time has suffered as well, I have not really done anything since mid-July. I hope to get at least that part of it turned around soon. I have some interesting projects--interesting to me anyway--in mind. Today I had a break and jumped in. Mostly, like Phillip said, if I have a second, I jump in on a discussion on layout design.

 

 

 

[pcarrell]

Also, does anyone know how to look up a specific members profile without having one of their posts to click on?  Like lets say I want to look up Spacemouse, and I don't have any of his posts to just click on.  How would I find his profile?

Go to the top or bottom of this page and click on "Model Railroader Forums."  That's one step up from the General Discussion or Layouts Page.  Find the line that says something like:

There are 34 of 28,821 member(s) online

And click on the big number (28,821 in this case.)  That takes you to the member directory.  I think I'll bookmark that page, because getting there is really obscure and I'm not sure I could do it after a couple of beers.

That'll work!

[Bergie]

You know what I miss?  I miss:

1) Typing in plain text.  Yep, I figure that in this reply window, we're actually typing html, not plain text.  Because of that, things like copying and pasting from other websites is a mess.  For example, try copying and pasting from Wikipedia.  All their text highlights are there and you can't get rid of them.  I find myself having to manually type things into this reply window to get rid of unwanted text highlights.  That's annoying.

2) A single line return key.  For example, see the extra space above this line?  That's because I hit the return key once, yet it double spaced it.  Why?  I have learned that if you hold down the shift key while hitting the return key, it makes it a single space.  But why this extra step?  It's annoying.

3) A reliable delete button.  I tend to go over my posts and edit them before posting.  Yet for whatever reason, my delete key sometimes doesn't work.  To erase anything, now I use the backspace key and make sure I put the cursor to the right of any corrections.  That's annoying.

4) Not seeing the whole thread page when replying.  It means that if I want to reply to multiple posts, I either have to make individual replies to each post in question, or I have to open another browser window in order to see all the posts I want to reply to.  That's annoying.

Paul A. Cutler III
*************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*************

In regards to problem #1, copy the text from another Web site, paste it into NotePad (which turns it into true text), and then paste it into our forum.

Bergie

[Bergie]

I don't like this forum software either.  One really annoying "feature" is that some posts don't have a scroll bar available and I can not read the entire message unless I cut and paste it into some other program.  Anyone else have this problem and a solution?
Peter

If you don't have a scroll bar on the right side of your browser window, that's a local problem, not a problem with our new forum software. Does that always happen?

Bergie

[jfugate]

I don't like this forum software either.  One really annoying "feature" is that some posts don't have a scroll bar available and I can not read the entire message unless I cut and paste it into some other program.  Anyone else have this problem and a solution?
Peter

If you don't have a scroll bar on the right side of your browser window, that's a local problem, not a problem with our new forum software. Does that always happen?

Bergie

I think there is one version of this problem that is here in the forum software ... it appears when someone posts a really long block of text (like a link) with no spaces and you can't scroll the message to the right to see what's missing. It's a rare problem, but a real one and would probably affect everyone.

Let me try to duplicate it ...

http://nowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirparty.com

Hmmm ... I get a scroll bar and can scroll to the right in Firefox 1.5. It could be a browser-specific problem too. How about a really large photo ... ?

" border="0" />

Nope, still get the scroll bar, but the photo is just a placeholder and not the actual image. Not sure how to duplicate the problem ... but it does make this post look really wierd. Can everyone read this post okay?

[Dave-the-Train]

I've only just figured out how the "My Forums" and "Persoanl messages" work... and I'm not entirely thick... mostly just not used to the jargon.

Coould you explain how they work?

NO!

All I've found is that the "My Forums" shows all the threads I've taken part in in order (as it's set at present) of most recently contributed to on top / first going down to oldest contributed to.  For me this works quite well.

Haven't a clue how the Personal Message works but anytime anyone E mails me through the forum it pops up there... and keeps a record of it all for me.  This is pretty useful.

What I would like to know is how to access threads in the old forum???

[Vail and Southwestern RR]

Joe- Looks fine with IE 6.  I don't like the embedded scrollbar thing, but then again, it is better than one screwy post messing up the whole page.

 

[Vail and Southwestern RR]

What I would like to know is how to access threads in the old forum???

The threads from before the switch are in the same place as all of the others.  As far as I can see nothing was thrown out.

[Fergmiester]

I miss what this forum used to be...

What I do miss is the helpful, friendly, cheerful responses that used to be the norm here a couple years ago when I joined.  The threads that get all the answers are the topics where someone is complaining about everything.  Look at this thread.......  SpaceMouse has all but stopped posting because every time he started a topic some &*%%$#@#@ jumps all over him and calls him names. 

What I really miss is the useful help that used to be here (still here, usually found on page 3) as well as the fun and good humour.  While I still pop in from time to time, I find that another forum nearby doesn't have the childish attitude that this forum has developed recently......  So I spend most of my online time over there.

Thank You Ray!

Maybe I should have been more specific in my first response, however you've said it quite well and and to the point.

Next time I'm in I'm buying and I'll fling in a crueller or two

Fergie

[Casey Feedwater]

Joe, I get the scroll bar in both Safari v.2.0.4 and Firefox 1.5.0.6 and can scroll back/forth to see the entire link on one line. However, in Safari, no placeholder for the "photo" exists; all I see is the following: " border="0" />. In Firefox, I see the placeholder as a very large open space the equivalent of several empty lines.

[Vail and Southwestern RR]

I wouldn't give up on this forum (content wise) yet.  The summer does two things, a lot of regular posters do summer type things (hence less posting), and lots of "recreational" posters seem to show up for a couple of months.  I'd wait a few weeks before passing judgement....

[river_eagle]

<BLOCKQUOTE><table class="quoteOuterTable"><tr><td class="txt4"><img src="/trccs/Themes/default/images/icon-quote.gif">&nbsp;<strong>grayfox1119 wrote:</strong></td></tr><tr><td class="quoteTable"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="100%" valign="top" class="txt4">RC 1 is shipping next week to some of us who are Beta testing IE 7.0 I am still having problems with Beta 2 version, I cannot get the drop down boxes when I reply to messages on this forum. It seems they really tightened up security, so much so that we have all sorts of problems with some web sites. I hope RC1 clears this up.
Joe, I wanted to send you a sad face icon, but I cannot get the drop down boxes, so please know that you have my sympathy on the water problem at your home.</td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>
I already have RC1 installed, and I'm betting this test does no better.
The business version of vista ships in november, and the home version in january, as of yesterday.

[river_eagle]

RC 1 is shipping next week to some of us who are Beta testing IE 7.0 I am still having problems with Beta 2 version, I cannot get the drop down boxes when I reply to messages on this forum. It seems they really tightened up security, so much so that we have all sorts of problems with some web sites. I hope RC1 clears this up. Joe, I wanted to send you a sad face icon, but I cannot get the drop down boxes, so please know that you have my sympathy on the water problem at your home.

I already have RC1 installed, and I'm betting this test does no better. The business version of vista ships in november, and the home version in january, as of yesterday.

nope, nogo with RC1,had to use IE6 to get hyperlinks repaired

[grayfox1119]

River_Eagle: Well, I guess I will have to work with MS when I get my copy of RC1 if I have the same trouble with IE 7.0. Beta 2 version sure doesn't work.

[brothaslide]

Look at it this way - 10 years ago, we didn't have no stinkin' forums! There were features I liked about the old fourm more than the new but the new works for me.

[Anonymous]

The real forums was the Clubhouse, trainshows and prototype events involving live steam or older technology on exhibit. That was until about 10 years ago.

Now with the internet you can find that item or learn about it with a few clicks. But sorting out the wheat from the chaff is left up to the user.

[skiloff]

Casey Feedwater wrote:

Joe, I get the scroll bar in both Safari v.2.0.4 and Firefox 1.5.0.6 and can scroll back/forth to see the entire link on one line. In Firefox, I see the placeholder as a very large open space the equivalent of several empty lines.

Ditto with IE7 - but I'd say more like four dozen empty lines.

[jfugate]

I'm very encouraged to see Bergie come back from his hiatus and make several helpful posts today.

Thanks, Bergie! I think your clever "posting a photo" FAQ will help a lot of people get more mileage out of this sometimes temperamental forum software.

[electrolove]

Bergie,

Thanks for comming back to us. Let's try to solve the problems now so we can talk about what we like most, trains.

[electrolove]

I just saw the 'How to post photos' post from Bergie and decided to give it a try. Let's see if this works (with Safari Mac):

I typed this in myself, not pasting anything to be sure it's plain text.

<img src="http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a79/vigour/DSC03637.jpg" border="0" />

As you can see, no...

[Railphotog]

I just saw the 'How to post photos' post from Bergie and decided to give it a try. Let's see if this works (with Safari Mac): I typed this in myself, not pasting anything to be sure it's plain text. As you can see, no...

I copied the following link from my Photobucket account, and it seems to work:

You link DOES work in the quoted message though!  Go figure!

Bob Boudreau

 

[Pruitt]

I just saw the 'How to post photos' post from Bergie and decided to give it a try. Let's see if this works (with Safari Mac): I typed this in myself, not pasting anything to be sure it's plain text. As you can see, no...

That is some stout looking benchwork, Electro! With a sheet of plywood on top, it looks like you could dance on it! No table quakes for the trains that will run there!!

[cripp12]

how do you unsubscribe from one thread? Usually from other sites you get one email saying there has been a new post this one replys to every post.

[Paul3]

brothaslide,
Actually, there were RR forums 10 years ago.  In 1996, I started lurking on the newsgroup rec.models.railroad.  And r.m.r was preceeded by Compuserve's groups, at least one of which was about model railroading.  And before that, you had BBS's in the 1980's for model railroading.  The internet is older than perhaps you think...

Also at that time, there was the very first Model Railroader "forum" if you will on their very first website design that I can recall.  Andy Sperando would post a new question every month on the old page's Guestbook, and then others could reply to it and to each other.  I know, because I was in college at the time and replying to Andy and others.

BTW, the worst forum software ever was the original MR Forum (before the last one).  If you clicked on a thread topic, you then got a tree of replies...and you then had to click on each one to read it.  Imagine clicking on every reply just to read it?  Ick.  Oh, and the link that you clicked on only had the date and time, no poster's names, no topic header, nothing.  If someone didn't sign their post, you had no way to know who was even replying.  (shudder)  Just a bad forum with a lot of trolls (no registration was used at all...I don't even think they were moderated).

Paul A. Cutler III
*************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*************

[brothaslide]

brothaslide,
Actually, there were RR forums 10 years ago. . .

Paul A. Cutler III
*************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*************

OK - So 13 years ago there were no RR Forums.

[jfugate]

At the top of the thread, there is a notify button. Make sure you click it to turn notify OFF (ON has a red check mark, OFF is grayed out). Otherwise on a popular thread you will get a mailbox full of annoying emails in a days time.

[jfugate]

=================electro posted this===============================
I just saw the 'How to post photos' post from Bergie and decided to give it a try. Let's see if this works (with Safari Mac): I typed this in myself, not pasting anything to be sure it's plain text. As you can see, no...
===============================================================
So there you go, Electro ... post your message, get the goofy image problem, then quote your own message, go back and delete the original and then delete the quote tags. That's what I did above.

Your pictures will show up that way ... sheesh!

[twhite]

Just a comment, guys--at my work, teaching choral music in a high school, I'm in the midst of learning a music program called SIBELIUS, which is a really, really, REALLY easy program to comprehend.  Now I'm doing this for my job.  So how come a program like the new MR forum is so incredibly complex when I'm trying to use it for fun, relaxation and sharing ideas? 

Answer THAT one, Bergie!

Tom

 

 

[Bergie]

Just a comment, guys--at my work, teaching choral music in a high school, I'm in the midst of learning a music program called SIBELIUS, which is a really, really, REALLY easy program to comprehend.  Now I'm doing this for my job.  So how come a program like the new MR forum is so incredibly complex when I'm trying to use it for fun, relaxation and sharing ideas? 

Answer THAT one, Bergie!

Tom

I would LOVE to answer it, but I have no idea what you're referring to. Calling our new forum incredibly complex without giving examples as to what you feel is incredibly complex gives me nothing to work with.

I know change is hard, but I personally don't find this new forum software to be incredibly complex. Does it take some getting use to? Yes. It's like anything else in life. If you have a habit established for a certain task and then something new is presented, you naturally fall back on your habit and things don't work. That applies to everything from reader forums to coffee makers or automobiles.

Remember the last time you got a new car? Were the controls for turning on your whipers or setting your cruise control exactly the same on your new car as there were on your old car? I doubt it. It's the same thing we're facing here. Yes, WE; me included. I've been learning this new software right along with you guys, and I have yet to find something (besides that goofy photo hypertext issue) that has made be declare this forum incredibly complex.

If you guys have issues, please be clear about them and lets see if we can all work these things out. Being vague and saying you just don't like it as much as the old forum isn't doing anything to make things better; it's simply stating your opinion.

Hang in there fellas; we'll all get there together.

Have a great weekend,

Bergie

[Bergie]

I just saw the 'How to post photos' post from Bergie and decided to give it a try. Let's see if this works (with Safari Mac): I typed this in myself, not pasting anything to be sure it's plain text. As you can see, no...

It's the link. Here's what you posted:

<img src="http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a79/vigour/DSC03637.jpg" border="0" />

Kill the border="0" /> after the .jpg" and you should be good:

" border="0" />

 

We'll get there...

Bergie

[river_eagle]

ok, i'll try it joe.
<img src="http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f123/river_eagle/N-Scale/pz3.jpg" border="0" />

[Bergie]

OK, you just had the same problem I had. I typed in the link and ended it after .jpg, yet Photo Bucket added border="0" /> once it's posted.

Are there any other photo bucket users here that have had success? I believe it's Photo Bucket's issue (adding that extra border tag) not the issue from our software.

Bergie 

[river_eagle]

but, if you reply with quote to my post, it will set it back right in your post without doing anything to it.

[river_eagle]

ok, i'll try it joe.

just like this. using old version of ie6

[river_eagle]

ok, i'll try it joe.

just like this. using old version of ie6

no changes to photobucket tag at all complete paste with tags from site.

[river_eagle]

<BLOCKQUOTE><table class="quoteOuterTable"><tr><td class="txt4"><img src="/trccs/Themes/default/images/icon-quote.gif">&nbsp;<strong>river_eagle wrote:</strong></td></tr><tr><td class="quoteTable"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="100%" valign="top" class="txt4">ok, i'll try it joe.
<img src="http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f123/river_eagle/N-Scale/pz3.jpg" border="0" /></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------but ie7.

[pcarrell]

OK, you just had the same problem I had. I typed in the link and ended it after .jpg, yet Photo Bucket added border="0" /> once it's posted.

Are there any other photo bucket users here that have had success? I believe it's Photo Bucket's issue (adding that extra border tag) not the issue from our software.

Bergie 

I use photobucket almost exclusively.  I use IE 6.0.

Here's a pic done by just using the IMG tag on Photobucket.

This is a gif

And this is a real pic

[Don Z]

Rivereagle,

You are copying the "Tag" link in your photobucket picture. You MUST copy the "IMG" link (the 3rd link under your photo). Then, simply paste into the forum here and it works perfect, everytime!

[*IMG]http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f35/dkzimm/Escanaba%20and%20UP%20Railroad%20construction/8_20_06005.jpg[*/IMG] This is the IMG link from my photo. I added the * in each IMG bracket so you could see the link.

I'm using IE6 and have no problems posting from Photobucket.

Don Z.

[river_eagle]

and if you quote mine with the mess in it it will right itself within your post, but when i quote yours it will go off into la-la land

[river_eagle]

<BLOCKQUOTE><table class="quoteOuterTable"><tr><td class="txt4"><img src="/trccs/Themes/default/images/icon-quote.gif">&nbsp;<strong>Don Z wrote:</strong></td></tr><tr><td class="quoteTable"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="100%" valign="top" class="txt4"><P>Rivereagle,</P>
<P>You are copying the "Tag" link in your photobucket picture. You MUST copy the "IMG" link (the 3rd link under your photo). Then, simply paste into the forum here and it works perfect, everytime!</P>
<P><img src="http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f35/dkzimm/Escanaba%20and%20UP%20Railroad%20construction/8_20_06005.jpg" border="0" /></P>
<P>[*IMG]http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f35/dkzimm/Escanaba%20and%20UP%20Railroad%20construction/8_20_06005.jpg[*/IMG]</P>
<P>I'm using IE6 and have no problems posting from Photobucket.</P>
<P>Don Z.</P></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Wyonate]

The "happy little dance"

You must have a new loco in the bag.  HAHA

[pcarrell]

OK, IE 6.0 and Photobucket.

Here's the URL

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/NKP%20No%20587/abf.jpg

The TAG

<a href="http://s83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/NKP No 587/?action=view&current=abf.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/NKP%20No%20587/abf.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

and the IMG

[Don Z]

Rivereagle,

You are copying the "Tag" link in your photobucket picture. You MUST copy the "IMG" link (the 3rd link under your photo). Then, simply paste into the forum here and it works perfect, everytime!

[*IMG]http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f35/dkzimm/Escanaba%20and%20UP%20Railroad%20construction/8_20_06005.jpg[*/IMG]

I'm using IE6 and have no problems posting from Photobucket.

Don Z.

rivereagle, you're correct. I quoted you and it straightened out. Hmmm, maybe you have a bug in your Beta version of IE7? Roll back to IE6 and see if your posting problems go away.
Don Z.

[river_eagle]

IE 7 is out of beta, and will , on all new business machines shipped in november, and on home pc's in january.
I have ie6 on my old pc, that's how i can post both ways to show problems.
your issue will be once ie7 starts shipping on the new machines, microsoft will end support for 6, as the upgrade to 7 is free.

[alco_fan]

good grief.

again, if you are having trouble posting photos, the most basic thing to try is to manually type the [img*] and [/img*] (without the asterisks) first, like this:
[img*][/img*]

... then paste just the url from "http" to ".jpg" or ".gif" in between the bracketed image tags. Don't paste in any additional tags. You can get the url from the "properties" of the image.

the result looks like this (with the asterisks, so you can see the format)

[img*]http://www.trains.com/trccs/Themes/default/images/kpclogos/mrr.gif[/img*]

and like this when you type the img tags without the asterisk and then paste the url in between them

[Don Z]

Well, I'll be sure to keep IE6 on my PC since it works! Good luck getting it ironed out.

Don Z.

[river_eagle]

alco fan,
your the one not getting it!!!
it's a software issue that NO MATTER HOW I, or the others with this problem, enter the info, the tags get changed to the post.

[alco_fan]

alco fan, your the one not getting it!!! it's a software issue that NO MATTER HOW I, or the others with this problem, enter the info, the tags get changed to the post.

Then maybe you are not copying just the URL, it looks like you are also copying the tags ... elsewise how would they be there to change? Hey, maybe you've got something extra funny going on, but I'm on a university campus a lot and  I've posted phots from a variety of machines (PC, Mac, Linux) with a variety of browsers, and they have all worked fine if I manually type the tags and carefully copy and paste only the URL.

Like so

[river_eagle]

alco, now watch this OK,
<img src="http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f123/river_eagle/Washington%20dc/capital2.jpg" border="0" />mess right! now next post will be exactly the same with old browser

[alco_fan]

You are saying that you manually typed the [img*] and [/img*] (without the asterisks) before pasting just the url in between?

Looks from  here like you are also pasting in the tags from Photobucket. But I coudl be wrong.

[river_eagle]

old browser

 

exactally the same link!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[alco_fan]

exactally the same link!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I'm not an idiot, I get it that different browsers work differently if you paste in the tags from Photobucket. I'm asking if you tried manually typing in the [img*][/img*] (without the asterisks) and then pasting just the URL in between.

If you are posting in the tags as well as the URL, yes, some browsers are having problems.

[river_eagle]

You are saying that you manually typed the [img*] and [/img*] (without the asterisks) before pasting just the url in between?

Looks from  here like you are also pasting in the tags from Photobucket. But I coudl be wrong.

YES!!!!!!!!

It will not work either way unless I use the old browser!!!!

FORUM ADDS EXTRA TAGS when using new browsers!!

[jfugate]

Long story short, it appears that no matter what you do with IE 7 or Mac Safari, the image posting on this version of the CommunityServer forum software is hosed.

You can even manually type the entire link in by hand and add the [img] and [/img] tags by hand, and it still does not work in those browsers. Apparently, this forum software lets bad code get posted and doesn't show it in the editor when you are using those browsers.

According to CommunityServer's support ticket forum, the solution to these problems is to use one of the approved browsers for now: IE 6 or Firefox 1.5. They will no doubt get IE 7 working in their next new release before year end, but from their remarks it's also clear they don't intend to do anything about Safari. If you're on a Mac, you will need to move to Firefox to have a good experience with this forum software.

Since browsers are free, that's the stance they're taking for now.

[Casey Feedwater]

<BLOCKQUOTE><table class="quoteOuterTable"><tr><td class="txt4"><img src="/trccs/Themes/default/images/icon-quote.gif">&nbsp;<strong>Bergie wrote:</strong></td></tr><tr><td class="quoteTable"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="100%" valign="top" class="txt4"><P>OK, you just had the same problem I had. I typed in the link and ended it after .jpg, yet Photo Bucket added border="0" /> once it's posted.</P>
<P>Are there any other photo bucket users here that have had success? I believe it's Photo Bucket's issue (adding that extra border tag) not the issue from our software.</P>
<P>Bergie  <img src="/trccs/emoticons/icon_smile_blackeye.gif" alt="Black Eye [B)]" /></P></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

Bergie, I don't use Photo Bucket and the photos I've attempted to upload have had the extra border tag attached upon posting. I've tried linking to photos that are on my personal website (and which post perfectly on other forums) using the standard img tags as well as photos which reside on other forum servers. The results are always the same border="0"/> when I use Safari. However, as I've said a couple of times already, when I downloaded Firefox and installed it 2 days ago, the photo posting problem went away. (As Joe Fugate posted earlier, the problem is seemingly a conflict between the forum software and Safari.

[Railphotog]

Photobucket has been working for me all along in the new forum:

No extra border stuff in the address, copied here with asterisks to illustrate:

[IMG*]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v409/railfan/EnginehouseMoon-1.jpg[/IMG*]

Bob Boudreau

[jfugate]

Photobucket has been working for me all along in the new forum:

No extra border stuff in the address, copied here with asterisks to illustrate:

[IMG*]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v409/railfan/EnginehouseMoon-1.jpg[/IMG*]

Bob Boudreau

Bob:

The crucial piece of data everyone who can successfully post images needs to list is what computer OS and browser are you using?  If it works for you then you must be using either IE 6 on a PC or Firefox on a Mac or Firefox Linux. Those are the only combinations that the CommunityServer developers bless.

We know those work, and from reading the CS bug forum, we also know that posting images with  IE7 and Mac Safari does not work, period.

[Anonymous]

This new format ain't doing it for me. Difficult to figure out. Not as user friendly either.

Ditto here, tried it at first, then turned my attentions back to modeling. Just finished a 12 foot long city module, installed sound in 3 locos, painted and detailed a set of f-units and custom decorated a 65 ft gon for Maryland Midland.

Maybe this has been a good thing?

[james saunders]

I use Photobucket and I use Firefox on a PC and i'm all good

[Railphotog]

Guilty as charged, I use a PC and I.E. 6.

Bob Boudreau

[grayfox1119]

There is NO DOUBT at all that IE 7.0 will not work with this new forum software. Two changes in software programs made at the relative same time, = potentially bad problems for users....born true once again!!
MS in their attempt to make IE much, much stronger for security issues, as swung the pendulum far to the right on this upgrade to 7.0. Now, we have a host of problems, not just this forum. I am Beta testing Vista, version 2, and I have run into several issues opening investment sites, etc, that have made no changes to their site software, so we obviously know WHERE the problem lies there.
But, when MS gets 7.0 behaving better, will it still play with this forum's new software? I sure hope so, but, changes might need to be made at BOTH ends to ensure this problem is put to bed. I am hearing that those who have received RC1 already from MS, are still having problems with this forums new software program.

[3155944]

Yes I do miss the old forum. I used to spend a lot of time reading the old forum and I learned a pile of info. being new to the hobby it was a great source of info. I find now that many regulars do not post anymore which is a great loss to the hobby. Like myu Dad always said " why fix what aint broke"

     3155944

[marknewton]

jfugate wrote:

<" Long story short, it appears that no matter what you do with IE 7 or Mac Safari, the image posting on this version of the CommunityServer forum software is hosed....If you're on a Mac, you will need to move to Firefox to have a good experience with this forum software.">

Really? How helpful.

If that's the case, then I won't bother participating in this forum again. And I won't bother purchasing any Kalmbach books, periodicals or other merchandise in future. Great way to foster customer loyalty, boys...

[Pruitt]

Really? How helpful. If that's the case, then I won't bother participating in this forum again. And I won't bother purchasing any Kalmbach books, periodicals or other merchandise in future. Great way to foster customer loyalty, boys...

Boycott a company because they offer a free product which works on most mainstream computers but won't work on yours without you having to load a specific software program to use said free product to its fullest? Great!

It isn't Kalmbach's problem that YOUR system / browser of choice doesn't function properly with their FREE product. And you're going to stomp away in a snit because YOU would have use a different browser that WILL work properly. GADS!

Someone is trying to help solve YOUR problem for YOU, and the best you can do is a snide, churlish reply. Well aren't you just the salt of the earth?

[tstage]

Mark N,

Your using a FREE forum...and all you need to do is download a FREE 4MB browser to rectify the issues...I guess I just don't understand your beef.

Tom

[simon1966]

Yes it is FREE.  The reason why Kalmbach hosts this Free service is to drive people to their web site.  The more "eyes" they can get on the site for more time, the greater the opportunity to get advertising revenue and sales from Kalmbach products.  This is purely a commercial venture and taken from Internet Marketing 101.  So yes it is free to us, but it is not free to Atlas, Trainland and any of the many companies that are paying to get their message in front of our eyes.  Merketing on the web is all about getting eyeballs on the site and then holding them for as long as possible.

There is a substantial drop in traffic on this web forum.  Some folks never re-registered, some have drifted quietly, some have been quite vocal in their complaints.  I don't like the new format all that much, and the drop in posting has made it far less interesting to visit the forum.  For the first time I have actually looked around the web for somewhere else to spend my MRR screen time.

So you folks can say "It's free, live with it!"  all you like, but I assure you that if traffic is down substantially and the advertisers don't see the same response from their adverts placed here, then this forum "upgrade" will be considered a commercial faliure.

I do not see any advantages of the new format.  It strikes me as offering fewer features and has obviously introduced technical barriers that were not present before.

If dropping the polls and stars has had the impact of making visitors lose interest and drift away, then it has had the exact opposite result to that intended.

[Eric Stuart]

Well, blow me down, folks; I'm glad to find I'm not the only one who feels he's lost the plot.  OK, perhaps it's because I'm technologically challenged ------ !  But I understood the old Fora!

Eric Stuart

[selector]

Is it just me, or have load times begun to creep back up to the stratosphere, too?  I have had some unsettling waits lately.  Cuts into my train time!

[simon1966]

Is it just me, or have load times begun to creep back up to the stratosphere, too?  I have had some unsettling waits lately.  Cuts into my train time!

Sometimes it seems to hang forever.  I have found that if a page does not come right up, that re-clicking can get it moving.  It just took 45 seconds to accept this message by the way!

[selector]

That's right, Simon, I have found that it takes forever to accept my posts.  I was led to believe that this would be one of the great promised benefits over the past system.  I am increasingly inclined to side with the hordes of detractors here between my picture posting condundrum and the same-old-same-old on load times.

[pbjwilson]

I dont get it. Copy and Paste photo posting is a big improvement. Everything else seems to be the same. I never really noticed much of a change other than the background color. Anyway, lets talk trains!

[pcarrell]

Man, isn't this thread getting ugly?  Everybody is all worked up, tempers are flairing, everything! 

Guys, anger isn't going to solve anything.

Identifying the problem and then working through it objectively will go a long ways towards fixing some of the "issues" that we are seeing.

I'm sure Kalambach want's to appeal to the largest audience possible and so they won't want to leave anybody out.  It wouldn't be in their best interests to do that.  But the problems they need to address first are those affecting the greatest number of people, so if you're using something that is not exactly mainstream, I would expect that it might take them a bit longer to get to those issues, but they will get there.

Tell ya what, since most of the main problems have been identified (a lot of that happened because of this thread by the sounds of it), what say we all go work on our trains and let them work on it a bit.  Then, after they've had some time to goof with it, we can see what they've done.

As for me, I'm off to the train room!

[twhite]

Okay, guys, let me try and explain my situation in the calmest terms possible.  I was born in 1939, so unlike a lot of later generations, I wasn't born with inbred Computer Genes, LOL!  I am a casual computer user.  I do not use any kind of Internet Explorer that I know about--I use AOL to get on line and then Google up this site, like I Google up all of the sites that I am on.  Before the change in the Forum, I was able to post pictures with no problem (well, I needed a little help, but I got it, and it worked). 

Now, I like posting pictures.  I understand from quite a few of you that you like seeing my pictures, because you think my model railroad is kind of neat.  I like sharing my model railroad with you guys and I like having you guys share your model railroads with me, because in turn, I think YOUR model railroads are neat.  It's a kind of nice co-operation we have, realizing that we share the same hobby and--yes--occasional frustrations with the hobby, and letting each other know that when we've done something well, we're ALL proud of it. 

I have tried every hint that everyone has given me about posting pictures (even Bergie) and they STILL won't show up on the site.  Which makes me wonder about the new MR software (or hardware, or whatever it's called) being 'user-friendly'.  I'm on another site for model railroaders, and I have no problem at all.  Now I don't know diddly about Firewalls or Notepads (isn't that something you use to take notes on?), or IE 6, 7 or 1066, and I really don't think that my 66--soon to be 67--year old brain is ready to go back to Computer Kindergarten and start all over again---even up to replacing a computer just to be on a site that I like. 

Bergie's message to me was that I wasn't being specific about what I don't like about the new forum, and that change was necessary, and that we all have to even learn where the turn signal switch is on the newer model cars. 

Hey, Bergie--I DON'T DRIVE!!  I haven't driven for thirty years, ever since I found out about Public Transportation.  I wouldn't even know where the turn-signals were on a 1978 Mustang, for cryin' out loud.  And I AM being specific--I CAN'T POST ANYTHING BUT RANTS LIKE THIS ON THE NEW FORUM.  Okay? 

Sorry, I meant to start out calm about this.     

But from this old fart, it seems like the current Technology runs by the motto: "It ain't broke, but let's fix it, anyway!" 

Stupid motto.

Tom  

 

[dave9999]

Tom,
You haven't driven since you were 37 years old... wow!

Anyway, other than slow response times (which I experienced on the old forum), I don't see the problems with the new forum that a lot of you are dealing with.


I posted this pic with a simple paste command... sorry, I just don't see the problem. Good luck, Dave

[Bill H.]

Well, Simon 1966 has said it well. 

Bergie was kind enough to send an e-mail explaining how to post pics. I've tried it, and it doesn't work. Apparently the problem is recognition. Hmmmmm. This is a problem to repair?

As stated, my right click button shows no option for pasting anything within this box. I can paste it into the "create link" pop-up box, but no further. Adding tags, whether here or there matters not.

There are others, within this very thread, who are also having problems. There appears to be a certain commonality? Who knows...

[pcarrell]

If you want to paste something and you right click and aren't given that option, you can still do it using the key commands built into windows.  Just hold down the control button on your keyboard and while doing that hit the "V" key and it will paste whatever you've got copied.  To copy like that just hold down the control key and hit "C" and whatever you've got highlighted will be copied.  That's a basic windows function that goes back many generations of the program.  I don't know if IE7 kept that, but it works going back to at least windows 95, and maybe further.

[GUB]

Me too,  I'm glad to see all the polls and trolls are gone. but it just ain't the same.

A lot fewer posts and new topics. Also before you could see the threads that are new and new replys

since your last visit that were a different color.  I dont know if I'm just stupid or what but I can't

figure out alot of the new features.

I also miss my daily Spacemouse fix.

Just hit the refresh button and the post you just read will turn to grey. I did not use the previous version for very long and really don't remember how good or bad it was compared to this version. But this current version is not bad. As with everything else there is a bit of a learning curve. Perhaps as time goes on additional features will be added to help us along. But, it really is not all that bad.

GUB

[dave9999]

If you want to paste something and you right click and aren't given that option, you can still do it using the key commands built into windows.  Just hold down the control button on your keyboard and while doing that hit the "V" key and it will paste whatever you've got copied.  To copy like that just hold down the control key and hit "C" and whatever you've got highlighted will be copied.  That's a basic windows function that goes back many generations of the program.  I don't know if IE7 kept that, but it works going back to at least windows 95, and maybe further.

Correct Phillip. I use Netscape and I don't have the paste command in my right click menu either. And
if these folks don't want to go to the trouble of taking their hand off of the mouse(which I know is a
huge problem. *sarcasm*), you can simply click the "edit" menu at the top of the window and then click "paste". These are very minor issues that are being blown WAY up. Good luck, Dave

[Anonymous]

Ok does anyone else experience this issue I have.?

When I get the reply window and start typing the damn screen goes up and down so it keeps moving and I always think I hit a wrong key.  It does it constantly and every single time.  In fact it is doing it right now as I type.  It is the weirdest thing and this has happened since the new forum.    When and if I make a mistake I have to hit the backspace button to delete it, it may take me hitting it 5 times for three letters because of the way it jumps up and down.  It is aprobably hard for you to understand iunless you are having the same issue?

[pcarrell]

Dave9999,

 

That's another way to do it.  I'm from the dawn of DOS days, so key commands are natural for me.

[pcarrell]

That's a new one Goldmine.  What operating system are you using?

[Bill H.]

Control V ? Hmmmm... Welcome to DOS 1985. (At least it seems to work) Thanks for the clue.

BTW: Taking my hand off the mouse is cetainly "no problem", not as much as reading posts where the differences between asterisks and quotation marks seems unknown, but then, I was never one to claim to know everything, either...

[dave9999]

 
BTW: Taking my hand off the mouse is cetainly "no problem", not as much as reading posts where the differences between asterisks and quotation marks seems unknown, but then, I was never one to claim to know everything, either...

Bill,
Good thing that you don't claim to know everything, neither do I. But, in this new fangled forum ease, the use of asterisks is used to denote a tone or emotion. You see, I was trying to express that what I was saying was to be taken as sarcasm. I was not quoting the word sarcasm... if I were I would have used the quotation marks. Example: This is five minutes of my life that I will never get back. *sarcasm*
Good luck. Dave

[Bill H.]

In this new fangled forum ease, the use of asterisks is used to denote a tone or emotion. You see, I was trying to express that what I was saying was to be taken as sarcasm. I was not quoting the word sarcasm... if I were I would have used the quotation marks. Example: This is five minutes of my life that I will never get back. *sarcasm*
Good luck. Dave

I see, now I'm having explanations which in reality are thinly disguised lessons in grammar, as believed to be status quo by the poster. Interesting... Let's look at this, shall we?

First, the tone of your post:

con·de·scen·sion (knd-snshn) 
n.

1. The act of condescending or an instance of it.
2. Patronizingly superior behavior or attitude.

Now, in the matter of your use of the asterisk:

Not much reinforces your contention.

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing -

asterisk

<character> "*" ASCII code 42. Common names include: star;
INTERCAL: splat; ITU-T: asterisk. Rare: wild card;
gear; dingle; mult; spider; aster; times; twinkle; glob;
Nathan Hale. Commonly used as the multiplication operator
and as the Kleene star.

Lastly,

If one wants to impart sarcasm, in an intelligent manner, one should first be somewhat fluent in the language being used. The use of random punctuation characters, at the writer's whim, does exactly the opposite.

[skiloff]

Goldmine, I experience that on occasion, too.  I believe it happens when your connection isn't all that quick and the page is still loading the images for the editing bars.  It will bounce around until everything is loaded the way it should be.  At least, that is my assumption.

[Anonymous]

Theis forum is a piece of ****!!   I just typed a whole response and hit the ENTER key to go to another paragraph and it went to a member profile page.  I was talking about how the page jumps and is getting on my nerves.  I notice below after I type a word where DONE is on the bottom left it reads Searching for links that begin with 'S' or the last letter at the end of my words.  And all the while the page continues jumping and driving me crazy.    I am so aggravated that I am going to perhaps stay on the Atlas forum where thse problems do not exist like  The page jumping, The pain in the butt way to post pictures like on the old forum and lastly difficulty of seeing what a members last post were like it used to be in the members profile.  Any ideas on the page jumping

[Railphotog]

"Everyone in the world is out of step but me!"

[ukguy]

Well I guess maybe I will say something after biting my tongue for a while...... the 'new' forum works OK for me, no glitches, everything still 'works' the same. ie posting pics from rail images, quoting, read threads changing colour ..... in my view things that have changed are the built in features..... it seems that even though we have got a new colour scheme to spruce up the place we have actually lost more than we have gained with this new 'improved' version of the forum ..... I'm still waiting to find some great new developement hidden under a secret subscriber link somewhere...... ie :

Seeing whos on the forum when I am    
Seeing who is in the same thread as I am
Seeing the entire thread when I write a reply .... this is my biggest gripe
A plethera of posters either arent here anymore or are too busy bitching about problems on the new forum to make it an enjoyable visit.
Maybe its just me but the atmosphere (to me) definately seems to have changed

I was gonna quote PC   "I'm going to the train room" but I couldnt scroll to his post and copy it,,, oh well.

As for gramatical correctness.... lets leave that for another bitching thread all of its own, thats just plain downright off topic for this thread

As always, have fun & be safe
Karl

[marknewton]

tstage wrote:

<" Mark N,

Your using a FREE forum...and all you need to do is download a FREE 4MB browser to rectify the issues...I guess I just don't understand your beef.">

And I guess I don't understand your lack of comprehension.

Whether the forum and the browser are free or not is utterly irrelevant. I've mentioned earlier in the thread why I won't/can't change browsers - but to recap, I use a drawing application that WON'T run under OS10, and the suggested browser WON'T run under OS9.1. Since the drawing program is integral to both my job and my modelling, I'm not going to give it up just to have a different browser to view ONE forum.

But since you make such an issue of being free - on principle alone, I object to being effectively denied the freedom to use a product of my choosing by an third party, in this case the forum software developers. I would have thought that as an American, you'd understand that?

All the best,

Mark.

[trainfan1221]

Aah..another "This forum stinks" topic.  I am not a huge fan of the new design either.  But I have gotten used to it, largely because I have no choice.  After awhile you just deal with the changes.  I think the fact that to post you have to act like you are personally replying to the last poster is a bit strange though.

[marknewton]

runton wrote:

<"Boycott a company because they offer a free product which works on most mainstream computers but won't work on yours without you having to load a specific software program to use said free product to its fullest? Great! It isn't Kalmbach's problem that YOUR system / browser of choice doesn't function properly with their FREE product.">

You know, I hadn't expected such a facile response to my comments. I wasn't going to reply, but your supercilious tone got the better of me.

You make a big issue of things like the forum and browsers being free, as if that were relevant. It's not. As a consumer in a free market economy I'm free to take my business elsewhere if I don't like the product or service. And I'm free to express my reasons for doing so.

I'm free to point out that it *IS* Kalmbach's problem if potential customers for their products and their advertisers products are turned away by a software problem that didn't previously exist. As another poster quite wisely noted, this forum, and indeed the whole Trains.com website, is a shop window for Kalmbach, and their advertisers. What sort of shop obscures the window to prevent certain customers from seeing inside?

<"And you're going to stomp away in a snit because YOU would have use a different browser that WILL work properly.">

I'm in a 'snit' as you put it because I'd rather be free to use a browser of my choosing, not one forced upon me by the forum developers. And FWIW, my current browser *DOES* work properly, on every other website I visit, bar this one. It was this forum that was changed, remember?

<"Someone is trying to help solve YOUR problem for YOU, and the best you can do is a snide, churlish reply. Well aren't you just the salt of the earth?">

Are they? I haven't seen anything to suggest that. All I've seen is the rather arrogant instruction to change browsers and/or platform.

(And mate, I wouldn't be accusing me of being "snide and churlish", if this is how you reply to a post that wasn't addressed to you in the first place. :-)

All the best,

Mark.

[IRONROOSTER]

...
I think the fact that to post you have to act like you are personally replying to the last poster is a bit strange though.

I agree that is strange. 

Enjoy
Paul

[marknewton]

Railphotog wrote:

< "Everyone in the world is out of step but me!">

Have you not been paying attention? There are known compatibility problems with the forum software and certain browsers/platforms. Who do you reckon is out of step?

[Bergie]

Sorry guys, but this has degraded far enough so I'm locking it.

If you have specific problems, please, please, please e-mail me directly. If you post a question directed at me in the forum there's a chance it will be missed.

Bergie