Chrissaf Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 As of this morning, some of you will have noticed that the 'Off Topic' forum has now been removed. This action has been taken by Hornby Hobbies as a direct consequence of recent events in the 'Off Topic' forum.As a result of this Hornby Hobbies policy change, only Railway related topic threads that match one of the remaining forum section titles will be deemed compliant with the new posting policy. Posters that cannot adhere to this policy and continue to publish posts of a more 'chatroom’ nature will find that their posts are removed without comment.Having been given prior advance warning of this policy change, a few selected posts of particular merit from the 'Off Topic' section have been saved and relocated to other forum sections. For example, the post by LC&DR "Specially Constructed Railway Wagons" can now be found in the ‘General Discussion' forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCDR Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 Not entirely surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 So what happens to all of the other topics that are not moved to the General Disscussion sub-forum? Will they all get deleted? That's a shame. I rather liked the Off Topic sub-forum. GNR-Gordon-4 (HF) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 It was ruined by ridiculous posts I'm afraid. I'm all for a bit of humour but............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 I had a feeling that the Off Topic sub-forum was going to close for good. The posts by the ComMod's and the fact that so many posts and topics have been removed recently, was a sign. End of an era. Now it's gone, I am sure it won't be coming back. GNR-Gordon-4 (HF) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 Not an end of an era but the end, hopefully, of some really silly posts that got dafter and dafter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 I know some of the posts and threads were daft, but none of them annoyed me to the point I wouldn't even click on them again. Question: Was my bus spotting thread daft and of a 'chatroom' nature? GNR-Gordon-4 (HF) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 We all have different tastes Jacob. Some people don't know when to stop and keep adding more and more drivel. 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 Question: Was my bus spotting thread daft and of a 'chatroom' nature?.Not particularly Jacob. Which is probably why it and the replies it generated were left intact. But that does not mean that something similar will necessarily be left intact in the future if posted again, given that 'Off Topic' is now no longer an available forum to put such a post in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 As stated if you want a chatroom style posting area look on other social media sites - Hornby has Twitter, FB and other similar venues more suited to that sort of posting. Great effort has been made to regain control of the forum for its intended purpose - help and discussions about model railways and associated topics - not the la-la and drivel as cited by WTD which has upset several members enough to cause them to leave the forum. This type of behaviour has happened before and it is understood those members involved were contacted directly by Admin and told to toe the line or expect the push. Unfortunately short memories by some have resulted in a lapse back to their old habits which will not now be tolerated. The main problem we had as moderators was that regardless of how silly the original post was it somehow always generated a sensible response from others and this made it difficult to remove the dross without affecting the topic as a whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 @walkingthedog Yeah, tell me about it! 😆 😉 😀 @Chrissaf Thank you for your swift reply, to my question. 😀 If I ever was going to post another topic about buses or about other interests that I have, apart from model railways and railways, I would not do that now, being that the Off Topic sub-forum has been removed. I am glad it was not daft and I did put in some careful consideration into it, before posting it. I considered it not being daft, so I took the risk and I posted it. The bus spotting thread did generate a lot of positive replies and a few members revealed that they are or were a bus spotter, in the past. I am very grateful to everyone who replied in that topic. GNR-Gordon-4 (HF) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 Jacob,One final comment from me as I doubt I will add anything more on the subject in this thread..Look at it this way. In life, it is the thoughtless actions of the minority that inevitably spoil everything for the majority..Note: The above comment is a comment on 'life in general' and not specific to the issues raised in this forum thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 Yes, that is very true Chris. GNR-Gordon-4 (HF) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 You are back in chat mode. No need to respond to every comment. Same goes for all the polite thank you notes, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 That's not chat mode, Rob (RAF96). If I didn't reply to somebody, they will not know if I have read their reply or not. It's the same when somebody posts an image at my request and I do not reply with "thank you". The other person will almost certainly deem that as being rude. I am certain that it's not chat mode. It's being polite. I am sorry that I disagree with you here, but I do not believe that being polite is a 'chat mode'. I do not believe we should skip politeness. GNR-Gordon-4 (HF) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ73 Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 I'm with Jacob - I too enjoyed the 'Off Topic section' - To be Honest, The only 2 Section the I normally post into is the General Discussion & Off Topic - cos those were really the only 2 section that I found the most interesting to post in to!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCDR Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 As has been said earlier there are other media that can be used for the more trivial discussions, and also other forums that deal with model railways . What seems to be overlooked is that Hornby is the only model railway manufacturer who has had the good grace to provide a discussion medium for its customers and where people who have a problem with their trains can seek answers and assistance, and can ask prototype questions to help them create authentic layouts. By filling up the forum with waffle and sadly also using it to slag off other contributors damages the reputation of the forum. I myself have had to take 'a break' because other contributors have railed personal attacks when I have contributed. There are forums which are not linked to a manufacturer which are more liberal in their moderation (and some which are so restrictive as to be boring) but I feel that Hornby has got it about right. I would however suggest (as I have done so in the past) that the topic areas do need a bit of an overhaul. There needs to be a section for electronic products including DCC , Railmaster etc of course, and one for niche products like Thomas, Live Steam and Bassett Lowke , with perhaps a Beginner's help section where FAQs are posted but also clarification can be obtained. Perhaps the use of sub-groups might help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 Well said LC, unfortunately until the forum is totally overhauled we are stuck with what we have in the way of Topic Area and Sub-Groups. It is not just a case of simple politeness. Of course we should be polite - that is in the forum rules. It is a case of the forum is filling with unecessary posts. Each such post essentially wastes space on the Hornby servers. A two word thank you takes up as much room as a hearty post such as LCs above. What is required on the forum is a tick box where a thumbs up, like, agree or other symbol can be added to the post as seen on other commercial forums. That way the OP knows that other folk have seen and acknowledged their efforts, but the thread is kept tidy and much easier to search on later. Until we get that facility it will be a case of if someone has asked for a particular addition then once that is up there is no need for the endless thank yous - it will be assumed. All such one line trivial politeness will be removed In future along with any other ‘dross’. Folk may as well get used to the new thinking or as others have done look for a forum that better suits their needs. I am on several forums and have also tried but binned some others because of the way they are laid out or run, etc. Horses for courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 When is the forum due to be overhauled? How is a post, such as saying “thank you”, a waste of forum space? GNR-Gordon-4 (HF) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 When is the forum due to be overhauled?.Who knows.....maybe never. Rob's reference to 'overhaul' is just a desire........a hope .....wishful thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB51 Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 @ Souty Train Guy Having had the purpose for its removal explained I am at a loss to understand why you felt the need to search for it, report its hidden status and publish its location. Please do not flout the intention behind the decision. Your post has been removed from view. R- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2e0dtoeric Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 Shame. I used to read it now and then - not for the intellectual content, but to see how inane some of the questions/comments were.Now, I suspect they will just spill over into the 'General' thread, unless 'stamped on' promptly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCDR Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 As Eric hints, I suspect our Mods will have their work cut out in future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 When is the forum due to be overhauled? How is a post, such as saying “thank you”, a waste of forum space? Is it necessary to have to explain everything at primary school level. As Chris says a forum overhaul is a wishlist item to possibly get those items we want to make the forum easier to manage. e.g Like buttons. As already explained a post of any length takes up much the same room on the server due it having to save all the page data, formatting, etc. Hence your two word posts are a waste of space and Com Mod time spent purging them. If you search the forum text on Thank You you will see what I mean - over 650 pages of hits most of which add nothing to any discussion. There is a difference in posting a Thank you to the Hornby Service Department for sorting oput a problem and saying Thank you for posting a picture I asked for. I will not be answering anymore comments on this Jacob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 @Chrissaf I understand. I would also like the thumbs, etc vote buttons to be added. Would be super useful, to all users with an account. GNR-Gordon-4 (HF) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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