edcayton Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Saw at Peterborough that BRM are pushing a new forum, which I won't name on here and haven't looked at. Why? The existing forum on the BRM site is very poorly patronised, and obviously isn't very good because of that. Beyond that the BBC message board that I subscribed to(is that the same as a forum?)only had a few posters, and has just been abolished along with most of the others by the beeb. It led me to wondering just why this place is so good. I'd love to see a potted history of how this has grown to the size and strength it has. Indeed it's gone beyond the interweb to be a proper "club" if that's the word. One reason I'm sure is the extremely sensible moderating that goes on here(and, yes I have been "done"), so I think that once again a vote of thanks is due to the team and of course..OUR GLORIOUS LEADER! Let's hope Andy is emulating Kim Chong Il and is preparing a dynasty to follow him. Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 I must confess that OGL is not a tag that I feel comfortable with as the nature of RMweb is too amorphous to be led anywhere. I suppose 'leadership' comes into play when problems are to be overcome and that's where the admin team work together. If it wasn't for that team approach the site would have imploded sometime back; one person cannot hold all parts of the site together. Succession isn't actively planned but I know, as with any other local crisis we've faced, that there's no shortage of strength within the site to overcome any issues. Nevertheless the site would have ceased to be some time back if it weren't for the generosity of a good number of members who realise that the site is fuelled by a few pounds to keep the wheels turning. Why's this place so good? Pictures tell a thousand words as they say and RMweb was the first site to bring images to the fore on the 'net in this hobby. Over the years the content and quality inspire more people to read and join across a broad base of interests. It isn't always plain sailing but whatever decisions are reached on what's best for the whole and for the future. RMweb does go beyond just being a website and I look forward to 2011 events in defining quality and modelling inspiration even further. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RedgateModels Posted October 18, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 18, 2010 of course there are those of us who have been around long enough to remember that RMweb might not have existed at all if not for the BRM forum and Andy's forsight in thinking that there must be more (images being the main thing as Andy has already said), indeed many earlier members migrated from the BRM forum once Andy had RMweb up running. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted October 18, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 18, 2010 of course there are those of us who have been around long enough to remember that RMweb might not have existed at all if not for the BRM forum and Andy's forsight in thinking that there must be more (images being the main thing as Andy has already said), indeed many earlier members migrated from the BRM forum once Andy had RMweb up running. Yep I remember that time, and of people being band on the BRM forum for mentioning RMweb. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dilbert Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Saw at Peterborough that BRM are pushing a new forum, which I won't name on here and haven't looked at. Why? The existing forum on the BRM site is very poorly patronised, and obviously isn't very good because of that. Beyond that the BBC message board that I subscribed to(is that the same as a forum?)only had a few posters, and has just been abolished along with most of the others by the beeb. It led me to wondering just why this place is so good. I'd love to see a potted history of how this has grown to the size and strength it has. Indeed it's gone beyond the interweb to be a proper "club" if that's the word. One reason I'm sure is the extremely sensible moderating that goes on here(and, yes I have been "done"), so I think that once again a vote of thanks is due to the team and of course..OUR GLORIOUS LEADER! Let's hope Andy is emulating Kim Chong Il and is preparing a dynasty to follow him. The BRM forum may be very poorly patronised today, but prior to the arrival of RMweb V1.00001, the BRM forum was very popular, to the extent that when RMweb first kicked off, most of the users simply shifted websites. Why ? Well there were three areas of functionality that RMweb introduced - the first was the ability to post images, the second was to be able to edit posts (for whatever the reason) and the third was the capability to PM people without having your email address publicly advertised all over the world. And despite these developments, there are still some diehards on the BRM forum , but if you take the time, there is still excellent subject matter in the archives - as usual you need to be able to locate it. Concerning the moderator function, I hate it - but am resigned to the fact that it is needed -policing a small village versus a large town has different requirements,..dilbert Edit : for a silly typo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
halfwit Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 This forum is good because of what the members put into it. There is not only a huge wealth of knowledge and experience on here but also the willingness to share that knowledge and experience with others. Most members are pretty non-judgemental as well, you won't get humiliated for asking even the most basic of questions (as long as you do a search first!). The site is run to be fair and not too critical, constructive criticism is fine but nothing too harsh and definetely nothing personal. Some have and will disagree with that but the forums success shows that the admin. team must be doing something right or we'd all be somewhere else! Another reason perhaps is the fact that rmweb embraces all scales and periods, and even approaches, there is even space for us industrial diesel fans! So whether your into roundy-roundy layouts and like to watch out-of-the-box trains go by or scratchbuilding pre-group stock in S scale you'll recieve a welcome. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dilbert Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Yep I remember that time, and of people being band on the BRM forum for mentioning RMweb. I don't recall people being banned from the BRM forum for mentioning RMweb - I do recall another website which started up about the same time as RMweb applying that diktat, but that is another story...dilbert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leicester Thumper Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 I joined RMWeb because I got annoyed with another Well known forum which I will not mention here. Why? Because this site had a much friendlier approach, people are willing to have a good laugh in the social sections and If you need advice and you are polite and ask nicely that's what you get. It's also great because the Gallery function is so easy to use for prototype pictures and model pictures for referencing. I am not the most experianced modeller by a long shot, but i do my best to give useful advice. Andy is right, the thing that really makes RMWeb what it is, is all those kind hearted members who donate a few pounds to keep things rolling as well as all us memebers who give a warm and friendly responce to everyone they encounter on the forum, I totally agree with this. I left the aforementioned forum because yes, i made mistakes myself, but i did my utter best to rectify them and the majority of people excepted my efforts yet on that forum was a group of members who would make you feel unwelcome and have a dig and throw insults because I am a young person (being 18). In the end it got to me because no matter what was said to mderation teams, they sided with the 'gang' and eventually i made the decision to leave and use RMWeb for the abpve reasons. May thanks to those of you who give me good advice and have a laugh collectively with me and others and thanks to AndyY as he truly is the man behind the Whole of RMweb, without him the revolution of the model railway forum would have been very different indeed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mucky Duck Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 …Let's hope Andy is emulating Kim Chong Il and is preparing a dynasty to follow him. Ed I must confess that OGL is not a tag that I feel comfortable with… Not surprised you're uncomfortable with that tag, Andy… especially Team America's version! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 I must confess that OGL is not a tag that I feel comfortable with as .... Perhaps BDFL would be more appropriate! Used in a couple of computing language (Python) communities standing for Benevolent Dictator For Life for a couple of the outstanding leaders. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mod2 Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Concerning the moderator function, I hate it - but am resigned to the fact that it is needed Pretty much how we feel a lot of the time, Nick Cheers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Where did you get that wig ? Before BRM there was such a thing as a bulletin board for Railway Modellers run by Compuserve long in existence before the BRM Forum and the full power of internet browsers. I remember getting sent signaling diagrams as bmp files. It was full of helpful folk. RMWeb - succeeds due to three things IMO 1. the generosity and time given by all its members in making the effort to communicate and keep the board active. Everything from a welcoming hello to a new member to an extended discussion following a new or revisited idea. 2. images - a photo tells a thousand words and brings any topic to life. This is a very visual hobby - to describe almost anything we do in words is just never going to be enough. As I always say - "we love pictures" 3. (and not least) Andy's seeming endless time generously given to maintaining the board. Originally on his own but latterly with the help of the ubiquitous Mods. Some of the growing pains from the early days have been troublesome. Database corruption, server breakdown, software changes ... but each time the phoenix rises again with new direction and with most of the old club members popping in for a chat. Probably spending far too much time at the keyboard and not enough at the workbench. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 prior to the arrival of RMweb V1.00001, This reminds me of something i have been meaning to ask for awhile now, What were the earlier versions of RMweb, how long did they last and are they still accessable, please? I know about RMweb3 as i joined during that stage, i didn't know it was RMweb3 at the time!! Same as i know it can still be accessed but i've never heard of anyone accessing the earlier versions! . Anyway, i give thanks for THIS forum and am very pleased to be a member. I have learned much whilst here and hopefully, taught a little too! Long live RMweb! Cheers, John E. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium spamcan61 Posted October 19, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 19, 2010 I don't think there's a way of accessing content from RMweb versions prior to 3.0, but there's always the wayback machine to get a flavour of what was going on in earlier versions:- http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://rmweb.co.uk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dilbert Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I think it's brilliant, and under-rated. Some London bookshops probably agree.. I had forgotten a certain London bookshop incident - somthing related to "decking", "I'm a customer", and total fiction. It would be interesting to see a troll factor league table - and there have been some real loonies that have come and gone... dilbert PS One particular fave was someone who accused Hornby of producing models that the designers travelled on - priceless ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adams442T Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I had forgotten a certain London bookshop incident - somthing related to "decking", "I'm a customer", and total fiction. It would be interesting to see a troll factor league table - and there have been some real loonies that have come and gone... dilbert PS One particular fave was someone who accused Hornby of producing models that the designers travelled on - priceless ! I'd forgotten that one! These days they mostly seem to have bought rucksacks and started attending model railway shows! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Colin_McLeod Posted October 19, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 19, 2010 RMWeb is a wonderful forum/club and many thanks again to Andy Y and Admin and Mod teams for making it the success it is. For those interested in history, here is the link to Andy York's initial thoughts on the web: Note that Andy admnits to being a Lurker!!!! RMWeb anyone? And a follow up: Progress report BTW wonder what Steve Lewis is doing now (remember him?) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edcayton Posted October 19, 2010 Author Share Posted October 19, 2010 Thanks for that Colin, it was interesting. How many of those people are still here? Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I don't think there's a way of accessing content from RMweb versions prior to 3.0, but there's always the wayback machine to get a flavour of what was going on in earlier versions:- I still have a copy of RMWeb2.5 (the one prior to the last one) The copy was taken during it's dying days (server problems). I've had a few requests from it but none for quite a while. The "layout in 6 weeks topic" was rebuilt from it and re posted on RMWeb3. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I had forgotten a certain London bookshop incident - somthing related to "decking", "I'm a customer", and total fiction. I hadn't, since the same person's antics against Andy Y & RMweb earlier this year led me (and several others) to leave another Forum that he was also on at the time.... Sure Andy won't need reminding either... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I don't think there's a way of accessing content from RMweb versions prior to 3.0, but there's always the wayback machine to get a flavour of what was going on in earlier versions:- http://web.archive.o...p://rmweb.co.uk RMWeb is a wonderful forum/club and many thanks again to Andy Y and Admin and Mod teams for making it the success it is. For those interested in history, here is the link to Andy York's initial thoughts on the web: Note that Andy admnits to being a Lurker!!!! RMWeb anyone? And a follow up: Progress report BTW wonder what Steve Lewis is doing now (remember him?) WOW!! Many thanks to Spamcan & Colin for those links and even bigger thanks to Andy Y - when you look back at how all of this started, it's amazing to think where we are now. Where will we be in another 5 years? Cheers, John E. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dilbert Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I hadn't, since the same person's antics against Andy Y & RMweb earlier this year led me (and several others) to leave another Forum that he was also on at the time.... Sure Andy won't need reminding either... Yes that was an unnecessary piece of BS - however, if you want to mock your peers, then be prepared...dilbert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby (John) Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 I have been around since RMWeb 1, god i feel old now!! No comments from those that know me!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Colin_McLeod Posted October 20, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 20, 2010 They (whoever they are) say that you are only as old as you feel. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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