Forum has gone to the dogs

[dynax]

Over the last few weeks i have noticed very little activity of new members joining up and enjoying the forum for what it should be used for, all i have seen is how bad Hornby have been performing,  negative comments about deliveries, and even more complaints about customer care, it's no wonder people don't want to join in what is supposed to be a lighthearted friendly place to chat, help people with problems on their layouts and give general advice for what should be an enjoyable hobby, instead readers are continually bombarded with people who do nothing but throw there toys out of there prams when they don't have it their own way, if i have offended anyone then good because you deserve it, if you must have a moan then go see a shrink, if there is anything that we as a forum community can to do to help is return the forum to it's proper use for what it is intended for,

[walkingthedog]

Well said Mike. 

[Postman Prat]

Couldn't agree more, Mike

 

There've been very few 'calls for help' lately

[poliss]

I'm not surprised when posts go off topic almost immediately. What on earth have American politics and the EU got to do with model railways?

[Howbi]

@ Dynax..........can't help but agree with your comments, Mike... HB

[walkingthedog]

Poliss all this forum has become is a place to complain because a delivery has taken 3 days. The only place where people ask for advice is the DCC and Railmaster sections. If you try to lighten things up to stop people cutting their wrists others come along and moan, it's pointless.

 

What has the EU and US politics got to do with model railways, the same question could be asked about deliveries taking over 3 days. 

 

Lighten up everybody. 

[poliss]

People are expecting the same delivery times as they get with other retailers. Same day or next day delivery.

Those kind of questions are Hornby related. American politics and EU immigration policy should be discussed elsewhere and never on Hornby's forums.

The posts on the Hornby facebook page rarely go off topic, and customer queries and complaints are usually answered by Hornby there.

[Yelrow]

Mike, you make a good point. However, it is not us, the regular members that cause most of the controversy. We have a lot of 1-3 post wonders, who light the touch paper, only to disappear. We have had the new members issue raised before, some of whom, had their questions answered, but others, who left, feeling it was a bit of an old boys network. There are, certainly,  some old  boys on the forum, as it is not a cheap hobby for youngsters, but the wealth of experience, both in D C, and DCC, would be hard to match. My own view is that you need a relatively thick  skin to contribute freely, and honestly on these forums, and this does not always sit well with new members, when they read some of the banter, and take it the wrong way. On the other forum, that we both belong to, many new members come, but also go, and if you took a head count of the regulars we are not poles apart. john

[dynax]

Hi John, i do agree with that a few one post wonders air their grievences and start the spark, but it is the regular members that continue to fuel the fire, instead of commenting why don't they just read and forget, having a thread full of ( I wish i could swear) isn't going to make it arrive any quicker, i also agree you do need a thick skin, but at the same time it's the people with genuine problems that we as a community can help them with, and it's those people i feel sorry for because they will probably feel uncomfortable about asking for help because of all the dross that is dished out on these forums, i'm not going to name names but there are plenty of regulars that just cause more problems just for the sake of it, and it is to those that should know better and grow up, you know who you are, get a grip and be more cosiderate, do something nice for a change, 

[Teedoubleudee]

I'm here mainly for the DCC and Railmaster sections. Totally agree about all the negativity in the general section - perhaps admin should scrap it all together and then at least we should have mainly topic related posts only. Or we could rename the general section "Moans and Complaints" save us having to read them 😉

[WilliamDavid]

I don't think it is wrong to use the General Discussion Forum for moans and complaints. We all need to vent our wrath at times.

The dcc and Railmaster Forums are of more interest to me, but I enjoy the General Forum nevertheless.

Beware of trying to censor this site to suit your views.

[dynax]

I have no problem with people having the occasional moan, but there is no need for pages of garbage from members jumping on the band wagon, if someone has a rant let them have it but there is no need to reply to it and take over,

[trainlover23]

 The trouble is that a few years ago things did get out of hand with every post hijacked by certain members some of whom are still on the forum. If one actually stops and thinks about some " one post wonders" you see that it is clearly a wind up or they have bought a pup on EBAY and expect forum members to sort it out with little or pathetic information. Unfortunately this is now the way of the world 

[Teedoubleudee]

I don't think it is wrong to use the General Discussion Forum for moans and complaints. We all need to vent our wrath at times.

The dcc and Railmaster Forums are of more interest to me, but I enjoy the General Forum nevertheless.

Beware of trying to censor this site to suit your views.

 

My reply was meant to be tongue in cheek. Hence the smiley "wink".

[Wobblinwheel]

You know, nobody makes anybody continue to read a post that goes "off topic", or contains a multitude of (sometimes) escalating complaints. Those very "complaints" are sometimes what it takes to get things that need correcting...corrected. Especially any outfit that doesn't properly respond to emails. If they did, the complaints probably wouldn't "bog down" the forums. "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" sometimes is what it takes around here. If you're offended, or bothered by it, divert your eyes, take a pill, or at least get a beer......and come back and do some "complaining" of your own. Case in point.....

[The Captain90]

I am one of the guilty ones in using this Forum to air my communication problems with Hornby. In doing this I did finally get a reply from Hornby and in that they acknowledged their "slackness" by giving me a discount on my next purchase.

If using this Forum is the only way to get a timely reply I will do it again in need. With the number of other members mentioning their communication problems, surely Hornby have to acknowledge the problem and implement a long term solution.

[Wobblinwheel]

From what I figure, on average, about three out of THIRTY posts are exclusively based on complaints involving delivery problems and customer service. That's a whopping ten percent!  About that same percentage will drift completely off topic. It does seem to me a very small amount of griping is what's causing people to gripe, just for the sake of griping. Wasn't that one of the "problems" being griped about? Isn't this a bit off topic....??

[Fazy]

It's always been this way someone asks a question and on the whole gets answered in the first page or two.  Then some of the guys have a laugh where's the problem.  

 

Has for topics to do with deliver,  quality, or emails etc do what I do and don't read them. Has I see it I am here a modeler. And not a secretary for people. To only tell them quite often common sense answers

[Huwsie]

Guys.... now we are all moaning about the moaning....

It's model trains - it's a hobby - enjoy it

Deliveries - it's a model train, not life supporting medication, so does a few days waiting really matter?

I come onto the forum mainly for relaxation, and education - some of the tricks of the trade I've picked up here are simply outstanding, and have made the hobby even greater for me.

Use the forum as such - when you're stuck with an issue, look on here, then if no previous posting on it raise one, and several people will almost instantly share their ideas and experiences with you...

The forum is a great tool... don't let it become a weapon!

[BrumDave]

Cant help but have a bit of a giggle, compared to Camera and Photography forums I would say the Hornby Forum is Forum Heaven.

Having been involved with a photography forum for well over 12 years I can tell you from what I have read on this forum the whole lot of you are pretty lucky., every forum has people that give others the pip, my advice is suck it up and move on, also all forums tend to get a wee bit unintersting and boring at times but someone usually posts something to get everyone interested that usually does the trick.

[96RAF]

I think at times the regulars may forget that youngsters and new members use the forum and could be put off by some of the 'chatter' on here, inane or otherwise.

 

it is interesting to compare the various forums topic headings, some of which are very comprehensive and even have sub groups for individual loco classes and some have just a few headings. This one seems to be shrinking and no sign of separate DCC sound yet.

 

on the subject of deliveries. It is such a pain to have stuff delivered here - no door to door parcel service at all, so you have to go fetch it yourself - that I have all my stuff delivered to UK and pick it up on occasion of my next visit, so I can wait 3 months before I get my hands on stuff, now that is patience.

 

Re customs - I had a PC motherboard rejected by customs three times before it LEFT China and that is a place where you take the open parcel for inspection before it gets into the mail system. I waited 18 months to get that mobo and it died as soon as the guarantee expired.

 

[Yelrow]

A solution could be a DC, only section where people can post and receive seasoned advice from our Real Train Experts, as opposed to this new fangled stuff. This would leave the General Section for general things, such as deliveries, complaints, etc. Despite mounting belief, there was life before RM, and DCC, and will continue with many of us, even if  out of step . john

[LCDR]

 Let us get real! The main part of the forum generally speaking  is no better and no worse than it was three or four years ago. There are the grumpy old (and not so old) who have minimal sense of humour, and find fault with everything, there are the wags and jokers who love to hijack a thread to exercise their brand of humour, there are the experts who spend a lot of time trying to answer a multitude of questions raised by newbies. And sadly the rude and inconsiderate who have no real interest in the hobby but still like to have a dig at anyone who ventures an opinion.

 

The one post wonders were always with us and undoubtedly will always be so.

 

There have been some really good inovations of late, not least The Engine Shed and Simon's blog. Excellent additions, and something we need more of.

 

Let us not write the forum off just because there has been a bit of a lull of late and the grumpies have shown up over the rest, that will not last. And I don't think censorship is the answer either.

 

I personally think that sometimes contributors who feel they have had a bad deal need to vent their dissatisfaction, and seek solace from others who may also have had similar disappontments.  However I do find some posts suggest that the contributor believes they are communicating directly to Customer Service when they post on the forum. I don't believe that is ever going to change anything. Far better to write personally to the CEO, surely!

 

The world is not perfect, so why should Hornby, the Forum or LCDR be any different!!??

 

[2e0dtoeric]

So Dynax has started a new thread, and what is it about? His moans and groans about people moaning about the forum!

Come on - grow up and get a life. If you go into a pub (assuming you are old enough) is the conversation strictly about the beer? Of course not. The chat is free-ranging, covering everything from your corns, to the weather, work, broken cars - you name it.

As was said in an earlier reply - once the query (if there WAS one) has been answered, what does it matter if the topic wanders off?

If some of these one-post-wonders would bother to read and search the threads before they ask, they would probably find their query has already been answered (many times!), but nobody bothers doing any research first, any more, they'd rather get someone else to do it for them, but they don't even bother to include useful information . How many times do you see the same question, with minor word (and spelling!) variations - that basically say that the person has bought a train form a car-boot/e-bay, etc, and it doesn't go. What is wrong with it?

They don't identify the model, or explain what it does or doesn't do, and WE are supposed to guess.

Or they send for something from China, and expect delivery next day. Life isn't like that. It gets here when it gets here. Even the GPO don't guarantee next day delivery any more, and especially if you order late Thursday, It 'might' get packed on Friday, and it 'might' be collected on Friday afternoon, but it certainly won't be delivered until Tuesday, because it won't go anywhere further than the collecting depot sortng area. Saturday and Sunday are NOT working days.

Some - but not all - courier services run a Friday overnight trunk distribution, but even then, it will only get as far as the nearest sorting office to the destination.

So - Don't blame Hornby for the faults of the delivery system. Once a parcel has gone into the system, it is the lap of the gods when and where it will appear again!

How do I know? I used to work for Securicor, who became DHL, who are now Yodel.

[dynax]

On one of the other forums that myself and others are a member of we do have banter, threads go off topic on a regular basis, but what we do have is respect for each other, which is lacking on this forum,  there are members here that do look down their noses, and seem to think that they own the forum, and that nobody can say otherwise, everyone is entitled to have opinion this is what make the world go round,