Reading old issues of Flimsies reminded me how much this hobby has changed in the last twenty years. Railfans used to love sharing their knowledge and observations for the benefit of others. The amount of material in Flimsies was incredible considering there wasn't a convenient way to send it in. I remember typing up contributions on my 286 computer, printing the pages on a dot matrix printer and mailing them to the various editors of Flimsies. All together this probably took two hours per issue, but I was happy to do it. Remember the Flimsies hotline operated by Bill Farmer? People called in sightings (long distance calls most of the time) without thinking twice about their phone bill.

Today, railfans seem to care only about their photography or personal achievements. Helping other railfans is a foreign concept. That other discussion board has several guys with egos the size of Mars and a cult following providing compliments with every photo posted. And that guy with 1 million miles on Amtrak is totally obnoxious with his incessant self promotion. My point is that the number of these folks is increasing at the expense of the other, more friendly and generous railfans.

How will the hobby survive?
What can we do to discourage the recent trend?