Mark Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 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?

I doubt that anything has changed for the worse. Back in the 70's I used to attend a monthly railfan group. Often you would hear members make comments like: "So and so is a pri__", or "He is a bas____", or "The only way to get a photo published in "Tr___ Mag" is if you know someone".

"Flimsies" was, I assume, edited, so much of the derogatory commentary was just not published.

What has changed is the ability of anyone to make unsolicited comments, such as this one. A computer, an ISP, a relatively open forum like this one, and away you go. Posting anything you want.

Attitudes haven't changed, the ways of expressing them have.