First reactions?

[Russ (mines a pint)]

From my point of view I quite like the idea of the blog system, in some ways, it does allow much more compactness of your own threads, that said I can see it being a lot more difficult to just 'stumble' across something really good, like the previous posts using the 'view active topics' function.

 

On a personal level I find the gallery section a little uninspiring, in that very little information is carried along with the picture, I think I prefer the way in the old style posts and the blogs that pictures are interspersed with words telling you about whats in the picture, though I suppose the poster could provide some form of caption in a comment after the pic?

 

Having had a better look around there is nothing in the new forum that I positively dislike, and maybe the gallery thing will grow on me, I suppose it will come round to a point where you might come in tired and just look at pictures in a book without actually reading it?

 

One thing I dont have a lot of time for is the rating/reputation system on a number of levels. Could we all honestly say that would rate on the basis of the quality of the article rather than the subject matter, consistently and by everyone? Though I doubt by the attitude of most people on here it would descend into a 'mates rates' system, I think there's so many barriers to it being thoroughly objective I wouldnt personally wish to use it or allow it to carry any weight in my own opinions of threads/members.

 

Is there a 'global setting' to alter font & size preferences? I am finding certain areas particularly the posting boxes less easy to read than the old RMWeb!

 

If this sound like a load of carping, well it isnt! on the whole I think the new things very impressive and appreciate the time and effort put in by Andy and the others to make the thing happen and work! :icon_thumbsup2:

[Andy Y]

On a personal level I find the gallery section a little uninspiring, in that very little information is carried along with the picture, I think I prefer the way in the old style posts and the blogs that pictures are interspersed with words telling you about whats in the picture, though I suppose the poster could provide some form of caption in a comment after the pic?

 

Hopefully people will use that as the facility is there. I do understand it's not practical to do so in all cases when it's a bulk import of previously posted images.

[Western Dave]

Andy and his team have clearly spent a great deal of time and energy preparing for the new site. And it is very apparent that the majority of people who are expressing their opinions have fallen pretty much in love with it. So with thanks to all those involved and due acknowledgment of their generous donation of volunteered time I shall add a few thoughts of my own in what may turn out to be one of very few future posts.

 

The site has a more modern feel which is nothing more nor less than we were promised and so far (early days) it has not suffered the server pains that troubled the old system. Nor should it. The geography is a little different which we were again asked to take note of and become familiar with and again what has been promised has been delivered.

 

I am not a fan of the internet phenomenon known as the "blog" and had hoped to find that the layout topics might be covered in a more appropriate manner than they are. This is RMWeb not RMBlog and I had thought that perhaps we might be able to post our work for others to share, promote and comment upon, to enjoy and to celebrate our hobby and achievements. Instead I find that the only way to do this is in a rather different format to what has been the case and one that I do not find helpful or supportive.

 

My feelings about being rated as an individual were made known before and as there seems no way to turn this feature, which I consider to be irrelevant to RMweb, off this means that I can now be viewed as somehow inferior to others simply because I have a zero beside anything I care to post. There is no history here for anyone to refer to in order to make value judgements; we all need to refer back to the old site for now at least. To borrow from a popular cult TV series "I am not a number, I am a free man".

 

The only language option at present is "English US" which irks me as a user of "British English" which differs in spelling and grammar, not to say usage at times.

 

I have still not been able to locate the user control panel though no doubt it will turn up on my travels around the site.

 

With those comments in mind I shall in future make only very infrequent appearances here and my participation will be largely confined to read-only mode. For those who have followed my own layout thread I am happy to provide updates in return for a PM as my account remains open here but there will be no future additions to the topic for so long as it is reduced to the same dubious status as the inane ramblings of the terminally bored, namely the web log.

 

Andy has moved on. In some respects in a different direction to that which I personally find helpful. Good luck with the new site as I am sure it will do well. But it may do so without my contributions in future.

 

Shame your feeling like that as you have a great layout and give I am sure not only me but others as well lots of insperation. Why dont you just have a little play around with this new forum and see how you go, after all we are all back to square one and I for one hate change, but it has to be for the better in the long run or there really would have been no RMWEB as the old forum would simply have crashed for ever. We could all take it personally and it just eats you up inside in the end trust me I know. So come on give it a go.

[Western Dave]

Now having been on the "new" forum for a few days and not having much of an idea when it comes to computers I feel it'a time to comment

 

What I like

 

It's more reliable, it has more functions (even if I dont want to use them)

 

What I dislike

 

The amount of moaning about the changes on the new site. Get a life it's a FREE forum like it or lump it. Andy (and I suspect others) have put a HUGE amount of time and money into this for US. If you can do better go and start your own forum. Coming from me this ismay seem rich as I am known as a grumpy old man

even though I am only 43

[David Bigcheeseplant]

I go away for a few days and when I log in everything has changed!

 

I am just finding my way around, I am not too sure if I like things as yet but I will no doubt get used to it after a while.

 

David

[Guest dilbert]

I originally voted "not sure but I think it'll grow on me" and have just deleted this vote, and,......have recast my vote to "Like it"...dilbert

[Pennine MC]

 

 

My feelings about being rated as an individual were made known before and as there seems no way to turn this feature, which I consider to be irrelevant to RMweb, off this means that I can now be viewed as somehow inferior to others simply because I have a zero beside anything I care to post. There is no history here for anyone to refer to in order to make value judgements; we all need to refer back to the old site for now at least. To borrow from a popular cult TV series "I am not a number, I am a free man".

 

 

I really do not understand why this should get anyone so bent out of shape. I've been around RMweb almost since the beginning, lost my post count many times and even now don't have any reputation points. Do I care? No, I'm here for the fun of it and to share my knowledge, not to acquire pats on the back and have people say what a wonderful fellow I am.

[surelynotatmyage]

I really do not understand why this should get anyone so bent out of shape. I've been around RMweb almost since the beginning, lost my post count many times and even now don't have any reputation points. Do I care? No, I'm here for the fun of it and to share my knowledge, not to acquire pats on the back and have people say what a wonderful fellow I am.

 

That's hopefully the way more members of previous RMweb versions will react - as they get used to the new 'blogginess' of it all. Without layouts like 'Culreoch' for inspiration some of us, me for one, wouldn't be trying this at all.

[Andy Y]

I think it's fair to say a substantial number of people approve of the changes, some take a little longer to warm to it, some visibly work at it despite reservations and that's a fair reflection of the approach to the hobby as well.

 

I would urge some of the doom-mongers to also give consideration to those who do find it an improvement as opposed to a limited perspective.

[Guest Phil]

Hi all.

I've deliberately given it a couple of days before making any substantial comment about the new forum but here goes ;

 

The galleries sound like a good idea for some purposes, but I do have a couple of reservations. I feel that RMwebbers enjoyed being able to pick over submitted photos and have a good old debate. Several threads in the previous RMweb are testament to this - favourites being the Scottish and Western Region threads, ArthurK's, as well as DaveF's and Brush Veteran's excellent collections, and many others - including 47406's and DerekEM8's (long list isnt it ?).

 

I really enjoy studying these images, seeking inspiration and knowledge from them, as well as comment and debate. The new gallery format doesn't really help this process too much, although you can enter comments on individual images within a particular entry. An example of this has been Pinkmouse's current gallery of std class 4 80064. I wished to make a general comment about this collection but believe they only way I could comment was by selecting 1 of the 40 odd images to place my comment on.

 

This ability also has another benefit because it is good for someone with knowledge of the chosen subject to share that within the thread. In my case I consider myself useful when it comes to Black Country debate, the same way that I select some other RMwebbers with expert knowledge on particular areas or fields. I'm not sure that the gallery options can give us the ability to tie pictures and words together in the way that RMweb III was able to.

 

I love the blog ability. Makes it feel like it is "our" work rather than just posting stuff at Andy's place. I feel this perhaps makes us a bit more responsible about what we write and how we write it.

 

Andy is obviously having server problems with RMweb both old and new and I wish him well with establishing the new RMweb community in the demands of a much increased usership.

 

The voting / "patting on the back" thing is really subjective and really doesn't bother me. I've said elsewhere that those of us who really excel at a particular aspect of this hobby should take praise on board. After all, it's not as if you have to go up on stage in front of a load of celebs to accept your award is it ?

 

On the whole Andy I like it. I realise that it is early days and a very stressful time for you, but thanks.

[Beardybloke]

I originally voted "not sure but I think it'll grow on me" and have just deleted this vote, and,......have recast my vote to "Like it"...dilbert

It clearly grew on you then

[The Q]

My first attempt at the new system, whilst for the most part I like it, BUT I happen to live in a NOT SPOT, I.e. I can NOT get Broadband, so the new system appears to be a lot slower loading..

 

The Q

[Beacon]

I was reading through all the posts about blogging earlier finding myself sympathising with the reservations even though I am probably just about in the so-called blogging generation!

 

BUT - I have just spent some time looking around there again and changed the view to table as recommended as well as adding some of the layouts I used to follow to my tracking/favourites lists. I have now had a rather rapid turnaround in my views!

 

I understand why some things may be missed in the new system and there is still a place for some general forum discussion of layouts, perhaps even more so for people in my position at the planning or early stages where we need more help! However, rather than looking at 'Your Posts' for a layout update only to find that these are simply lists of comments or additions from others (still available in the comments section), I can now return to a layout every so often (you soon get a feel for how often an author updates their work) and read through all the actual layout updates at my leisure and then comment or read the comments of others as I choose. Any tips, questions etc. will probably be spotted by more people now as they will not be lost in the midst of the layout thread but be in the main forum areas.

 

I'm still learning a lot here (which I think is a good thing for me anyway so thanks Andy for pushing me into learning it all through my hobby and not all though work-related stuff!) but would again echo the advice given in this thread to give it time and play around a bit before deciding what you think. Mind you, if it weren't for all the concerns raised about blogs I might not have started playing quite so soon so it isn't all bad having the discussion and posing the questions is it!?

[spamcan61]

My first attempt at the new system, whilst for the most part I like it, BUT I happen to live in a NOT SPOT, I.e. I can NOT get Broadband, so the new system appears to be a lot slower loading..

 

The Q

 

Have you tried using the 'RMweb for mobile devices' view? This loads faster for me and is much less cluttered.

[Guest D4VE]

Having spent a few hours bumbling about like a lost sheep my first reaction is:

 

Confused

 

I am sure that I will love it once I get orientated

 

Cheers to Andy and the team for all the hard work

[lswrm7]

Hi all.

Not very happy i had to re`register and i had lost all my old posts. Hope the site grows on me.

Regards kev

[Andy Y]

Hi all.

Not very happy i had to re`register and i had lost all my old posts. Hope the site grows on me.

Regards kev

 

Please see http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/topic/312-answers-to-the-most-commonly-asked-questions/

[Mod5]

Hi all.

Not very happy i had to re`register and i had lost all my old posts. Hope the site grows on me.

Regards kev

 

 

Was it a lot of trouble then having to re-register? Andy did say that 15% would have to so it should not have come as a shock. It isn't difficult I managed it quite easily.

 

What posts do you think you have lost? They are all still there on the old forum and as and when it is back up and running you will be able to go and visit them if you so desire.

 

Rather than just coming on and voicing such concern over what are minor matters perhaps a number of members would do better to take a bit of time to become accustomed to the new forum and then make their minds up.

 

Regards Mod5

[Edwin_m]

Mixed feelings from me. I second a couple of suggestions from further up, that manufacturer topics should be split by scale and that bloggers should choose meaningful titles. I largely agree with Andy's reservations about sub-dividing the forum by scale but I don't think they apply to products which by definition are only of interest to the people who model in the same scale.

 

My main irritation at present is the server problems, which are probably colouring my view of the forum as I've had about nine driver errors in working through the 13 pages of this topic. I realise this isn't a problem with the forum itself, it's just difficult to separate the two.

 

Subject to people choosing good blog titles I think I'm much more likely to pay attention to layout blogs than to the former topics, because of the amount of chaff that there was on the old system.

 

So I think I'll save my vote until things are running a bit more smoothly.

[Andy Y]

My main irritation at present is the server problems,

 

Makes two of us then. This evening has been better than last night for certain but it's still a pain babysitting a box sat in the Docklands from 150 miles away.

[Guest Digital]

Guys

 

Can someone tell me the differnce between a "Member" and a "Registered Member"

 

I registered on the old forum but only show as a "Member" on the new forum.

 

Also what do the dots under a persons name relate to.

 

Thanks

John

[chrisf]

I'm coming to like it, apart from being chucked out every night! That doesn't even happen at my local ...

 

Chris

[Andy Y]

Guys

 

Can someone tell me the differnce between a "Member" and a "Registered Member"

 

I registered on the old forum but only show as a "Member" on the new forum.

 

Also what do the dots under a persons name relate to.

 

Thanks

John

 

A 'Member' has over 30 posts, a 'Registered member' has less than 30 (and one ball)

[DaveF]

Hi all.

I've deliberately given it a couple of days before making any substantial comment about the new forum but here goes ;

 

The galleries sound like a good idea for some purposes, but I do have a couple of reservations. I feel that RMwebbers enjoyed being able to pick over submitted photos and have a good old debate. Several threads in the previous RMweb are testament to this - favourites being the Scottish and Western Region threads, ArthurK's, as well as DaveF's and Brush Veteran's excellent collections, and many others - including 47406's and DerekEM8's (long list isnt it ?).

 

I really enjoy studying these images, seeking inspiration and knowledge from them, as well as comment and debate. The new gallery format doesn't really help this process too much, although you can enter comments on individual images within a particular entry. An example of this has been Pinkmouse's current gallery of std class 4 80064. I wished to make a general comment about this collection but believe they only way I could comment was by selecting 1 of the 40 odd images to place my comment on.

 

This ability also has another benefit because it is good for someone with knowledge of the chosen subject to share that within the thread. In my case I consider myself useful when it comes to Black Country debate, the same way that I select some other RMwebbers with expert knowledge on particular areas or fields. I'm not sure that the gallery options can give us the ability to tie pictures and words together in the way that RMweb III was able to.

 

I love the blog ability. Makes it feel like it is "our" work rather than just posting stuff at Andy's place. I feel this perhaps makes us a bit more responsible about what we write and how we write it.

 

Andy is obviously having server problems with RMweb both old and new and I wish him well with establishing the new RMweb community in the demands of a much increased usership.

 

The voting / "patting on the back" thing is really subjective and really doesn't bother me. I've said elsewhere that those of us who really excel at a particular aspect of this hobby should take praise on board. After all, it's not as if you have to go up on stage in front of a load of celebs to accept your award is it ?

 

On the whole Andy I like it. I realise that it is early days and a very stressful time for you, but thanks.

 

Paul mentions his reservations about commenting on images in galleries. Perhaps those of us who put images in galleries should also run a parallel thread, so we can say we have posted new images, the thread coud then be used for ongoing comments and discussion of individual, or groups, of images, as well as leaving the ability to leave comments on individual images within the gallery itself.

 

Just a thought.

 

David

[lswrm7]

Please see http://www.rmweb.co....sked-questions/

 

 

Thanks for the link andy.

 

Regards kev