# all is quiet on the hobby talk front..



## wyatt641 (Jan 14, 2012)

geez..seems everytime i come here it feels like walking thru and abandoned bldg...my best guess is everyone is on the many groups on Facebook now related to slots.
ahh but i still love to drive down these lanes and remeber the good times that i had here when i got back into the hobby and everyone was here and we had the chat room and guys helped me work through t jet problems...........and to those that went to the slot car track tables in the here after..who sold me good stuff and gave me good advice..yes..its kind of like going down old route 66 now..and i am only a few miles from where it began in chicago and a couple hundred or so from where it ends in california...heres to all you guys..happy slotting..i will be back..just sad to see this site like this these days.
dave


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## slotking (May 27, 2008)

yeah
FB has more happening it seem
my ho tips BB has been dead as well and several other BB's.

But For the ho videos I do, FB will not cut it.


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## wyatt641 (Jan 14, 2012)

yeah i miss some of the guys on here that used to be here religiously ..and i know a few have not gone to crackbook...such a sad thing but i guess its called progress...we are the dinosaurs.


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## smoke14 (Aug 16, 2009)

Hi Wyatt, I'm mainly in the diecast forums, I check out the others when I can, I have some very nice vintage 1/32 slots I collect and don't use, blasphemy I know!! I would love to get back into the hobby with my grand nephew, light up his face with a nice track and cars.

Stay with us here at HT! I'm a lifetime member as well, love this place, some of us don't stay on top of social media sites (the downfall of our culture IMHO). Get off the phone texting, look around, say hello to the person passing you on the street, wish them a happy morning/afternoon/evening :smile2:

We might seem like dinosaurs to most people but, my friend, we do what we can in our own way, bless you sir! Have a great day :wink2:


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

It is human nature to wax nostalgic, but even that wanes over time. I try to invite someone over to HobbyTalk - when and where ever I can. We will never be able to bring back the past, but we can make a nice future for others. :cheers2:


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

here's hoping that it picks up a little more once the weather gets cooler and outdoor activities aren't so prevalent.


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

I belong to an HO club and a 1/32nd club, both of those have Facebook pages, but they have generated little interest. Slot racing has always gone into a slump during the summer months, that was even true during the slot racing craze in the mid '60s. Probably things will pick up a little once the weather turns cooler.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

I remember going with my Dad and Uncle to a slot car track back in the mid '60s! :thumbsup:


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

.
Milton says:


> It is human nature to wax nostalgic, but even that wanes over time.


Even *nostalgia* wanes over time? Well, I guess it does. It has for me.

Say - maybe we could get nostalgic about nostalgia itself?

"Ohhhh, yeah ... I 'member ... back in the old days, when we got nostalgic ... I really used to love getting nostalgic and all. Nostalgia was great ... where did it go?"​


-- D


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

I suspect one reason for the lack of activity is demoralization from losing most of the forum's images, thanks to Photobucket's change of business model. Whether that will improve, I can't say. 

I've gone back and replaced most of my significant images, but I wonder if people will even bother to use or refer to the archives if they think that all they'll find is Photobucket notices instead of pictures.

Those who've been here for a while may remember Doba's gif -







​-- D


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## Full Flaps! (Sep 26, 2010)

When I first joined HobbyTalk as a diecast collector, I was surprised to learn that slot car racing was still a thing. Not only a thing, but a highly active hobby. I'm not so sure the majority of members missing have defected to Facebook groups, rather they just left when the traffic slowed down. Kind of a domino effect. 

I'm on FB, but group-wise, it feels like a bunch of strangers. Plus, the FB layout is not really set up for posterity. New postings are piled atop older ones, and you can't really dig up older topics like you can on the forum. I too miss when the forum was cracking, but HT still has its place among the faithful. And if anything, fewer folks make it feel even more like a club.


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## wyatt641 (Jan 14, 2012)

alpink said:


> here's hoping that it picks up a little more once the weather gets cooler and outdoor activities aren't so prevalent.


hello alpink..been awhile..yeah..it usually picks up in colder weather..but with facebook slot sites being more open and less moderated i think folks prefer that to this ...easier to post pics there and sell there also.and while i got your attention..have a nice day and was good to hear from you old friend:smile2:


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

I like this one, too!


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

smoke14 said:


> Hi Wyatt, I'm mainly in the diecast forums, I check out the others when I can, I have some very nice vintage 1/32 slots I collect and don't use, blasphemy I know!! I would love to get back into the hobby with my grand nephew, light up his face with a nice track and cars.
> 
> Stay with us here at HT! I'm a lifetime member as well, love this place, some of us don't stay on top of social media sites (the downfall of our culture IMHO). Get off the phone texting, look around, say hello to the person passing you on the street, wish them a happy morning/afternoon/evening :smile2:
> 
> We might seem like dinosaurs to most people but, my friend, we do what we can in our own way, bless you sir! Have a great day :wink2:


Hi Smoke14,

I have loads of good Eldon 1:32 track sections... PM Me, if you need a track built (all the pieces & transformer/controls).. give me some drawing for shape & size... also "Which Voltage" you need (mostly 6 & 12 Volts..)

Bubba (The Senile) 123 :willy_nilly:


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## v8vega (Apr 18, 2017)

I prefer forums over the Facebook groups.


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## wheelszk (Jul 8, 2006)

I check here everyday, but I don't comment anymore because I would just get a lot of grief.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

wheelszk said:


> I check here everyday, but I don't comment anymore because I would just get a lot of grief.


You should let us be the judge of that! >


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## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

Yes, quiet is the word on HT front. Possibly the upcoming chilly weather will hasten the return of the faithful. 
I'll have to research options for posting from PB as pics are always encouraged and welcome.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

wheelszk said:


> I check here everyday, but I don't comment anymore because I would just get a lot of grief.


good grief


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

Dyno Dom said:


> Yes, quiet is the word on HT front. Possibly the upcoming chilly weather will hasten the return of the faithful.
> I'll have to research options for posting from PB as pics are always encouraged and welcome.


Ah YES!!, ... "COOLER-Temps" = "COOLER-Tempers" Too !!


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## honda27 (Apr 17, 2008)

*Quiet in here*

BRING THE CHAT ROOMS BACK PLEASE TY:surprise:


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

honda27 said:


> BRING THE CHAT ROOMS BACK PLEASE TY:surprise:


Do you have a recommendation for a good chat room service/program? My understanding for the one previously used here at HobbyTalk is that it was no longer being supported by the designer and was becoming more susceptible to security issues. And it was even quieter there than the boards.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

ruh roh


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

I am guessing you guys are looking at a private chat room site and not anything on facebook. Although I think it can be made private.

LMK-MFR


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

MFR, likely . the one we had here before required a sign in like this bulletin board does.
I needn't explain all the reasons why it might need to be a closed community.
I am fairly certain that honda27 is a member of most of the slotcar facebook sites.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Thanks :thumbsup:


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## v8vega (Apr 18, 2017)

On some model railroad forums they have a seperate thread called the Coffee Pot or Diner. people post what their doing today or anything of interest. It increases traffic on the forum.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

We have a forum called The Porch here at HobbyTalk for that same purpose. It is currently in the diecast cars section and is intended for off topic discussions. No reason that anyone from this section couldnt post there as well.

The Porch - HobbyTalk

Or we could create a another porch here - if that is more preferable.

We can also see about moving it to the main page so it appears more open to other forums and all members.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Do you have a recommendation for a good chat room service/program? My understanding for the one previously used here at HobbyTalk is that it was no longer being supported by the designer and was becoming more susceptible to security issues. And it was even quieter there than the boards.


I went out looking again and did find a chat room that is being used within a vBullentine supported forum. VS_Adm is looking at it and possible integration with the current HobbyTalk vBullentine platefrom status.

:cheers2:


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

wheelszk said:


> I check here everyday, but I don't comment anymore because I would just get a lot of grief.





alpink said:


> good grief


Not to chastise wheelszk (and others to much), but it really comes down to the existing membership to keep posting and everyone else to post back or add to it. The more there is to see and read - the more visits we get from non members and those are the people who eventually join up. Of course everyone already knows that, but we really need some of you to step up and get the ball rolling.)

I know everyone is burned out and has posted everything they can think to have posted about already - thanks for that!

Do you mind starting over though!?!


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

We also found a facebook account and a twitter account for HobbyTalk and VS_Adm is looking into them. If you are a member already at either one - might not hurt to drop in and note or tag something there for others to follow back to? I dont use either one - so I am not sure how it works. :cheers2:


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## honda27 (Apr 17, 2008)

*chat rooms*

bring chat rooms back i was there all the time chatting and doing saturday night swap n sell there every month.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

ruh roh


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## A/FX Nut (May 28, 2004)

I joined in 2004. Most of the people that were here before me have moved on. There was some knowledge in that group that doesn't get shared anymore. That's too bad. 

I remember when I was a new member this site was alot busier in the summer. I'd say new sites and Facebook have drawn attention away from here. 

A few years ago, several members left Hobby Talk and joined other sites. I believe they were disgruntled with Hobby Talk and made a change. That's what I was told by a couple of them.

As for the Chat Room I miss it. Alot of good people dropped by and had some good times. 

Some of it could be slowed interest in the hobby. I can tell you over the last year, I've been thinking about selling my cars and track and getting out of the hobby all together. 

But the slot bug is biting me again. I don't know how long it will last. But I do enjoy tinkering and cutting laps on my basement raceway.

Randy.


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

*Been Here Since......*

Hi,
been here since 9/10/2010 (had to look it up...) 

Bubba (The Senile) 123 :willy_nilly:

& YES I too Miss "Chat-Room" :crying:


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## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

Well I'm still alive, but haven't come here in ages. This place died because of change of site ownership, Fighting between members, diversion to other *new Slot Forums that were basically Cliques, Crazy moderators, etc. 
I myself, found better places to be at, and share with, and have been a member of dozens of Slot Groups on Facebook, as well as creating and running three of them myself for around 5-7 years now !


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## wyatt641 (Jan 14, 2012)

ha ha..r3.......at least we can now post pics and show how other people are screwing others on facebook without being spanked and given timeouts by moderators..just kicked off sites..and there are plenty of them on Facebook..calling someone out there is easy..making others aware of what prices really should be is wonderful..and the tips and help are there also for those that are on the facebook pages.i still come here from time to time though..just to see who is around.
dave


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## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

*Facebook Slot Groups -Rock !*

YUP- You said it Brother > :thumbsup:



wyatt641 said:


> ha ha..r3.......at least we can now post pics and show how other people are screwing others on facebook without being spanked and given timeouts by moderators..just kicked off sites..and there are plenty of them on Facebook..calling someone out there is easy..making others aware of what prices really should be is wonderful..and the tips and help are there also for those that are on the facebook pages.i still come here from time to time though..just to see who is around.
> dave


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## Lummox (May 26, 2007)

You guys are lucky. At least you number of Slot forums hasn't skyrocketed 100-fold.

Do me a favor and check out the dizzying array of new sub-sub-sub forums in the Diecast section.

And it WILL happen here if it will add income for HT.

Apparently it's what the few remaining 10 people voted for, but you should see it over there.

The easy going "shooting the bull" atmosphere is somewhat diminished and has a bit of an uncomfortable feeling like your being looked after by an Uncle you have nothing in common with.
I sincerely hope to god it don't happen here to you Slot Jockeys over here! 

I'm real curious to know what you guys would think if this spot looked like Diecast forums.

Anyway, it's just part of the ebb and flow of things. Member numbers fluctuate...moderators come and go...

Lum :wave:


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## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

I see what you mean Lum, I sure do wish I had a horse drawn milk wagon slot car. :wink2:


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## Lummox (May 26, 2007)

Haha!


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## Lummox (May 26, 2007)

By the way, do just lok at the Diecast Vehicles page.
Under that, click the heading "Diecast Cars" for a taste of things to tome.

LMX


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

*Facebook Link 2 H/T Account please??*



Milton Fox Racing said:


> We also found a facebook account and a twitter account for HobbyTalk and VS_Adm is looking into them. If you are a member already at either one - might not hurt to drop in and note or tag something there for others to follow back to? I dont use either one - so I am not sure how it works. :cheers2:


Facebook Link 2 H/T Account please??
Being able to post/see pics is My MAIN Reason :grin2:
PhotoBucket Messed Me up, I saved ALL of my folders & Pics.. :frown2:
But CAN'T Post them, maybe I'm Just Tech-Impaired.... :crying:
Any; EASY-2-Use/Set Up Sites that let you do like P/B did ???? 

TY fer any help (I will need step by step instructions..) :wink2:

Bubba (The; Past the 60yr. Mark, Senile) 123 :willy_nilly:


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

Dyno Dom said:


> I see what you mean Lum, I sure do wish I had a horse drawn milk wagon slot car. :wink2:


"REALLY" Dom??
I can do you a 1/87 scale, If you'd Like.. just provide me a preferably SLOW Chassis.. I can do the rest.. I have a 1/87 2-horses-drawn Hearse I'm going to do.. and some 1/87 modern-ish Hearses as well.... :smile2:

Look up w/ you want in "Walthers" Vehicle section... :wink2:

Bubba (The Senile) 123 :willy_nilly:


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

I have been using Imgur to post pictures. Once you get a picture uploaded you click on the thumbnail to see the full sized version. All of the BB codes will be listed to the right of the picture, just click on the IMG code to copy it, then hit Ctrl and V at the same time to paste the code into your post.
All of the slot BBs that I follow have been getting little traffic. I spoke to a major tire maker last week and he tells me that he is selling tires as fast as he can make them. I suppose that there are a lot of people that are in the hobby never post anything, if they did we would have a better idea of how things are going.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Rich Dumas said:


> .... I suppose that there are a lot of people that are in the hobby never post anything, if they did we would have a better idea of how things are going.


That is one of the numbers lummox is alluding too. We have about 10Xs as many lurker/visitors looking at the site than we have members posting in the various forums on the site at any given time.

:cheers2:


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Bubba 123 said:


> Facebook Link 2 H/T Account please??
> Being able to post/see pics is My MAIN Reason :grin2:
> PhotoBucket Messed Me up, I saved ALL of my folders & Pics.. :frown2:
> But CAN'T Post them, maybe I'm Just Tech-Impaired.... :crying:
> ...


HT Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HobbyTalkDiecast/ It is tagged as a diecast section right now, but VS_Adm is exploring what they can do to make it more general.

I use flikr to host photos. https://www.flickr.com/ It is similiar to PB in how it is set up, but the terminology is different. There are some tutorials in the help section on various other sites - Hobbytalk.com Sites Issues and Help Section - HobbyTalk

The primary issue with posting images diectly into HobbyTalk is the image size. That is also covered in the tutorials, but if you still need help post your question in the help secton or pm it directly to me. :cheers2:


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

If I want to post a picture I will usually have to shrink it down. I have my camera set for the maximum picture size, I usually edit pictures that are going to be posted to be 800 or 1000 pixels wide.
Here is an article on how to use Flickr to post pictures: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzLR42NthGeCYzZ5T0VoQjFNZlk/view?usp=sharing


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Lummox said:


> By the way, do just lok at the Diecast Vehicles page.
> Under that, click the heading "Diecast Cars" for a taste of things to tome.
> 
> LMX


One of the things that Lummox always leaves out in his laborious lummox lammentations posts is that all those changes made in the diecast section were requested by the diecast membership (including himself), reviewed by two different member workgroups, reviewed by the membership (extensively commented on by himself) and approved by the member ship by polls (ask him which way he voted on the changes or maybe he will share his votes with us someday.)

VS Adm, KITT and I along with the work groups then worked together to make those requested and membership approved changes work within the system software. Nothing was changed or added based on one persons decision or desires. And changes that were not supported by the membership were not made and there were many.

Nor was it just implemented by the new owners. They asked for our input and help and worked with us and the membership to make what the membership wanted happen.

If any changes are to be made elsewhere it will be based on slot car, modeler or rc member input as well. :cheers2:


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Lummox said:


> You guys are lucky. At least you number of Slot forums hasn't skyrocketed 100-fold.
> 
> Do me a favor and check out the dizzying array of new sub-sub-sub forums in the Diecast section.
> 
> ...


As above there are some more inaccuracies posted here by lummox.

There probably isnt even a hundred sub forums in the diecast car section. As he describes it - there would be more than 2000 or more sub forums just in that one section.

I also cannot see a fault, problem or issue with adding more places for current and potentially new members to also talk about their other Hobby interests. After all we did make sure lummox and his buddies still had all the places they do like to post in - remain - just like he and others advocated for.

Adding the new sections was based on how the slot car, rc and modeling sections were already structured to be inclusive of others not to exclude others.

It was also way more than 10 members involved. If fact almost every active poster in that section was involved in some way in the process described above - either for the changes, more tha 95% or against, less than 5%.

It is true that members do come and go. But, VS_Adm has told KITT and I they are committed to keeping HobbyTalk in their family permanently and have no plans to sell the site - every again. As far as I know KITT and I feel the same way.

:cheers2:


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Rich Dumas said:


> If I want to post a picture I will usually have to shrink it down. I have my camera set for the maximum picture size, I usually edit pictures that are going to be posted to be 800 or 1000 pixels wide.
> Here is an article on how to use Flickr to post pictures: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzLR42NthGeCYzZ5T0VoQjFNZlk/view?usp=sharing


This process is the way to go if you are loading pictures into the HobbyTalk system directly or attaching thumbnail or full size images directly into posts from you device.

We do have a overlay photo image software process that will downsize larger photos from other site automatically. Most of my imagea are over a 1000 pixels wide, but show in the HobbyTalk posts at about 600 to 800 pixels on screen.

:thumbsup:.


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## travis1960 (Apr 25, 2004)

*I can't remember why I quit coming here.*


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Howdy Travis1960 :wave: Mrs Fox and I ofter stop along I-45 on our trips between Dallas and Houston or Tyler and Whichita Falls. 
Doesnt really matter why you took a break, but welcome back! :cheers2:


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