Diminishing Post Counts

[schlimm]

Semper Vaporo

schlimm

Why does the forum keep track of and post the number of posts by each member?  What difference does it make if you have 8000 posts or 8?

 

It does help a wee bit to know if someone is a newbie or an old-timer.  Low post counts do not necessarily mean the person is not knowledgeable about RR's, but it can reduce the "what kind of idiot are you... oh, I see you are a newbie" responses to an inane question.  And I guess that high post counts do not necessarily mean the person is even intelligent, but at least it shows they have been around a while.

 

A few years ago it helped to detect a fool that created a user account with a name very similar to another member and began to post comments that put the other member in a bad light.  I detected the phony name because I noticed the lack of stars/medals under the name... well, actually I was fairly certain that the "real" person would not make the oddball statements that were appearing... which were quite confusing and that is what caused me to go back and look at the user name at the top of the postings and noted the lack of medals and then could see that the user name was "not quite right".

I see your point.  As far as "oddball statements" go, they are pretty easy to spot and probably best to ignore. Any attempt to use a screen name almost like that of an established member should be rejected by the moderators, etc.

[Semper Vaporo]

schlimm

Why does the forum keep track of and post the number of posts by each member?  What difference does it make if you have 8000 posts or 8?

 

It does help a wee bit to know if someone is a newbie or an old-timer.  Low post counts do not necessarily mean the person is not knowledgeable about RR's, but it can reduce the "what kind of idiot are you... oh, I see you are a newbie" responses to an inane question.  And I guess that high post counts do not necessarily mean the person is even intelligent, but at least it shows they have been around a while.

 

A few years ago it helped to detect a fool that created a user account with a name very similar to another member and began to post comments that put the other member in a bad light.  I detected the phony name because I noticed the lack of stars/medals under the name... well, actually I was fairly certain that the "real" person would not make the oddball statements that were appearing... which were quite confusing and that is what caused me to go back and look at the user name at the top of the postings and noted the lack of medals and then could see that the user name was "not quite right".

[schlimm]

Why does the forum keep track of and post the number of posts by each member?  What difference does it make if you have 8000 posts or 8?

[NorthWest]

The problem appears to be fixed! Thanks guys!

[BaltACD]

My Stars - lost last week - have returned.

[richhotrain]

LOL

I lost 32 more posts overnight.

Can you imagine if your bank kept on losing track of your money so that after a year of making additional deposits to your account, you bank account would be substantially lower than a year before?

I know that the counter argument is that our host is doing us a favor by hosting the forums, but at the same time we are ignored and debased on something so basic as post count.

They say it is a software glitch, but as a former programmer I ask, how hard is it to maintain a simple counter and how long does it take to fix it?  A year?   Look, if I have a post count of 100 and I post another reply to a thread, guess what, my post count is now 101, not 96. 

If the forum were a bank, it would no longer have any customers and it would be facing a mountain of lawsuits.

My guess is that no one is listening, and nothing is being done about it.   Ask yourself this, how did it go wrong in the first place?   Ridiculous.

Rich

[blownout cylinder]

Norm48327

My profile shows I have made only one post. Rather skimpy for all the years I've been posting here.

I seen one poster have only -2 posts...how does one get -2 posts?

[samfp1943]

BaltACD

What is going on?  I am noticing a number of signifigant contributors to this forum are now displaying the single badge of a Newbie - Are we too intimidating to the Newbie?

Checking my profile indicates I am at well over 4600 posts - and now I am shown in double digits?

 

I have noticed this has occured to several other long term forum regulars!

First they came for our stars.. They were gone..

.Counts were of no consequence, they said.

Then they gave us little medal looking thingys.

With no explanations. 

Then those started disappearing, and numbers were meaningless, and intimidating?   

And along the way there have been enhancements to the FORUMS!  

Everywhere, these days it seems like someone is wanting to tell others when to row or to bail.

                                                                                           

MY JOB

It's not my job to run the train, the whistle I can't blow.

It's not for me to say how far the train's allowed to go.

I'm not allowed to blow off steam, nor even clang the bell.

But let the damn thing jump the tracks....and see who catches hell!

• 
  
  

[Norm48327]

tree68

Norm48327

My profile shows I have made only one post. Rather skimpy for all the years I've been posting here.

Now Norm, you're not living up to your avatar... 

You're right, but I notice you don't have any stars either and you've mad many more posts than I.

[tree68]

Norm48327

My profile shows I have made only one post. Rather skimpy for all the years I've been posting here.

Now Norm, you're not living up to your avatar... 

[Norm48327]

My profile shows I have made only one post. Rather skimpy for all the years I've been posting here.

[BaltACD]

I have lost most of mine - and I can see more posts in my profile page than the software is giving me as a total post count.

[Norm48327]

Post counts for some are way off. Some posters who had five stars now have none. It's a recent occurrence, and may be a glitch in the software. Time for the IT folks to get their act together.

[richhotrain]

jeffrey-wimberly

Looks like somebody tripped over their shoe laces and did something right! My post count is just what it's supposed to be. Wonder how long that'll last?

About 9 months, Jeff.   

Rich

[tree68]

Woo Hoo!  I got my post count back!

I really need to get a life.... 

[BaltACD]

blownout cylinder

Yay.....or rather....mmmmmmm

 

Seems like there may be a time element in incrementing the post count.  Back a couple of hours later and posts have incremented.

[blownout cylinder]

Yay.....or rather....mmmmmmm

[BaltACD]

And the counts are incrementing!  Fabulous!

 

No sooner to I say that and my count did not increment from before to after this post! 

[Stourbridge Lion]

Stourbridge Lion

Talk about missing Post Counts, I am all the way back to Newbie with 0 Stars... 

From Newbie to 5-Star Admiral - Yippee!!!!!!!

[Murphy Siding]

    Rats!   There goes my plan for world domination through superior post counts.  I had it right in the grasp of my fingertips, and I would've made it,  if it hadn't been for you meddling kids.  (Insert Scooby-Do icon here.)

[BaltACD]

Many thanks to the programmers that found the error of their code!

[zugmann]

Whaddya know?

I am ultimate again.  Bow down before me, lesser star mortals! 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Looks like somebody tripped over their shoe laces and did something right! My post count is just what it's supposed to be. Wonder how long that'll last?

[Modelcar]

........Perhaps it's time for another update and improvement.....

Wow....!  Looks like it might have just happened...Thanks to whomever.

[BaltACD]

Semper Vaporo

zugmann

Murphy Siding

     In the same way,  I'll never understand the need to change forum software.  If it works fine, and there's no monetary incentive to do so, why would any company spend the money on a forum software upgrade?

Isn't it usually done for bugs and security issues?

 

There are also issues with the ever changing "standard" for how a browser is supposed to work.  Improvements made for some new feature sometimes breaks the old way of doing things and the old forum software just will not work any more.  So it is a matter of update or die.

 

Some forum software was written to run on a small PC and it was not expected that there would be thousands of users and so the small PC just won't hold it all.  So new forum software has to be installed in a bigger computer or network of computers.  What works so well in a small scale operation may not work when the number of items being tracked becomes large, larger, or "You want to store HOW MANY?!?!?!"  (I have seen that happen hundreds of times.)

 

This is not a particularly large forum.

[Semper Vaporo]

zugmann

Murphy Siding

     In the same way,  I'll never understand the need to change forum software.  If it works fine, and there's no monetary incentive to do so, why would any company spend the money on a forum software upgrade?

Isn't it usually done for bugs and security issues?

 

There are also issues with the ever changing "standard" for how a browser is supposed to work.  Improvements made for some new feature sometimes breaks the old way of doing things and the old forum software just will not work any more.  So it is a matter of update or die.

 

Some forum software was written to run on a small PC and it was not expected that there would be thousands of users and so the small PC just won't hold it all.  So new forum software has to be installed in a bigger computer or network of computers.  What works so well in a small scale operation may not work when the number of items being tracked becomes large, larger, or "You want to store HOW MANY?!?!?!"  (I have seen that happen hundreds of times.)

[blownout cylinder]

zugmann

Murphy Siding

     In the same way,  I'll never understand the need to change forum software.  If it works fine, and there's no monetary incentive to do so, why would any company spend the money on a forum software upgrade?

Isn't it usually done for bugs and security issues?

It depends on what the issues are I guess..sometimes it can be done by just patching or using 'hot fixes' but sometimes it gets to the point that it needs a complete overhaul. Around here it seems to need it around every 2 years or so....

[zugmann]

Murphy Siding

     In the same way,  I'll never understand the need to change forum software.  If it works fine, and there's no monetary incentive to do so, why would any company spend the money on a forum software upgrade?

Isn't it usually done for bugs and security issues?

[BaltACD]

Murphy Siding

     In the same way,  I'll never understand the need to change forum software.  If it works fine, and there's no monetary incentive to do so, why would any company spend the money on a forum software upgrade?

They THINK there is a monetary advantage without thinking about the COSTS.  I am certain there are discussions that take place that we have no knowledge of - unfortunately, it appears that the participants in these discussions also have no knowledge of the realities of what is being discussed.

[Murphy Siding]

     In the same way,  I'll never understand the need to change forum software.  If it works fine, and there's no monetary incentive to do so, why would any company spend the money on a forum software upgrade?

[BaltACD]

Murphy Siding

BaltACD

What really gets me - all the correct data is in our profiles?  Is it that difficult to make a database call to that data, display it, increment it after a post and store the incremented value back in the database.  I thought that got taught in Programming 101.

    I don't think it's the technical aspects that are the problem.   I believe it's the priority of the issue that's causing the problem.

     To paraphrase Humphrey Bogart; 

"It doesn't take much to see that the problems of a group of posters on a free website message board doesn't add up to a hill of beans in this crazy world of for-profit magzine publishing." ........ or something like that 

 

And along the lines of 'for-profit'; why do otherwise smart organizations believe, when they do offer forums, that they have to invent their own software to do it - when there are already a number of correctly operating stock products on the market.

I participate in a number of forums on a variety of subjects - each of the organizations that tried to reinvent 'the wheel' has failed for a variety of reasons, some where square, some had flat spots, some had failing bearings, some had tires that came of the wheel - Organizations that are much larger than Kalmbach, whom I suspect invested even greater amounts of money into their attempts - FAILED, when there are stock products that would have done the job.

I understand human nature of reinventing a product line to improve it - but smart inventors and businessmen understand when their 'new & improved' is not measuring up to the old standard and take actions either to bring it up to the expected level or revert to the old product while they reinvent the new one.  Think 'New Coke' and the old standby which then came to be known as 'Coke Classic'.

 

[Semper Vaporo]

BaltACD

What really gets me - all the correct data is in our profiles?  Is it that difficult to make a database call to that data, display it, increment it after a post and store the incremented value back in the database.  I thought that got taught in Programming 101.

 

You'd think so, wouldn't you.  But I find that with this distributed processing called a "network", duplicates of things get stored in different computers, being duplicated for expedience sake, and the duplicates get out of sync because of reboots and restores done in individual processing centers where the duplicates are, and they are never sync'd again, but just receive count updates to add to the duplicate instead of receiving a specific value to replace the duplicate.

 

I have a few videos on YouTube and I have been tracking the view counts for several years and there have been times when the counts went backwards in some of the reports where I can get the counts.  There several ways to see the count on any video;

It is on the page where you can watch the video,

and on my private profile page there are two ways to view my list of videos,

then there is also the "Analytics" section and I have differing counts in different lists there.

("Analytics" used to be called "Insite" and when it was changed the counts went backward for several of my videos). 

And there is no one particular way of viewing the counts that is always higher for all the videos... One method will show some counts from 1 to 50 below another method, but may have one or two videos at a higher count (by 1 to 50) than that same other method. 

There are times when there will be a message displayed stating that the counts are being delayed for some reason (that never makes any sense!) but that they will catch up and not to worry as no counts have been lost...

But if they are not "lost"... Then just WHERE ARE THEY such that I can't see the true count? 

 

And if you sum the counts in any of the lists, the sum does not match any of the lists that show total counts on my channel!  It cannot even add the counts it displays to get the same sum it displays!

 

I'm was a programmer for nearly 40 years (retired now, but I still dabble in it for "fun") and I worked hard all those years at not letting this sort of thing happen, but I think today's "Computers 101" teaches 'do what is expedient for yourself and let someone else worry about if it is right or will work for the long term'.

 

 

To compound things, today's operating systems have routines that try to keep malware from upsetting the apple cart by watching things and periodically resetting things if it sees something happen that might have been unwanted...

 

I have a program I wrote way back in WIndows 3.0 that has worked in all versions up to Windows 7 (have not been able to try it on Windows 8) It is a simple (HA! been "enhanced" to death!) "Alarm Clock" where the user can set any number of alarms to occur on any repeat basis (by minutes, hours, Days, Weeks, or Months) and can be "snoozed" any number of minutes, display a user entered message for what the alarm is about and play any sound file as the alert sound.  (I use it to remind me a week in advance for birthdays, aniversarys, appointments and other events (trash day, payday, bills due, etc.).  As such, it stores a lot of data for each alarm (about 20 parameters each!) in the Windows Registry AND a duplicate in a seperate file. 

 

I did the duplicate file writing recently because I have noted that sometimes an alarm I had set, seen occur, and deleted, will repeat the next day when I boot the computer up!  I DELETED IT, how'd it come back?  I have set a new alarm and later I remember setting it, but it failed to occur.  Where'd it go? 

 

Something in Winders is resetting the Registry back to what it was before I deleted or created an alarm... It also seems to know about the separate file and resets it, too!  I am now working on a method of writing the data someplace else to see if I can detect when the "reset" occurs so I can try to find what is really doing it and find a way to make it leave my program's data alone!

 

So the different post counts here are just one more, um... STUPID in the world of computers that I bet no one will ever really understand.  The best that I think CAN happen is someone will create a new database entry that will try to find all the other counts and take the highest one to display, but that will require work that is not in the budget so don't hold yer breath about it.

 

 

[Murphy Siding]

BaltACD

What really gets me - all the correct data is in our profiles?  Is it that difficult to make a database call to that data, display it, increment it after a post and store the incremented value back in the database.  I thought that got taught in Programming 101.

    I don't think it's the technical aspects that are the problem.   I believe it's the priority of the issue that's causing the problem.

     To paraphrase Humphrey Bogart; 

"It doesn't take much to see that the problems of a group of posters on a free website message board doesn't add up to a hill of beans in this crazy world of for-profit magzine publishing." ........ or something like that 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

richhotrain

And, in the future, spell my name correctly.  If you address your questions to Abbey, you will only manage to get a response from Broadway Lion.  Him responds to anything and everything.  

No offense to Broadway Lion but that's hilarious!!

[BaltACD]

What really gets me - all the correct data is in our profiles?  Is it that difficult to make a database call to that data, display it, increment it after a post and store the incremented value back in the database.  I thought that got taught in Programming 101.

[richhotrain]

Murphy Siding

     Dear Abbey-

      All my friends are losing their post counts, but mine keep increasing.  I mean, just yesterday,  I had 8213 posts.  Today,  I have 8218, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.  I've even tried giving them away, but to no avail.  How can I get my post count to go down like my friends' post counts.  I feel like an outcast.  What can I do?

-a loyal reader

Dear Loyal Reader,

The fastest way to do this is to change your screen name.  That way, you can start all over at zero.  Another way to do it is to get your posts moderated. That won't decrease the post count but it will slow down the increase.  A third way is to be patient.  Sooner or later, you will lose post count like the rest of us.

And, in the future, spell my name correctly.  If you address your questions to Abbey, you will only manage to get a response from Broadway Lion.  Him responds to anything and everything.  

Abby

[Murphy Siding]

     Dear Abbey-

      All my friends are losing their post counts, but mine keep increasing.  I mean, just yesterday,  I had 8213 posts.  Today,  I have 8218, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.  I've even tried giving them away, but to no avail.  How can I get my post count to go down like my friends' post counts.  I feel like an outcast.  What can I do?

-a loyal reader

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Deggesty

I, too, have red stars, Indicating that I am an end (ultimate) contributor, but I have made less than half as many contributions as other end contributors have. So, what does "ultimate" mean?

For me (when mine was showing all red stars and twenty thousand plus posts) it might mean I better shut my trap and let somebody else talk for a while.

[richhotrain]

It means we talk too much.  

Rich

[Deggesty]

I, too, have red stars, Indicating that I am an end (ultimate) contributor, but I have made less than half as many contributions as other end contributors have. So, what does "ultimate" mean?

[Norm48327]

adrianspeeder

blownout cylinder

I am one, Jeff is as well, same as Dan(CNW6000)

I see.  Other boards I belong to make the mods more visible with a different logo or such. 

Adrianspeeder

The aviation board I participate in has administrator's names in red, moderator's in blue, and general members in black. Don't know if this software is capable of that or not.

[spokyone]

Murphy Siding

     In the spirit of the season, could I suggest that my post count be split up, and distributed to those unfortunates among us, who are suffering from low post counts this time of year.

That idea has come up in Washington.

One, two, three, four, five. Yep I have 5 stars.

[zugmann]

our moderators are ninjas.

[adrianspeeder]

blownout cylinder

I am one, Jeff is as well, same as Dan(CNW6000)

I see.  Other boards I belong to make the mods more visible with a different logo or such. 

Adrianspeeder

[zugmann]

Murphy Siding

     In the spirit of the season, could I suggest that my post count be split up, and distributed to those unfortunates among us, who are suffering from low post counts this time of year.

Ask your doctor about Low-P syndrome. Ask your doctor if you are healthy enough for high post counts.  Seek medical help if your post count stays high for over 4 hours. 

[Murphy Siding]

     In the spirit of the season, could I suggest that my post count be split up, and distributed to those unfortunates among us, who are suffering from low post counts this time of year.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

richhotrain

Thank you, sir, you are a gentleman and a scholar.

Hardly a gentleman but we won't go into that here.

[richhotrain]

jeffrey-wimberly

richhotrain

Jeff, how do you know that?  Are you seeing something that we can't see?

You can see it. You just have to know where to look. Click on your stars. You'll a large bold face number under search results. Scroll down a little and you'll see  'Forums        (###)'. That (###) number is your count.

Well, I'll be darned.  I never knew that.  It pays to ask.

So, a software fix will restore an accurate number.

Thank you, sir, you are a gentleman and a scholar.

Or, at least one of those two.  

Rich

[jeffrey-wimberly]

richhotrain

Jeff, how do you know that?  Are you seeing something that we can't see?

You can see it. You just have to know where to look. Click on your stars. You'll a large bold face number under search results. Scroll down a little and you'll see  'Forums        (###)'. That (###) number is your count.

[vsmith]

So that explains why I went from over 10K posts to a measley 9700, I thought I had been demoted 

[Firelock76]

So THAT'S what those blue stars under my "nom-de-plume" are for!  I thought someone was under the mistaken impression I had four kids in the Service.

[BaltACD]

Those with near normal counts and stars just haven't been visited by the fickle byte of fate yet!

[richhotrain]

jeffrey-wimberly

Murphy Siding

     I'm still holding at 8206 posts, and 5 red stars.  Naturally,  I presume it's just the forum Gods  messing with those of you unfortunate enough to not be of Norweigan ancestry. 

You should be showing 8,258.

Jeff, how do you know that?  Are you seeing something that we can't see?

Rich

[jeffrey-wimberly]

SALfan

Sorry to burst your bubble, guys, but my post count is still what it should be (I think), and AFAIK there are no Norwegians in my family tree.

You look to be short by only four. No Norwegians in my family tree either but there's a big bunch of Cherokee's.

[Anonymous]

blownout cylinder

adrianspeeder

Who are all the mods nowadays anyway?

My post count must have been sunk 300 nautical miles southeast of the coast of New Foundland.

Adrianspeeder

I am one, Jeff is as well, same as Dan(CNW6000)

Not to forget this poor soul - I am still around!

[SALfan]

erikem

Murphy Siding

     I'm still holding at 8206 posts, and 5 red stars.  Naturally,  I presume it's just the forum Gods  messing with those of you unfortunate enough to not be of Norweigan ancestry. 

You may be on to something there - my post count is pretty close to what I would expect and my grandmother was from Norway.

- Erik

Sorry to burst your bubble, guys, but my post count is still what it should be (I think), and AFAIK there are no Norwegians in my family tree.  My family has been in southeast Georgia since +/-1850, but before that it's anybody's guess.  My personal guess is we originally came from the Land of Stubborn, because we could teach mules some stuff about being stubborn.

[erikem]

Murphy Siding

     I'm still holding at 8206 posts, and 5 red stars.  Naturally,  I presume it's just the forum Gods  messing with those of you unfortunate enough to not be of Norweigan ancestry. 

You may be on to something there - my post count is pretty close to what I would expect and my grandmother was from Norway.

- Erik

[blownout cylinder]

zugmann

I think we need a sticky for the current moderators.  Or give them super-special moderator stars or something.

mmmmm....these stars look sherrify enough as is....

[zugmann]

I think we need a sticky for the current moderators.  Or give them super-special moderator stars or something.

[blownout cylinder]

As for my post count...I'm going either up or down...depending on the mood of this software....not sure anymore....

[blownout cylinder]

adrianspeeder

Who are all the mods nowadays anyway?

Adrianspeeder

I am one, Jeff is as well, same as Dan(CNW6000)

[Deggesty]

Murphy Siding

     I'm still holding at 8206 posts, and 5 red stars.  Naturally,  I presume it's just the forum Gods  messing with those of you unfortunate enough to not be of Norweigan ancestry. 

Well, I have no Norwegian ancestry--wait, I am of Anglo-Saxon, Scots, and Cymric ancestry, and there may have been some Norse intermingling after AD 1066. I will not attest to the accuracy of the count, but the hovercraft shows 3083 attributed to me.

Does the pernickity whatever it is have something against other people?

 

[Murphy Siding]

jeffrey-wimberly

Murphy Siding

     I'm still holding at 8206 posts, and 5 red stars.  Naturally,  I presume it's just the forum Gods  messing with those of you unfortunate enough to not be of Norweigan ancestry. 

You should be showing 8,258.

  

Ugh!  I've been kicked by the Forum Gods!  I have diminishing post count germs!  Get some hot water!  Get some disinfectant!  Get some iodine!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Murphy Siding

     I'm still holding at 8206 posts, and 5 red stars.  Naturally,  I presume it's just the forum Gods  messing with those of you unfortunate enough to not be of Norweigan ancestry. 

You should be showing 8,258.

[Murphy Siding]

     I'm still holding at 8206 posts, and 5 red stars.  Naturally,  I presume it's just the forum Gods  messing with those of you unfortunate enough to not be of Norweigan ancestry. 

[adrianspeeder]

Who are all the mods nowadays anyway?

Adrianspeeder

[Modelcar]

.....Something sure is screwy.....Almost 11 yrs. here, and I believe I'm listed with 28 posts....Duh.....

[richhotrain]

jeffrey-wimberly

That labels you as someone that was robbed of their post count. I know you have over 3,000. I have only three stars denoting only 295 posts. I know darn well I have over 20,790. I want my post count back!

Jeff,

You got screwed worse than anybody by this injustice.  

Threaten to give up your moderator job unless they restore you post count immediately.  

Rich

[jeffrey-wimberly]

That labels you as someone that was robbed of their post count. I know you have over 3,000. I have only three stars denoting only 295 posts. I know darn well I have over 20,790. I want my post count back!

[zugmann]

I have one star - which labels me as a "small contributor".

That the same as a "small minded contributor?"

[BaltACD]

zugmann

Sure.  $20 per star.

 

Welcome to the small, small world Zug!

[blownout cylinder]

BaltACD

blownout cylinder

Murray

Why...I think we should all start waving....

 

With a goat?

In the fog?

 

With a home location challenged individual?

Eating cookies as they go....

[zugmann]

Sure.  $20 per star.

[Stourbridge Lion]

No issues Dan, just having a bit of fun is all.  I'm sure the IT folks that take care of the site will get this latest issue fixed...

[CNW 6000]

The folks behind the curtain are working on things and will update us when they have answers.  Let's be patient - ok? 

[BaltACD]

Stourbridge Lion

Talk about missing Post Counts, I am all the way back to Newbie with 0 Stars... 

 

Welcome to what appears to be a ever increasing crowd.

[Stourbridge Lion]

Talk about missing Post Counts, I am all the way back to Newbie with 0 Stars... 

[CNW 6000]

oldHooker

Murray

From the forum rules:....

 

When I first joined, there was a message to BE SURE TO READ AND ABIDE BY THE FORUM RULES, yet, I have looked up & down since joining and cannot find a link to the "Forum Rules".

(I thought I should ask because I came a one in making a post about "graffiti" the other day)

Thanks in advance,

Frank

Here you go Frank.  I'm copying and pasting here as I haven't figured out how to make something "sticky" yet.

If you are new to our forums, welcome! Below is an outline of our general forum rules.
If you ever see any of these being violated, please use the “Report Abuse” link that’s found in the lower left corner of every single post in our forum. An automated message will be sent to our moderators and the infraction will be dealt with.
Thanks for participating in our forums. Your contributions make our forum a great resource for train enthusiasts from around the world. Your assistance policing our forums helps keep the environment positive and enjoyable for people of all ages.
Now, to the rules:
- Please keep discussions on topic (that is, railroad-related).
- Your forum signature should not be used as a place to express your personal beliefs (religion, politics, marital status, sexual preference, etc.). Remember, this is a forum tied to our common bond of railroading; don’t let your personal viewpoints on unrelated topics interfere with the common reason we’re all here.
- No advertising. Our forums should not be used as an advertising medium for companies who want to promote their business or products, or by individuals who want to promote their items for sale or their eBay auctions. Our users are the drivers behind this policy. They don’t want the useful information in our forums watered down with posts that are nothing more than advertisements. If you’d like to advertise on our site, scroll to the bottom of this page and click the “Advertise” link. Show promoters; check out our Coming Events section. You can post your events free; click “Add My Event” in the left column.
- No swearing or foul language. And we don’t care if you use symbols to mask the words. The meaning is still conveyed and we don’t want it in our forum. Please keep in mind that we have readers of all ages. This isn’t a tavern.
- No personal attacks or name-calling. Please keep conversations cordial. We understand that there will be differences of opinion. Please don’t let those differences turn ugly. Accept that others might not have your same point of view, don’t sink to personal attacks. Nothing is gained by doing so.
- No political discussions or signature messages. We know, railroads are sometimes affected by politics. However, we’ve found that political discussions almost always turn into arguments. We have a common thread of being interested in railroads. Don’t let that common bond be destroyed by political differences.
- No religious discussions or signature messages. For many of the same reasons as the political discussions and signatures. We all have our own views, and this isn’t the place to share them. Remember, this is a railroading forum.
- No inappropriate images or videos. If you choose to post photos or links to videos, please keep them railroad-related and use your best judgment. Someone getting hit by a train or using poor judgment around a train (e.g. playing “chicken” with a train) isn’t welcome.
- Don’t use our forum as a means of promoting your forum (or online group, sweepstakes, prize drawings, contests, etc.). Within your forum profile, you’re allowed to share your own Web site and Blog URL. Leave it at that. (To update your forum profile, login to the forums, then click your username where it says “Welcome back so-and-so” near the top of the forum.)
- Please respect copyright material. If you want to share copyright material with our users, please link to it. Don’t take a story from another Web site and post it in our forum. Don’t take a photo that you don’t own the rights to and use it in our forum.

- No discussions about graffiti. We understand that it’s a part of modern railroading and in turn something that the modelers on this forum may want to replicate. However, we’ve found that every time the topic comes up, an argument ensues because of the strong viewpoints against it. Plus, it’s vandalism and not something we want to glorify.
- No discussions about hobos or the hobo lifestyle. It’s trespassing and sets a poor example for the youth that visit this forum. Plus, like graffiti discussions, it usually leads to arguments.
Thanks again for joining and participating in our railroading and model train reader forum. Have fun!

[oldHooker]

Murray

From the forum rules:....

 

When I first joined, there was a message to BE SURE TO READ AND ABIDE BY THE FORUM RULES, yet, I have looked up & down since joining and cannot find a link to the "Forum Rules".

(I thought I should ask because I came a one in making a post about "graffiti" the other day)

Thanks in advance,

Frank

[erikem]

blownout cylinder

Murray

Why...I think we should all start waving....

 

With a goat?

In the fog?

Crossing a moat

Riding a frog

[BaltACD]

blownout cylinder

Murray

Why...I think we should all start waving....

 

With a goat?

In the fog?

 

With a home location challenged individual?

[blownout cylinder]

Murray

Why...I think we should all start waving....

 

With a goat?

In the fog?

[zugmann]

switch7frg

  Haymenn  Zugg, next  a few amendements will be sanctioned and deleted. HOO HAW.   Hopefully the white flags on the trains  won't  mean surrender.  ~~ Y6bs forever.

                                                          Cannonball

 

I think my signature is the perfect reply to this post.

[adrianspeeder]

Post counts contribute to the status of the good ole boys club, and I like me a good ole boys club.  Remember back about 8 years ago with the drama of the multi colored stars for post counts?  Wish I had saved a page that had 'em.  All I have was this waaay back style of this forum.

Adrianspeeder

[switch7frg]

  Haymenn  Zugg, next  a few amendements will be sanctioned and deleted. HOO HAW.   Hopefully the white flags on the trains  won't  mean surrender.  ~~ Y6bs forever.

                                                          Cannonball

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BaltACD]

jeffrey-wimberly

Murray

Wow...  I was edited for content......

From the forum rules: No discussion about hobos or the hobo lifestyle. No discussion about graffiti.

I  guess the forum rules and their application are also beyond discussion - see the Emperor had no clothes.

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

My wife says the rest of that aphorism is:

"But satisfaction brought it back !"

- Paul North.

[zugmann]

Murray

Well at least we can still wave....

 

 

Give em time.

[Anonymous]

jeffrey-wimberly

Murray

Wow...  I was edited for content......

From the forum rules: No discussion about hobos or the hobo lifestyle. No discussion about graffiti.

Well at least we can still wave....

 

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Murray

Wow...  I was edited for content......

From the forum rules: No discussion about hobos or the hobo lifestyle. No discussion about graffiti.

[Anonymous]

Murray

Why...I think we should all start waving....

 

 

Wow...  I was edited for content......

[zugmann]

John WR

And a sin.

Repent, and the glory of Gevo shall be driven upon ye.  Can I get an amen?

[Mookie]

Well, this was interesting and now it will be gone. 

[Anonymous]

Why...I think we should all start waving....

 

[John WR]

And a shame.  

[John WR]

And a sin.

[BaltACD]

Murphy Siding

Murray

 

If you want to see when a person joined click on the poster's name and see their joined date.

     I don't think that info shows anymore.

 

The joined date is no longer displayed in one's profile.

[John WR]

And an outrage.

[John WR]

You are right, Zugman.  It is discrimination.  

[Murphy Siding]

Murray

 

If you want to see when a person joined click on the poster's name and see their joined date.

     I don't think that info shows anymore.

[Anonymous]

I don't really care about counts.

If you want to see when a person joined click on the poster's name and see their joined date.

[zugmann]

It's discrimination.  I'm calling the EEO hotline.

[Murphy Siding]

zugmann

tree68

They're like seniority.

You don't often see someone flaunt their post count - but whether it's a number, or a bunch of stars, or whatever, it's still "whiskers" on the fora.  And most people are proud of what they've accomplished.

And while it's not always the case, that seniority tells others that perhaps the poster has an inkling of what they're talking about.

Seniority is everything.  First we lost out join date, then we lose our post counts.  If we lost our avatars I may just walk.

....  Says a guy with only 36 posts ! 

[zardoz]

baberuth73

Why are post counts so important? I post very little and have been a member since 2007 and could care less how many or how few posts I have contributed.

If you could care less, then why don't you?

[zugmann]

tree68

They're like seniority.

You don't often see someone flaunt their post count - but whether it's a number, or a bunch of stars, or whatever, it's still "whiskers" on the fora.  And most people are proud of what they've accomplished.

And while it's not always the case, that seniority tells others that perhaps the poster has an inkling of what they're talking about.

Seniority is everything.  First we lost out join date, then we lose our post counts.  If we lost our avatars I may just walk.

[samfp1943]

Semper Vaporo

Rader Sidetrack

The alleged "upgrade" to the forum software that was performed about 2 months ago, was several steps backwards, in my opinion.

In addition to the posting counts being screwed up, getting to the end  (newest posts) of multi-page threads is now more complicated than it was in the earlier version.  

    

 

Yeah, the upgrade seems to have altered most user's modus operandi when reading the forum and it seems to be a step backwards in the normal advancement of useability of forum software.

 

As for getting to the last post... on the table of contents page, (the main page of each forum showing the list of threads) to the right of each title is some red text that reads "Latest post" followed by "by" and the user name of the person that made the last posting to the thread.  That red text ("Latest post") is a link that, if clicked, will take you directly to the last posting in the thread.   This is nice if you have read each posting as it appears, but is painful if you open a thread after there have been several postings to it... you have to scroll backward (up) to get to the 1st one that you have not seen and if that happens to be on a previous page, you have to click the previous page link and then scroll forward (down) to get to it (or maybe back up one more (or more than one) page if there have been more than 15 posts (or multiple of 15) since you last read the thread).

 

I frequent another forum where can set the number of posts that are shown per a download of a bunch (and I set it to 100 so I very seldom have to load another page!) AND it also keeps track of where I last read a thread so when I click on an icon for the 'latest post' the thread is opened and positioned to that posting.  (The only problem being that it does not keep track of the post count, but keeps track of the number of pixels into the thread; unfortunately, it does that before loading any images so it is often WAY off in threads with lots of photos linked from outside sources.)

 

I have also noticed that sometimes it fails to mark a thread as having been read, whether I actually read it or if I clicked on the "Mark all read" link on the right hand side of the page (under "Forum options").  Sometimes the list will refresh, but the same threads are still in red font indicating I have not read them, and sometimes after the refresh all the threads will initially appear in black font showing it "took the tag" as my having read them, but some time later the same ones will re-appear in red font as though someone has posted something new to them, but when I open the threads to read the "new" postings, there is nothing "new" there.

 

Irritating!  

 

You Betcha! 

 Irritating is an understatement !

 

This latest of Forum enhancements is maddening and as previously stated, Irritating. Not to mention im my caser it comes on the heels of my Machine dying ( Windows 7/Vista, equipped.) My only apparent replacement was a new machine, ( and it was only available with Windows 8). It was like buying a new locomotive, and having it only available with a wind-up motor designed by a monkey. 

 You would think that the IT nerds would at least field a version as a Beta Test, to kind of debug it; to find out if it can solve any problems being experienced by the then current system?  Their current methodology seems to be similar to the 'baby swimming test'.  [ Basically, throw the baby into the ocean; while hoping it does not drown, before it learns to swim.] Or the railroad equivalent of tying the heroine up and placing her on the railroad infront of an oncoming train to see if she can untie herself before getting run over.  Ya gotta love the  'Puter nerds.... all the answers without the questions.

 

OK! I'm done venting.

[Mookie]

Johnny - I am naturally very curious - but with a cat avatar - you know where curiosity leads....

 

[Deggesty]

Mookie

I'm just plain nosy!

 

Now, I know all about you!

[Modelcar]

I agree with Larry's assessment of being on here for some {longer} period of time.  Perhaps those of us that have been on here back to {near} the post beginning....it simply shows we certainly have interest in the subjects....and enjoy the good people on here to go back and forth with....even though we may not post that often. We're continuing to be here and do comment when  subjects of interest {to us}, does come up.

[richhotrain]

While it is easy to get caught up in one's own post count, I find it more helpful when I see others post count.

Although a low post count doesn't always indicate a newbie, it does give you a sense of how frequently or infrequently the poster is participating in the forums as opposed to lurking.

The initial date of forum membership would be helpful too if they would restore that to this new version of the software.

Rich

[Mookie]

I'm just plain nosy!

 

[Anonymous]

baberuth73

Why are post counts so important? I post very little and have been a member since 2007 and could care less how many or how few posts I have contributed.

Yes, what matters is quality, not quantity. 

[tree68]

baberuth73

Why are post counts so important? I post very little and have been a member since 2007 and could care less how many or how few posts I have contributed.

They're like seniority.

You don't often see someone flaunt their post count - but whether it's a number, or a bunch of stars, or whatever, it's still "whiskers" on the fora.  And most people are proud of what they've accomplished.

And while it's not always the case, that seniority tells others that perhaps the poster has an inkling of what they're talking about.

[blownout cylinder]

baberuth73

Why are post counts so important? I post very little and have been a member since 2007 and could care less how many or how few posts I have contributed.

Well, not to put too fine a point on it...there are other issues that have showed up as well on this forum. It does not play well with some browsers, it does seem to have issues with memory..which I suspect may be at root with post counts here, certain functionalities are MIA....the list is kinda longish...

[baberuth73]

Why are post counts so important? I post very little and have been a member since 2007 and could care less how many or how few posts I have contributed.

[BaltACD]

ericsp

I don't know why they did not post it over here.

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/211862.aspx

 

I guess MR complained first!

[BaltACD]

Murphy Siding

     5 Stars!  Read 'em & weep!

 

But how long will you keep them?

[Deirius]

Another side effect for those who are on mobile devices. For me to see the end of any thread I am forced to hit see more a ton of times or view full site which shrinks the viewable area on my ifone to about a one inch wide strip.

[Kevin C. Smith]

Rader Sidetrack

The alleged "upgrade" to the forum software that was performed about 2 months ago, was several steps backwards, in my opinion.

Sadly, for many reasons, this is true. Navigating the forum is not a asimple and easy as it used to be.

[ericsp]

I don't know why they did not post it over here.

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/211862.aspx

[Semper Vaporo]

Rader Sidetrack

The alleged "upgrade" to the forum software that was performed about 2 months ago, was several steps backwards, in my opinion.

In addition to the posting counts being screwed up, getting to the end  (newest posts) of multi-page threads is now more complicated than it was in the earlier version.  

    

 

Yeah, the upgrade seems to have altered most user's modus operandi when reading the forum and it seems to be a step backwards in the normal advancement of useability of forum software.

 

As for getting to the last post... on the table of contents page, (the main page of each forum showing the list of threads) to the right of each title is some red text that reads "Latest post" followed by "by" and the user name of the person that made the last posting to the thread.  That red text ("Latest post") is a link that, if clicked, will take you directly to the last posting in the thread.   This is nice if you have read each posting as it appears, but is painful if you open a thread after there have been several postings to it... you have to scroll backward (up) to get to the 1st one that you have not seen and if that happens to be on a previous page, you have to click the previous page link and then scroll forward (down) to get to it (or maybe back up one more (or more than one) page if there have been more than 15 posts (or multiple of 15) since you last read the thread).

 

I frequent another forum where can set the number of posts that are shown per a download of a bunch (and I set it to 100 so I very seldom have to load another page!) AND it also keeps track of where I last read a thread so when I click on an icon for the 'latest post' the thread is opened and positioned to that posting.  (The only problem being that it does not keep track of the post count, but keeps track of the number of pixels into the thread; unfortunately, it does that before loading any images so it is often WAY off in threads with lots of photos linked from outside sources.)

 

I have also noticed that sometimes it fails to mark a thread as having been read, whether I actually read it or if I clicked on the "Mark all read" link on the right hand side of the page (under "Forum options").  Sometimes the list will refresh, but the same threads are still in red font indicating I have not read them, and sometimes after the refresh all the threads will initially appear in black font showing it "took the tag" as my having read them, but some time later the same ones will re-appear in red font as though someone has posted something new to them, but when I open the threads to read the "new" postings, there is nothing "new" there.

 

Irritating!

 

 

[Murphy Siding]

     5 Stars!  Read 'em & weep!

[AgentKid]

I don't know what is going on. At the present moment I am still holding at about 1300 posts, but I can see no rhyme or reason for other folks total post numbers.

Bruce

[tree68]

zardoz

Not trying to sound like a dope, but where are these post indicators? 

Yeah - I'm showing around 44 posts.  I know full well there should be a couple of zeros after that...

[Geared Steam]

BaltACD

Are we too intimidating to the Newbie?

not at all

[Rader Sidetrack]

The alleged "upgrade" to the forum software that was performed about 2 months ago, was several steps backwards, in my opinion.

In addition to the posting counts being screwed up, getting to the end  (newest posts) of multi-page threads is now more complicated than it was in the earlier version.  

    

[BaltACD]

Hover your cursor over the 'star' that shows up next to your Avatar.

Check your personal profile for the 'real' number.

[zardoz]

Not trying to sound like a dope, but where are these post indicators?