Well, if you have a question and want a quick response, you want to get it to as many people as possible. And I guess people assume that there isn't too much overlap between the memberships of different forums.
Why does it matter? I guess it could rankle someone who has taken time to answer a question here only to find out they asked it elsewhere as if they didn't trust your responce. I don't think that is the intent. Speculation: They are sincerely interested in other people's input They feel it is a good question and decided to share with others They don't see any harm in doing so. Note: I very seldom visit other forums and never post anywhere but here so I benefit from cross posting.
I don't know. Maybe you should post this in the "Support" or "Inspection Pit" fora and see if anyone there has an answer. :tb-err:
I've noticed for example the same persons who posted a bi-line here posted the same thing on another website. Then you see the same thing happen here on Layout Design or Discussion, N Scale and possibly on HO scale. Today, the hobby is blessed with almost instant communications between the Sister and Brother Hood of Model Railroaders. We didn't have that kind of intercommunication between fellow model rails when I first started. Just the good old Model Railroader, Railroad Craftsman and Trains wig wags (magazines). I don't have a problem with it... post away. Have fun!
We are talking about modeling here. What about railfans? Don't they post to multiple forums? I will move this over to the Inspection Pit and see if other scales respond.
I'm with Steve, "What does it matter?" The best way to gain knowledge is to ask questions. Some people are a little inhibited to ask questions because they're afraid that might look "dumb". In my opinion, there is no sure thing as a dumb question if you learn from it. So go ahead and post, not only will you get the information you seek but you'll get the added bonus of interacting with the members of Trainboard.
My reason is because some of us are new at building a MRR and we would like to have as much information we can get. That way we can make a better decision without spending more money than is actually needed. Some of us newbies actually value the information we receive from the members here. Ounce I got past the alligator/hummingbird syndrome, I believe I am on my way to a spectacular layout that was greatly influenced by members on this site and another. I did post for awhile on 2 sites and then stopped when it got to be too much of a hassle keeping up with the postings. So far, I have found everything I need knowledge wise right here.:thumbs_up: DFGoodwin
Dang. I have not noticed that on this forum. Seems to me the mods do a decent job of moving things around sometimes to where they should be. But then again, there are only about 4 different forum categories that I typically visit. But I haven't noticed this really being an issue on this website. I guess that's what my wife means when she says somethings I just do NOT pay attention to!!!
Turn the knob to another channel To me, the Internet has become almost a second TV. You have your choice for what Forums you may lurk or join & participate. There are other posters that like to draw traffic over to their own website. Depending on TB policy, it can be free advertising. Each Forum has it's own personality, depending on the members. Some you can predict, like this month's chance to roast a Nscale mfr. TB seems to avoid some of the needless flame wars. TB also seems to have avoided the spam artists that used to infect other sites.
Both of these are no small feat.:tb-wink: It is due to the vigilant efforts of the moderators and admins that keep Trainboard a family friendly place to share all things train related. Back to the original questions there are a couple more reasons. Some members don't frequent other boards and you may get a different answer or more details by asking in multiple places. Also you get a feel for the members of different boards by how they respond. Some forums are not "newbie" friendly and other require users to have a thick skin. By trying various forums is how I found a home here at Trainboard and now I rarely even check the other boards.
Most of the answers above relate to 'different forum' as other websites and I'd agree with most of the reasons given. But do you mean different places within (eg) Trainboard? Such as posting in the Inspection Pit and HO forum. That is annoying (to me) and is usually tidied up by our excellent admin. In fairness it is usually done by newbies who have not yet learned netiquette. Posting in capitals is another common learner mistake and there is the odd one who thinks its a chat room and is asking "Is there anyone there" 10 mins after his first post
Well, Here is another reason. I model On30. Now, that is technically O scale BUT it is also "narrow gauge" so I will frequently put something in O scale and on the narrow gauge forum for the folks who don't really look past one or the other. If it is really something I want comment on from a wider audience I will ALSO post it in the Inspection Pit because, lets face it folks, O scale is (these days) a lot more obscure than Z, N, or HO.
It is something that annoys me for two reasons: 1. I am wasting my leisure time reading duplicate questions. 2. It will draw primary readership away from one forum or another, i.e., here or Atlas. I don't visit Atlas nearly as much as I used to because of duplicate threads. Opening topics and reading at least the first post and then scrolling down and getting the same information, either from Atlas board enthusiasts or reprints of what has been posted here is ludicrous. If something is not answered, by all means, post on another board. But posting the same question on both boards at the same time is a waste of time.
I feel compelled "edit" my esteemed friends comment: 'But posting the same question on both boards at the same time" can be "a waste of time" especially for the readers. Still - I see his position even if I don't visit other boards. As for posting the same thing more than once at the some board under different forum - Guilty. Sometimes I am just so excited / pleased with myself I might post both to N Scale and to "Weekend photos" or similar.
Now and then, comes a topic which stirs some emotions. Or a scammer tries to slip through. We work very hard at keeping this a family friendly site. The various aspects of the railroad hobbies are supposed to be fun. :thumbs_up: Boxcab E50
It doesn't bother me...in fact, I find it a bit charming that many of us get around. We are, by all accounts, a teensy fraternity (with the occasional member of the distaff spicing up our hobby), so it would make sense that many of us would want to ask a pertinent question in at least one other forum. If a person is soliciting opinions, by only asking at one place we run the risk of what we call in statistics "restriction of range" in sampling. If I could use a recent example of my own, for the first time ever (aside from posting images to two or more weekend photo fun-type threads), I asked a question on two different sites. It was about the whistle on an Allegheny H-8. I thought I would get an answer at Model Railroader's prototype info sub-forum, but got only one. So, I posted it on Atlas, and also got a single response. I felt better that both respondents gave the same answer. I do see that it might be an eye-roller to see the same images that I post on three sites. One artefact of the different architecture at each site is that some of them show the full-sized image gratifyingly larger than at others. I can see more of what the camera actually saw. To me, this is a good thing. -Crandell
