Hi Peter; This is often a dilemma for many groups. The "old hands" get tired of certain topics, while the new guy main need the information. Factual discussions should rarely be an issue but some of the more subjective topics can run on endlessly, repeating the same views most of the group has heard before, and even become somewhat heated at times. Some of the more useful groups are more strict than we are, telling new members that the info they seek is in the archive, go find it!
The archives are a useful tool, and Yahoo promises to "improve" the search feature soon. Meanwhile, we would benefit from one or more FAQ files derived from the archives (if anyone feels like volunteering to compile one or more...) which would allow new members to benefit more quickly from the information available on the list. Pieter E. Roos --- On Fri, 11/12/10, Peter Vanvliet <[email protected]> wrote: > Now Ed, there you go again! :-) > > But seriously, I do have to say that when I first joined > this group, a > discussion about the rail height broke out and it was very > educational > to me. It helped me decide which one to choose. It is a > royal pain in > the rear to find info in the Yahoo groups search feature, > especially if > you don't know exactly the wording to use for keywords. > > I remember thinking, two and a half years ago, that, what > *was* getting > old were all those people saying, "oh, here we go again!". > Rail height > was a legitimate issue for me at the time, and the members > who have been > part of this group for a long time were griping about the > issue being > brought up again. There are new people joining this list > all the time, > and being dismissed because one asks a question that was > "answered" 10 > years ago is not a good way to be welcoming to new people. > I wonder if > this is why we have a great silent majority; fear of being > "ridiculed" > for bringing up a question, a topic, or an issue. > > I, for one, like bringing up a previously discussed topic > for the > edification of new members, new model railroaders, or new > scalers. It > might also shed new light on a topic, especially if new > members have new > ideas. The key word here is "new"! :-) If we are no longer > allowed to > discuss something just because it was discussed in the > past, this list > will rapidly loose its usefulness. To be honest I have > thought about > "dis-joining" from this group a number of times because of > the issue > mentioned above. The only thing that keeps me hanging on is > the > potential of getting new information from manufacturers, > and the > inspirational work showcased by the group's members. > > I hope more members of the "silent majority" speak up and I > appreciate > Bill for starting this thread. > > Here's my $0.02, and with this, I'm going back to work... > - Peter. ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
