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Hi, I'm a relatively new forum member currently working on my next 9' x 19.5' conventional control 3 rail O-Gauge layout with my daughter. I have been model railroading on and off for a little over 40 years and recently discovered this forum, and its friendly and knowledgeable members.



I decided to join and became a Supporting Member because it seemed like the right thing to do. I say the right thing to do because since December of 2020, whenever I needed to find a solution to a problem, mostly FasTrack Switch issues, and &**gled the issue, the solution(s) could be found on this forum. As a retired professional Audio Engineer with some electronics repair, CAD, carpentry and acoustics experience, I think I can from time to time help answer some of the general questions, or at least ask more questions to get additional information from the poster for another more knowledgeable forum member to step-in and solve the problem. So this is why I believe supporting this forum with my time and financially through membership is the right thing to do.



Like most everyone here, I appreciate that when someone asks a question they don't know what they don't know and they're probably trying to learn, even if they may not know exactly how to ask for the help they need. When I joined the forum, I read and understood the terms of service and do my best to avoid breaking these rules. I've also been reading many of the older topics here to better understand the unwritten rules and avoid annoying anyone. I'm still trying to get up to speed. There are some really great topics that cover certain aspects of what is expected including Posts going into the Wrong Category, Clairvoyance and Problem Solving, Say No to Vertical Video, and others. For new members, there is a lot of information here to absorb from the numerous topics with many posts, if they choose to take the time to do this.



So I have a few questions for the long time members and forum moderators (to all of whom I am very grateful for making this possible).



Would it be possible to extract the pertinent information from these unwritten rules and condense them into one easy to find place on the site and also be sent to new members when they join? And If so, how would be the best way to compile this information in a way that would be useful to the moderators?

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Welcome to the O-Gauge forum, a wealth of knowledge and great place to make friends.  The fact that you actually read the terms of service puts you one up on a lot of the new members.  Most members here are pretty easy going , but there are a few who get their feathers ruffled easily. They usually mean well so I don’t let it bother me.

I think the most important rule is to post in the correct sub-forum. The most important unwritten rule is to post photos and video horizontally, not vertically. Since you already mentioned these in your original post, I would say you are in good shape.

Last edited by Keith k
@SteveH posted:

Hi, I'm a relatively new forum member currently working on my next 9' x 19.5' conventional control 3 rail O-Gauge layout with my daughter. I have been model railroading on and off for a little over 40 years and recently discovered this forum, and its friendly and knowledgeable members.

Would it be possible to extract the pertinent information from these unwritten rules and condense them into one easy to find place on the site and also be sent to new members when they join? And If so, how would be the best way to compile this information in a way that would be useful to the moderators?

hmmm, I DO remember a quote from some group, long time ago, may I Respectfully insert it here: 'Great Idea, You are in charge".

Someone with a better background on such matter will help, I am sure. I am but a lowly 4x8-er comic-relief-minion. <s>

To be honest I think everyone does a good job policing the forum and if something goes sideways Alan or the moderators are here to slap your hand and help get thing back on track! Like the old saying don't fix what isn't broken.

But if they are going to fix something maybe when one does a search they can show results in order of date posted! LOL Just sayin!

The main reason people unintentionally end up with vertical videos taken with smart phones is that they hold the phone upright instead of horizontally when they start recording.  There may also be settings in the phone (depending on the OS) that interfere with this typically automatic orientation based on the phone's position at the time they start recording the video.

Last edited by SteveH

Another vote against vertical videos here, and not wishing to derail the OP's very laudable proposal.  But is there a technical reason for vertical videos?  Does it have something to do with smartphones?

Try watching an episode of AFV tonite. With the pandemic, nearly every video is sent in from a smartphone and nearly every video is vertical. The show is almost unwatchable.

After you do it once you would "think"the average person could figure it out...but...

Thanks for your welcome to the forum and suggestions.  To be clear, I'm not looking to establish new rules nor get anyone in "trouble".  I'm hoping for a condensed consensus of existing Suggestions that are easy to find and understand /hard to miss for anyone wishing to "play nice with others."  If you consider yourself a rebel, I respect that too.

So, the determining question may be for the Moderators to answer first:

Is this notion of a concise list of Suggestions doable and if so, what might I do to help?

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