This is STILL a great place!

Rich Melvin posted:

There are a lot of truly good people here. And thanks to you folks, this became THE place to be on the web to talk about O Gauge trains many years ago.

There were a lot of bumps in the road early on. As Allan Miller and KoolJock have mentioned, those early years were tough. Many AOL members joined here and attempted to make this an extension of the AOL boards, with all the negative nonsense that went on there. We were constantly accused of "heavy-handed moderation" back then, because we would not allow negative and trolling posts to stand. But I was absolutely not going to allow the same kind of name-calling nonsense prevalent on AOL to take root here.

The end result was that we banned a few people (the infamous Neil Blumberg among them) who then went on and tried to start their own forum where they could continue their people-bashing ways. It failed, as have several others that have been attempted since then. They all failed because  they were founded on negativity, which is never sustainable.

This forum has become the best place on the web to talk about O Gauge Trains because of YOU and all the positive vibes that are always in play here. For that, I will always be grateful to you al

Boy do I remember those early days well..

As one who came over from the infamous AOL boards and was put on double secret probation more than once by Rich (usually well deserved) those first years were indeed bumpy at times. 
I had the great pleasure of going to my first York a couple of years ago and the highlight was the dinner with the old AOL gang that Ted brought me to. To put faces to the names after all these years was unforgettable and I will always be grateful to the “Captain” for being my guide that first trip.

I loved being greeted by David Letterman saying "congratulations Skippy, you've got mail" followed my a multicolor flame job in comic sans font. Kinda brings a tear to my eye! Say, whatever happened to Pepi Lapue and his pet squirrel? Sorry guys, but I used to LMAO on there quite a bit. <VBG>

Norm Charbonneau posted:

I loved being greeted by David Letterman saying "congratulations Skippy, you've got mail" followed my a multicolor flame job in comic sans font. Kinda brings a tear to my eye! Say, whatever happened to Pepi Lapue and his pet squirrel? Sorry guys, but I used to LMAO on there quite a bit. <VBG>

There were some characters there..I remember Pepi along with Ted , Neil and me were on T Rex’s  famous hit list.. he once actually said he was going to have his “connections” in Chicago pay me a visit...LOL... to many fumes in that basement workshop of his...

Just passed 16 years.  The forum seemed especially great to me in those early days because I knew next to nothing about trains and knew even fewer people to turn to for help and advice. 

This thread’s title made me think of words from Desiderata. To paraphrase, “with all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful hobby.”  

mike.caruso posted:

Just passed 16 years.  The forum seemed especially great to me in those early days because I knew next to nothing about trains and knew even fewer people to turn to for help and advice. 

This thread’s title made me think of words from Desiderata. To paraphrase, “with all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful hobby.”  

Or Don Henley's "Sunset Grill"..."Maybe we'll leave come springtime. Meanwhile have another beer. What would we do without all these jerks anyway? Besides, all our friends are here." 

The funny thing is, AOL is more like a punchline now.

I work with defense and plaintiff attorneys at work, and you'd be shocked to see how many of them have AOL emails to this day. I've asked if anyone lughs when they're told these email address, and I often get, "Yeah they do, why is that?"

Lionelski posted:

david1 posted:

I was on the AOL boards for awhile and found out it was populated with idiot's, and morons and who just liked to argue and who liked denigrating anybody who didn't agree with them. It was nothing more than a cess pool imo. I finally left and though some asked me to join the AOL get togethers at York, there was just too many people I did not like or even cared to talk to. 

Then OGR came along--a breath of fresh air 

DAVE

I joined OGR Nov '99, then the whole thing got deleted by OGR by mistake and then rejoined late 2000. Of course this all by my memory so bear with me.😁

Dave

 

We weren't all idiots, morons or argumentative Dave

Lionelski posted:

david1 posted:

I was on the AOL boards for awhile and found out it was populated with idiot's, and morons and who just liked to argue and who liked denigrating anybody who didn't agree with them. It was nothing more than a cess pool imo. I finally left and though some asked me to join the AOL get togethers at York, there was just too many people I did not like or even cared to talk to. 

Then OGR came along--a breath of fresh air 

DAVE

I joined OGR Nov '99, then the whole thing got deleted by OGR by mistake and then rejoined late 2000. Of course this all by my memory so bear with me.😁

Dave

 

We weren't all idiots, morons or argumentative Dave

you may be right but the many that showed no courtesy or  anything else overwhelmingly overtook the good people. Like I said AOL was populated by the idiot's and Morons who made it impossible to have decent conversations.

nothing the AOL train boards did should be remembered it being a great group of guys because it was not. 

Sorry to the AOL fan boys but the truth hurts.

Dave

Thirteen years for me. Trying to remember what Mac I had then. Don't think I ever asked a question that wasn't answered. Met one of my best friends here on the board. Found out we worked together a few nights years and years ago. He was a cop protecting our film crew when we did stories on gangs. He happened to write me about a new camera and that was the start of our friendship. He became my sound man on weekends when I was doing a DVD on the Southern Pacific 2472. We both road that steam engine many times and had lots of laughs. Both of us are retired now. Don

Hey Dave.. with all the folks who replied and had fond memories of the AOL train boards... ever think the problem might have been you?? 🙄

This forum is great. I talk to people all over the world.

david1 posted:

Lionelski posted:

david1 posted:

I was on the AOL boards for awhile and found out it was populated with idiot's, and morons and who just liked to argue and who liked denigrating anybody who didn't agree with them. It was nothing more than a cess pool imo. I finally left and though some asked me to join the AOL get togethers at York, there was just too many people I did not like or even cared to talk to. 

Then OGR came along--a breath of fresh air 

DAVE

I joined OGR Nov '99, then the whole thing got deleted by OGR by mistake and then rejoined late 2000. Of course this all by my memory so bear with me.😁

Dave

 

We weren't all idiots, morons or argumentative Dave

Lionelski posted:

david1 posted:

I was on the AOL boards for awhile and found out it was populated with idiot's, and morons and who just liked to argue and who liked denigrating anybody who didn't agree with them. It was nothing more than a cess pool imo. I finally left and though some asked me to join the AOL get togethers at York, there was just too many people I did not like or even cared to talk to. 

Then OGR came along--a breath of fresh air 

DAVE

I joined OGR Nov '99, then the whole thing got deleted by OGR by mistake and then rejoined late 2000. Of course this all by my memory so bear with me.😁

Dave

 

We weren't all idiots, morons or argumentative Dave

you may be right but the many that showed no courtesy or  anything else overwhelmingly overtook the good people. Like I said AOL was populated by the idiot's and Morons who made it impossible to have decent conversations.

nothing the AOL train boards did should be remembered it being a great group of guys because it was not. 

Sorry to the AOL fan boys but the truth hurts.

Dave

 

 

Dave,

I did have to deal with you in Pathmark. What could be worse. Aol or Pathmark! LOL! And I had the pleasure dealing with your cement head grocery manager! Yes Dave, The AOL board was not what the OGR forum is today but some of us made friends from there and still are. Sorry Dave, but that is the truth.

Norm Charbonneau posted:

I loved being greeted by David Letterman saying "congratulations Skippy, you've got mail" followed my a multicolor flame job in comic sans font. Kinda brings a tear to my eye! Say, whatever happened to Pepi Lapue and his pet squirrel? Sorry guys, but I used to LMAO on there quite a bit. <VBG>

Norm,

I saw Pepi and Donna about a year ago when they were on a road trip from South Carolina to Massachusetts. The stopover point was in my hometown, Jackson, NJ and they had the camper in a trailer park for an overnight. He called me and I visited Pepi for about an hour there. He hasn't changed a bit and was wearing his shoes!!!!

RD posted:

Norm Charbonneau posted:

I loved being greeted by David Letterman saying "congratulations Skippy, you've got mail" followed my a multicolor flame job in comic sans font. Kinda brings a tear to my eye! Say, whatever happened to Pepi Lapue and his pet squirrel? Sorry guys, but I used to LMAO on there quite a bit. <VBG>

There were some characters there..I remember Pepi along with Ted , Neil and me were on T Rex’s  famous hit list.. he once actually said he was going to have his “connections” in Chicago pay me a visit...LOL... to many fumes in that basement workshop of his...

RD.i actually remember reading that about how he was getting his hit squad to go after someone back then. Guess it was you.Lol. Was a wild west scene on AOL back then.  But funny memories.  I joined here in 04. Wow how time flies. And yes KaptnKraft is the one who pulled me over to OGR also.

I found OGR forum by seeing that train topics I searched for came up with OGR  very often.  I joined in Jan 2002 but did not post much and my O27 toy train layout was only up in the winter and only one of my hobbies. 

About that time I needed help with a dead 20 year old Pioneer stereo receiver and  a search post got me to the AudioKarma forum and advice by members where to look and heat up a circuit board joint that fixed it.  This revelation lead me learn about stereo gear and be knowledgeable of the better units and to look for 1970s stereos at estate and garage sales and I had a new hobby.

I built a new two story garage in 2010, after retiring, and had space to install the O27 layout permanently and got more interested in model trains and have been much more active.

I like the fact that the search engines turn to OGR forum and the general public has a great source to find out about model trains and how to build layouts and fix their trains.

This is an excellent forum with great members and monitors and has a great easy  to use site that hosts photos and videos for posting, a real plus.  It provides a free resource for our hobby for both knowledge and comradeship.

Charlie

Ted Bertiger posted:

Norm Charbonneau posted:

I loved being greeted by David Letterman saying "congratulations Skippy, you've got mail" followed my a multicolor flame job in comic sans font. Kinda brings a tear to my eye! Say, whatever happened to Pepi Lapue and his pet squirrel? Sorry guys, but I used to LMAO on there quite a bit. <VBG>

Norm,

I saw Pepi and Donna about a year ago when they were on a road trip from South Carolina to Massachusetts. The stopover point was in my hometown, Jackson, NJ and they had the camper in a trailer park for an overnight. He called me and I visited Pepi for about an hour there. He hasn't changed a bit and was wearing his shoes!!!!

His pet squirrel's name was Napoleon, right?! 

The only place to be for O-Gauge info and chat, 12 years and still going for me. 

Special thanks to the OGR publishers for keeping this going

RD posted:

Hey Dave.. with all the folks who replied and had fond memories of the AOL train boards... ever think the problem might have been you?? 🙄

Hey RD,

DO I KNOW YOU? Do you know me? We're you ever on the AOL train board? If not then how can you make a comment like you did?

I was there and I know what happened and how things were back then, sure I painted everyone with a broad brush but that is how myself many others saw it. 

I have been here for over 20 years and I really like it with very few issues unlike the AOL train board. 

Dave

Btw I stand by my comments about the aol train board 100%.

RD posted:

Norm Charbonneau posted:

I loved being greeted by David Letterman saying "congratulations Skippy, you've got mail" followed my a multicolor flame job in comic sans font. Kinda brings a tear to my eye! Say, whatever happened to Pepi Lapue and his pet squirrel? Sorry guys, but I used to LMAO on there quite a bit. <VBG>

There were some characters there..I remember Pepi along with Ted , Neil and me were on T Rex’s  famous hit list.. he once actually said he was going to have his “connections” in Chicago pay me a visit...LOL... to many fumes in that basement workshop of his...

T-Rex ... He threatened Ted and me - together - directly around 2007 or so at York.  I think Ted has forgotten the guy's anger.  Not a nice fellow.

david1 posted:

RD posted:

Hey Dave.. with all the folks who replied and had fond memories of the AOL train boards... ever think the problem might have been you?? 🙄

Hey RD,

DO I KNOW YOU? Do you know me? We're you ever on the AOL train board? If not then how can you make a comment like you did?

I was there and I know what happened and how things were back then, sure I painted everyone with a broad brush but that is how myself many others saw it. 

I have been here for over 20 years and I really like it with very few issues unlike the AOL train board. 

Dave

Btw I stand by my comments about the aol train board 100%.

I'm pretty sure that RD was on AOL much longer than you, David. 

And your recent post confirms what RD wrote.

rthomps posted:

david1 posted:

RD posted:

Hey Dave.. with all the folks who replied and had fond memories of the AOL train boards... ever think the problem might have been you?? 🙄

Hey RD,

DO I KNOW YOU? Do you know me? We're you ever on the AOL train board? If not then how can you make a comment like you did?

I was there and I know what happened and how things were back then, sure I painted everyone with a broad brush but that is how myself many others saw it. 

I have been here for over 20 years and I really like it with very few issues unlike the AOL train board. 

Dave

Btw I stand by my comments about the aol train board 100%.

I'm pretty sure that RD was on AOL much longer than you, David. 

And your recent post confirms what RD wrote.

 

 

And how would you know that? Plus who cares!

Dave

No offense guys but this was a good thread about how folks made their way here and some of the history of the forum.  Maybe you should take the AOL discussion off line so this doesn't get closed or deleted.  Sure the AOL board got some people here but the current bickering isn't part of that.

Yeah guys... let's leave the AOL Boards to the AOL boards... let's let sleeping dogs lie... or run with the big dogs or stay on the porch... or whatever that expression was...

Jon

This has gotten sad.  We have one guy here who is rankling others.  Just like one the old..........  I mean just like it.  Really.  Sad.  There were some good guys on the ___   board and most of them are on this forum.  And the broad brush thingy--just sucks.

You're I joined over 20 years ago and then I dropped out due to circumstances and then came back on for several years dropped out again due to other circumstances and recently I've been diagnosed with 2 types of cancer so I've decided I have to sell all my train collection but I still come here and review the chat boards and this is still a great place to be can learn a lot there's a lot of great people here and it will be around for a long time.  

 I still enjoy trains of fact I didn't quite sell everything and kept my eye Harry Potter hogwarts express for Christmas and I just ordered a couple things all the 

Now catalog so I can't quite not live without it anyway I've got a semi truck load of stuff that's gotta go so to be back to simple layouts so I'm gonna build a 4x8 fast track soon.

 My other interests in food lego growing hybrid tea roses, cooking , have a koi pond and just general gardening ,watching movies , and listen to music and a big Kansas City Chiefs football fan for over60 years, "the Super Bowl champions"

RSJB18 posted:

A more recent member by this groups standards (4 years), but by far the OGR is the best place to talk trains, etc., even with the recent forum moderation and rules tightening.

This is the closest to social media that I get. FB, TW, Insta, etc are of no interest to me.

Keep up the great work OGR!

The rules and moderation are still the same as they have been....I just think we are trying to do a better job of making sure that folks understand and abide by them.

Rich Melvin posted:

There are a lot of truly good people here. And thanks to you folks, this became THE place to be on the web to talk about O Gauge trains many years ago.

There were a lot of bumps in the road early on. As Allan Miller and KoolJock have mentioned, those early years were tough. Many AOL members joined here and attempted to make this an extension of the AOL boards, with all the negative nonsense that went on there. We were constantly accused of "heavy-handed moderation" back then, because we would not allow negative and trolling posts to stand. But I was absolutely not going to allow the same kind of name-calling nonsense prevalent on AOL to take root here.

The end result was that we banned a few people (the infamous Neil Blumberg among them) who then went on and tried to start their own forum where they could continue their people-bashing ways. It failed, as have several others that have been attempted since then. They all failed because  they were founded on negativity, which is never sustainable.

This forum has become the best place on the web to talk about O Gauge Trains because of YOU and all the positive vibes that are always in play here. For that, I will always be grateful to you all.

When I joined back in early 2006, I had no idea that I would be taking the reins of this forum.  Right away I realized that the "heavy handed moderation" was for a good reason....to keep the forum from exploding and self destructing.  Rich is correct...we have had to make decisions about members (now ex-members) that in the long run were best for both them and the membership here in order to keep as much positive camaraderie as we can....yet, many of those folks that were escorted out the door did their (and do their) best to negatively present this forum and its members and staff.  The rules we have here are the same that were set forth years ago and we are doing our best to make sure that this forum is THE place for the discussion of our hobby.  I pledge to each and every one of you that I and my OGR staff will continue to do our utmost to make the O Gauge Railroading Forum a safe and as civil as possible (in today's world!) place to be.  We could not do this without your support through your subscriptions as well as our sponsor's and advertiser's marketing dollars.  I want to thank all of you and am honored to represent the OGR family!

Alan, no need for me to say this but we ALL appreciate it when you guys show the door to those that deserve it.  Thanks.

The 'report reply' feature probably helps in that endeavor since there are zillions of posts to consider.

- walt

I never knew anything about AOL.  I only now do because of Verizon dumping their (IMO) previously superior email product and dumping all of us subscribers into AOL land for our email.  Oh well...

Back to the topic at hand, I joined this forum in May 2002.  I had previously been registered on the MTH Railroaders Club forum (and email service, which I'm pretty sure was unceremoniously abandoned more than a few years ago now, and I think the MTHRRC forum died a while before that).

Anyway, after picking up my first DCS TIU/Remote setup from my dealer at the April 2002 York Meet, I was very interested in the interface to the TMCC base.  (IIRC, the cable wasn't out yet.  And even when it did come out, there was a problem with the first run that required a modification to get it to work correctly).  So I asked on the MTHRRC forum about information relating to how to hook up the TIU to the TMCC base.  Someone there (have no idea who at this point) directed me to this Forum.  There were probably several threads (or at least one big one with lots of good info) relating to how to make your own cable using various methods.  I think Lionel2341 (Ernie of Train America Studios fame, Smoke Fluid Loader designer, etc) was one of the primary authors of the solutions presented.  This was of course all long before MTH had time to produce a fixed Off The Shelf product that worked without modification, so the posts were extremely helpful.  I seem to recall building the simplest version with just a resistor in the circuit somewhere, but I think there were more elegant designs involving either an audio transformer or an optical isolator.

I agree for the most part the Forum has been a good ride.  The once (or was it twice?) when the Forum migrated from one platform to another and all the old posts were not able to be saved in the process was one of the few serious low points in my experience.  (not being an IT professional,  I'll admit I may have the technical term wrong to describe it - but the whole Infopop/Eve/Hoopla/Crowdstack evolution - though it seems Crowdstack is just a rebranding so far)

Hopefully all the posts will survive if the hosting company needs to change again someday, it would be a major downer if the currently very good archives were to be wiped.  Hopefully technology has evolved to where the data can be easily ported to a new thing if need be.

-Dave

OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:

 

When I joined back in early 2006, I had no idea that I would be taking the reins of this forum.  Right away I realized that the "heavy handed moderation" was for a good reason....to keep the forum from exploding and self destructing.  Rich is correct...we have had to make decisions about members (now ex-members) that in the long run were best for both them and the membership here in order to keep as much positive camaraderie as we can....yet, many of those folks that were escorted out the door did their (and do their) best to negatively present this forum and its members and staff.  The rules we have here are the same that were set forth years ago and we are doing our best to make sure that this forum is THE place for the discussion of our hobby.  I pledge to each and every one of you that I and my OGR staff will continue to do our utmost to make the O Gauge Railroading Forum a safe and as civil as possible (in today's world!) place to be.  We could not do this without your support through your subscriptions as well as our sponsor's and advertiser's marketing dollars.  I want to thank all of you and am honored to represent the OGR family!

Alan,

I moderated two Yahoo newsgroups for years, it ain't always easy and takes a lot of time. Appreciation is rarely shown. Ever check out unmoderated newsgroups? 100% of the time they start off right and very quickly are full of ads to prevent ED.

The good work done by you and the OGR editors here is appreciated, you've maintained a hard to reach balance. The interesting, educational and fun posts by this forum's subscribers are great. Have an issue or problem? Post and you will receive several solutions quickly. Having a bad day? Post a pic of your work and our OGR forum friends will lift you up with their likes, input and comments.

As I said earlier, I've only been here around 6 months, but it quickly felt like home. If I can assist you in any way, please do not hesitate to ask.

Never went to AOL, but have heard all of the negative comments about it. The OGR Forum is THE place to be!  ☺

I was on Facebook for years and got very tired of all bickering. No matter what you brought up someone would say something negative. My wife was call terrible names from someone in London. We both quit. I've tried salt water aquariums forums and a few others but they just don't work for me. This is the only forum for me and it's really  a fun place. Don

Nothing else quite like it!  ☺☺☺

Much credit to Rich and Arnold for their excellent and diligent moderation, and to the many courteous and knowledgeable posters on the OGR Forum!

This forum has plenty of topics and is very easy to navigate. Why go anywhere else when this is best.

16 years for me of friendship fun and facts!!!👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

I am very grateful for this Forum and the many who post here, sharing their knowledge, experience, wisdom and expertise. It has enhanced and enriched my love of this hobby in many, many ways. I just wish I lived closer to the majority on here so I could develop personal relationships. Not too many train guys in the Gulf South (the few I know are great). There are many days I wish I lived in a "Basement Zone"  so I could enjoy running trains on one of those large layouts I see photos of on here. However, I am also grateful not to need a basement to hide in during tornadoes - or to have to drive on ice and snow to get to a LHS (if there was one still here).  So, I'll settle for the 4 Seasons we do have here: Crawfish Season, Shrimp Season, Gumbo Season and SEC Football Season. Also thankful for the magazine and the various sponsors who make this special place possible where one can hide from the mental stresses of work and life after a long day. Thank you one and all. 

I was late getting a computer not until 14 years ago and ignorant before then. I would like it if someone would explain the AOL boards. Thank's

This forum is the best hobby forum I have been on.  Really adds to the enjoyment of the hobby.

david1 posted:

rthomps posted:

david1 posted:

RD posted:

Hey Dave.. with all the folks who replied and had fond memories of the AOL train boards... ever think the problem might have been you?? 🙄

Hey RD,

DO I KNOW YOU? Do you know me? We're you ever on the AOL train board? If not then how can you make a comment like you did?

I was there and I know what happened and how things were back then, sure I painted everyone with a broad brush but that is how myself many others saw it. 

I have been here for over 20 years and I really like it with very few issues unlike the AOL train board. 

Dave

Btw I stand by my comments about the aol train board 100%.

I'm pretty sure that RD was on AOL much longer than you, David. 

And your recent post confirms what RD wrote.

 

 

And how would you know that? Plus who cares!

Dave

RT knows because he was there ... and right on once again.. 😏

"The rules we have here are the same that were set forth years ago and we are doing our best to make sure that this forum is THE place for the discussion of our hobby."  - Alan Arnold

Almost all of us on this Forum, I think, will agree that this is so very true.  And, while there are other O-Gauge Forums (yes! contrary to one report, they do exist!), there's nothing like OGR for information and solid, generally considered discussion.  And to Alan:  You've done well in your Stewardship of the Forum over the past couple of years.  Keep it going!  Thanks!