Re: P/R/E restructure
Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 2:10 am
I'm probably a little late to the discussion (ok, ok, there's really no probably about it). I haven't had nearly as much free time to waste on the internet lately and hadn't realized the PRE area was up for restructuring. Apparently I need to check the posts there a bit more often than I've been checking them.
I didn't have time to read each post above this one completely but I did note that quite a few people are questioning why those offended by the posts in the P/R/E forum are still reading the posts in the forum. Back around the election, and even for a while after the election I was involved in posting and read posts in the forum (back when I spent less time at work). Over the last six-nine months I've gone from reading just about every post made in every forum here to just reading the posts whose titles sound interesting (or which were posted by people whose thoughts/observations tend to interest me). I've actually quit reading the PRE forum more than once or twice a month, not so much because of the content posted there, but due to time constraints (I simply don't have enough time to sit and read everything, then try to form plausible arguments about why Gregg is wrong )(I'm kidding, Gregg ).
I don't believe the PRE forum has harmed the way I would interact with other members of the site. I do believe that my participation in the forum allowed me to better understand how other members of the site, with whom I don't see eye to eye with, view various issues and topics. It has helped me to see things from their points of view, even if I don't (and won't) believe their points of view are correct. If nothing else, I have a better idea where others are coming from in their posts in the other forums on this site. Our political/religious/extreme beliefs and viewpoints have a significant impact on our worldview and our worldview has an enormous influence on our hobbies. Take, for example, the example of EMDAceSteve, who was banned from the site some time ago. I don't see eye to eye with Steve on a lot of things, such as how well Canadian National is run and exactly who should benefit most from CN's operations. Had Steve been actively involved in the PRE forum, through the discussions there we may have been able to learn more about why Steve feels the way he does about CN and CN's management, rather than the posts we see every once in a while on other sites from him. I believe it's important to know what factors have influenced a person's character and personality in order to gauge the legitimacy of their posts about things, especially things they seem to care strongly about. I believe the PRE forum has helped to foster an environment in which we can discuss things that are not directly railroad-related but that are separate enough from railroad-related discussions to not fit onto a revised or restructured PRE forum but which can have a profound impact on the railroad-related discussions, even those which are just barely railroad-related.
While I'm at it, and since I'm sure most of you who started reading this post have since skimmed over the rambling above and are busy reading the next post below this one right now....I will mention that I have not yet used the friends/foes/etc. function of the "new" site yet. I have a pretty good idea as to whose view points I tend to agree with and whose I tend not to agree with. Those posts I tend not to agree with, I do still read, although I will take them with a bit of salt, for flavor if nothing else. I usually wind up learning something, even if I don't agree with the overall point the post is trying to make. I do enjoy the fact that there are so many differing points of view here and that those with different points of view DO make the effort to post, at least once in a while. Hence, as I might've referenced above, although I don't always agree with Gregg's posts, I do appreciate the fact that Gregg does post on these forums, and that he did so last fall despite all of the opposition to his posts (including the rather personal insults that were probably more the result of misplaced emotions than actual animosity toward Gregg or any other poster in the forum).
I'll try to wrap this up by stating that I believe the P/R/E forum was a valuable addition to this site and I believe that it has contributed greatly to the community aspect of this site. As railfans, we like trains, but we're more than just railfans, we're people as well, people with non-train interests and lives that are separate from our railfanning activities. The P/R/E forum has helped us to build ties and (dare I type it) relationships with other members of this forum based on things that go deeper than favorite paint schemes, locomotive types or scales we model in. It has also provided entertainment that isn't exactly appropriate for the Off-Subject forums. I'd prefer to see it stay intact, as is, because there will always be political topics to discuss, most of which could have implications in the railroad industry, but which may not be directly related to railroads (has anyone been keeping up to date on all these psycho politicians running around the state of Illinois lately? It's crazy, I tell you).
I didn't have time to read each post above this one completely but I did note that quite a few people are questioning why those offended by the posts in the P/R/E forum are still reading the posts in the forum. Back around the election, and even for a while after the election I was involved in posting and read posts in the forum (back when I spent less time at work). Over the last six-nine months I've gone from reading just about every post made in every forum here to just reading the posts whose titles sound interesting (or which were posted by people whose thoughts/observations tend to interest me). I've actually quit reading the PRE forum more than once or twice a month, not so much because of the content posted there, but due to time constraints (I simply don't have enough time to sit and read everything, then try to form plausible arguments about why Gregg is wrong )(I'm kidding, Gregg ).
I don't believe the PRE forum has harmed the way I would interact with other members of the site. I do believe that my participation in the forum allowed me to better understand how other members of the site, with whom I don't see eye to eye with, view various issues and topics. It has helped me to see things from their points of view, even if I don't (and won't) believe their points of view are correct. If nothing else, I have a better idea where others are coming from in their posts in the other forums on this site. Our political/religious/extreme beliefs and viewpoints have a significant impact on our worldview and our worldview has an enormous influence on our hobbies. Take, for example, the example of EMDAceSteve, who was banned from the site some time ago. I don't see eye to eye with Steve on a lot of things, such as how well Canadian National is run and exactly who should benefit most from CN's operations. Had Steve been actively involved in the PRE forum, through the discussions there we may have been able to learn more about why Steve feels the way he does about CN and CN's management, rather than the posts we see every once in a while on other sites from him. I believe it's important to know what factors have influenced a person's character and personality in order to gauge the legitimacy of their posts about things, especially things they seem to care strongly about. I believe the PRE forum has helped to foster an environment in which we can discuss things that are not directly railroad-related but that are separate enough from railroad-related discussions to not fit onto a revised or restructured PRE forum but which can have a profound impact on the railroad-related discussions, even those which are just barely railroad-related.
While I'm at it, and since I'm sure most of you who started reading this post have since skimmed over the rambling above and are busy reading the next post below this one right now....I will mention that I have not yet used the friends/foes/etc. function of the "new" site yet. I have a pretty good idea as to whose view points I tend to agree with and whose I tend not to agree with. Those posts I tend not to agree with, I do still read, although I will take them with a bit of salt, for flavor if nothing else. I usually wind up learning something, even if I don't agree with the overall point the post is trying to make. I do enjoy the fact that there are so many differing points of view here and that those with different points of view DO make the effort to post, at least once in a while. Hence, as I might've referenced above, although I don't always agree with Gregg's posts, I do appreciate the fact that Gregg does post on these forums, and that he did so last fall despite all of the opposition to his posts (including the rather personal insults that were probably more the result of misplaced emotions than actual animosity toward Gregg or any other poster in the forum).
I'll try to wrap this up by stating that I believe the P/R/E forum was a valuable addition to this site and I believe that it has contributed greatly to the community aspect of this site. As railfans, we like trains, but we're more than just railfans, we're people as well, people with non-train interests and lives that are separate from our railfanning activities. The P/R/E forum has helped us to build ties and (dare I type it) relationships with other members of this forum based on things that go deeper than favorite paint schemes, locomotive types or scales we model in. It has also provided entertainment that isn't exactly appropriate for the Off-Subject forums. I'd prefer to see it stay intact, as is, because there will always be political topics to discuss, most of which could have implications in the railroad industry, but which may not be directly related to railroads (has anyone been keeping up to date on all these psycho politicians running around the state of Illinois lately? It's crazy, I tell you).