Have you tried the search engine here lately???????????? I haven't been able to get it to work with simple searches. I put "PCM" in the search engine and got "no match" as a return when there was a topic on page 1 that had the acronym PCM in the topic! What should I do them????? Just go away because too many people "having fun"???? Thankfully, when I posted a question on the status of the PCM/BL M1 I was given a kind answer even though I KNOW the topic was discusses ad nauseam. And thankfully, Richard Cranium refrained from addressing my question, which IS the point of this thread.
Amen to that! I recently installed a Digitrax decoder and wanted to set it up so the front headlight would be on regardless of direction. That should be pretty simple, right? The instruction sheet referred me to the Decoder Manual. First of all, I was surprised how hard it was to find the Decoder Manual on the web site. Once I found the manual, it turned out to be a real hodgepodge of info on multiple generations of decoders, and poorly indexed too. Long story short, I finally figured it out, but it wasn't easy. And I've been working in the technical writing field for 20 years.
That's the point. The search feature on vBulletin and most message board software isn't very good. So people ask questions whether or not the same question has been asked before. Not sure what your point is. People get annoyed with redundant questions and questions they think are silly. But that's the poster's prerogative as long as they aren't breaking any of the forum rules. Members are going to operate on the forums as best they can to get the information they need. A lot of people want those same members to do it "their way" thereby controlling and manipulating the way some think it should be done all the time. As a general statement, not happening
Good point. In any hobby or interest, new experts are growing up all around us every day. Maybe Joe Shmoe doesn't want to keep answering a question about Peco vs. Atlas every week for the rest of his life. He doesn't have to! Let the new experts answer it. As people learn, they get to return the favor and answer questions of the "baby" modelers who come after them. It's really the way the world works and always has: no need for old Joe Shmoe to get his shorts in a bunch about it. :tb-biggrin:
Some of the most poorly written pieces of literature are manuals. Some of them dwell endlessly on the incredible capabilities of [Product X] at the expense of explaining how to accomplish fundamental tasks. I feel your pain! Mark
I'll always remember this quote: "who reads the manual?" The vast majority of people do not read the manual that comes with the stuff they buy. Do you read the manual for that software program you just purchased? Probably not, considering you can do a Google search and the results you get are far more informative and accurate than the manual that came with your software (remember, those manuals can get out dated really quick.) I've been around message boards for several years and have learned to do some searching to see if I can find what I'm looking for but those searches on these forums are not the best, as has already been mentioned. The thing about Train Board is that it's essentially a model railroad club but it is online instead of meeting at someones house or community center. People join clubs all the time and will ask questions that have no doubt been asked before. The unique thing about the Internet is that, IMO, I think we remember more of what we read than what we hear, which results in newbies getting 'attacked' by those that have been around for a while. This is a great website and I have been looking back at old threads and reading up on things because there is so much knowledge here it's absolutely amazing.
Well, this is now going way off topic, but since manuals are an issue that gets my blood boiling, I'm going to pop in and comment. Manuals should ALL be written from a "How To" topic perspective. So, take a DCC manual. Forget about the arcane stuff, like hex, dec, binary, etc. (put that in a technical reference manual). For normal users, have your manual topics be something like this. 1. How to select a locomotive and run it. 2. How to program a 4 digit address so the DCC address matches your loco number. 2. How to create a loco consist. 3. How to change from 14 to 28 to 128-steps and back again. 4. How to adjust minimum speed. 5. How to adjust maximum speed. 6. How to make the front headlight stay on regardless of direction. 7. How to re-map a function. 8. How to program a custom speed table and why you might want to do this. etc. Each of these topics would then illustrate STEP BY STEP how to do this, with examples. Examples are almost always the best way to teach something complex (like DCC programming). So why don't DCC manuals USE EXAMPLES????!!!! [Well, at least Digitrax's manuals don't; the Lenz manuals are god-awful - they shouldn't even be called manuals and whoever wrote QSI's manual should be shot. The Tsunami steam user's guide is somewhat better in this regard, though still mediocre at best. Maybe others are better, but given the number of "How do I do this?" questions on this and other message boards for virtually every DCC system, I suspect NCE, et. al., aren't any better at this). John C.
John you gave me a good laugh. I have read the Digitrax manuals, many times, and each time I have re-read the same sections that I read before and then think about it (alot) before I figure it out. I cringed when I got the new duplex throttle... I gotta try and figure out another one of their bleeping manuals!!!!! I have several degrees but that doesn't make me capable of understanding their method of communicating. On forums as in many aspects of every day life; there are very few "dumb" questions. Brian
