New members

[J. S. Bach]

Dave,
You could be right but I have trouble thinking like that. I do understand that some are not happy unless they are upsetting other people.
I don't understand that at all.

I agree.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

... It's a small tight knit group including some very knowledgeable and intelligent people, and those people like to post here more so than elsewhere. Changing it would tend toward making it more like elsewhere.

I guess I feel like I mainly come here to learn stuff and don't really have anything I can really add to the knowledge base. I have learned a lot on this forum. Its a funny balance, most of us are less skilled than some and more skilled than others. To me "sharing" something often feel like boasting, or as ignorance as to how crappy or ill conceived the something is. Either way I avoid that because I see a whole lot of talented people out there with great layouts and/or beautiful models. I admit, I can be thin skinned. It's a problem.

Pennsy484, You make many interesting points, some of which I have emphasized here. Permit me to respond to them.

I heard it said, some time ago, that "Knowledge that is not shared is useless." I am still trying to decide if I accept that concept carte blanche, but I do feel it has some value. I like my layout and have been constantly amazed when some fellow hobbyists tell me they like or approve what I have created. Such interaction with peers is great fun for me. They do not have to agree with my approach, nor even applaud it. I simply appreciate the interaction and adult discourse. I am a social animal.

The social aspect here is tops with me, even if, at rare times, that includes getting a bit obstinate with a couple "characters." If we all agreed about everything, we'd be too close to being clones, and where and how would that be interesting and worth even one minute of time.

A very important attractive quality of this forum, for me, is getting scolded or corrected for ideas or errors I have made. That does not happen often in my life, so having found a place where I can take a chance at being wrong or, even, foolish is refreshing. And believe me, there is an adequate number of voices on this forum who are ever-at-the-ready to correct me for errors. Good, I say. Why not.

Sharing knowledge, on a wide variety of topics, is very enjoyable, here, but equally enjoyable is becoming acquainted with a wide variety of personalities, as much as is allowed and possible via typed messages. The various personalities do come across, though, as you have probably already observed.

I do, also, attend OGR Forum, though by a different avatar-name, and I enjoy it very much, especially since Allan Miller and George Brown are personal friends whom I cherish. Yet, my presence there has evolved to being almost totally different from my participation here on MTJ. I have conformed myself to the environments and have felt comfortable, all along, doing so.

I hope I have helped, at least a bit, by offering my experience here as an example, to have you feel comfortable enough to speak often and hope I have helped you see MTJ for the recreation it can be. Who knows how long MTJ will be here? I don't.

[J. S. Bach]

...snip... I heard it said, some time ago, that "Knowledge that is not shared is useless." ...snip...

The late Vane Jones (Traction and Models) used a variant of that in T&M. "Knowledge is of no value unless shared with others." I believe.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

I'm convinced we are at our best when we share.