 |
Less talk, more photographs these days
Author: SP3878
Date: 11-22-2013 - 17:41
I've noticed how the railfan community seems to be abandoning the nuts and bolts interest in railroading in favor of photography and videography.
There used to be greater interest in the who/what/why/where/when of technical, operational, and historical aspects of railroading. Nowadays, most railfans are only asking what/where/when for the purpose of taking pictures and video they can turn around and post to www.railpictures.net or www.youtube.com for the purpose of self-gratification. What used to be a pretty mellow hobby where railfans looked out and provided information for one another has devolved into a hostile, me first, get out of my way, don't bother me, I'm better than you endeavor. We've always had pricks who behave this way but unfortunately, the number of them is rapidly increasing.
Twenty years ago very few people had computers with an internet connection and even less had cell phones. This didn't stop railfans from writing letters by hand or typewriter or calling the editors of Flimsies, SP Review, Northwest Railfan, CTC Board and other publications so that other railfans could benefit from their observations. Guys like Tony Johnson took on the enormous task of organizing and editing all the information so that it could be published in the next edition of SP Review. Bill Farmer ran the Flimsies Hotline and recorded new voicemail messages, sometimes multiple times per day, containing the latest news people had left on the answering machine. All of this took considerable time.
Fast forward to the current era. Modern technology has made the aforementioned tasks a thousand times more efficient. Helping fellow railfans is easier and faster and virtually free of charge, yet most railfans cannot be bothered to spend 30 seconds doing what used to take them 30 minutes.
Do we not realize how self-absorbed we've become?
There used to be greater interest in the who/what/why/where/when of technical, operational, and historical aspects of railroading. Nowadays, most railfans are only asking what/where/when for the purpose of taking pictures and video they can turn around and post to www.railpictures.net or www.youtube.com for the purpose of self-gratification. What used to be a pretty mellow hobby where railfans looked out and provided information for one another has devolved into a hostile, me first, get out of my way, don't bother me, I'm better than you endeavor. We've always had pricks who behave this way but unfortunately, the number of them is rapidly increasing.
Twenty years ago very few people had computers with an internet connection and even less had cell phones. This didn't stop railfans from writing letters by hand or typewriter or calling the editors of Flimsies, SP Review, Northwest Railfan, CTC Board and other publications so that other railfans could benefit from their observations. Guys like Tony Johnson took on the enormous task of organizing and editing all the information so that it could be published in the next edition of SP Review. Bill Farmer ran the Flimsies Hotline and recorded new voicemail messages, sometimes multiple times per day, containing the latest news people had left on the answering machine. All of this took considerable time.
Fast forward to the current era. Modern technology has made the aforementioned tasks a thousand times more efficient. Helping fellow railfans is easier and faster and virtually free of charge, yet most railfans cannot be bothered to spend 30 seconds doing what used to take them 30 minutes.
Do we not realize how self-absorbed we've become?
