New board organization coming shortly

[tom mann]

Let me thank everyone for supporting the Railwire and please excuse this email blast message!  It certainly is a great community of people, and I hope to eventually meet each and every one of you (assuming you make all the effort ) .

We have grown in size so much over the last few years and it looks like the basic organization we have relied on is creating some unintended issues.  Over the next day or two, the following changes will be made (change to passive voice intended):

• A new board will be created called Product Announcement and Reviews.  All product discussions and announcements will be moved here.  Why?  The N Scale board used to contain far many more threads on modeling.  Now, the product reviews (and subsequent bickering ) are so frequent that the great modeling of our members is being overshadowed.  This board will be for all scales.
• The N and Z scale forums will be combined.
• A new thread ratings system will be implemented to allow the user community (i.e., you) to vote on threads (like 1-5 stars).  This will make the "best of" board eventually go away.  You'll be able to sort threads based on ratings.   You'll also be able to bookmark threads.
• It's going to be called New Coke and be a little sweeter.

I'm looking forward to these changes, and I hope the forum will be a little more user friendly in the near future as a result.

[Andrew Hutchinson]

Thanks,

Item No. 1 will be much appreciated.

Andrew Hutchinson

[tom mann]

Also, most of this can be done without bringing the forum down, but things might look "odd" until all work is complete.

[MVW]

Let me thank everyone for supporting the Railwire and please excuse this email blast message!  It certainly is a great community of people, and I hope to eventually meet each and every one of you (assuming you make all the effort ) .

I don't look at it as "meeting you." More like hunting you down. 


Jim

[DKS]

It's going to be called New Coke and be a little sweeter.

[seusscaboose]

Banner time.

[tom mann]

He looks like he doesn't like it:

What a great cover for changing to corn syrup!

[Dave Schneider]

Good to see that I'm not the only one who had a full head of hair in the 1980s.   

This is a great idea, and "Reviews" is such a great term for the discussion that follows every announcement. Thanks for your work on this.

Best wishes, Dave

[Kisatchie]

• The N and Z scale forums will be combined.

Oh no! Who wants to slog through all the bickering on the Z scale forum, newly transplanted to the N forum? 


Hmm... Kiz is more nuts
than usual today...

[peteski]

One of the main reasons I came here after the demise of the A-board was because this forum had a *VERY* active N scale board.  I'm an N scaler - period.  I also liked the fact that there is a Crew Lounge for bull$hit stuff, and I like that the forum is well moderated.

While (looking at the amount of posts in Z scale section) I don't think the merge will be all that distracting, I would still prefer having a pure N scale section.  I like it the way it is now (and I often complain when others post non-N scale stuff in that section).

H0 and larger scale board has as little (or even fewer) posts than Z. How about leaving the N scale board and thrown all the other scales in a single board?

[Philip H]

I like pulling out product discussions - I hope the other scale guys will use that board too because there are often cross-scale uses for products.

Like peteski I'm here for the N scale board. So unless you have a host imposed limit (!) I'd say keep Z, N, HO and above.

[VonRyan]

Yea. I think keeping N and Z seperate is the best option. Far more organized that way.

[Bob Bufkin]

Can you change Product Announcement and Review to Bitch and Moan

[tom mann]

Yea. I think keeping N and Z seperate is the best option. Far more organized that way.

You would think that, but look how many Z threads (that aren't AZL announcements) have been created over the last few years.  Not many.

[Dave V]

We can have a bash forum with subfora for each manufacturer!

We can have a Bachmann bash forum, an MTL bash forum, an Intermountain bash forum, a Walthers bash forum, and an assorted "I'm just angry" forum.  Each individual chronic basher (you know who you are!) can choose his least favorite manufacturer and post his bashing all the live long day!

Then we can wall it off from the rest of the Railwire population so we don't have to see that crap anymore.

Just a thought!