Timothetoolman
L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N
I’m 18 now. To most, this will come as a pointless fact that means little in the way of this place, other than being one of the many late-teenaged patrons, who, when time permits, wants to play some Trainz, hang out on the community forums with fellow-Trainz members and talk about Trainz, railways and simulation. We have threads dedicated to Screenshots, Content Creation, Technical Support and even threads for those who may speak English as a second language, or not at all. I’ve followed this place longer than I have owned Trainz, and when the time came for me to start adding to the conversations, almost everybody was friendly and intelligent enough to respond in both insightful and helpful ways. It was a community that had no rival when it came to Railway Simulation, and whilst we all agreed Trainz, our hobby, was imperfect, we all strived to make the best of it and few complaints were uttered, unless they were the professional constructive criticism aimed at bettering the work of another. Oh have the times changed…
What has become of this place? Where is the professionalism, the cheerfulness, the friendliness and advice? What happened to the good old conversations we all had, discussing matters relating to our hobby? Why it all was replaced, or at least almost all replaced, by the complete and utter rubbish that I’m viewing almost every single day?
That’s right, this is a complaint thread, but one where I will attempt to make an intelligent case against the crap that has befallen this once great community. I will begin with the stupidness that has poisoned most threads…
At least once-a-day I don’t come across a thread that makes me weep for humanity because they seem to always fall on the most petty of subjects. Usually they are asking questions; fair enough, that was part of the trend, because when one asked a question that was legitimate it was usually answered with an equally legitimate response. Now it seems that the questions are repeats of the same question, occasionally by the same person, and quite honestly these questions are as legitimate as owning a swimming pool in Antarctica. They aren’t always Trainz related, which today is not so much asking for advice as it is demanding for content of varying descriptions and in the most horrendous and poorly-written of formats. Again, these are usually asked by the same person over and over again, and whist it was customary to respond politely, it has since turned into a game of “Hunt the Gimmie-Pig.” “Gimmie-Pig” is a terrible description, because it was no doubt invented by an equally unintelligent person to that of the individual being described. Every time Jointed Rail releases an image of a recent render for an upcoming model, the fan boys come out in droves to ogle at its pixelated goodness, and bask in the glow that they are too lazy to aim for themselves. “Oh, please make this while you’re at it”, “make this one”, “OMG, I can’t wait for the x version” are just some of the many responses one can find following such a reveal. This isn’t appreciation, it’s just wannabe creators over-hyping an achievement they could just as easily reach if they put even a smidgen of the effort the JR lads did.
Then there is the pathetic questions that fall outside the creations sector of the forums. In the “General Trainz” and “Prototype Talk” threads alone I see threads that should never have existed in a world for of intelligence. One in particular caught my eye because the same thread was posted not once, not twice, by three times in quick succession, and not because they warranted no real use, oh no, we go further than that, but because it was blocked by the boss-men because it started too many fights, and the ironic thing about it was that the threads were all about “Flame Wars” on the forum. What on Earth does this warrant 3 threads for such a juvenile and diabolically pathetic discussion topic? That would be like me asking why you cook food in a forum dedicated to knitting; how the hell does it provide legitimate discussion? You have got to be kidding me. Of course then you also get the simply rubbish questions that always starts fights such as “Which is the best train in the world?” or “What is the ugliest locomotive in the world?” These titles in themselves spell trouble before the page has even been selected to load up. In the olden days of these forums such a thread would be allowed because they created a discussion that was not fuelled by testosterone-filled boys who are too sissy to pick a fight face-to-face and take it up behind a screen, keyboard and false-identity. One familiar with internet-lingo would call these morons “Trolls”. I would to but not because of their attitudes, but their lack of brain cells. They have the intellectual properties of a troll. If only we could keep any and all definitions on troll in the world of fantasy.
Then of course there is the big one; dealing with these morons. It seems that today everyone is entitle to a second chance, which is fair enough, but then they stuff up again and later are given a third chance, then a forth chance. It’s like AFL football; a player does drugs, gets booted out of the frankly terrible sport and then recruited back because the feel sorry. And we know it’s only a matter of time before they fall prey to the habit again. People don’t learn from bans mods, if you’re reading this, because eventually they will be again. Locking threads and banning culprits isn’t the answer to deal with this people, because it doesn’t work. They will just come back, start another pointless debate and fall back down taking as many witnesses with them to the pit of shame. It is hard for us old regulars to be polite anymore because it is with this sort of scum that is dealt with on a daily basis. I don’t just speak for myself here that we are sick and tired of stupid members, rubbish threads and poor behaviour when it comes to the Trainz Community Forums, and many a once highly-respected member has been lost to the filth that has come to us over the years.
It is hard for people like myself to survive here and to preserve what was once one of the best communities on the world-wide-web, and it is just a shame to see what has become the ‘new’ internet culture wash over it like an oil-filled sea does on a white-sand beach. It is swallowing everything, leaving little to nothing untouched; as is the plague of modern social media. I come here to share in the hobby, not deal with morons who use YOLO, LMFOA and WTF in every day speech, who probably spend more time on Facebook poking at ‘funny’ topics than they do actually coming to understand that humour does not involve an internet meme and foul language. This is a civilised group thank you very much, and alongside my fellow members who stand for the same level of professionalism that I do, will continue to attempt to retain said level of professionalism within this community. We may not be the best model makers, route builders or reskinners out there, because that isn’t the full story when it comes to Trainz. It’s a community effort, and judging by what has come into this community, it is clear that what passes for effort is declining rapidly.
I’ve always said I pray for what humanity has become in the last decade or so, but this place is a little closer to my heart than the rest of the world. You may say it’s just a game, but there are some out there like me who know it is a lot more than that, but if this is what the community is coming to, I think I to will one day see it as just a game, only because the community part no longer welcomes me with the open arms it once did.
Tim
What has become of this place? Where is the professionalism, the cheerfulness, the friendliness and advice? What happened to the good old conversations we all had, discussing matters relating to our hobby? Why it all was replaced, or at least almost all replaced, by the complete and utter rubbish that I’m viewing almost every single day?
That’s right, this is a complaint thread, but one where I will attempt to make an intelligent case against the crap that has befallen this once great community. I will begin with the stupidness that has poisoned most threads…
At least once-a-day I don’t come across a thread that makes me weep for humanity because they seem to always fall on the most petty of subjects. Usually they are asking questions; fair enough, that was part of the trend, because when one asked a question that was legitimate it was usually answered with an equally legitimate response. Now it seems that the questions are repeats of the same question, occasionally by the same person, and quite honestly these questions are as legitimate as owning a swimming pool in Antarctica. They aren’t always Trainz related, which today is not so much asking for advice as it is demanding for content of varying descriptions and in the most horrendous and poorly-written of formats. Again, these are usually asked by the same person over and over again, and whist it was customary to respond politely, it has since turned into a game of “Hunt the Gimmie-Pig.” “Gimmie-Pig” is a terrible description, because it was no doubt invented by an equally unintelligent person to that of the individual being described. Every time Jointed Rail releases an image of a recent render for an upcoming model, the fan boys come out in droves to ogle at its pixelated goodness, and bask in the glow that they are too lazy to aim for themselves. “Oh, please make this while you’re at it”, “make this one”, “OMG, I can’t wait for the x version” are just some of the many responses one can find following such a reveal. This isn’t appreciation, it’s just wannabe creators over-hyping an achievement they could just as easily reach if they put even a smidgen of the effort the JR lads did.
Then there is the pathetic questions that fall outside the creations sector of the forums. In the “General Trainz” and “Prototype Talk” threads alone I see threads that should never have existed in a world for of intelligence. One in particular caught my eye because the same thread was posted not once, not twice, by three times in quick succession, and not because they warranted no real use, oh no, we go further than that, but because it was blocked by the boss-men because it started too many fights, and the ironic thing about it was that the threads were all about “Flame Wars” on the forum. What on Earth does this warrant 3 threads for such a juvenile and diabolically pathetic discussion topic? That would be like me asking why you cook food in a forum dedicated to knitting; how the hell does it provide legitimate discussion? You have got to be kidding me. Of course then you also get the simply rubbish questions that always starts fights such as “Which is the best train in the world?” or “What is the ugliest locomotive in the world?” These titles in themselves spell trouble before the page has even been selected to load up. In the olden days of these forums such a thread would be allowed because they created a discussion that was not fuelled by testosterone-filled boys who are too sissy to pick a fight face-to-face and take it up behind a screen, keyboard and false-identity. One familiar with internet-lingo would call these morons “Trolls”. I would to but not because of their attitudes, but their lack of brain cells. They have the intellectual properties of a troll. If only we could keep any and all definitions on troll in the world of fantasy.
Then of course there is the big one; dealing with these morons. It seems that today everyone is entitle to a second chance, which is fair enough, but then they stuff up again and later are given a third chance, then a forth chance. It’s like AFL football; a player does drugs, gets booted out of the frankly terrible sport and then recruited back because the feel sorry. And we know it’s only a matter of time before they fall prey to the habit again. People don’t learn from bans mods, if you’re reading this, because eventually they will be again. Locking threads and banning culprits isn’t the answer to deal with this people, because it doesn’t work. They will just come back, start another pointless debate and fall back down taking as many witnesses with them to the pit of shame. It is hard for us old regulars to be polite anymore because it is with this sort of scum that is dealt with on a daily basis. I don’t just speak for myself here that we are sick and tired of stupid members, rubbish threads and poor behaviour when it comes to the Trainz Community Forums, and many a once highly-respected member has been lost to the filth that has come to us over the years.
It is hard for people like myself to survive here and to preserve what was once one of the best communities on the world-wide-web, and it is just a shame to see what has become the ‘new’ internet culture wash over it like an oil-filled sea does on a white-sand beach. It is swallowing everything, leaving little to nothing untouched; as is the plague of modern social media. I come here to share in the hobby, not deal with morons who use YOLO, LMFOA and WTF in every day speech, who probably spend more time on Facebook poking at ‘funny’ topics than they do actually coming to understand that humour does not involve an internet meme and foul language. This is a civilised group thank you very much, and alongside my fellow members who stand for the same level of professionalism that I do, will continue to attempt to retain said level of professionalism within this community. We may not be the best model makers, route builders or reskinners out there, because that isn’t the full story when it comes to Trainz. It’s a community effort, and judging by what has come into this community, it is clear that what passes for effort is declining rapidly.
I’ve always said I pray for what humanity has become in the last decade or so, but this place is a little closer to my heart than the rest of the world. You may say it’s just a game, but there are some out there like me who know it is a lot more than that, but if this is what the community is coming to, I think I to will one day see it as just a game, only because the community part no longer welcomes me with the open arms it once did.
Tim
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