where are the members ???????

[Michaelaface]

is there a facebook group for this forum, and if not would it be useful to have one?

[4472]

That is a bit negative. A facebook page would dilute the forum. You only need one source of data

[Michaelaface]

how is it negative? could be used to drive traffic here, I miss great threads all the time on here, a group where you can post something like "hey I've just updated my thread with this, here's the link" could be useful? was just a question

[Mountain]

There are some interesting comments throughout this thread.

The annoying thing to me is not about my posts, but when someone asks a question they do not acknowledge a reply. Someone can go to great lengths to answer a specific question and the original poster does not reply. It does not happen here much. I find this Forum one of the better ones. On some other sites it is unbelievable the number of people not acknowledging. Strange!

Glencairn

Ah. Could it be that you have answered every aspect so they don't need to reply?

Having solved their question for them, surely a simple thank you would not go amiss?

Glencairn

Usually yes. Sometimes though, I may find that I have forgotton what I asked.

[Dad-1]

I wonder how many are not even on facebook ?
Certainly I don't have the time, or inclination.

Geoff T.

[Bufferstop]

I'm on Facebook but can't use it, because every time I post anything. The next time I try to use it, they accuse me of having multiple accounts and say they are investigating. About a fortnight later I can access it and we start over again.

[End2end]

A facebook page would dilute the forum. You only need one source of data

I'd have to agree. You'd never see me post on farcebook.
Thanks
End2end

[Buggleskelly]

A Facebook page would be a useful addition, rather than a replacement. I was a member of a dollshouse forum, equally specialised, that had no FB presence, and it eventually failed due to a lack of awareness. Image posting can be easier, without having to allow for for or reduce file size beforehand, which was also the case for the dollhouse site.

[luckymucklebackit]

how is it negative? could be used to drive traffic here, I miss great threads all the time on here, a group where you can post something like "hey I've just updated my thread with this, here's the link" could be useful? was just a question

There is the British Railway Modelling group, so you could post on there and provide the link, alternatively if you feel that it is a positive thing why not start a group yourself and link to the main site, cant see why the mods would object.

Jim

[flying scotsman123]

Personally I don't see what a Facebook group will do, it might even risk taking some existing activity away from the forum. This forum actually performs quite well on google searches in terms of visibility, so I don't think a Facebook group would help much in that respect either.

@Alex3410 Perhaps running another general modelling competition might be a way of encouraging a bit more activity? Competitions on this forum seem to work best if you simply give a start and end date and say "Do some modelling" these days, rather than trying to set a theme or mandate a diorama which often excludes people. Keeping it general allows someone to pick a project they were already planning on doing, or a bit of their layout or whatever, and gives them some impetus to get on with it.

[NedFlanders]

Well, this is (was) an interesting ( and ironic for me ) discussion.

I have been tremendous busy over the last 7 months so the poor railway was gathering dust and general debris as it was used as a bit of a dumping ground I didn't even look in here either as I felt it would only irritate me that I wasn't able to get to it and also if I didn't look in, well then I would have a bucket load of enjoyable content to catch up on when I could!)

As I had too many other projects on I intentionally put the railway into the "Later" pile. Now, thankfully, it has come back to the "current" pile.

Most of what I feel about the lack of interaction and participation at times here, and the good elements of the community here relative to rmweb and some other forums has been well said in this thread already but there is one thought that I had last year as I pondered the subject of the thread title myself - is it the growth of the YouTube community has moved a number of prospective members / participants to either create their content there or users get their "answers" there?

Facebook etc must have some bearing too, but in my own case I got back into this hobby largely due to Everard Junction, Simon's Shed and Dean Park station.( Truth be told I was recovering from a minor surgery and laughing was out courtesy of same, so I thought to myself - " what's a topic that I could watch endlessly on YouTube with minimal opportunity for guffaws?" and it worked )

Once you tube had resurrected my general interest, I found this site had a great mix of welcoming comments, help and constructive suggestions.

Some topics lend them to YouTube/videos better , say "here's how to service a ringfield motor" ( incidentally Strathpeffer Junction has great content (and kits ) if you want to replace them.) But I still enjoy and get great benefits from the format of the interactions here

I came to the conclusion that like a lot of things, every technology/concept has its purple patch and then gradually either finds a niche or fades away. I have just enough time for updates here, with no intention to go filming anything other than the odd running session ultimately.So hopefully I've found my niche and long may it continue. ( Yes, the like is a nice feature, but I'm happy with reads )

Now, where did I put those timbers for the tunnel entrance, ah yes, they're holding up the temporary TV stand...... And so it continues.....

All the best,

Ned.

[Peterm]

I'm here and while the weather's not too hot (spring time in Qld) I've been doing a few things on the layout. The trouble is, that like yesterday, I fitted a new sound decoder with speaker, stay alive and crew and then remembered that I meant to do some pic's of the process I'll try harder in future.

[BrightonMan]

then remembered that I meant to do some pic's of the process

I do that all the time. I don't have a camera on my phone so to take pics I have to get the camera out, and 9 times out of 10 I either forget or can't be bothered. As you say, must try harder!

[windcutter9f]

I`m a member of several Facebook groups,mainly on vintage trains,Hornby Dublo etc but you can`t treat them as a forum.The posts are ephemeral,there`s no search engine as such,it wasn`t designed for that,i`ve lost count of the times the same question has been asked and replied to,it`s got to the stage unfortunataly that unless it`s a friend,i don`t put the answer on there any more.A poster on there said people want fluidity,i replied that it`s not fluidity they want it`s answers that stay there.Another poster said they don`t like forums,too much mucking about logging in but they don`t mind sharing their details on a site that gets hacked.Funny old world.

Ray.

[Bufferstop]

This forum actually performs quite well on google searches in terms of visibility,

I have to agree, I'm getting quite used to Google searches bringing up my own posts on here, plus Dad-1's video clips on YouTube plus various other members posts from time to time. The only regular hit's to other railway modelling topics seem to be the Manchester MRC's Facebook group which I think I can trace back to checking the opening times of the December exhibition two or three years ago. My experiences with FB is pretty negative but I suspect that may be down to sharing my name with someone rich enough to slap an injunction on them, I can think of no other reason for their behaviour.