RadioRon posted:DGJONES posted:I do not understand why there must be six headings for one manufacturer. If you get one or two more manufacturers, the forums list will be pages long. Seems like one heading for announcements and a second for questions should suffice!
I agree also.... too splintered. ONE per train importer should do, if it is even needed at all. Too much to weed through.
First, I think it's a GREAT idea to encourage our toy train importers to communicate directly here on the forums. Consumer communication is a lost art today, and any company that jumps on board here to communicate well should get major payback for the effort.
Having said all of this... I am, however, completely confused at the current implementation, as things will likely become even more confusing as each train importer jumps on board here. Instead, I suggest keeping it simple... namely, ONE sub-forum per importer.
I've never been a big fan of over-organizing the information here with an endless array of sub-forums... simply because each of us has our own way of organizing/digesting information for our own needs. Honestly, I don't even use the current categories -- aside from perhaps the for-sale and WTB sub-forums. Everything else is just a "nice to have". More often then not, I visit the forum to participate in recently posted threads. Seldom do I find myself "searching" for information in the currently organized sub-forums. Might happen on rare occasions. But by and large, the RECENT POSTS column is where I look to see what's going on here.
David
P.S. Oh yes... and I know this is just a pet peeve of mine, but I wish we'd stop referring to Lionel, MTH, Atlas-O and 3rd Rail as toy train manufacturers. With few exceptions, none of them MANUFACTURE anything anymore. They do, however, IMPORT boatloads of product. 
True, Lionel is doing a smidgeon of "Made In The USA" rolling stock these days. But generally speaking, these companies work on a business model of IMPORTING -- not manufacturing (directly). Unfortunately, I don't have a better name to call these companies except for the word "importers". 
They don't really manufacture, but somehow "The Importer's Forum" doesn't quite sound right either. 
So it is what it is, and we just call them manufacturers out of habit. Sometimes, old habits do die hard I guess.... and we just apply traditional terms -- even when they're no longer accurate. How about "Toy Train Company Forums"?
