I know this is the “general discussion” forum and by definition it is going to be more used that other more specific forums. But many of the topics I see here seem to fit better under layout building or prototype info. So why are those forums so lightly used? I like going to the layout building forum, for example, but would probably enjoy it more if more people posted on it. So I pose the question to you. If you never or rarely use those forums, why?
Ron
N2MoPac,[:D]
Very good question but I can share my experience with you.
When I first joined, I posted on the other categories. Responses were good but few. I then experimented and posted the same Topics on this “General Discussion” category and “Holy News Articles, Batman! I’m Getting Many More Reponses!”
I still “surf” the other cateogories as some Excellent posts and/or responses are made there. CoalMiner3, BillMatthewson, M636C, and BentnoseWillie for example have provided some “super good” info on the Prototype as well as the Layouts categories which make for good references. I do RESPOND to Posts but I rarely put posts there myself unless it’s about something really specialized like these guys do.[4:-)][C=:-)][C):-)]
Keep posting, it will be read![:D][8D][:)][8)][:p][;)][swg][tup]
I actually talked to Bergie about this, and we agreed it is a catch 22 situation.
People generally want the most exposure for their topics, and most people visit this general section, and not the other areas. See the problem?
Over on the CTT forum there is only one forum folder. Sometimes it seems over crowded, and topics get buried, but most of the time it is just fine. The difference is there are a lot more members here on MR.
If everyone could agree to only post their topics to the appropriate section of the forum, the traffic in those sections would begin to pick up, and a new sense of normalcy could take hold. The question is, can everyone play by those rules, or do we just want to keep it simple and lump everything together in one place?
Tough choice!!!
Big Boy,
Don’t know whether it was in response to your conversation with Bergie, but he collapsed one of the other forums into the General Discussion forum. I still think that was a mistake, and resulted in this forum becoming even more cluttered. There is still white space available for someone to add some ground rules immediately below the Search the forums… window. I think that the selection of topics over at The Gauge
http://www.the-gauge.com/forums/index.php
is better.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543
Because they don’t serve good coffee over there.[:D][:D][:D]
I agree that people dont reply as much on the more specific boards.
I mean everybody comes to the GD board first
Actually, General Discussion is the last stop I make on the way through the forum. Most of my questions revolve around either prototype research or a technical point of modeling. Thus, they are my first stops. I have the impression that many of the GD posters are either novices or younger and unaccustomed to selecting a category appropriate their questions.
Randy
Bob says it’s cluttered here but a lot of the clutter is interesting and bed time comes before the other forums get read. Then of course the other forums are used more if you are looking for some specific information.
Bob, I’m not exactly sure which forum is missing, there are still 4 here at MR. General, Layout construction, Prototype, and 70th Anniversary box car. Hopefullly the coffee shop will clean things up a bit here in general, and this topic will promote greater use of the other forum files. BTW, I only talked to Bergie last week.[:)]
After only 1500 posts I discovered the## Active Topic Buttonat the top of the page. It is a handy tool for flying around here.[:D]
Like Elliot (Big Boy), I post mostly on CTT, but I also like to get second opinions on questions in other forums including this one, where responses to questions seem to be faster than the MR layout forum. However, I once in a while post on the layout forum because the topics stay on the first page longer and generally, you get more responses, even if they don’t come that fast.
It’s nice to have so many choices. Just think what you were doing 10 years ago. Ok don’t answer that, you were building layouts instead of chatting.!
Dave Vergun
Yeah, and the donuts are stale, too![:o)]
Dave,
What’s CTT[?]
Classic Toy Trains, Paul, as opposed to trains that are not classy.
Nobody replis
You know the cheesy old fashioned ones with the stupid 3 rail track. [swg]
Kalmbach considered that, but opted for “Classic Toy Trains” instead.[;)]
Yeah, the trains with the big giraffs sticking out of the tops of the cattle cars and huge blue sparks flying off tracks with trains going 200 miles an hour around a big fat christmas tree; 