yorkie_pudd Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Despite the daily commute being down to 20 paces (see how environmentally conscious I am ), the tea rations are awful. I shall have a word with myself. That`s a well earnt 100 points for the enviromental side, as for as having a word to one self - DONT expect the right answer hahaha - ive never had 1 yet from myself......... doh He'd better make his own, no one else could put enough sugar in it for him... mmm u saying andy aint sweet enough or needs more cream cakes with his cuppa`s lol Following on from a day when the impartiality of the Mods has been called into question and now the naysayers on here I feel it is time to have a say and be criticised for it if you like. Rest assured Andy has thought long and hard about this decision prior to making it and he has addressed most if not all of the concerns raised already. Do those of you that have been here for some time really think he would sell out and not give a damn about any of the things he has struggled to build up over the years? We have discussed before the release of the information today the negative reactions that would be posted. Yet even now I am surprised by the thinking of some that have posted. On the very first day of the news already some have Andy marked down as a Judas and Warners as the big bad wolf. Oh and one even has Andy sacked in the coming weeks! Then some talk about the spirit of RMWeb and don't want that to go. Well what a great spirit we have shown at times today. How very welcoming and friendly some of us are (not). Tell you what before we condemn Warners why don't we just give them a chance? Criticise what they do with the forum by all means when they do something but lets not hang them today. Warm and friendly lot aren't we? Too right as i know how what Andy must have gone through. I owned a site couple of years ago and came to the sell option or close it down. Folk want to be gratefull the header didnt read. I`m sorry RMweb is closing down. For me personally im glad RM is alive and kicking with a future for gaining great tips and advice for my forthcoming project. Which since the days of zero 1, All this DCC and scenic side is outstanding for creating more realism, and thanks to all who post that inspire me and others new or old to the rail road scene. Cheers Ken. edit: has that flaming kettle boiled yet, will the mod`s be getting new staff teas maid uniforms lol ( pastel colours ?? ) lol Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy C Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 First of all Andy congratulations on securing employment and a level of stability both financially and socially thats been absent for over a year, well done that man. The new Mark Zuckenberg? well maybe a 4mm one! I had heard some fairly substantial "rumours" just before and at Glasgow, which putting 2 and 2 together seemed to make a lot of sense and particularly from your personal point of view. I must admit like many I had concerns for the independance of the forum, (including the contibutions from those on other magazines / publishing houses, which have by and large been answered by yourself in the postings on here. I hope things continue in the vein they have, it would be dissapointing to see the corporate arm excersing power when things get a little critical of the parent company when it is wholly justifiable. Good luck for the future - will we be seeing you at Ally Pally in 3 weeks? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jim s-w Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 It's a hobby and I'm only here for the beer, as they say. Andy has made it clear the work we have done for RMweb is ours, in anycase, I would think Warners require 300dpi Tif images on a CD or whatever if an article from RMweb is to be published as hard copy. I could easily have written things for BRM, but it just so happened I chose RMweb as a thank you for the extremely helpful information I get out of RMweb. Therefore If BRM did choose to publish something of mine it would simply be a case of things going full circle. Speaking as a past contributor to 'Traction' and BRM, I was always perfectly happy with repro fees, and for good reason........ I remember the days when we got next to now't from one railway magazine! On top of that Larry, surely no one actually thinks a post on here about whatever it is we are doing in any way constitutes an article for a magazine or even proves we are capable of actually writing one? Cheers Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Gringo Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Congratulations Andy and what a delicious week to pick to launch the new venture, It's British Pie Week !!!!! Just magic! All the best, John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Worsdell forever Posted March 5, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 5, 2012 mmm u saying andy aint sweet enough or needs more cream cakes with his cuppa`s lol Don't know about that but I've seen him make tea and it's frightening, I'm considering shares in Tate & Lyle... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Barry O Posted March 5, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 5, 2012 Andy good luck with the new job. I understand your reasons and they are valid. Having watched Warners trying to run exhibitions (badly apart from the layouts at Ally Pally which they don't do) I hope they leave you and RM Web alone. Perhaps this is a way of them finally adding value to the hobby. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenhead Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Erm....RMWeb? Poor analogy. Dapol Dave is trying to sell locos using this forum to influence the final product. Warners are a media company. What do they want from the membership? RMWeb is not an example, it doesn't sell anything, it is a forum for likeminded (in a very broad sense) people to share knowledge and display their skills. The analogy was that Dapol are trying to make a profit just like Warners, why is it OK for Dapol to make a profit out of modellers and not Warners. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted March 5, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 5, 2012 Much as Warners 'Festival' exhibitions are 'spot the layout amongst all the competing and duplicated trade stands', RMweb will probably become a 'spot the posting amongst all the competing and duplicated trade adverts' web forum, with the choice of paying a subscription to get ad free content. It is a very British trait to look with disdain on those in commerce, or who actually work to soil their hands with profit. I haven't attended a Warners' exhibition, but any commercially-based event is going to feel by its very nature different from the hope-we-break-even cameraderie of a club show. RMWeb will not become the dreadful place you suggest, because it would have lost so many key members by the time it got there that the critical mass of membership to make the ads etc viable would have long gone. The new owners need us - all of us and more - to support their own commercial endeavours, and are deeply unlikely to force changes in any fashion that effectively pisses in the RMWeb soup. Andy has made his decision, and, as others have said, in so doing secured the financial footing that RMWeb, as his "baby" has always lacked, while also securing his own future. He therefore has every motivation to steer the ship on roughly the same course that has proved successful thus far. His vision in setting up RMWeb, developing the forum into the mega-presence it currently holds, and now adding a commercial owner, should be the subject of adulation, frankly. From where I sit, the hand-wringing that I have read here today is quite unfathomable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Henderson Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 If someone had said to me that one of the publishers was going to get involved I would not have been surprised, pretty obvious I would have thought that it would be Bauer so the fact that it is Warners is one very very big surprise. Hope we have not heard the last from Chris & co. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkie_pudd Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Don't know about that but I've seen him make tea and it's frightening, I'm considering shares in Tate & Lyle... OH FUDGE...... i knew i slipped up somewhere with all the cuppa`s i sup a day, long days 20+ and maybe shares in a kettle making firm. I wonder if Andy now having paid work he can claim a company mobility scooter to save him all them 20 yard walks, well got to think of his health these days hehehe. side note: Andy walkies kettle has just boiled oh you cant against EU regs too much walking about lol Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold beast66606 Posted March 5, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 5, 2012 From where I sit, the hand-wringing that I have read here today is quite unfathomable. I suspect that some either are, or are at least associated with, some of the ex members (those who can't obey Andys rules and then get affronted when they get kicked out), having seen some of the vitriol that gets posted on lesser forums - by these (ex) members - it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if some were still here trying to stir things up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnaby Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 LOL Got to be the best post so far today From post #206 by Old Gringo Congratulations Andy and what a delicious week to pick to launch the new venture, It's British Pie Week !!!!! Just magic! All the best, John Says it all chuckles some more Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 The rumours were true I see! My only concern is based on seeing a car forum 'taken over' and in the end it changed to become pay-per-view forum despite promises to the contrary. Hopefully that won't happen. I'm curious, despite it not being any of my business, just how it is commercially viable to Warners - I expect adverts and traders paying for sopace will become more to the fore than previously was the case. I hope it doesn't ditract from the content should this be the case. However, existing members will still be posting so content should be similar! I suspect that mainstream exposure will be forthcoming via BRM so no doubt numbers will grow even further. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Firstly, Well done Andy on developing this site so that it is of such significance and quality, that it is of interest to a commercial organisation, and I am delighted that it's enabled Andy to secure a future for his family and himself. I have no prejudices against commercial involvement and, as seems clear, Andy is still in charge of RMWeb, then I can put my feelings no better than Mod 5; Do those of you that have been here for some time really think he would sell out and not give a damn about any of the things he has struggled to build up over the years? Arthur Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Picking up on something Jim S.W. said about a hobby becoming a full time "dream job", it may not work for everyone but I can vouch for the fact that it can work. Once things have settled, it is also wise to take up a new hobby as well......I took up railway photography, writing, and bought a bus! From what I have seen of Andy's dynamic management of RMweb, you ain't seen nuttin' yet...! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Natalie Graham Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 If no-one had concerns about how this news might impact on RMWeb, justified or not, then it really would be time to worry. People have concerns because they care about the site. Surely that is preferable to them just reading and not caring what happens. Woodenhead, I think the point being made is not the contrast between the site being owned by Warners compared to another profit-making business, be that Hornby, Rupert Murdoch or the Russian mafia, but what it will mean to the site to switch from being a not-for profit operation to one owned by a business. Commercial viability of RMWeb might not be an issue for Warners. It might just be that they see the chance for their business to be associated with the best railway modelling community and the opportunity to interact with that community art members' days etc. to be worth the outlay in funding the site and paying Andy to run it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tom F Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I must say, when I saw the new colour scheme, I thought, hmmm how similar to warners website....and now I feel like a numpty reading this thread! Congratulations Andy, it's great that your achievements on developing RMweb have been noticed, and that your are still are 'Guv' Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mod6 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 will the mod`s be getting new staff teas maid uniforms lol ( pastel colours ?? ) lol Blleeuurrgghh, you've just made me burn my toasted teacake Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raffles Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 This might sound ignorant (only in the sense that I have missed something obvious) but... How many layouts have appeared in print from this site and were the owners approached after sharing their wares on here? I have seen much from here appear in magazines so if I ran a magazine, I'd want to tap into such a resource. I too have been part of an "independent" car forum that then tied in with the manufacturer. Result? Generous discounts on service parts for a measly annual fee. The door swings both ways... Aside from my thoughts/opinion, a sound move for the Y family and, I should imagine, the future of the site. Were Andy introducing his (previously unknown) successor, then you could start worrying. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PhilH Posted March 5, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 5, 2012 Picking up on something Jim S.W. said about a hobby becoming a full time "dream job", it may not work for everyone but I can vouch for the fact that it can work. Once things have settled, it is also wise to take up a new hobby as well......I took up railway photography, writing, and bought a bus! From what I have seen of Andy's dynamic management of RMweb, you ain't seen nuttin' yet...! Ah, we have the bus (ref post #132) Be careful Andy..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davec.hh Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 An interesting move. I've had BRM since volume 1 issue 1, attend many of their shows and have high regards for them as a company. We couldn't do much better for an owner. It looks like a good move for Andy as well - best wishes for the move. DaveC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scanman Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Andy - Everyone's said it all except - hopefully now you'll get more time to pursue your own modelling?? Best for the future and 'Thanks' from (most??) of us Regs Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkie_pudd Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Blleeuurrgghh, you've just made me burn my toasted teacake oh dear, but at least you didnt spill waste the cuppa down the new uniform - now THAT would have a been a crime wasting the cuppa time to exit the building and put kettle on before im moddley disolved hehehe Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenhead Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Woodenhead, I think the point being made is not the contrast between the site being owned by Warners compared to another profit-making business, be that Hornby, Rupert Murdoch or the Russian mafia, but what it will mean to the site to switch from being a not-for profit operation to one owned by a business. But there are people on this forum who are skeptical about Warners running modelling exhibitions and what business is it of theirs to be doing exhibitions which should only be run by modelling societies. There was a similar carp about there being a modelling exhibition in Manchester last weekend with forum members being minded not to take up any offers of space to exhibit because it was commercial. That's my gripe here, there are people who steadfastly believe commercialism has no place in hobbies, but at the end of the day without commercialism there would not be a railway modelling hobby unless we all scratchbuilt every last bit of our models. Andy has built this forum from scratch, he has built up reputation in the industry and been able to put on member's exhibitions but clearly there comes a point where one person cannot do it all and there is a financial commitment as well as his time. That he has got this site to a position where a commercial venture can see real value in what he has achieved and provided a platform where Andy can be paid to maintain this full time and utilise his his skills and knowledge to help Warners in other areas no doubt is a massive recognition of what he has built. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormbringer Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Congratulations on the new job Andy, hopefully you'll get more time for modelling now? Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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