Replace "What the Postman Delivered"

[The_Ghan]

I just had a thought!

Why don't we have a new forum section called "Rosters"?

In this section each member is limited to his own single thread, eg: "The_Ghan's Roster"

In his thread a member has a single post, which he edits from time to time, containing a Roster of ANYTHING he has had delivered in relation to railways.  Eg:

12/03/2010   Kato   10-050   Hankyu Series 6300 4-Car Set   
12/03/2010   Kato   10-051   Hankyu Series 6300 4-Car Add-On Set               

19/11/2010   Kato   10-237   Relay Tsubame 7-Car Set                                          x2         

04/08/2010   Kato   10-238   Fujisan Limited Express 6-Car Set                              x2           

15/04/2011   Tomix   2108   JR Electric Locomotive EF64               

08/08/2010   Tomix   2109   JR Electric Locomotive EF66               

27/06/2010   Tomix   2134   JR Electric Locomotive EF81               

It can replace the "What the Postman Delivered" thread.  The advantage is that a member can keep his roster up to date on line and we can still see what each of us has bought.  There's no reason why we can't expand the roster idea to include buildings, scenery, etc.

What does Admin think?

Cheers

The_Ghan

[disturbman]

I'm not going to be positive about this. I don't see the point in having a complete forum section dedicated to our rosters (we already have some readability issues on the Forum) and I also don't see the what this could achieve. Maybe if we had a wider platform that could link this to our profiles: showing locations, our introduction post, our layout(s) and our rosters. Some sort of Forumer Central.

Personally, I would be against it in the proposed form. But then, I'd like to hear about what the others think (Admins and Forumers) on the subject.

[Mr Frosty]

It rather reminds me of those forums where people list all their belongings in their signatures.

Stay away from the flashlight forums. 

[bikkuri bahn]

To me it seems something to satisfy vanity, but if it adds content that may help others, and doesn't clog the board (it certainly would be less demanding of space than people quoting picture posts and just adding a thumbs up- a pet peeve of mine), I guess it's OK.

[Martijn Meerts]

I'm not sure the forum software can handle Massimo's collection =)


Seriously though, I think it's interesting to see which trains other people have, but listing them in a regular forum post would probably be too hard to update in the long run. People with a LOT of trains might eventually also want a way to sort things by train type for example, which would require some sort of plugin for the forum software.


I'm still working on the train database I mentioned in a separate thread a while ago, been working on some administrative back-end bits mainly because I'm not quite happy with the design of the front-end, but I'm aiming to have a very basic working version soon which allows people to add prototypes and models, and link those to their accounts. They'll also get a personal page with a static url they can link to, as well as provide xml/rss/json/whatever's needed.

[Toni Babelony]

I wouldn't care too much. I'm sure I'd make a post myself as well, but it wouldn't be impressive -if that's the whole point of such a new sub-forum. It seems like the sort of place to show off, something like a car-tuning meeting or something like that (which I very rarely attend).

However, it could be interesting in a sense to see who is collecting certain things (one railway company, region or type of train) and help provide that member with interesting offers on the internets.

[The_Ghan]

Martijn,

I find it very interesting to follow what other members are buying.  I often find myself reviewing older pages of this thread.  I seem to spend a lot of time in that thread.

It was just a thought ...

Cheers

The_Ghan

[disturbman]

I'm still working on the train database I mentioned in a separate thread a while ago, been working on some administrative back-end bits mainly because I'm not quite happy with the design of the front-end, but I'm aiming to have a very basic working version soon which allows people to add prototypes and models, and link those to their accounts. They'll also get a personal page with a static url they can link to, as well as provide xml/rss/json/whatever's needed.

That's more or less what I had in mind with my counter-proposition.

[bill937ca]

If you list your full roster, perhaps you should update your insurance. Keeping it up to date would be a lot of work. Probably not as much  fun as scoring a new train.

[Martijn Meerts]

Ghan, I'll put a bit more effort into getting the database up in a basic form, so that forum members at least can start using/testing it, and providing me with necessary feedback. That way I have more incentive to work on it, and you can start building your collection ;)

[cteno4]

I see rosters as something that folks may want to do individually in a post here or there, not something that is heart and soul to what the forum is all about. perhaps do a poll and see if you get a lot of folks wanting to post and update personal rosters a lot to see.

something like this could be handled with just a roster section as ghan mentioned. each person who wanted to could make a posting with their roster and keep it updated and carry on a discussion about that roster in that thread. but adding sections is a lot of work for the admins, its more than just creating the section, its maintaining it and policing it as well. then there is always the cross your fingers when you make a backbone addition/change, sposta work fine, but sometime something goes snap so you want to make sure its worth the risk...

i see what did the post deliver thread just being more something fun that shares a bit of that xmas morning joy we all get when a box shows up in the mail from japan. would not like seeing it replaced with a pure roster thread/section. its its own beast and something i think a lot of enjoy it just as it is.

i must admit a full roster listing does seem to lean a bit to the vanity side. folks have different reasons for collecting what they do and we have lots of threads talking about various interests like particular lines, train types, painted trains, periods, etc. these seem like more focused places to talk about particular collections of trains and why you have them in relation to other's interests.

jeff

[keiman]

Personally enjoy reading the postman threads
Not bothered about a personal roster.would never remember to update it and as others have said, those with large collections might wish they never started typing it all out.

[Martijn Meerts]

More like, those with large collections are afraid to see the final result, especially is the list contains price information ;)

[cteno4]

dont i know that! its also that chicken and the egg thing of getting going on the project, the longer you wait the larger it gets so you put it off till you have time but by then more trains... i have this issue with a lot of clients and their media collections when they want to get them into some sort of db! it is important in case there were ever a disaster though and would be needed for insurance!

cheers

jeff

[jappomania]

More like, those with large collections are afraid to see the final result, especially is the list contains price information ;)

that's a big trouble only if you are married (especially for the italian law :-).... I'm seriously thinking about a bodyguard

[westfalen]

I think the 'what the postman delivered' thread is more than just a roster thread listing what trains we get, it's also a place to discuss other aspects of buying stuff, short reviews of our purchases that wouldn't warrant a separate thread and lots of other stuff.

[Bernard]

I think the 'what the postman delivered' thread is more than just a roster thread listing what trains we get, it's also a place to discuss other aspects of buying stuff, short reviews of our purchases that wouldn't warrant a separate thread and lots of other stuff.

A very good point Westfallen makes....when I see that a member has just got a train I was think about getting...I'll wait for their review to see if it's worth getting.

[marknewton]

I'm with Westfalen on this. I'm not inclined to create a roster, sounds too much like work. I tend to buy as many books as models, if not more. (Much to my wife's despair - there's no more room at my place for another bookshelf unless we extend the house.)

But if anyone were to start a "mysterious workings of eBay" thread, I'd have something to contribute... 

Cheers,

Mark.

[Dani]

I think it would be a very good idea to have a place (it doesn't matter if it's a thread, in your profile, section,....) to write down all the acquisitions together (trains, buildings, tools,...) for each user, not mixed as the current thread.

This will allow me personally to:

* Keep a personal and updated inventory
* Tracking of what I bought, where, and price
* Current budget of my layout

And it would help others to:

* Figure the needed invest for a certain size and type of layout and decide if you can deal with a similar layout
* See where most people buys a certain type of article
* See the most popular items, trains and tools

Cheers,
Dani

[Mr Frosty]

* Current budget of my layout

Not sure I would want to know that.   

[Shashinka]

I've been away but as soon as I saw the title of the thread I was thing, "Vincent ain't gonna like this, no sir, not one bit!" The response didn't come long either.

[disturbman]

 

He knows me so well now!

[Hobby Dreamer]

Jeff's vanity point is a good one..

For another hobby of mine there is a lot of item-envy; the size of your collection as a measure of status and also as some pecking order for insight into the hobby.. (as if)

People come from many backgrounds, have various constraints upon them etc so "vanity" posts can alienate..

There is something altogether unhealthy when people have too much stuff that they cannot enjoy their hobby; that is when its more a collection than a layout...

As soon as I see someone saying they "need" something I tune out!!  Hobbies are 100% "want"...

Having said that, this is a great forum for not doing that... There is a lot of respect here and everyone  has a chance to voice regardless of their collection, life status, income, of even how long they have been members etc..

Many forums are not that..

Cheers
Rick

[Martijn Meerts]

Hobby Dreamer, the only thing we "need", is more space for the layout .. Although, one could consider that more a "want" rather than a "need", even if we believe it's a "need" :)

[marknewton]

* Tracking of what I bought, where, and price
* Current budget of my layout

In both cases, I haven't got a clue! 

And it would help others to:

* Figure the needed invest for a certain size and type of layout and decide if you can deal with a similar layout

That's an interesting point, one I hadn't considered.

Cheers,

Mark.

[Shashinka]

He knows me so well now!

I think after three years we have an idea of how each other thinks ^_^