That thread was a pretty good example of a politically-charged topic that leads to nothing but ill-will. That’s why I deleted it.
Remember, politics and religion aren’t good topics to discuss with friends.
Bergie
Thank you, Bergie. Some of these topics are really straying away from the intent of this forum.
And your comming up with some clever names for your topics too! I do think your doing good with this stuff, some of those topics cause nothing but grief.
Noah
Actually the topic itself wasn’t a bad one, it just got carried away into not good things land. I think it is important to discuss why the things we buy are made where they are. Actually I believe MRR has actually done a few articles on manufacturing in Korea and Japan. It is difficult to get into any discussion that concerns legal or economic issues that affect this hobby, but to ignore them leaves us as less educated consumers. Why are things built overseas? Why the limited run editions? Why the higher prices? Why the UP flap? Why is QSI and MTH in a disagreement. All these things affect us - the modelrailroaders and are appropriate, IMHO to this forum. Its when we start calling each other names and stuff where it has to stop.
I dare say that just as many feelings were hurt (your reason for pulling the 'who you vote for thread) on the sites where folks tell others that their equipment is “junk” and that they are not real model railroaders. Should these topics be pulled also?
I don’t think this topic was bad. We need to police ourselves more carefully and be civil to each other. There are many ways to express one’s opinions and thoughts, and name calling and flaming others is not the way.
Thanks. With all of the threads like this that are popping up, I suggest puttting a sticky topic up outlining what is appropriate and what is not (on all forums). Maybe even putting a page in that you have to go through to get to the forum with a button on the bottom that says by clicking on you acknowledge that you have read the content of that page and agree to abide by the rules.
ericsp,
Good idea, but for this particular topic it might not work. I think the topic started off as an appropriate one. It became politically charged and veered way off course. The MTH patent topic went the same direction. It started as a very intersting back and forth of the dispute between MTH and several DCC manufacturers. As this issue has affected the introduction of a few DCC related products and had the potential to inpact several in developement products it is appropriate, IMHO here. At several times, however, posts became a flamewar about attorneys, greedy CEO’s etc. which had nothing to do with original topic. Then there were the personal attacks, name calling etc. We just need to be a little more civil about things here and perhaps more mature.
I agree with Dkelly totally. I feel I must say though in my opinion the MTH threads were “exceptionally” beneificial since two representatives from MTH participated.
It’s as I’ve suggested before. This forum is more influential than many of us here realize. Since there are literally “thousands” of people looking looking at this forum, reps from manufacturers and dealers realize that these are potential customers! So when threads are created that evoke many “highly charged” responses for or against a company, the posts will command a lot of attention.
If I’m not mistaken, the MTH threads set a record for views, second behind the Coffee Shop.[;)][8)]
It’s not just this forum of course, but when you check a lot of the other model railroad related forums out there, this one is stable, well rounded, and reasonably policed. In other words, it is Respected. [tup] Based on my e-mail contacts I know for a fact that reps or managers from: Digitrax, Soundtraxx, Broadway Limited, MTH, and Athearn check this forum!
This is why I often stress that when some of you are create a post about dissatisfaction with a manufacturer’s or dealer’s products or service, go ahead and e-mail the thread to them. This will encourage them to continue reading posts on this forum. Many of us unknowingly provide them with input! We need to make a better effort though to zip it directly to them! On top of that, be clear about your complaints otherwise it could be just dismissed as “whiny”. [soapbox]
I just e-mailed the Broadway Limited delivery schedule topic to BLI’s customer service. Hopefully they will pay attention to the posts on there. [:D][8D][;)][8)]
Peace!
You deleted China!? [:O]
I guess that’s one way to solve the job problem! [:D]