Slightly OT. Setting a standard.

I hope you're being devil's advocate, Peter, and I hope none of the others follow your lead. You and the other original members set up and some of you continue to feed a group which I enjoy paticipating in.

To my mind there is nothing wrong with the content of the NG as it is, there is nobody who posts OT or not that troubles me. If a post doesn't catch my interest, I don't have to read it.

I operate at home on 26.4k and my bandwidth is quite adequate to deal with the volume of messages, so I don't buy the theory that the OT messages are any sort of burden.

I would be very sorry to lose your input, and I feel the loss of others recently has been bad enough. I do think there is plenty of room for others to post on-topic and would urge them to do so. In this way they can contribute and enrich the group, rather than just snipe.

Regards

Reply to
Arthur Griffin & Jeni Stanton
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Gentlemen, I have just spent a long day travelling to manchester and back and doing a days work in between, I have returned home and turned the PC on to check for work related emails and then followed up with the NG's on Mdel engineering there is a thread that is running away and I have blocked it, tonight there was 36 postings and all for this thread so nothing else of interest. Unfortunately the same thing is happening here and like Peter Forbes and I dont suppose anybody has noticed but also Roland Craven another font have had enough, well now you have another vanishing act "ME" I dont need this crap! Martin P

Reply to
Campingstoveman

This is getting stupid. I'm going to bed.

Reply to
Nick Highfield

I've held off this topic for now, but feel I have to put my point of view...

Off topic posts - undesirable if they start off OT, but often informative if they drift into someones area of interest, expertise, experience etc. I don't talk to everyone about engines all the time - we need a bit of variety to keep things interesting.

On topic posts - please define on topic? - there are so many diverse interests that bring this group together, with a common thread of things old, mechanical and interesting.

I shall now sit back with another small measure of decent Irish Whiskey and leave you to yourselves, I have had lots of help from this group and I hope I have passed this on to other people where I can.

Regards

Dan

Reply to
Dan Howden

Yes Martin, I agree with you totally - you and the other main-stays that keep this group alive and make it worth visiting. You don't deserve this. In my opinion, you (meaning yourself Martin, and Peter, Kim, Nick, Arthur, George and many, many more) have my overwhelming support.

Just to clarify things, I'm one of those many (??) lurkers, but now feel it's time to stand up and be counted. In my opinion, OTs on this NG aren't OT. These postings show the people behind the engines and hold it all together. It helps to put the hobby into reality. We all have other plates to keep spinning - wife, kids, houses, mortgages, jobs and so on, and you guys admirably demonstrate that life isn't all stationary engines (unfortunately!). Nor should it be. But it is fun, when you're allowed out!

I've been loitering in the shadows for probably a year or so (not really having a useful contribution to make), but being continually educated and entertained by this NG - and reassured that I'm not the only one who gets grief from SWMBO!

Don't let a (very minor) minority succeed in ruining what has been a consistently successful and worthwhile NG. If you go, so do I.

From one lurker to another - speak now!

Regards,

Mike Piper Anglesey North Wales

PS Have knackered Lister D (yes, I know...). Will be scrounging soon, if this NG returns to sanity!

Reply to
MikeP

Nicely said Mike, We nearly all started with a similar engine to yours in our early days. I have just been given 2 starters engines so I have the lovely task this year of looking for a young starter & giving away 2 engines. By the way if this list ever stops OT posting I will immediately stop accessing the list.

-- Dave Croft Warrington

Reply to
Dave Croft

As an occasional poster and regular lurker to this group, may I add my 2ps worth. This has to be one of the most knowledgable and friendly ngs going. I have had help from the likes of Kim, Arthur, Dave and Peter. They don't know me and have gone out of their way to send pics and photocopy items for me. I have learnt much from the whole group on On topic and Offtopic matters, if an offtopic post does not interest me I can just mark it 'as read', wheres the problem? So Gentlemen do not give up on the ng, or before you know it the 'powers that be' will shut it down for lack of use. Then we will ALL lose a valuable resource.

Cheers Anthony

Reply to
Anthony

So what you are saying is the group should be run by the whims of an unknown number of occasional posters? If you subscribe to ANY group for the first time there will be many posts that are not of interest to you. Surely its up to you to sort out/search for the items you do find interesting.

Probably right, there may be be too many OT posts here, but being such a small group surely there is a limit to what you can post on a totally On topic subject. If the people you know were to post here surely the OT posts would decrease, because there would be a more vibrant disscussion going on. These complainants cannot have it both ways, moan about the posts here, but not try to influence the group by THEIR On topic posts.

As far as I see it you cannot lurk and moan at the same time!

Snip

Cheers Anthony

Reply to
Anthony

Sounds of rattles leaving prams.

This NG has never drifted that far OT. Comments about pub and club chat seem valid, KS chucks the occasional stone in when things have quiet, why not.

I took a dive a few weeks ago because of something happening outside the NG but connected to it - nothing to do with the content of the group. I think a few people wondered why I did not name the individual concerned but we had a suspicion that it was not that person sending the mails (now proved correct).

Most people contributing to this NG have fairly strong opinions and don't always agree - nothing wrong with that, thats life. So presumably that applies to the subject of OT posts. If you don't like it and think they are getting excessive, say so, your piece now said, get on with life.

If you don't like it, don't look. I still susbcribe to ATIS but ignore 95% of what is said, I only ignore about 10% on the NG so NG can't be that bad.

Anyone that thinks this group does provide a good level of service/help to all interested parties is a total Rodney. Any group will have a core of people that post, and that may make it seem insular. Walk into any good local as a stranger and what happens, go back 5 times that week and you are a local by Friday.

I field a large number of emails on a daily basis requesting help that have come to me from lurkers/casual readers of the NG and passed from other contributors so as far as I am concerned the NG works for them.

Bit long, sorry.

Paul

-- ____________________________________

Internal Fire, Museum of Power, Wales

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Reply to
Paul Evans

At the risk of "bad netiquette" and as someone who only posts if I feel I have an input, I agree entirely with Anthony.

I have acquired a wealth of help and knowledge (and about 8 engines) from the regulars on this newsgroup and read the posts every day. I also agree with Dan, I have no problem with OT posts (they sometimes drift back anyway) but if I feel a thread does not interest me, I mark it as read and go on to the next.

Keep it up all you regulars, we enjoy it.

Reply to
Pete Aldous

L'envoi?

Well, OT or not, I've had delivered this morning a book I've wanted for around thirty years having never managed to track it down before.

"The Power To Fly" (LJK Setright) came from the Dutch specialist book dealer that Nick Highfield pointed me to on this NG. Thanks very much for spotting it Nick, I'm obliged to you!

Regards,

Kim Siddorn

Reply to
J K Siddorn

Did I do dat? How kind! Enjoy Long John Kickstart's fine words.

Reply to
Nick Highfield

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