Demodellers and ModMod

"mutley" wrote

Hi Pete,

Try

cheers John, nicely sorted :)

Pete

Well, if I might venture an opinion which probably won't be popular, but who cares...?

I don't think it's nicely sorted at all. I enjoyed being on Demodellers and found it useful and entertaining. When it sank beneath the waves I saw a rush to ModMod and a lot of yacking about the fate of Demod.

Geoff the moderator (who is too good for this world IMO) took the time and trouble to find out what people wanted and re-constituted ModMod to suit their needs.

And what do people do to repay his efforts? Start another group and shove themselves over there. What a kick in the teeth for Geoff.

This "in-crowd" or "flock of starlings" mentality is what spoils railway modelling just like so many other hobbies and pastimes. I see it all the time at exhibitions. No wonder a model shop owner said to me recently "these people have got some front.."

No doubt on this new group there will be a lot of extolling of US outline prototypes and snide comments about the "ordinaries" like me who just want to run trains, while ModMod is just used as a dump for emails about UK outline things for sale before they go to "flea bay".

Well, I know it's a free country, so people may join what they wish, and write where they want, just as I'm doing here. But I still think it's a shameful situation.

Cheers, Steve

"Steve W" wrote

Get your facts right Steve. The new group, as you call it, was created BEFORE the demise of demod and BEFORE those who had previously abandoned ModMod returned there.

Incidentally I have no axe to grind with either ModMod or DandEmodellers - I'm a member of both.

John.

Seconded. I had high hopes that ModMod would take the best of DEMOD without some of the elitism and snide comments about the various "lesser" places on the net. I fail to see why we needed another group. Actually, I don't see why we need Yahoo groups at all. What's wrong with this newsgroup?

Out of interest, who has the power-base in DandEmodellers?

I haven't decided whether to bother with the new group yet.

Adrian

I stand corrected on this item of fact. Thank you.

My paragraph is now corrected to read:

"And what do people do to repay his efforts? Find another group and shove themselves over there. What a kick in the teeth for Geoff."

Steve

I assume what has happened here is that people joined both groups but more threads have been started in DandEmodellers - for whatever reason..

Still, the confusion of 2 groups is a bad thing.

"Steve W" wrote

How do you know that? There were quite a significant number of members on DandEmodellers before the demise of demod?

I note you do not address the issue of those who abandoned ModMod for demod in the first place!

John.

John, I don't address that historical issue because I have no knowledge of it.

I'm commenting on current affairs. I'll repeat, just for clarification... ".. it's a free country, so people may join what they wish, and write where they want, just as I'm doing here.."

But having said that, I really do not understand why, if "There were quite a significant number of members on DandEmodellers before the demise of demod", then that did not become the natural successor to demod. Why go through the pantomime at ModMod? Just a staging post before moving on to the "proper" group?

That's how it looks to the this man on the ground who is *not* in the "in-crowd". I understand that your perspective may be different.

Anyway, I heard quite enough yakking about demod on ModMod, and I really don't know why I'm prolonging a discussion on this really internecine topic.

Back to track-bashing! Does anyone know why my Bachmann Warship keeps grounding on the Peco or Hornby sprung uncoupling ramps? If this is just the way it is, how best would I go about arranging auto-uncoupling for the loco?

Cheers, Steve

I still don't understand why DandEmodellers was created *at all*, given we already had the established and useful demod.

Don't suppose anything's come to light as to who killed demod and why? Name the git responsible.

Still, it means the inbox is a bit lighter nowadays, just as well as free time is at a premium for me now.

Presumably 'cos it rides lower, put your ear to the track and get a strange tingling sensation... and look along the rails as the Warship passes over the ramp and see what's catching on it.

"Ben C" wrote

I was told that it was because the two founders were frozen out of demod.

John.

"Bert" wrote

To be able to access this newsgroup you have to have an account with a newserver, that is not the case with Yahoo groups.

The Group is owned by Tim Easter and James Wells, but whether they would consider that to be a power-base or not is open to question. Maybe they just consider themselves to be facilitators.

John.

So did I, but to be frank... I was a member of ModMod for a while, but due to the low volume ended up a member of DEMOD. That died, so then ModMod took off again, but the large volume of messages discussing the sudden growth of the group and whether quality of demod exiles seemed to overwhelm the on-topic stuff. I must say I began to feel that - whether spoken or not - some of ModMod resented the influx, despite Geoff's attempts to steady things - thanks, Geoff. (Wasn't there even a snipe at the term 'diesel and electric' in the new group charter, which he felt he had to justify?)

Now I've just joined DandEmodellers with hopes of better things.

David

I have yet to find a UK ISP that doesn't have newsgroup access. Also, there is always Google Groups - although I accept that Yahoo is probably a little frendlier to use.

Hopefully that is the case. Other groups I have been involved in (not just modelling, and not just on the net) have tended to attract the more dictatorial types who enjoy being a "big fish in a little sea" - perhaps not initially, but eventually. Hopefully, the current owners don't fall into that category.

Adrian

I didnt know about DandEmodellers when I joined modmod and I suspect those who did the same didnt either, ;-) if i had know about THAT group I wouldnt of joined modmod.

popular, but

Demodellers

recently

I'm sure I'm not the only one with a foot in all camps ( ModMod, DandEMod, DEMU); I don't see any need to take sides, me being another "ordinary" modeller. The " in crowd" mentality pervades just about every field of human endevour I can think of; I'm past the point of getting annoyed / worried about it :-/. I must admnit towards the end the flow of messages from DEMod seemed to contain little of interest, just a stream of "naughty eBay seller" mails which seemed to be considered on topic :-((

"FuNky2k" wrote

I actually think there's a place for both groups, but don't ask me to explain why.

John.

wrote

I must admnit towards the end

I know one retailer who commented that these postings were *repetitive and tiresome* suddenly found himself *moderated* on said group.

John.

I agreed with you on the repetitive ebay postings, it got a bit silly.