RMweb Premium newbryford Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 7, 2012 (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 ? Nothing of consequence at the moment, but it looks like some (a small few I would hope) will be jumping ship and one or two may be not quite as forthcoming with details/information etc. However, I sincerely hope that it is "business as usual" and we can all say "nothing of consequence" again in 6/12 months time. Cheers, Mick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dilbert Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 This viewpoint has has me puzzled. None of us is shareholders. I don't know when you joined the forum - but I'll make the following comments ... I signed up in RMWeb V1.0 in March 2005. Since then I have : 1) either on a requested or unrequested basis put time and effort in helping to improve the forum 2) been helping others out in their requests for info 3) on a financial basis, submitted funds at the start of each new year (again this was my decision) and also when the annual call for funds for the raffle came around pitched in as well (and not for the prizes) - proactive stance rather than reactive. Andy Y can confirm or deny the above. I don't give a damn about shareholders, but in a way, and this is the salient point, I believe I do have an interest (call it a stakeholding it you will) - others will have done the same or similar acts of support and these concerns or caution IMO are justifiable - the news came as a shot out of the blue, but as Natalie has expressed, people do (or did?) care. In one of the earlier versions of the forum, there was discussion about the importance of the thread count - and that was abolished (good thing too!). And yet, it is back (how difficult it is to remove in the software is another issue) there is one reference in this thread to a member who has expressed concern where he was criticised because he had a post count of three! References to park benches, living under bridges as well. Hmmm... dilbert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebottle Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb is not, and never has been, a democracy. Free and easy yes, but owned and directed by Andy. My old history teacher used to be of the opinion that a benevolent dictatorship is the best form of government... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 My old history teacher used to be of the opinion that a benevolent dictatorship is the best form of government... Lord Reith quoted the best political system as dictatorship tempered by asassination. While that might be going too far I must say I like the image of Andy as the benevolent dictator. I am surprised at some of the reaction expressed here. Is it not the way of the world that any idea either becomes a thing of of commercial value or it eventually dies? Was it not inevitable that a commercial organization would sooner or later express an interest in a forum with 14000 plus members? When I was working there were various reasons to aquire companies. They were profitable. They had potential and would not be too expensive to maintain until conditions suited their opportunity to turn a profit. It was better that you bought them rather than the opposition got their hands on them. It clearly is not the first point. The other two are dependent on Andy keeping the vast majority of the members on side. On that reasoning I can see no need to worry. Bernard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edcayton Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Look, I don't like the fact that sports teams representing our country now have to wear advertising but it IS a fact of life. Probably my biggest concern is that the BBC is going to go down the same route. I used to do a bit for the MG Car Club, which has been around nearly as long as the MG marque. It was a gentlemanly and amateur (in the best sense of the word) organisation. A chap by the name of Roche Bentley saw an opportunity and set up the MG Owner's Club as a far more commercial outfit. I have a lovely(!) letter from him telling me all about times changing etc. Guess which club is bigger now? As I said in an earlier post, whether I like it or not we live in a real world. Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold beast66606 Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2012 I don't give a damn about shareholders, but in a way, and this is the salient point, I believe I do have an interest (call it a stakeholding it you will) - others will have done the same or similar acts of support and these concerns or caution IMO are justifiable - the news came as a shot out of the blue, but as Natalie has expressed, people do (or did?) care. Strangely some of us are in nearly identical positions regarding history and donations but don't feel the need to be negative. I've had no reason to be worried about Andys leadership in the past, I don't see the need to be worried about it now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Dilbert : In one of the earlier versions of the forum, there was discussion about the importance of the thread count - and that was abolished (good thing too!). And yet, it is back (how difficult it is to remove in the software is another issue) there is one reference in this thread to a member who has expressed concern where he was criticised because he had a post count of three! References to park benches, living under bridges as well. Give plain English a spin mate as I dont know what you are banging on about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold beast66606 Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2012 Dilbert : Give plain English a spin mate as I dont know what you are banging on about. He means we should all listen to a new member who has made a massive 3 postings, all of them contentious, the living under a bridge is a reference to the poster being a troll - posting simply to stir up trouble, of course that's unlikely, I mean, it's not like there are green eyes looking at RMWeb from other places and therefore those who want to stir up trouble so they can say "Look, I told you RMWeb is a den of iniquity" - allegedly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I've had no reason to be worried about Andys leadership in the past, I don't see the need to be worried about it now. I completely agree with you Beast - and unless I've misread the last 20+ pages, I don't think that any of the posters has questioned Andy's leadership. What I've seen is a range of views about the trustworthiness of the world of commerce, some reflecting unfortunate personal experiences and others apparently reflecting a broader 'voluntary sector good, business world bad' view that's been much in vogue since the credit crunch. After 25 years in a job that's given me the opportunity to work with many hundreds of companies, I take an optimistic view of the good intentions of the vast majority of people in business - there may be some moustache-twirling pantomime villains out there (and occasionally some real *******s like Robert Maxwell), but I haven't seen anything to cause me to doubt the good intentions of the Warners team. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2012 Congratulations Andy ! If RMWeb were in other hands I might be worried about loss of independence and commercialisation, but I'm not. Looking forward to a secure future full of the interesting and informative content I've come to expect from RMWeb and its knowledgeable members. Keep up the good work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazz Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Andy, wishing you and Warners well for the future. Thank you for all you have done for us modellers over the past 7 years. Long may it continue. 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 I'm really looking forward to Bachmann announcing a GWR 42XX 2-8-0T next week because when that happens the to-ing & fro-ing in this thread will be quietly forgotten and a whole new race of demons and miscreants will be getting all the verbage heaped on their heads. Simple point - Andy has done it, it was his to do, he has done what was the best for him and - I think - for RMweb; but the key thing is that it is done, opening of new chapter in the ever evolving life of RMweb and I'm getting the feeling it could be very interesting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Apart from the colour scheme, exactly what has changed since Andy's announcement ? We have a topic that appears to have broken all records, hardly out of the top ten in the VNC; over 21 pages of responses in less than 48 hours; seems to have preoccupied almost every member visiting the site; has there been anything else talked about and is definitely on our minds at the moment. Given time I am sure it will fade into obscurity and be forgotten, we will just get on with the show of answering questions and posting modelling and layout developments. Either that or time will be called and the topic locked (probably on the grounds that it is now old news and things seem to be going round in circles. I see some of the discussions of this on other sites seem to have already met that fate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium QWILPEN Posted March 7, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 7, 2012 Andy I just wanted to add my best wishes for you in your new job, I have admired the patience you have shown over the years running the forum God knows how many hours work you have put in to keep the site alive especially during the troublesome times when sever changes have been rquired. I did not know (and had no right or business knowing of) your employment status but this must have been a worrying time for you and your family. I am pleased to know that both your future and the forums future is safe. once again a huge thank you to you (and the mods) who give up so much of their time, good luck for the future thanks Steve edit for bad spelling again Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
autocoach Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Is that all...or is it just that it is 2 am in the UK. I have just ploughed through 22 pages of comment that show a great deal of unease and brave faces. Interesting time of changes with the Ian Allen sale and now this. Interesting how full forums are now almost all associated with magazines. Some are useful (MRH yes, Kalmbach's brood not..) Oh well, just about dinner time here in lotus land..... ken Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 One thing about this debate, I've just found out Key Publishing now own Modern Railways and Buses. You'd have thought as a subscriber to both I'd have had a letter saying there was a change in ownership, when Rail Enthusiast moved publishers we were told. There may not be any changes planned, but I'd like to have that confirmed. At least Andy has informed us of his change of ownership! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Trevellan Posted March 8, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 8, 2012 I'm sure some posters will change their posting habits for awhile until the dust settles... Not me Mick. For my money there's nothing like a "business as usual" approach to building or restoring confidence. I note references to others having a frothfest about us. I did have a look at another forum earlier in the week when RMweb was down and found out its status that way. One suggestion for the future Andy - and I'm not sure if it's possible - is some sort of helpful default message (like the old telly test cards - normal service will be resumed a.s.a.p.) if the server falls over. All that happened to me initially was the URL request timing out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Mikkel Posted March 8, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 8, 2012 but the key thing is that it is done, opening of new chapter in the ever evolving life of RMweb and I'm getting the feeling it could be very interesting. Exactly. There are some interesting opportunities in all this, adding new dimensions to the way a magazine presents its contents and interacts with readers. How about "interactive reviews", for instance, where members can comment on the review, get responses from the reviewer and even from the manufacturer. I think there's a good example right here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53096-Dapol-working-signals-review/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Not me Mick. For my money there's nothing like a "business as usual" approach to building or restoring confidence. I note references to others having a frothfest about us. I did have a look at another forum earlier in the week when RMweb was down and found out its status that way. One suggestion for the future Andy - and I'm not sure if it's possible - is some sort of helpful default message (like the old telly test cards - normal service will be resumed a.s.a.p.) if the server falls over. All that happened to me initially was the URL request timing out. I'm not a Twitter user, but you can get status updates on any RMWeb problems here.... Thankfully it doesn't happen too often.. http://twitter.com/#!/rmweb Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium brushman47544 Posted March 8, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 8, 2012 Two people I haven't seen a comment from, although perhaps not unexpected, are dibber 25 and Chris Nevard both of whom are associated with Model Rail. Their contributions here has been frequent and helpful and I personally hope that they are not obliged to drop out from contributing on here because of the link to Warners. If they can't, well so be it, but it would be a shame. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 http://twitter.com/#!/rmweb Thanks Gordon - this is fed from the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/RMweb/205398459548735 which allows for comments/questions. Sadly when the whole server's down it's not possible to leave a note with the latest situation or to point people that way so it's worth bookmarking it for emergencies. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Two people I haven't seen a comment from, although perhaps not unexpected, are dibber 25 and Chris Nevard both of whom are associated with Model Rail. Their contributions here has been frequent and helpful and I personally hope that they are not obliged to drop out from contributing on here because of the link to Warners. I suspect they won't comment on this thread as commenting would be rather unprofessional on a publically assessible site. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted March 8, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 8, 2012 I suspect they won't comment on this thread as commenting would be rather unprofessional on a publically assessible site. With you on that - and their professional role means they have other links with Andy Y anyway. Dibber has posted usefully this morning on the Heljan AC Cars thread. Both these chaps post a bit less than some of us - but add rather more value when they do! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Stubby47 Posted March 8, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 8, 2012 I would have hoped that either would feel they are able to post on here, if they chose to, without feeling the shackles of Model Rail. Both are extremely well respected on here and in the wider world of model railways and any comment they made would be balanced and I would have thought supportive to both Andy and Warners. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Lest it be forgotten, Model Rail and BRM are competitors. I well remember receiving a phonecall from an editor asking me why I had allowed one of my photos to be published in a "competitor small-circulation monthly". Such feelings can exist even though I have known editors with a more easy going perspective. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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