Do we need to make this more attractive?

[sarge]

...Yes, most of us are ancient. O Scale 2-rail is an ancient hobby, and is not gathering many young folks...

Bob, you'll be pleased to know that just isn't so. A look beyond your personal French-cast-or-forget-it viewpoint defining your O Scale hobby, there are more than a few young folks. A lot more. I'd venture 2-rail O has about the same percentage as the model railroading hobby as a whole. You just aren't seeing them. Here, in a world of layout building, ops sessions, &c, I am.

What I'm not seeing is our generation doing a good job of mentoring the generations behind us, not like the old guard did for us. That's the whole point I'm trying to get folks to consider.

Do MTJ want to change their image and become a place of mentors, passing on what we've learnt to the new generations while they might teach us old dogs something of their world? If so, there is some serious baggage to jettison and some lifting to do before they would be attracted to coming here (here being the general forum, not just two-rail).

Or, do MTJ want to remain a sanctuary where time stands still in, what was it, Bob, 1974? If so, fine. Just know that if that is the consensus there will be no growth, no new blood, Turner will be top of the 2-rail thread-board for three or four threads, Healey will be the sole motivation on the three-rail side with his months photos threads, Club Car bile will continue to post an order of magnitude more postings than all the modelling sub-forums combined, and this will die a slow and lingering a death as the generation who hide here behind closed doors does likewise. Whether you can host photos of your doorstops here or not matters not a whit.

[webenda]

careful....you'll get banned for posting porn like that!

Thank you, Dave.

Now, I have just turned off my phone. We will see if using our phones as a picture host is viable.

[SWrailroader]

Time for me to get an Android phone. That picture looks great.

[webenda]

careful....you'll get banned for posting porn like that!

Thank you, Dave.

Now, I have just turned off my phone. We will see if using our phones as a picture host is viable.

Yes, the image is still there, but not hosted by my phone. It is in MTJ's photo hosting area. Specifically, it is here: https://www.modeltrainjournal.com/phpBB3/download/file.php?id=21895

So, it is easier to post photos from our cell phones than from an image hosting site. However, we all know why that does not always work.

[up148]

Or, do MTJ want to remain a sanctuary where time stands still in, what was it, Bob, 1974? If so, fine. Just know that if that is the consensus there will be no growth, no new blood, Turner will be top of the 2-rail thread-board for three or four threads, Healey will be the sole motivation on the three-rail side with his months photos threads, Club Car bile will continue to post an order of magnitude more postings than all the modelling sub-forums combined, and this will die a slow and lingering a death as the generation who hide here behind closed doors does likewise. Whether you can host photos of your doorstops here or not matters not a whit.

So, now I'm a little confused. You DO want new members on MTJ....is that right? If so, Lee has stated with the current software, signing up new members requires a major and slower process than most forums. This is due to antiquated protection from "bots" the scourge of the internet. New software would give better protection and thus allow a simpler process for members to join. I'm only cheerleading this change because I feel new blood is needed. You can't mentor and/or pass along what we were taught by the "old guard" if no one is here to be mentored.

[sarge]

Butch, no amount of software is gonna do it if you collectively have nothing to offer.

You want more members, you'll need to provide a place people want to join. Only then will software features matter.

Keep the purpose, atmosphere, and reputation the way it is, you might as well not waste the money on software. No-one's coming.

Sure, personally I'd like more participants and a reason for me to participate, but this schtick of mine isn't about me. I can make my way just fine no matter how you guys steer this. The question being asked is whether anyone already here wants to clean this up for new company and do something about the reputation, or are we talking business as usual with the usual suspects but with spanking new software, still mystified as to why (or not actually caring if) no-one new wants to play and no-one who was previously driven off (especially because of their politics) would ever want to come back.

All this about photos and registration is just a paper tiger when it comes to upping the level of participation here (a goal most often raised by Bob), not until the real elephant in the room is recognised and dealt with. It isn't up to me to decide whether you guys care. It's up to you.

[E7]

Butch, no amount of software is gonna do it if you collectively have nothing to offer.

You want more members, you'll need to provide a place people want to join. Only then will software features matter.

Maybe I'm wrong/stupid/whatever, but I think the main issue is: How do NEW members join? Maybe I'm stupid, but were I to get dumped off of MTJ, I think I might have a hard time getting back on. My age (77 charging hard on 78) has not helped me computer wise, and don't mention my Cell Phone! I confess I'm a DUNCE.
Then again, if there were decent operating instructions that came with the thing.......and alas, there are no 5 year olds available to train me

There should be an easily visible LINK on the Board Index!

[E7]

...why not post something these folks will like.

Rich

Simply because I have no faith anything positive will come of it. Kinda pointless when the environment is so poisonous and collectively wants to stay that way. It's the same reason I don't spend hours on X/Twitter rather than spend time actually building something. Which should I choose, trolls or tools? Hmmm....

Ah, well. It was worth a shot anyway. Back to the shadows again...

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[up148]

Well, we agree that we need more members. If we can post photos directly to the forum without a host, then that is an added bonus.

IF we can make the sign-up easier, I'm prepared to pay for little ads on the various magazines to advertise the facelift. Sure, we can and need to clean up attitudes, but people need to be able to join as easy here as they do on other forums or discussion groups.

[bob turner]

I may have a soft spot for doorstops, but I will compare my AC-8 or my prize-winning 4-10-2 to anybody's idea of a truly well detailed scale model.
I am not advocating an old man forum, nor am I against younger members coming here.

I am personally not into proselytization, except maybe as a joke, so I do not give a fling about expanding the hobby - O Scale is not for everybody.

Butch, Rich, and I are advocating for an easier to access forum with easy photo posting. I have no idea why Sarge thinks not changing things would be better for the moral health of O Scale society in general - the hatred stays mostly confined to the Club Car, and nobody who is easily offended should ever go near the place. I am not easily offended except when attacks get personal, but all I have to do is express a liberal thought and I get personally attacked. You want liberal comments from me, come to my airport hangar.

Good photos of Proto 48 or layout scenery would be great! Neither of those are my hobby, but I enjoy seeing them. Check out Maroon's photo on the next-to-last post on the Southern Pacific Steam thread - great photo! Will never look like that on my test loop.

Unrelated, but exactly how does the iPhone post work? Is it possible that the current software dropped enough photos that we once again can post directly?

[E7]

Butch, Rich, and I are advocating for an easier to access forum with easy photo posting.

Amen!

[sarge]

... I have no idea why Sarge thinks not changing things would be better for the moral health of O Scale society in general...

Oh, Bob, now that's not at all what I've been saying and you know it. GRIN! It's not my business to give a dam about O Scalers' morality. I'm on about civility, which is something entirely different. When we get to the point when the lawyer's twisting-of-words-to-discredit-the-opposition ploy gets unlimbered, that's when I know the discussion is at a (usually futile) conclusion.

However, I'm not involved anymore going forward, so good luck and I sincerely hope this works better than I believe it will. I've said my piece to the hand.

[webenda]

If we can post photos directly to the forum without a host, then that is an added bonus..

Umm... We can. I did just that, posted a photo to the forum without a host. See my post on page 2 of this topic.
Link to page 2: https://www.modeltrainjournal.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=19983&start=15

Here is a link to that photo: https://www.modeltrainjournal.com/phpBB3/download/file.php?id=21895

Note--there is no host other than this forum.

[gregj410]

Here I’ve screen captured Wayne’s Williams Shark for future reference if I wish.

I know longer have to worry about losing it here on the forum because of antiquated software. I can simply crop it and create an album to store it in for future reference.
Furthermore this photo will show up on my iPad through iCloud if I wish to view it in a larger format.

Here is a photo taken with my iPhone 11 of a foothill models coal bunker car I built from a kit. Looks pretty good to me! Btw, the current iPhone model is a 16 and the cameras just keep getting better.

Unrelated, but exactly how does the iPhone post work? Is it possible that the current software dropped enough photos that we once again can post directly?

I’ve actually talked about this on this forum and others here on MTJ and unfortunately I think it falls under the category of you can’t teach old dogs new tricks!

All done from a smart phone, because it’s smart!

[sarge]

IMG_5484.jpeg (3.21 MiB) Viewed 1586 times

Simple. Shot on iPhone, downloaded to MTJ off my iCloud using a tablet.

It was very intuitive; took me about two minutes to figure it out on my own and I'm old,too! Is it really just some old dogs don't choose to learn new tricks?

BTW, Rich asked about a sign-up link. It already is on every page at the top, labelled "register", right next to "log-in". Couldn't be more obvious.

Been that way forever. Don't see everyone queuing up to join...must be some other reason they don't want to?