Is the forum dead?

Sorry,

I know I am being a bit of a defeatest and to quote my hero–Homer Simpson–no new C*%$. But, I have got to say, the forum just is not the same since the change.

I have been on vacation since Tuesday, and I have been hopping on the forum as much as when I used to have a State government job and 70% productivity tended to embarass your collegues, and made you dare not work more than that.

But, the forum has just been absolutely dead lately. Sure, there isn’t kissmycindertrainfinder anoying everyone; but there also isn’t the lively conversations and healthy disagreements that made this cite as great as it was. I don’t know if it is because the new format has chased some of the previous contributors away, or what, but it has just been dead for the last week.

As much as I hate to admit it, but I owe 18% of my train knowledge to futuremodal. Not that he personally educates me, but some of the stuff he says prompts others to give very learned responses back. In many ways, I think futuremodal is the most valuable contributor. And, I think his missives should be encouraged.

But, there was not a single topic indicative of what really made this forum so great for me in the past this week.

I am a lawyer, and have a greater tolerance for the argumentation that people are trying to get rid of on here. But, I think this falls under the “careful what you ask for, you might get it.”

Alas, this is another example of the trouble of the great things in life you get for free, you don’t have a lot of power to hold on to them. What I would give for a LC - Greyhound dispute with Futuremodal with occasional refing by Mr. Hemphill et al . . .

Gabe

P.S. Do

No, not dead. Mid-summer vapor lock. [(-D]

I agree. It is the mid-summer lull. Actually, there seems to be more participation than last summer, but who’s counting.

You can take a few weeks off and not be afraid of missing anythng. [:)]

I think the forum is also taking a collective breather after all the “Thread For Everybody!” threads, and the resulting spoofing of the same.

Other than that, I haven’t noticed it being a whole lot different than status quo, apart from the new look. BTW, you can find FM on the “open access” and “closed access” threads. There’s still some lively debate in there.

What’s new in your world Gabe?

Last summer, we had the problem of all of the Teany Boppers who were out of school and posting agressive posts . . . not that some of the younger people on here are valuable contributors. But, it was a LOT better than it is now.

I fear I will not be coming back after this vacation. Not out of protest, but just because the cite isn’t very good. That would be a BIG disappointment, as there are a lot of forum members I consider it an honor to have know.

Gabe

A new child, which means when I am not working, I am raising her, which doesn’t leave a lot of time for trains. Other than that, it is pretty good. I work a lot more than I should, but the work is interesting and fun. If I could find just a little more time in my life for trains, this forum, and family–not necessarily in that order–I think I would be living the perfect life.

How are things with you?

Thanks for asking.

Gabe

I’ve found FM’s postings to be generally informative as well - though I also disagree about the LCV’s. I’ve also found M. Sol’s postings to be informative as well, picked up a lot of interesting stuff on the CMStP&P from him - he’s obviously partial, but he does come with a lot of facts.

  • Erik

Jeez, Gabe, say it ain’t so. I have always enjoyed your perspectives. Even when I operated here under a different name going back to 2000 or whatever – mostly lurking.

Of course, no one is irreplaceable, but losing you would be a BIG disappointment to a lot of us. Ya gets out of forums what ya puts in.

About the same. Just plugging away at work, and trying to get out on the weekends as much as possible. I’ve been having a pretty productive summer, and have managed to get out railfanning quite bit, as well as enjoying some hikes both in CO, as well as a trip up to Yellowstone to meet up with some other photographers from the DPReview Canon forum.

August has turned on the calendar, and that means that fall isn’t that far away. I’m hoping to get down to the Cumbres and Toltec for some fall color this year. They run a photo freight for Trains Unlimited Tours every year, and I was thinking about renting a 4x4 and chasing the train with that.

Congratulations on your new child! Hope all works out with that, and I hope you can find a little free time for trains, and hanging around here (I’d be sad to see you go, too).

Take care, and good luck!

The Forum is DEAD…

Long live the forum…

Still travelling Gabe. Who says you can’t get around in the RR biz…

LC

The forum could certainly use some of your topics. MWH is posting some, under a different name since April. Overmod is not around, Old Timer and feltonhill have not been talking about steam lately, nor Peter-M636C about diesels. I have not seen CSXengineer on the new forum, the most genuine, human poster around. Murphy may have run out of railroads to start topics on as well, but he’s trying to keep the forum interesting. Kissmy is now Champliansomething. Bigboy Elliot has problems of his own to deal with, although he was mostly on the modeling forum. I might do something on the IC next door, but I’m burnt out for now.

i have been around…just nothing realy worth responding to in weeks… no good topics for me to add my 10 dollors worth to…
csx engineer

I plain ran out of questions. But…thinking up new topics is everyone’s job. To keep the forum from getting as dull as it has, everyone really needs to think up at least one topic. There are a lot of people out there with answers and they gladly share them - but even if you are in the “business”, surely there is something you could either start a topic on or ask about.

I don’t think I am alone in saying that the back and forth between say FM and someone was waaay over my head - some of the simple things like “does lightning hit trains” were just right for me. We need variety not nonsense. I can’t do megers and eastern railroads and management. But I can do “what are the yellow thingies and where are they on the brand new engines?” I know both answers now but only got one from the forum. The other I chose not to post because it would be buried by the nonsense at the end of one day. So I went behind the scenes and asked Houston Ed.

So if you want an interactive forum and an interesting one, try doing some of the work - each and every one of us. Lurkers - post at least one time. Give us a chance to have a dialog, not a constant monologue. This many people surely can come up with something to discuss.

Gabe - enjoy your postings - in this case the forum needs a couple of lawyers. Hope you will reconsider. Read the diner forum to the baby - guaranteed happy results!

Mookie

OK Mook, I have a question…your puddy cat in the picture looks kind of sad to me…why?

The picture is to depict a kitty who lost her job on the railroad (through no fault of her own, of course) and has hit the skids and must now stand on street corners and ask the kind people for help.

Actually, she has kibbles in her pails and needs milk, but is too lazy to go to the store. The work part is just to tug at heartstrings and the head is down cuz she is admiring her new nail polish.

Behind the scenes - Brother Carl sent that to me - I liked it so well, it has been on my office door for several years.

La Mook

Can’t help it Mookie.

Look at the buckets…empty.

Need I say more?

Nothing is more sad than a milk junkie with empty buckets!

But the Mook hit it right on.

Between Mike Sol and FM’s “is so, is not, is so,” argument threads, and the “threads for everybody” it has become pretty much a topic wasteland.

Think about this; the thread directed towards Mr. Wrinn seems to be one of the few where ideas about future stories in Trains has been bandied about, with many good concepts being brought up and discussed.

Interesting, lively and free of the “I’m smarter than you” crud that has infected most of the other threads.

I know why CSXengineer is so quite…he is waiting for someone to ask him an intelligent question he can answer.

Me too!

There isn’t much he or I could add to the “I saw a red locomotive” style thread.

Ask about flat yard switching, I’m your guy…ask about running really hairy big freight trains, he has you covered.

Want to know how and why a hump yard does certain things, see Carl S,

Tell me you saw a red locomotive……ok, and?

Although I can’t really speak for CSXengineer, I can tell you I am pretty tired of all the “UP sucks, BNSF sucks, CSX sucks, I wish they would bring back the Cotton Belt”, “I hate the new paint scheme ” threads…to us, this is a ongoing part

YAWN…

Times change, people move on, the depth of interest in a particular area will wax and wane. As a young adult, I worked on, ate, drank and slept railroads. Later on there was family, different jobs and other hobbies and activites and my interest in the railroad business took a back seat in the, er… jumbo jet.

However, it is a most fascinating business. One may leave for a while or maybe as in my case even years, but then you pick up a copy of Trains, or read a book such as “The Men Who Loved Trains” and it all comes back.

Jay

You do reach a point at which most of your questions have been answered, most of your stored up stories have been told, and you just don’t have a lot to say. I was noticing that even before the format change. Some people “get up and leave,” others just lay back and become less active.

The “Thread For” explosion kept me quiet for a while - I may enjoy reading the occasional piece about any given railroad, but when all of page one was “Thread For” material, well, I’ll just click over to a local forum for a bit. That one goes through the occasional doldrum, too, and many threads seem to devolve into personal attack forums after all of the pertinent points have been covered, but it can prove entertaining at times.

Now that we’re back into a more normal mix, I drop the occasional comment in a thread, if I have something to add, and read with amusement some of the more arcane stuff. I really don’t mind the “today I saw” thread - everybody needs a place to brag up the high point of their day, even if it’s an everyday occurance for others.

Gabe - don’t leave - keep in touch. After a while we’ll evolve into a “new” group. The old timers will tell their stories (again) and answer questions (again), and the newbies will bring new insight.

[quote user=“edblysard”]

I know why CSXengineer is so quite…he is waiting for someone to ask him an intelligent question he can answer.

Me too!

There isn’t much he or I could add to the “I saw a red locomotive” style thread.

Ask about flat yard switching, I’m your guy…ask about running really hairy big freight trains, he has you covered.

Want to know how and why a hump yard does certain things, see Carl S,

Tell me you saw a red locomotive……ok, and?

Although I can’t really speak for CSXengineer, I can tell you I am pretty tired of all the “UP sucks, BNSF sucks, CSX sucks, I wish they would bring back the Cotton Belt”, “I hate the new paint scheme ” threads…to us, this is a ongoing part of our daily lives…

Whether UP or BNSF sucks is all a matter of perspective.

If they sign your paycheck, then they don’t suck that bad…

For a lot of us, this is how we make our living, and reading how upset some one is over the shape of a logo is somewhat amusing, but not worth getting your panties all wadded up,…it is a tool to us, one of the tools we use to do our job, and we pretty much don’t care what color it is painted, so long as it works.