@MichRR714 posted:People can and do say a multitude of things to me online they would never say to to my face.
Generally, you are correct with this comment, but I've seen a lot of poor social skills at train shows and have heard people say things to people to their face you'd think they'd only type online. I've not generally seen this nearly so much in any other community.
I think this speaks to an appreciable percentage in the hobby that tend to be quite "Sheldon Cooper*"-ish and probably operate somewhere in the Autism spectrum. You only have to go to a big train show to see it in action.
Not going into specifics, I encountered someone who had seen one my magazine articles and actually came looking for me at a large train show (Mike, it's the one I ran into you at), telling me all the errors I'd made on my layout and how generally he would have done a "far better job" than I had. The 'corrections' he had for me were all quite incorrect (for example, he said the ET&WNC never had tank cars, and that the line had 'lots' of former D&RGW locos and rolling stock, most of which never got re-lettered) and then he launched into how I should just scrap the layout "for the sake of the hobby." His arrogance was only matched by his comical level of ignorance of the subject and his lack of social skills.
In short, the things people think someone would only post online. But he was saying it to me face (and well into my personal space, as I keep backing up and he'd match the move each time).
I just looked at him with the same look NCOs would give me when I was saying something stupid as an Army 2nd LT. I then asked that he not stand so close and made it really clear that the only thing preventing me from offering to meet him out back to give him an attitude adjustment he'd remember in his old age was his clear lack of faculties. I then walked away, leaving him to ponder what I'd just said.
* "The Big Bang Theory" show writers clearly weren't big fans of train people and the ravaged us generally for the run of the show, never missing the chance to make train/model train fans appears nuts, lacking in any social skills or pathetic overall. "Pathetic" and "Sad" were words actually used to describe us on a few episodes I remember, one I saw last night on syndication. I'm still a fan of the show regardless. Sadly, their depictions of train folk 100% meet those like them I've met over the years.
