halfwit Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Can we not just leave this discussion alone now and go back to doing some Railway Modelling??!! 2012 Challenge Time! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 2012 Challenge Time! Come back next Thursday. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Natalie Graham Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I do find it odd that some of those purporting to be suportive and appreciative of Andy's efforts are also saying they will clear off if they don't like what happens in the future. I guess they don't really care whether the forum flourishes or not. Meanwhile anyone who actually cares enough to consider potential pitfalls or problems is derided as being negative. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackRat Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 2012 Challenge Time! Come back next Thursday. Bu**er!!! ere we go again................. STU..........................................................!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 No, but it won't necessarily be the end of an opportunity to win some goodies! Great! As long as it isn't a paper copy of the latest MI or a free subscription to Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dukedog Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I think Huw has hit the nail firmly on the head, His post sums up my sentiments exactly, only he has a better way with words than I have which is one of the reasons I don't usually post in these topics. I will just add that this topic is also being discussed to death on a lot of forums by people who think that the world is about to end! So, I shall leave people to argue until the cows come home it won't make any difference. I shall now go and do some modelling rather than get further involved in train set politics! Cheers! Frank Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkie_pudd Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 For all the cheers and doom gloom i aint fussed who owns or runs RMweb, because if the Mayan calender is right the world ends this year anyway. So that leaves me several months to enjoy RM for help/ tips or come 1st Jan 2013 if were still here, more future reading of RM THE REST DONT MATTER AS LONG AS RM STAYS ONLINE - PERIOD Cheers Ken Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Stubby47 Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2012 2012 Challenge Time! Come back next Thursday. Design a new colour scheme ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady_Ava_Hay Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 <huge snip> "When was the last time you did something for the first time?" Over the years, <more snip> Huw. Huw I agree with all of your post except this quote. As one gets older it gets more and more difficult to find something that is absolutely new to you. Then you admit to a lot of years under your belt. I feel sure that you know what I mean. It is also true that other fora have gone this way and the other way and shrivelled up as a result. Perhaps we are all recounting our experience.....or lack of it. If you note, very few of the 'great idea, Andy' posts are alluding to a success story in this arena but a number of 'naysayers' are alluding to negative results elsewhere. I earnestly think that RMweb is unique in its class and peer group. Perhaps that is why the note of caution in that we don't want the uniqueness disturbed but can quite clearly see that, under the circumstances pertaining at the time, this is by far the best course for everyone and we still have the guy and team that made RMweb unique. I think the phrase is 'the jury is out'. I would add that the judge is not a hanging one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Grafarman Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 7, 2012 Design a new colour scheme ? I still think we should be able to individually select our own schemes appropriate to the region/era we are modelling...!! Sorry, that wasn't anything particularly new or helpful, but still... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Trevellan Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2012 Why should it go on here - in a leisure related forum, populated by thousands of "grown-ups"? Who are you calling grown-up? How dare you, Sir. (Love the darkroom quote too - never heard that before). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby (John) Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Can we not just leave this discussion alone now and go back to doing some Railway Modelling??!! No, because there are still another 13856 members to post their admiration for Andy. Well done Andy, as one of the original RMwebbers from the 1st incarnation of RMWeb i am glad you are well and truly sorted. ( and thanks for running this great forum during your own difficult personal times ) Good luck matey J Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dilbert Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I do find it odd that some of those purporting to be suportive and appreciative of Andy's efforts are also saying they will clear off if they don't like what happens in the future. I guess they don't really care whether the forum flourishes or not. Meanwhile anyone who actually cares enough to consider potential pitfalls or problems is derided as being negative. I think this viewpoint is spot on. I believe the proceed with caution is a valid viewpoint. I think that the Warners backing has positive aspects, and these relate to areas that haven't yet been addressed (at least on this thread). As for the future, who knows how this arrangement will turn out ? Expecting the unexpected is a part of the uncertainty which relates to certain member concerns ... dilbert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2012 Great! As long as it isn't a paper copy of the latest MI or a free subscription to Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Today. It will probably be a book of layout plans for every layout included in a British model railway exhibition in 2011 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steam in 50s Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I am usually the last to find anything, well done andy all the best. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Western Scottish Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I really can't understand some of the opinions here other than change can cause uncertainty. Surely we should be celebrating the fact that RMweb continues under a sound financial basis. Also what right do we have to criticise. Its Andy's baby , he can do what he wants with it and I'm sure he wants it to prosper. If it comes to it , I can put up with a few adverts from Warners or elsewhere. We've got a really valuable rescource for FREE for gods sake. To all those that say "Oh I've posted for the last time"- why would that be? I'll bet they will not be able to stay away. Its a bit like cutting off your nose to spite your face- the only person to lose out will be themselves! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I believe the proceed with caution is a valid viewpoint. This viewpoint has has me puzzled. None of us is shareholders. Andy had considered the options and made all the decisions before starting this thread and so to re-quote the threads header, "RMweb is now part of the Warners family"... A subtle change might have appeased some members...."Warners is now part of the RMweb family".... I think it's time we started a wish list..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 45156 Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 7, 2012 I just have to add a little more to the debate - though I really think that there should be no debate, as whatever we say or do, the decision was taken - had Andy sought opinions on the move BEFORE signing on the dotted line, with 15,000 members he'd have got 15,010 answers and opinions. It is clear that RMWeb was in danger of vanishing under the increasing burden of size, membership and content - some time ago, when Andy was discussing our hosting requirements and why he chose a US based provider, he made the point that most UK based hosting companies would not be able to cope with the content that our members are throwing at the site - and Jim who runs the hosting provider actually stated once that he enjoyed hosting RMWeb as it was the most complex site on his books. Now that sort of site takes bandwidth and bandwith costs money - EVERY time the site has started to sag, Andy has taken the initiative to get the bandwith and server issues addressed before the site went totally belly up. And let's not forget the outage last year - Andy worked tirelessly for days to get the his site back and working - had he at that time been in work, I am pretty sure that the revival of the site would have been a lot slower. Just check any time how many members are online - it's seldom now under 250/300 - and that includes guests, who have always been more than welcome - many go on to sign up. So then the site gets bigger, and more bandwith is needed, and Andy as the owner/administrator of the site is landed with another bill - at a time when his finances can least stretch to any more payments. So then out comes the begging bowl again. I have donated whatever and whenever I could, and that has been cash, and donations of raffle prizes at the members' days - and I felt guilty (rightly or wrongly) that the amounts I was able to give were far less than the true value of this site, its content, and its members. The real crux of this issue - Andy was out of work, which I can verify is a very soul destroying situation, and nowadays in order to continue to receive any State assistance, one has to demonstrate that no stone is being unturned in the search for employment - and many people are forced into unsuitable jobs, often with unsocial hours thrown in. Had Andy had to follow that track, there is no doubt at all that the next appeal here would have been for a new administrator - and I doubt that there are many - active or passive, supportive of the new proposals, or sceptical, who would have been knocking on his door for the job of leeping the site alive. So to save the site AND to get off the dole at a stroke is a phenomenal achievement, regardless of what we think (or don't) about likely directions of the site. So yes. there are inevitably going to be concerns about the ingress of commercial influences, and yes, there are whose who have a dislike of the company which is now the owner of the site but whatever company Andy got into bed with (and make no mistake, some sort of commercial tie-up was bound to come for various reasons already mentioned) there would have been some who objected - I for one have no axe to grind with Warners or any other publisher, but I am just grateful that it was not Ian Allen/Hornby Mag which has now gone over to Key Publishing as that would have been much more of a source of concern. I sincerely believe that this topic is in danger of turning into a slanging match between those who agree, and those who don't (for whatever reasons) but I would encourage moderation on all parts - what has happened has happened, and thankfully we still have this resource at our disposal, and it is probably still the best on the web. I went across to another forum once - and OH it was stuffy, and some of the adverse comments there about this site, combined with its much less vibrant and tolerant approach were enough to make me weep - to the extent that I voted with my feet after a week and never logged in again - this site has its moments, but there is an amazing level of tolerance and moderation - at least there always has been in the past - I am very very surprised just how little intervention is needed on most topics on the part of the mods. And that is how I want things to remain - I don't care if there's a few more ads, a few more commercial links - what would drive ME away (after 6 1/2 years now - I was one of the first) would be if the site became less tolerant. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Sidecar Racer Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 7, 2012 Design a new colour scheme ? Strike two . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian J. Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 7, 2012 I tell you what, at least this thread has distracted from speculation and wishlisting about what Bachmann are going to be announcing in about, oh, a week's time... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 The real crux of this issue - Andy was out of work, which I can verify is a very soul destroying situation, and nowadays in order to continue to receive any State assistance, one has to demonstrate that no stone is being unturned in the search for employment - and many people are forced into unsuitable jobs, often with unsocial hours thrown in. I had a few months out of work in 2010 and it's an awful situation to be in - in hindsight the time I got with my son was invaluable but at the time you can't see an end to it and you know that ultimately you could loose your home. And signing on makes you feel worse as the Job Centre (certainly the one in Beverley!) can't cope with either the educated and/or those who are desperate to work. So someone securing a good job to provide for their family makes a website where people can discuss big and little trains for free suddenly seems rather minor. I've mentioned my concerns previously in this thread but we can all easily do one thing if we don't like the situation now or in the future - simply choose not to put rmweb.co.uk in the address bar! Apparently there's a whole world outside the the door... (adapted from Travis' Turn.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Neil Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 7, 2012 First of all my congratulations to Andy; landing a 'job of a lifetime' is a truly splendid achievement. Secondly my congratulations to all the other members of the forum for making it what it is; Andy has made generous comment on the matter in his initial post. There are some fabulous models shown here, long may this continue. I'm a bit disappointed at some posters lack of tolerance to those that have voiced their worries; periods of change are unsettling and I'm minded to think that individuals worry most about things that are important to them. I suspect that reassurance and time rather than being rounded on will be the most effective way of dealing with these concerns. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 7, 2012 What it means to me is: 1. The future of the site is secure (if anything is these days). 2.The founder of the site has found paid employment after being out of work. (and my very best). 3. We can still enjoy the site, and as anything does it will continue to evolve. (for the better). I'm convinced that the majority want this new direction to succeed - for the larger RMweb community and particularly Andy. I think the above quote By BR sums it up, but reading between the lines (and there's a fair few on this thread) there's one word that I think needs to be added into the brackets on point 3 and that's "hopefully". I'm sure some posters will change their posting habits for awhile until the dust settles and we really know that the good ship RMweb is in calm seas with a fair wind. Which I hope I'm pretty confident will happen! Cheers, Mick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Stubby47 Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2012 ... until the dust settles ... (using this post to quote from, but relevant to several other similar posts) Apart from the colour scheme, exactly what has changed since Andy's announcement ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PhilH Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2012 It seems to me that there has been more discussion about the future of RMweb than there ever is about the future of the country at general Election time. Just one difference - RMweb is not, and never has been, a democracy. Free and easy yes, but owned and directed by Andy. We might all do well to remember that despite feelings of our own importance to the well being of the forum. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.