Internet "forums" are a thing of the past

[Keith S]

Well, I had no idea that you owned this or that it costs money. Count me in when the time comes to make a contribution.

[invicta280]

Me too! Happy to chip in to keep the show on the road.

[ge_rik]

Me too. Happy to chip in whatever ....

R

[Old Man Aaron]

Aye, me too.

[tom_tom_go]

Welcome back Aaron.

[Old Man Aaron]

Cheers, Tom. Been lurking here for too many years - time to get involved in this great forum.

[Tropic Blunder]

All this talk is quite interesting to me because I think theres a lot of different variables at play, more then just "young people dont play trains anymore" its often hard to find space or money to chase this hobby.

I know certainly a lot of my friends interested in the hobby simply just go straight for HO because theres never been as many ready to run models offered as affordably before and of a prototype that lots of them grew up with. People my age (I'm 22 for reference) never grew up with memories of run down narrow gauge lines or being involved with the early days preservation movement. They've grown up with DMU's, Container trains and preserved railways operating and that just generally doesnt fit in with what many people can achieve in the garden.

That said it doesnt mean there isnt scratch building going on. A friend of mine is now offering resin kits based off his 3d printed masters and is currently scratchbuilding early days models of Hon3.5 South Australian Railways stock. these people are out there you just have to look to find them.

Forums are definitely a different kettle of fish to facebook and I actually prefer them. It seems that most of the people who like to stir trouble or armchair model dont actually know about them and from there they become an easily accessible catalogue of modellers showing their work. First thing I did after joining this forum was spend 8 hours reading through pendo pilots excellent thread on the CVLR and then the next day all of Graeme (GTB) and Grant's (LNR ) work as a masterclass in modelling Australian locos and carriages.

Access to those resources make the forum worth it alone not to mention the excellent connections we all make worldwide. When the hats ready to be passed around I'll gladly tip in

[Lonsdaler]

I don't know if Tom can view data for viewing/ interacting with the forum, but I suspect it's seeing a bit more traffic in these strange times?

[tom_tom_go]

There has been an increase in views, however, it is not enough to get excited about.

What has increased significantly is attempts by bots and spammers trying to join!

[philipy]

Thanks for keeping them out then, Tom

[Andrew]

What has increased significantly is attempts by bots and spammers trying to join!

They'll never build a bot that can accurately replicate our nerdiness! Well,mine anyway, I guess I should only speak for myself!

I'm often amused by the attempts to sell me stuff via online ads that are presumably informed by cookies etc looking at my browsing history. Because I visit this site, and those of preserved lines and garden railway retailers etc, my computer seems to think I'm probably interested in very expensive holidays by rail and dubious-looking mature women. Both at once, perhaps?

[Jimmyb]

Because I visit this site, and those of preserved lines and garden railway retailers etc, my computer seems to think I'm probably interested in very expensive holidays by rail and dubious-looking mature women. Both at once, perhaps?

Aren’t we all

[JMORG]

What has increased significantly is attempts by bots and spammers trying to join!

They'll never build a bot that can accurately replicate our nerdiness! Well,mine anyway, I guess I should only speak for myself!

You'll be surprised at how sophisticated they can get! A lot of forums I use have tests you need to do in order to post, even if you have an account. They tend to be the sort where you have to choose pictures with a certain object in them.

[tom_tom_go]

There are real people who are 'employed' to sign up and promote business so even with registration questions you need to perform additional checks which is why this forum does not have bots or spammers

[FWLR]

I just think this is by far the NUMBER 1 Forum on the internet.

Even though at the moment I have not done anything in the way of builds for sometime, it's still great seeing other members projects coming along and the ideas are still here in my head, but the energy isn't...