I love this forum, but...

Re-do? The forum just recently had a major renovation a year or so ago that has greatly improved the forum as a whole as well as the experience and ease of posting photos, etc.

 

There ARE separate 3 rail, 2 rail, S, etc forums as well as separate MTH DCS and TMCC/Legacy forums. 

 

If you want to keep tabs on something, you can simply click "follow this topic" at the bottom of the reply window or on the right hand side of a thread. 

if you have made a post in a particular thread.  find your screen name and click on your screen name and you will find all the posts you have made.

Huh?  There ARE separate forums for 2-railers and S scalers.. and others.  This is the forum you are interested in, so you arent forced to endure the other sub-forums.  I don't quite undrestand what you are saying.  AND, don't forget there is a "search" feature that allows you to look thru a particular sub-forum for the subject or item that interests you.

Something I often forget is, if I reply to a thread, I may not want to follow it reply by reply.

I often forget to "uncheck" the "Follow this Topic" at the bottom of the post.

If you have one you have a real interest in, leave it checked.

 

One I like to look at is "what I did on the layout today" thread, but I don't need to get all the reply's sent to my email address. I forgot to uncheck the checkmark, is there a way to undo that so I don't get the reply's?

 

Thanks, Dan

Right under the sponsor links at the top of the right-hand column, theres a little box with "Add reply" "like this topic" and "Following this topic."

 

Click on "Following this topic and it will unfollow.  Click again and you're following again.

I realize that there are separate forums but for some reason this one has been the default. Any post about traditional sized or 027 trains offen gets cluttered with posts of how everything should be scale and anything else is somehow lessor. I dont really go to the 3 rail scale subforum because i would feel unwelcome. I dont imagine there are 027 accolytes over there proclaiming superiority of smaller non scale offerings .This all despite the forum title prominently at the top. The forum has really tried to accommodate everyone with specific subforms but they still want to play in this one sandbox so at some point you just have to accept that.

This one is the "default" as you call it because I imagine this is where the vast majority of O gauge hobbyists feel most comfortable and this is where the vast majority of topics and posts will invariably appear.  Most are in this hobby to simply have fun and they don't worry overly much about the various sub-categories that make up the hobby's "special interest groups."  They are on this forum to exchange ideas and experiences, as well as to seek advice, and this is the natural "home base" if you're in the 3-rail hobby at any level from beginner to advanced.

 

Many do have interests that extend beyond traditional 3-rail train discussions, of course, including layout design, scenery, traction, narrow gauge, 2-rail O scale, etc., and those folks tend to visit and post on those sub-forums as well.

 

I'm not sure what the premise of the initial post in this thread might be, but it's easy enough to keep track of topics that are of special interest to an individual, even if they are on different sub-forums.

Yes, Silver Lake, as Allan said, this forum is the default or catch all forum and apparently, Virginian65, a significant numbers of posters like and feel comfortable with it being that way. I say this because a few months ago someone mentioned that some messages would be better suited being posted on other forums to lessen the effect you mentioned of posts "flying by". I chimed in noticing for example there were at times posts about building projects and their progress being posted here rather than on the buildings and scenery forum. A few forums members piped in with the valid point that by posting on this forum it provides a wider "audience" for their projects to reach, help, and give ideas and inspiration to a much greater number of people than if they posted to buildings and scenery where only a few forumites might visit there to see it. Many other forumites in reply posts agreed as likewise do the moderators since while in theory some posts such as those might possibly be better suited to other forums they generally aren't moved.

Apparently there's no clear cut rule moderators follow to decide if particulars posts should be moved to other forums since at times some posts are moved while others aren't. So as others suggest just use the search feature.

This is a fabulous site with a large number of knowledgeable and helpful folks willing to share their expertise and experiences with posters and that alone IMHO mitigates any perceived shortcoming anyone might have of it. And IT's FREE!!!

Kenn

I think we need a "complaint forum"........oh wait, nevermind.

This is a fabulous site with a large number of knowledgeable and helpful folks willing to share their expertise and experiences with posters and that alone IMHO mitigates any perceived shortcoming anyone might have of it. And IT's FREE!!!

Kenn (ogaugeguy)

 

100% Correct, well said Ken.

 

There are posters like myself that get a great deal of knowledge/help  from this forum

 

Thanks ALL

 

Brent

It is quite amazing how active this particularly sub-forum is.  I love it, but I admit it is difficult to keep up some times.  Still, I wouldn't want it any other way.  A better (context sensitive, smarter advanced features) search would be useful, I agree, although I have learned to get along with this one pretty well, by now.

i stuck a similar comment in the Suggestions Forum recently (...silly me).  i still think there need to be another split in this forum.  from the title i read "O27 and Traditional" but there are still postings about modern (post 1980's) production.  two subforums i'd like to see added...

 

New Production - give people a place to chat about all the new catalogs and new items they are going to order or production only a few years old they are still having problems with.

 

Scratch Pad/ General - give people a place to chat about train topics like why hobby shops are closing, trains in movies and on TV, so-and-so is moving to a new state, etc.  hopefully this would become the "default" forum where topics could disappear in short order.

 

 

it's frustrating posting a topic where you'd really like to find those few people who can help, yet if they are absent for even a day, the topic gets buried and there is little chance it will be seen by someone who may indeed have useful information.  in the Tinplate Subforum, it's sometimes 7-8 hours before the first reply.  unless you get a reply here inside of an hour or two... goodbye topic.

 

my 4¢...gary