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Oh well. I liked it better under John Stewart's ownership and when it was a HTML forum. Stewart's Railfan.net forums that came about after he dumped RRNET (the alternate URL for the RRNET forums was rr.railfan.net/forums back then; that URL redirects to the above-hyperlinked forums of today) are very different in focus, seemingly more photo-oriented.
palmland Member # 4344
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Is this a good thing, GBN? I've 'lurked' there occasionally but found it a little too rigid to suit me. No flights of fancy or off topic meanderings permitted - that's half the fun of this forum. But the participants are knowledgeable and well informed about all things railroad or Amtrak.
ghCBNS Member # 3093
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quote:Originally posted by palmland: No flights of fancy or off topic meanderings permitted - that's half the fun of this forum. But the participants are knowledgeable and well informed about all things railroad or Amtrak.
My thoughts exactly. That’s why I like it over at “TrainOrders” too and willing to pay a subscription. Some of the posts there lead into off-topic discussion that become even more interesting than the original.
But try that at Railroad.Net.......even if there’s still lots of discussion but it’s drifting off-topic........If the Mod doesn’t like it, it’s locked!
smitty195 Member # 5102
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I'm surprised to hear that you like Trainorders because of the topics being allowed to meander. I have found the exact opposite, and that the webmaster/moderator has two sets of rules. One set of rules for his friends, and another set of rules for people he doesn't know. The guy is strange---I have had several nasty encounters with him, 100% of which were initiated by him. At one point, he even said I needed "mental help". My opinion is that he is a frustrated wanna-be cop who never could make it in the job, and now he plays cop on his website. Just my opinion......
He also threatens people with lawsuits and criminal prosecutions for things that are absolutely ridiculous. I have a friend who did something stupid (and he admits that---it was a dumb thing to do), however, the webmaster/moderator sent him a NASTY email that threatened him with arrest on felony charges. I know the legal system, and I know the types of crimes that a DA would file charges on. This specific incident was a joke, and his threat was empty. He was, once again, playing cop----the problem is, he doesn't know HOW to play cop, so he should just stick to trains. Until you've had a personal encounter with him, none of this will make sense. But just wait....sooner or later, everyone has a bizarre encounter with him. It's why his membership has dropped like a brick, and it's why the quality of topics and quality of photography has been rapidly going downhill. I don't know if you were on Trainorders 5 years ago, but the difference between then and now is like night and day. Most of the good people with inside info and interesting stories are gone---pushed away by the webmaster. They (we) just couldn't tolerate his BS any longer.
ghCBNS Member # 3093
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quote:Originally posted by smitty195: I'm surprised to hear that you like Trainorders because of the topics being allowed to meander. I have found the exact opposite, and that the webmaster/moderator has two sets of rules. One set of rules for his friends, and another set of rules for people he doesn't know........
Guess my TrainOrder posts have never pushed any buttons....but over at Railroad.Net, I’ve been "Locked" several times.
irishchieftain Member # 1473
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quote:smitty195 wrote:
I have found the exact opposite, and that the webmaster/moderator has two sets of rules. One set of rules for his friends, and another set of rules for people he doesn't know. The guy is strange---I have had several nasty encounters with him, 100% of which were initiated by him. At one point, he even said I needed "mental help"
Todd Clark telling people they need "mental help"? The same guy that shut down his own chat room because people found out about his obsession with keeping chat logs, with someone that was deliberately trolling the chat and provoking chatters doing the logging, and brought it up to him...? That is rich.
Only difference between RRNET and TO is that on the latter site, they ban you quicker instead of locking topics.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Railroad Net Forums have now been yanked - right on schedule.
Ocala Mike Member # 4657
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Right you are, Gil; I think it happened right in the middle of me typing a post to a thread about "Amtrak and Christmas." Says the site is down for maintenance and will be back on Monday. We shall see.
irishchieftain Member # 1473
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It's back up at time of writing.
Henry Kisor Member # 4776
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My $0.02: Railforum is the onliest railroad-related site I visit any more. The others are run too anally for me, and the tendency of their self-appointed gauleiters to alter messages without even asking is just too high-handed. True, some folks on Railforum can be a bit shirty or juvenile or in-your-face, but they mostly have redeeming qualities as well. The users' general tendency to hijack threads is highly entertaining because those tangential subjects are most often interesting in themselves.
If there is a lack on Railforum, perhaps it's in new users who bring fresh points of view. I understand there was a problem (maybe still is?) in the software that either prevented or discouraged new users from registering.
TwinStarRocket Member # 2142
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And I would bet Railforum is the onliest site that has included a discussion on the Doppler effect when bagpipes are played on an open flatcar.
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