Carey - please repost your Imperial GG1, that was a great topic. Not sure what happened to it other than maybe posted in the wrong forum?
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International Model Products. I wonder where it went also as I thought it was posted in the correct forum.
Darn. I missed it. I would have been interested.
@Will posted:
I think it's a new thread in the proper section.
@Will posted:
This is a new thread. I'm really glad it was posted, however I'm a bit frustrated with this forum as of late to spend time to put in some thoughtful comments only to have them disappear. Honestly? I may have to rethink my supporter contribution. It's not respectful to those of us who take time out of our day to provide thoughtful answers or offer insight when the thread just goes away when it's in the wrong forum, especially when we are contributing to the expenses associated with this forum being online.
Just how much trouble is it to post in the right forum?
The issue to me is everyone makes mistakes. Posting in the wrong forum has gone on for years here. It's the indiscriminate deletion of posts that is getting old. However, as I recall the original post was in the right forum to start. I wasn't the OP so I just responded to an interesting topic.
At least the OP reposted the topic. It is one with historic significance as it brings to light information on a very rare model and expands the knowledge base of a late 40's to mid 60's manufacturer that most know little about.
@GG1 4877 posted:The issue to me is everyone makes mistakes. Posting in the wrong forum has gone on for years here.
Occasionally, yes. However NOT as bad as what's been going on for about the last 6 months or so, especially on the 3-Rail SCALE (3RS) Forum.
It's the indiscriminate deletion of posts that is getting old.
Just my opinion but, I would NOT call it "indiscriminate"!
However, as I recall the original post was in the right forum to start.
Well, that may your opinion.
I wasn't the OP so I just responded to an interesting topic.
At least the OP reposted the topic. It is one with historic significance as it brings to light information on a very rare model and expands the knowledge base of a late 40's to mid 60's manufacturer that most know little about.
Very, VERY true, however not really related to 3-Rail SCALE modeling, in my opinion anyway.
@John H posted:Just how much trouble is it to post in the right forum?
Considering that International Model Products imported both 2 and 3 rail models where would you suggest this be posted? It seems as though the 2 and 3 rail forum are both correct and incorrect.
@Hot Water posted:
As I said months ago, you need to clearly define 3 rail scale. By the words alone, if you have scale equipment running on 3 rails.... most folks would assume that is 3 rail scale....it says NOTHING in the title about the couplers, nor is it implied. The crusty attitude towards people who make errors will only chase folks from the forum, and isnt helpful. Kind redirection with an explanation of what happened is much more productive and professional. My two cents
@Brian DeFazio posted:As I said months ago, you need to clearly define 3 rail scale. By the words alone, if you have scale equipment running on 3 rails.... most folks would assume that is 3 rail scale....it says NOTHING in the title about the couplers, nor is it implied.
Did you happen to read the sticky near the top of the 3RS Forum page, "WHAT IS 3-RAIL SCALE", and the 4 pages of discussion?
The crusty attitude towards people who make errors will only chase folks from the forum, and isnt helpful.
Reading and comprehension would also be extremely helpful.
Kind redirection with an explanation of what happened is much more productive and professional.
Except,,,,,,,,,the Forum Moderators have explained many, MANY times that what with the overwhelming amount of misplaced posts, they simply no longer have the time to move such post to the proper forum. Thus,,,,,,,,,such posts are now deleted. The Forum Moderators have also post stickies explaining this at the top of every forum.
My two cents
It is funny as my IMP Pacific is a three rail with all scale wheels so while it runs on AC 3 rail, it needs something larger than O72 because the center driver is flanged. My 17/64" box cab electric is set up with outside 3rd rail wipers. Scale wheels as well though.
@Hot Water posted:
I know what 3 rail scale is....however, many folks don't and i think this might be part of why. I've never seen those descriptions you mention anywhere on here.... when someone goes to create a new post on a smart phone they get this menu with no explanation or definitions in sight. 
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Jack you know I always respect your opinion. With the increase in post deletions, I will take more time to verify a post is in the right forum before I respond.
Some folks really like having stuff precisely and exactly ordered. I guess it takes all kinds. Everything will be fine if you sit in your seat and do exactly as you are told.
@Brian DeFazio posted:I know what 3 rail scale is....however, many folks don't and i think this might be part of why. I've never seen those descriptions you mention anywhere on here.... when someone goes to create a new post on a smart phone they get this menu with no explanation or definitions in sight.
If one selects (clicks on) the 3-Rail SCALE Forum, there are sticky subjects at the top, one being "WHAT IS 3-RAIL SCALE". Please check it out.
@Hot Water posted:If one selects (clicks on) the 3-Rail SCALE Forum, there are sticky subjects at the top, one being "WHAT IS 3-RAIL SCALE". Please check it out.
Well now it makes sense to me why folks aren't seeing it!.... I can completely create and publish a post in any category I choose without ever going into any of the forums. By doing so, I or anyone else posting will completely miss the sticky notes! Is there a way to change that so those descriptions appear without going into the actual forum?
@bob2 posted:Some folks really like having stuff precisely and exactly ordered. I guess it takes all kinds. Everything will be fine if you sit in your seat and do exactly as you are told.
No. That's not it at all. Just makes things easier to find later instead of having folks posting the interminable "Where's........." silliness.
@Brian DeFazio posted:Well now it makes sense to me why folks aren't seeing it!.... I can completely create and publish a post in any category I choose without ever going into any of the forums. By doing so, I or anyone else posting will completely miss the sticky notes! Is there a way to change that so those descriptions appear without going into the actual forum?
Brian, while I basically agree with the sentiments in HotWater's post, I completely understand and agree with your point here.
I just went out to the 3RS section, and yes, there is a "sticky" post with a 3RS explanation, yet it's currently the 9th post down the Featured Topics List. SO even while in the sub forum itself, one my scroll right past it.
I do agree that more attention needs to be paid to placing posts in a proper category. When I'm here, I pretty much just use the side bar navigation "Recent Posts" to view posts. More times than not, the topic title does not make it obvious what section I'll be going to. This is especially true with For Sale or Wanted To Buy posts. The topic may simply say "Century Club 773 Hudson" That's a loco I have and I like reading topics about it. However, I click on it, and I'm taken to a "For Sale....."
Anyway I strayed a bit here. I wonder if the software would allow OGR to make a sticky sticky that is forum specific, so that it stays at the top of the Featured Topics box. Just a thought
@EscapeRocks posted:Brian, while I basically agree with the sentiments in HotWater's post, I completely understand and agree with your point here.
I just went out to the 3RS section, and yes, there is a "sticky" post with a 3RS explanation, yet it's currently the 9th post down the Featured Topics List. SO even while in the sub forum itself, one my scroll right past it.
I do agree that more attention needs to be paid to placing posts in a proper category. When I'm here, I pretty much just use the side bar navigation "Recent Posts" to view posts. More times than not, the topic title does not make it obvious what section I'll be going to. This is especially true with For Sale or Wanted To Buy posts. The topic may simply say "Century Club 773 Hudson" That's a loco I have and I like reading topics about it. However, I click on it, and I'm taken to a "For Sale....."
Anyway I strayed a bit here. I wonder if the software would allow OGR to make a sticky sticky that is forum specific, so that it stays at the top of the Featured Topics box. Just a thought
Great suggestion!
It frustrates me to no end posting a reply to someone with an answer and also seeing great information in threads get deleted out of the blue. That being said though we definitely need to take on the responsibility of doing our best to make sure our threads are started in the proper forum. There are times when moving vs deletion would probably make more sense especially when there are a long list of replies but this all takes time and effort. On a small forum with maybe 25-50 posts a day that is probably manageable but OGR I would gather has 100s of posts in a day.
Like I said it does frustrate me but imagine how much time and frustration this causes the moderator (s). Not sure if the forum allows a pop up before you can post a new thread that says "Are you sure this is the correct forum?" then you confirm it is before a thread start is made. It is a lose / lose for both us and the OGR folks either way you look at it.
I suggest we do our best to make sure the section you are posting in is the most applicable. Perhaps then when there is a whoops, rather than moving a lot of threads maybe it's only 1 or 2. The GG1 thread though to me was borderline for either section it was posted in.
Why is it so difficult to ignore threads that do not interest you? I look on a number of forums here, but never open those that have titles like “I need help”, or “Pray for John.” If a thread says “My Lionel 2-6-2 won’t run” I leave that to the 2-6-2 experts.
But again it takes all kinds. A lot of participants here desire protection from topics that bother them.
@bob2 posted:Why is it so difficult to ignore threads that do not interest you? I look on a number of forums here, but never open those that have titles like “I need help”, or “Pray for John.” If a thread says “My Lionel 2-6-2 won’t run” I leave that to the 2-6-2 experts.
But again it takes all kinds. A lot of participants here desire protection from topics that bother them.
A pretty good observation. If no one was hitting an alert for these types of things I doubt they'd every get deleted because no one would be the wiser. I'm sure the moderators have better things to do with their time than scouring the forum for misplaced threads. It's only when they get an alert that they are most likely taking action.
"Just how much trouble is it to post in the right forum?"
Actually, it can be a real pain in the tush, especially if you are using an iPhone, or at least that is my experience. My phone does a VERY bad job of differentiating all the various categories! So bad, that I do not use it to make ANY posts to this Forum. I will read posts on it, but often wonder whether I'm seeing everything or not. I hate the version of Safari on my phone. What is a better mobile browser? My iPad and PC are far superior in this aspect.
Chris
LVHR
I was giving this some thought this afternoon. There is a reason that democratic governments are not quite as popular as autocratic schemes seem to be. Folks like to be controlled by their chosen leaders. A system where we can "turn each other in" has proved to be quite popular.
Why in the world would it bother anyone to see a mis-filed thread? If someone asks a question here that would be better answered on the tinplate forum, we just re-direct them. Easy.
@bob2 posted:I was giving this some thought this afternoon. There is a reason that democratic governments are not quite as popular as autocratic schemes seem to be. Folks like to be controlled by their chosen leaders. A system where we can "turn each other in" has proved to be quite popular.
Why in the world would it bother anyone to see a mis-filed thread? If someone asks a question here that would be better answered on the tinplate forum, we just re-direct them. Easy.
Except,,,,,,,,,,,,the original poster is NOT able to move/relocate his/her initial post. Only the Forum Moderators are able to accomplish that, and they are way too busy.
@lehighline posted:"Just how much trouble is it to post in the right forum?"
Actually, it can be a real pain in the tush, especially if you are using an iPhone, or at least that is my experience. My phone does a VERY bad job of differentiating all the various categories! So bad, that I do not use it to make ANY posts to this Forum. I will read posts on it, but often wonder whether I'm seeing everything or not. I hate the version of Safari on my phone. What is a better mobile browser? My iPad and PC are far superior in this aspect.
This forum was never intended to be user-friendly on the tiny screen of a phone. It’s an effort in futility. Way too much content here for the small phone screen.
@bob2 posted:Why is it so difficult to ignore threads that do not interest you? I look on a number of forums here, but never open those that have titles like “I need help”, or “Pray for John.” If a thread says “My Lionel 2-6-2 won’t run” I leave that to the 2-6-2 experts.
But again it takes all kinds. A lot of participants here desire protection from topics that bother them.
I agree with you. We then get into the issue of giving your thread a proper title. As my example above shows, many time their will be a simple topic title that make you think you're going to read some discussion about a particular item, only to find yourself in the "For Sale" section. I've made the suggestion before that people ad FS: or WTB: at the front of their topic title.
Topics I absolutely do not click on are those that are titled, "Check this out......." and the like.
@Rich Melvin posted:This forum was never intended to be user-friendly on the tiny screen of a phone. It’s an effort in futility. Way too much content here for the small phone screen. I suspect the trend towards using the phone is going to continue increasing.
In observing people for the last ten years or on my commute to Seattle and back, I observe the vast majority of people using their phones, and not laptops, including on the Sounder Train, which has tables with most seats. I am sure there are substantial costs involved in making the site more user friendly. Best, dave
Well this turned into a lively discussion. The loco in question was scale length GG-1 with center pick ups. ( It was photographed on 2 rail track, but if you look at the photo of the bottom, you can see the center rail pick ups.) So where should this have been posted?
I might add that the original poster was Carey Williams. I don't know if there is a single poster on this forum with more knowledge of the history of all things model trains.
hello all let's just assume that the folks that look after the form thought it belonged in two rail which is just fine. I'm sure there are bigger axes to grind. We're all grateful that there is a form that we can post this stuff and share our interest with others.
Will , thank you for your kind words but we're all learning here I'm no better than anyone else ,happy to share whatever I might have learned. Also happy to eat crow when I write something incorrect and later , learn the truth.
Cheers Carey
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That is a much better attitude than mine. I am blown away with the idea that this regimentation is so important to some folks.
Like Carey, I get it wrong all the time. It would be nice to be right at least half the time; alas . . .
The complaints here are the exact reason I limit my time here. in the past it was much better, now if you make a mistake your post has a good chance of being deleted. Too bad, it used to be fun.
Dave
