Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
Well said Brian. Yes the odd comment like you say is always welcome to members and you are correct, this is a thriving forum with discussions that really do help with members even if they don't comment.
Has for members knowing more than you do...You are reading a post from someone who knows absolutely nothing....
Hope to see your new project soon.
Has for members knowing more than you do...You are reading a post from someone who knows absolutely nothing....
Hope to see your new project soon.
ROD
Life is so easy when I run my trains.
https://gardenrails.org/forum/viewtopic ... 41&t=11364
https://www.youtube.com/@fairywoodlightrailway
Life is so easy when I run my trains.
https://gardenrails.org/forum/viewtopic ... 41&t=11364
https://www.youtube.com/@fairywoodlightrailway
- Busted Bricks
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Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
Forums are my life-line as there is very little interest in this hobby where I live. There is no one around to discuss ideas with face to face. We don't have model engineering societies like you do in UK. This makes it very hard to fulfill my ambition to manufacture locos. Therefore I'm greatful for any and all feedback I get from this forum even though I suspect my posts might be annoying to many members.
- tom_tom_go
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Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
Not at all.Busted Bricks wrote: βThu Jan 16, 2020 11:51 am Therefore I'm greatful for any and all feedback I get from this forum even though I suspect my posts might be annoying to many members.
There are many of you that are very capable and explain your subjects so well that a response from a mere amateur like me is pointless.
Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
Me too!Busted Bricks wrote: βThu Jan 16, 2020 11:51 am I'm greatful for any and all feedback I get from this forum .
Not at all! I don't understand everything that gets posted on here, but I don't find any of it annoying - well, not unless people start getting cross with each other anyway, that's a bit irksome...Busted Bricks wrote: βThu Jan 16, 2020 11:51 am even though I suspect my posts might be annoying to many members
Work and family commitments mean that joining a local group isn't really an option for me at the moment, so this forum's pretty much the only contact I have with fellow garden railway modelers...
With best wishes,
Andrew.
Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
I used to post regularly on here but now I don't bother due to receiving some not very nice personal and public messages from another forum user on this forum who didn't like what I had to say, even though I was polite, not abusive, and trying to offer constructive advice. I now only read what others are up to and don't bother sharing my own efforts. I am still active with our local are group of the Association of Narrow Gauge Modellers and do believe that forums still have a useful role even for me just reading it as I only do now. This is no longer a place for discussion or sharing my views on our hobby as I don't want the hassle of any more criticism from people who are completely unaware of my personal circumstances, which I chose to keep private.
Ian
Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
There is of course a member on here who just keeps a chip on their shoulder, no matter what the other member does to resolve.....
Thats the way of the world unfortunately. But thankfully it's not anything like Facebook, which can get really ugly....
Thats the way of the world unfortunately. But thankfully it's not anything like Facebook, which can get really ugly....
Last edited by FWLR on Sat Mar 07, 2020 10:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
ROD
Life is so easy when I run my trains.
https://gardenrails.org/forum/viewtopic ... 41&t=11364
https://www.youtube.com/@fairywoodlightrailway
Life is so easy when I run my trains.
https://gardenrails.org/forum/viewtopic ... 41&t=11364
https://www.youtube.com/@fairywoodlightrailway
Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
I couldn't agree more (not about the annoying part- you are anything but annoying): I live in Northern Canada, and the weather isn't really friendly to outdoor steam models for much of the year (I'm pretty sure butane is a solid at the current temperature) there aren't, as far as I am aware, any people who are interested in Garden Trains here, especially British ones. I am lucky that there is a model railway club in my small city, but they are interested in modern North American-style trains, and model in 1:87 scale. But at least they are willing to tolerate my posting pictures of my wagons on "face book".Busted Bricks wrote: βThu Jan 16, 2020 11:51 am Forums are my life-line as there is very little interest in this hobby where I live. There is no one around to discuss ideas with face to face. We don't have model engineering societies like you do in UK. This makes it very hard to fulfill my ambition to manufacture locos. Therefore I'm greatful for any and all feedback I get from this forum even though I suspect my posts might be annoying to many members.
One of the nicest experiences I've had in this solitary (to me) hobby was in 2017 when I went to the 16mm association annual exhibition in Peterborough. This was only the second time in my life I'd ever seen a 16mm live steam engine other than my own in steam! The first being a visit to Keith Neat's (whom I met via this forum) railway in East Herts the year before.
At the AGM I recognized from pictures and was able to introduce myself to forum members. I met Douglas, Zach Bond, Tag Gorton, Brian Dominic, Keith Neat, Harri from Roundhouse, and Tony Bird, who kindly allowed me to hang around his railway and run some of his engines. All this was because I knew these people from forum activity and it made my visit to Peterborough rather more rewarding than it might otherwise have been. Alas, none of these fellows seems to ever come here any more. I will almost certainly meet more of you the next time I go to Peterborough, hopefully.
Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
One thing about using this forum Keith is the chance to meet others at shows like Peterborough. I myself have met a lot of people at shows and steam up's. Some good and some, well I will say no more...
I know you don't have a chance to where you live to have a meet, but you never know mate, one day. Try putting a flyer in the local store and have an open day. You may get some other's persons who will start also. Even if it's only one, at least you have made contact.
I know you don't have a chance to where you live to have a meet, but you never know mate, one day. Try putting a flyer in the local store and have an open day. You may get some other's persons who will start also. Even if it's only one, at least you have made contact.
ROD
Life is so easy when I run my trains.
https://gardenrails.org/forum/viewtopic ... 41&t=11364
https://www.youtube.com/@fairywoodlightrailway
Life is so easy when I run my trains.
https://gardenrails.org/forum/viewtopic ... 41&t=11364
https://www.youtube.com/@fairywoodlightrailway
- BorisSpencer
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Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
I will be attending Peterborough again this year (Stewarding Friday, and Saturday after the show), and although I chatted with a number of my fellow Stewards, and some of my favoured suppliers, it might be nice to meet some of the people with whom we converse online.
I don't think I've knowingly met any forum members apart from Steve from whom I bought a chassis.
Sometimes you put two and two together and match a forum user with their corresponding identity on the 16mm facebook group, but I'm sure their is a lot of crossover that isn't obvious.
A while ago people discussed wearing badges based on the forum logo with our User Names when attending shows, it might be an interesting idea to resurrect this and/or to have a loose arrangement to congregate somewhere specific at a given time.
I already have a pin-badge based on my avatar that I shall wear.
I don't think I've knowingly met any forum members apart from Steve from whom I bought a chassis.
Sometimes you put two and two together and match a forum user with their corresponding identity on the 16mm facebook group, but I'm sure their is a lot of crossover that isn't obvious.
A while ago people discussed wearing badges based on the forum logo with our User Names when attending shows, it might be an interesting idea to resurrect this and/or to have a loose arrangement to congregate somewhere specific at a given time.
I already have a pin-badge based on my avatar that I shall wear.
Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
That would be fun, Boris. I was able to guess at quite a few peoples' identities, plus being "Keith from Canada" helps in my case; there's only one of me.
- tom_tom_go
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Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
Since my time using the forum it has done the following for me:
- Connect with people all over the world with similar interests that in some cases I have met in person
- Buy and sell items with no fees to pay
- Obtain items freely through generosity and donate to others as well
- Provided inspiration and support
- Help with answering questions and knowledge sharing
- Offer hands on practical help (allowing me to work on locos I would never own) and have work done by others members freely
- Introduced me to Deltang R/C which has improved my skills with soldering and understanding of electronics greatly (thanks Rik!)
- Spread the use of the SSP Slomo which I feel has made realistic running of live steamers in 16mm and 7/8ths scale a reality
- Improved my knowledge of phpBB software and web hosting (since taking ownership of the forum)
Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
I was never disputing the advantages of forums: just noticing they have all (not just this one) become a lot less lively in the last couple of years.tom_tom_go wrote: βFri Feb 28, 2020 1:01 am Since my time using the forum it has done the following for me:
....These are all positives and I am sure many of you can relate to at least some of these points.
- Improved my knowledge of phpBB software and web hosting (since taking ownership of the forum)
.... you say you own the forum? That's funny, I never considered that forums were owned by people. Now that I think of it, I suppose they must. It never occurred to me before. I suppose I must sound stupid. If this isn't a rude question, how does one come to own a forum? Did you purchase it from whoever owned it before? Does it have a monetary value? None of this has ever occurred to me before.
Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
Only just noticed this thread. I've said my piece on the topic here.
https://gardenrails.org/forum/viewtopic ... 15#p151563
Long life and prosperity to the GRF say I ....
Rik
https://gardenrails.org/forum/viewtopic ... 15#p151563
Long life and prosperity to the GRF say I ....
Rik
Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
Tom's list above is interesting, thanks for posting it. I can certainly relate to many of those items myself, as I'm sure others can too.
Philip
Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
Keith,Keith S wrote: βFri Feb 28, 2020 6:10 am
.... you say you own the forum? That's funny, I never considered that forums were owned by people. Now that I think of it, I suppose they must. It never occurred to me before. I suppose I must sound stupid. If this isn't a rude question, how does one come to own a forum? Did you purchase it from whoever owned it before? Does it have a monetary value? None of this has ever occurred to me before.
Tom will be able to give a fuller answer, I'm sure. However, basically somebody must 'own' the forum, as a contact point for the Host Server, since we don't actually own the server but pay an annual fee to use it.
On that subject, many of us are, I guess, Shareholders. In the sense that, when the previous free Host Server closed down, we had a whip round to raise enough money to pay for a couple of years fees with our current Host. I'm not sure how much was raised in total, Big Jim looked after the fund raise, but I'd imagine the coffers could be running a bit low by now.
Philip
Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
Yes please, I'd like to contribute if funds are running low. I think I missed this the first time around, it may have been during my time away from the forum - rather naively perhaps, I hadn't actually realised that money was an issue.
Cheers,
Andrew.
Cheers,
Andrew.
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Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
Hi Keith,Keith S wrote: βFri Feb 28, 2020 6:10 am .... you say you own the forum? That's funny, I never considered that forums were owned by people. Now that I think of it, I suppose they must. It never occurred to me before. I suppose I must sound stupid. If this isn't a rude question, how does one come to own a forum? Did you purchase it from whoever owned it before? Does it have a monetary value? None of this has ever occurred to me before.
Rightly or wrongly in the opinions of others, I took 'ownership' of the forum because no one else was willing:
https://gardenrails.org/forum/viewtopic ... 33&t=10523
Does the forum have a monetary value? It certainly costs money to host the forum (it does not cost money to 'run the forum' as I do this freely) since the demise of myfreeforum.org:
https://gardenrails.org/forum/viewtopic ... 33&t=11002
- tom_tom_go
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Re: Internet "forums" are a thing of the past
As to the kind offers of funds, I will address this in a global announcement shortly.
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