• Railroad.Net 20th Anniversary 2004-2024 Memories Discussion

  • General discussion about the RAILROAD.NET site, forums, or content ONLY. Please do not post your general railroading questions, please choose an appropriate forum. For help using the site, please post in the Help Using RAILROAD.NET Forum.
General discussion about the RAILROAD.NET site, forums, or content ONLY. Please do not post your general railroading questions, please choose an appropriate forum. For help using the site, please post in the Help Using RAILROAD.NET Forum.

Moderator: Jeff Smith

  by MACTRAXX
 
Everyone: This Forum looks like the appropriate place to start a discussion about 20 years of Railroad.net.
First and foremost memories of membership in this full site or at the Forums that we participate in - with
members who have been here since Day One 20 years ago along with the two previous RR.Net sites being
the prime area of interest for recollections from those earlier days along with newer members who have
joined over these past 20 years and have had continuously taken part in Railroad.Net...

In a topic titled "When Railroad.Net Came Online" back in 2004 came these interesting notes that I was
previously unaware of: Railroad.Net was created by John Stewart back during the 1990s with this original
site mentioned as "crashing" on March 16, 2002. The second RR.Net ran from May 15, 2002 to March 1, 2004.
(Robert Paniagua in Post #59068)

The current version of Railroad.Net listed its phpBB on March 9, 2004 at 11:34 AM and was officially
launched on March 11, 2004 with memberships being accepted with the new system...
(Mike Roque in Post #62727)

I began reading Railroad.Net back in the early 2000s and as a visitor became very interested in the various
Forums - I found out that a requirement to join was an active Email account which I did not have and for
that matter did not know how to get one - until a fellow rail enthusiast informed me about sites such as
Yahoo! that offered free Email...I finally joined RR.Net on February 7, 2005 with my prime interest being
passenger railroading of all types which I was reading on a frequent basis...

I found the wide variety of Forums and Discussions quite interesting along with how these were divided
into groups - Fallen Flags, Railfan by geographical area and the various freight railroads all good examples
of what was available for all to discover here at RR.Net...

My membership here at Railroad.Net was becoming a long-term learning curve about how to contribute
to subjects where possible and the etiquette of taking part in discussions with fellow members...

I would eventually learn that there was a percentage of members who only took part in certain Forums
and in cases only a single Forum - even though their membership entitles them to take part in any and
all RR.Net Forums...With a wide variety of rail interests I felt that some were missing out by not reading
other Forums and "Broadening Your Horizons" with all that is available here at RR.Net...

I also found that certain Forums had "Cliques" of members that frequented topics and discussions -
At times as an "outsider" one had to tread carefully when taking part in subjects - with one that stands
out as a prime example posting about my personal dislike of the terms "Inbound" and "Outbound" in
a topic at the MBTA Forum - after the very negative reaction I got from the "regulars" there and even
though the moderators informed me that they "had my back" I felt like I was being "thrown in to the
wolves" in this controversy the subject taught me a harsh lesson about topics that some may have
strong feelings and opinions about that can vastly differ from what you feel is right...

As a member here at Railroad.Net I will try to contribute to the best of my ability in a positive manner...
I made a vow to myself that if this membership became negative that I would no longer participate...
For me the vast majority of interactions in my past 19 years one month of membership has been good...

I am looking forward to reading other Railroad.Net memories from anyone that takes part in this subject...
MACTRAXX
  by MACTRAXX
 
Everyone - With what I believe to be Railroad.Net's 1,500,000 post I wanted to bring up this topic about
Railroad.Net's 20th Anniversary three weeks ago - and mention a problem that I found placing my original
post three weeks ago that should be noted:

"General Discussion: About RAILROAD.NET" is NOT available in ANY listed Forum on the Home Page...

The only way I found out about this three page group of discussions is from research about RR.Net's
20th Anniversary that I worked on to try and find an appropriate place for this topic from reviewing
my previous posts...My objective was for this to be a RR.Net "Memories" page for Everyone...

Respectfully Submitted, MACTRAXX
  by MACTRAXX
 
Everyone: Thanks to the efforts of Jeff Smith these lost "Discover Railroad.Net" Forum pages were restored...

In case anyone is unaware Railroad.Net's 20th Anniversary passed three months ago...
I tried to find an appropriate Forum to place this topic not realizing that this entire section was not
accessible or directly connected to the rest of RR.Net and was in fact "lost"...

Let's now discuss 20 years (and three months) of Railroad.Net...MACTRAXX
  by MACTRAXX
 
Everyone - After two weeks from restoration of the Discover Railroad.Net Forum section
there has been no posts and little if any interest in this RR.Net 20th Anniversary topic…

I wonder if there was more exposure back when the actual anniversary passed 3 1/2
months ago there could have been a more spirited discussion - finding this lost Forum
that was somehow misplaced when changes were made to this website was well worth
my while being able to learn about the creation and past incarnations of RR.Net prime
examples of interesting topics that are in this Forum section…MACTRAXX
  by MEC407
 
Thanks for the memories, MACTRAXX!

It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since the phpBB version of RAILROAD.NET came online. On the other hand, when I look back at what life was like in 2004 compared to life in 2024, that was indeed a very long time ago and so many things have changed.

It's comforting to know that RAILROAD.NET is still here, and still largely the same as it was 20 years ago. There have been many ups and downs, but it's still my favorite place to discuss, learn, and share information about all things railroad.
  by jaymac
 
To seem more educated than I ever could be, I wish to associate myself with the remarks of the honourable gentleman who knows all things Rigby.

Some are gone, the memory of whom is a blessing. Some -- both inside and outside the site -- have gone, the memory of whom is a bane.
  by FatNoah
 
Everyone - After two weeks from restoration of the Discover Railroad.Net Forum section
there has been no posts and little if any interest in this RR.Net 20th Anniversary topic…
TBH, I go straight to the forums I care about and never even look at the "General Discussion" board and 20 years of browsing has trained my brain to go straight to posts with recent dates and to skip the "stickied" part of the board.

Nevertheless, this is my most-visited discussion site and it has the best signal-to-noise ratio of any of the sites I visit. As a fan and not a foamer, I've learned a lot on these forums and greatly enjoy the often thoughtful discussions here.
  by MEC407
 
jaymac wrote: Thu Aug 08, 2024 9:47 amSome are gone, the memory of whom is a blessing. Some -- both inside and outside the site -- have gone, the memory of whom is a bane.
Well said, friend. :wink:
FatNoah wrote:Nevertheless, this is my most-visited discussion site and it has the best signal-to-noise ratio of any of the sites I visit. As a fan and not a foamer, I've learned a lot on these forums and greatly enjoy the often thoughtful discussions here.
Same here. I'm grateful for all the members, past and present, who make this site a unique and valued place to discuss our shared passion for railroads.