# What happened to Regner?



## Cmorais (Mar 11, 2013)

As I was deciding to offer myself a Lumberjack, I noticed that Regner website is down. 

regner-dampftechnik.de

Anyone knows what happened?

Jose Morais
Lapa Furada RR


----------



## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

The internet is mechanical. Mechanical things occasionally wear out and break, and have to be fixed. Typically it's temporary inconvenience. Sometimes not. Be patient. Time heals all wounds.
      
Everyone knows this but some dweeb usually feels the need to remind everyone. Figured I beat that person to the punch. I think I did it? Yeah! I saved someone from themselves.
      
No one should take these things seriously.


----------



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Chris Scott said:


> The internet is mechanical. Mechanical things occasionally wear out and break, and have to be fixed. Typically it's temporary inconvenience. Sometimes not. Be patient. Time heals all wounds.
> 
> Everyone knows this but some dweeb usually feels the need to remind everyone. Figured I beat that person to the punch. I think I did it? Yeah! I saved someone from themselves.
> 
> No one should take these things seriously.


Chris, what have you been drinking??? Internet is not mechanical. It is electronic, wireless and optical. This is much worse in terms of resilience against human wishful 'improvements' than mechanical...;-) Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi


----------



## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Electrical????!!! I thought it ran on steam! Or at least hot air!


----------



## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

zubi said:


> Chris, what have you been drinking??? Internet is not mechanical. It is electronic, wireless and optical. This is much worse in terms of resilience against human wishful 'improvements' than mechanical...;-) Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi


It's only as good as it's weakest link. If you think it's not mechanical you don't know the internet like you think you do and you've been eating the dog food. You of all people may have hurt your image and let us down. I'm sad. 

Do a thought experiment along a path end-to-end, like Einstein, and see what you find. It's not rocket science. It shouldn't take long. You'll be done before you know it. Don't get lost.  Stop for a cup of tea along the way.  

Enjoy.


----------



## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Semper Vaporo said:


> Electrical????!!! I thought it ran on steam! Or at least hot air!


Very close. It's both. Mostly æther. Lots and lots.


----------



## JPCaputo (Jul 26, 2009)

I thought a turboencabulator of GE spec and Rockwell retroencabulator were used.

The spurving bearings might need replacing, or the tungsten cowhide case may be cracked.


----------



## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

JPCaputo said:


> I thought a turboencabulator of GE spec and Rockwell retroencabulator were used.
> 
> The spurving bearings might need replacing, or the tungsten cowhide case may be cracked.


Had a Philosophy professor at the University Of Colorado, Boulder, Dr. Paul J. W. Miller (quite a character), who was fond of saying upon someone attempting to appear to ask an intelligent question, 

"That's true but not necessarily new. One should say something new whether it's true or not."

I think it applies here.


----------



## JoelB (Jan 3, 2008)

There are lots and lots (whole books full, in fact) of reasons a website is down. Could be something as simple as a power supply failing in one of the the local internet service provider's routers, and the redundant supply also failed. Or the cleaning staff kicked the plug out of the wall. Or a network engineer over-wrote the local database that contained Regner's IP address. Seen all of those happen. (Note that I've never been responsible for any of what I've just described, I was a database administrator and we had our own distinctive ways to muck things up).

Or it could be any of the things (or any combination of any of the things) that Mr Caputo mentioned in his post.


----------



## Cmorais (Mar 11, 2013)

Hi all

I know there are lots of technical reasons for a site to be down. 

- But for four days (since monday)? 

- And after Regner having been put under creditor protection in the summer?

Thats why I have some doubts about the real reasons...

Jose Morais
Lapa Furada RR


----------



## seadawg (Jan 2, 2008)

Cmorais said:


> Hi all
> 
> I know there are lots of technical reasons for a site to be down.
> 
> ...


I believe the creditor protection had been lifted and there was a new "guarantor" in place. The passing of Manfred put the family into a tailspin.


----------



## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

JoelB said:


> There are lots and lots (whole books full, in fact) of reasons a website is down. Could be something as simple as a power supply failing in one of the the local internet service provider's routers, and the redundant supply also failed. Or the cleaning staff kicked the plug out of the wall. Or a network engineer over-wrote the local database that contained Regner's IP address. Seen all of those happen. (Note that I've never been responsible for any of what I've just described, I was a database administrator and we had our own distinctive ways to muck things up).
> 
> Or it could be any of the things (or any combination of any of the things) that Mr Caputo mentioned in his post.



Karma. Too few sacrifices or sufficient respect for the Internet Gods. In denial? Doubt the Internet Gods exist? Everyone prays to the Internet at some time or other. Virtually no one will admit to praying over their alter. A highly secret and embarrassing ritual. Worse if anyone is present, it's done silently. Alone the ritual can reach extremes. Most of us have encountered someone while they are praying. 

Few realize one must praise the Internet Gods not entreat them. Even fewer acknowledge the Internet Gods are always and forever in control. 

Karma.


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Since this thread is off the rails anyway, here's some humor:


----------



## HMeinhold (Jan 2, 2008)

Going back to the original topic:
My German sources tell me that they are updating their Web site but the designers have run into problems.
Regards


----------



## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Around here (good old USofA) we often lose websites because the owner pays a 3-year fee and then forgets to renew, changes his email (so he misses the reminder) or a plethora of other reasons for not paying. Usually a nudge and a payment get it back online.

I bought my Regner locos from the UK. 
http://www.gardenrailways.co.uk/regner-live-steam.html

Worth checking comparative prices, as the exchange rates aren't fixed.


----------



## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Cmorais said:


> Hi all
> 
> I know there are lots of technical reasons for a site to be down.
> 
> ...



Looks like its a domain issue. Prob changing over the ownership. Unsure how that works in Germany. But in the US it can be a few days to transfer from one host to another. Ive not heard anything recently, but I do have a giant box of Henrys coming in stock next week. As to Lumberjacks, I just sold my last in stock kit. More on order but none in stock with Regner at the moment.


----------



## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Kovacjr said:


> Looks like its a domain issue. Prob changing over the ownership. Unsure how that works in Germany. But in the US it can be a few days to transfer from one host to another. Ive not heard anything recently, but I do have a giant box of Henrys coming in stock next week. As to Lumberjacks, I just sold my last in stock kit. More on order but none in stock with Regner at the moment.


You have no idea why or how it's down. Even if by some odd nano-chance in the universe infinity you were right, statistically it's meaning less because the odds winning that lottery are beyond the number of digits for the current world's record for the carry out of Pi. Just the way it is. It's best to to remain humble in the face of infinity. 


Good luck with that.


----------



## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

For a solution to the problem... for anybody and everybody. Every one is right.









http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlationshttp://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations


----------



## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Chris Scott said:


> For a solution to the problem... for anybody and everybody. Every one is right.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yer link is busted... try this one:

http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations

I love some of those charts! THANKS!


----------



## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Well dang.
Thanks.


----------



## Pauli (Jan 3, 2008)

*Correlation of suffocation and reading MLS*

Oh dear,

I just survived by a slim margin, reading this thread. Maybe MLS should come with a warning label, pointing out the potential hazards to physical and mental health.

I have to report that this thread certainly has not helped shaping my thoughts slightly more mainstream. Furthermore, I just choked from laughter to the point of suffocation, reading the correlations link. Reading the previous posts primed my vulnerability. Thus several contributors bear some responsibility to the effects on me.

Please fellow livesteamers, you do need to consider the health aspects of our social interactions, and show some consideration to your fellow human in the future!

Yours sincerely!


----------



## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Chris do you ever not have some snide remark to every post? 

As to the website as I said there were some issues with the site and are being fixed but no ETA to when its back up. Dont believe me Chris, o well Im not loosing any sleep. Im only relaying information passed on to me from Melanie Regner to inform the rest of the people.

These posts above are why we lost so many good people on this forum. No recourse for forum comments behind a keyboard.


----------



## Pauli (Jan 3, 2008)

Jason,

I hope you don't mind mixing all the helpful and inspiring posts that make up the bulk of threads, with some humor. I do agree that this is definately not the place to vent negative sentiment.


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Umm.... I read this thread through twice... I don't seen Chris' posts as snide, I see he is poking fun at people overracting to a site being down, which happens all the time.

I see many posts on forums that a site is down, then a bunch of wild rumors about the company and the site is back up in a couple of days.

This is how I interpreted Chis' comments, and according to the "rules" (which are apparently no longer followed) no matter how you feel, you don't need to "attack back"... 

That and the lack of attention to how this forum is run, and the increasing commercialization is what is making people migrate to LSC... in fact this forum here is the only one keeping this site alive in my opinion. 

I read all posts on both forums (and about 5 others) every day, and the number of posts on this forum is dwindling markedly.

So, let's not blame the demise of MLS on Chris.

Greg - 492 (I'll be gone soon enough)


----------



## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

Guess those in a panic about that site being down, were under a rock while Regner has been in a bit of a tail spin following Manfred's passing. To me it came as no supprise. I hope their reworked site works better and has an english language option. The old Regners refusal to make an english version of thier catalog and website could not have helped sales. I wish them the best with the rebirth of the company and website under new managment/ownership.


----------



## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Mike Toney said:


> Guess those in a panic about that site being down, were under a rock while Regner has been in a bit of a tail spin following Manfred's passing. To me it came as no supprise. I hope their reworked site works better and has an english language option. The old Regners refusal to make an english version of thier catalog and website could not have helped sales. I wish them the best with the rebirth of the company and website under new managment/ownership.



Very possible Regner's troubles are directly related to a failure to address or develop more than just the German market. 

It was possible to use Google's translator on basic web pages. Their embedded catalog translation wasn't possible. (Someone fill in the coding jargon - I'm hardware, software is a plague on mankind.) Very clear message of chauvinism. 

But if you want to play metric I think it's the only broad product line source At least Jason sources Regner.


----------



## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Chris Scott said:


> Very possible Regner's troubles are directly related to a failure to address or develop more than just the German market.
> 
> It was possible to use Google's translator on basic web pages. Their embedded catalog translation wasn't possible. (Someone fill in the coding jargon - I'm hardware, software is a plague on mankind.) Very clear message of chauvinism.
> 
> But if you want to play metric I think it's the only broad product line source At least Jason sources Regner.


Never saw their catalog on-line, but I suppose a hard copy was photographed to be put on-line and since it was pictures on-line, and not text (even though it was pictures of text) there was no way to translate it without an OCR translation first. It is often easier to post photos than to type the information over again.

But that is a hardware problem. I swear, if you hardware guys would get your act together and fix your hardware, my software would work a whole lot better, be easier to write and not have to be converted from one brand of processing hardware to another. Hardware is the bane of mankind (womankind too!).


----------



## HMeinhold (Jan 2, 2008)

Regner is back on line:
http://www.regner-dampftechnik.com/


----------



## on30gn15 (May 23, 2009)

HMeinhold said:


> Regner is back on line:
> http://www.regner-dampftechnik.com/


Acting oddly here at the moment - got a blank white screen with browser asking if I wanted to allow a popup once or to whitelist the site.
Thought about it, clicked allow once.

Then got a new tab with a VERY long body of text - like where on a desktop monitor the little slidy thing at right side is only 1/8 inch square.

Beginning of text:


> <li class="tabs-menu-item rawdata " role="presentation">
> 
> 
> 
> ...


so forth and so on.

URL in tab is https://fallback.wix.com/wix-html-e...d47_b8d5b2ab1989e67656b57b72cba825f3_411.json


----------



## HMeinhold (Jan 2, 2008)

I have no problems with Firefox and an Android phone.


----------



## Cmorais (Mar 11, 2013)

The whole site is still German only. It's odd the new Regner does not feel the need for other language options...

Jose Morais
Lapa Furada RR


----------



## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

NO problem with Safari.......


----------



## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

Chrome also translates.


----------



## seadawg (Jan 2, 2008)

Cmorais said:


> The whole site is still German only. It's odd the new Regner does not feel the need for other language options...
> 
> Jose Morais
> Lapa Furada RR


Rumor is the founder was a little upset with some of the activities of some English speaking countries in the mid '40s.


----------



## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

I am not even going to touch that one Dave, whole nother can of worms there! Mike the Aspie


----------



## JoelB (Jan 3, 2008)

I checked a few other websites for German manufacturers: Kiss, Reppingen, Herrmann. All are German language only. As others have mentioned, not really a hindrance with on-board language translation widely available.

These manufacturers produce models of German prototypes, so my hunch is that they don't expect a lot of interest from non-German customers. Thus the time and expense of building and maintaining alternate language web pages isn't really worth it.


----------



## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

As Joel stated, all the German makers are in German. Just as all the US/UK makers are in English only. 

Ive dealt with Herrmann in the past and he is a very good person to deal with plus he will converse with you in English, though a little broken. Sale for Regner, Manual has always dealt with me in English either via phone or emails. Same for his sister or mother whom Ive dealt with for years. Even the new owner will return emails in English. I used to try to translate my emails to German but there was always big problems in how Google translated them.

The website now if your on Firefox or Chrome, you just click English translation and the site in in English! Not so with IE which sucks anyway.


----------



## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Kovacjr said:


> As Joel stated, all the German makers are in German. Just as all the US/UK makers are in English only.


Whether a company has different language websites or one site available in multiple languages depends on where the company feels their market self interest lies; how much of their business/revenue by country or nationality. For example Aster has 3 language websites; Japanese, English and German. Accucraft websites are English and German. You can say nearly all or the majority, just not all.


----------



## steamboatmodel (Jan 2, 2008)

I think that some of the posters have been watching Adam Savage too much
" I reject this reality and substitute my own"
Gerald.


----------



## lotsasteam (Jan 3, 2008)

A couple more votes from the Founders of america and we could all read and write and speak GERMAN!
Than it wouldn't be a problem,wouldn't it ??


----------



## JoelB (Jan 3, 2008)

> A couple more votes from the Founders of america...


This is an interesting event in 1795 that has grown and morphed over the years into something a bit bigger than real life. There was a resolution brought before Congress to print federal laws in both English and German. During the debate, there was a motion to adjourn that failed by one vote (which is where the "one vote" story came from, even though it didn't actually involve passing the resolution). The actual measure was voted on a month later, but as the Congressional Record is only published in English, I'd have to guess that the measure didn't pass.

Had Congress known about all the free translation software that would ultimately be developed, they wouldn't have bothered.


----------



## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

lotsasteam said:


> A couple more votes from the Founders of america and we could all read and write and speak GERMAN!
> Than it wouldn't be a problem,wouldn't it ??





JoelB said:


> This is an interesting event in 1795 ... There was a resolution brought before Congress to print federal laws in both English and German. During the debate, there was a motion to adjourn that failed by one vote (which is where the "one vote" story came from, even though it didn't actually involve passing the resolution). The actual measure was voted on a month later, but as the Congressional Record is only published in English, I'd have to guess that the measure didn't pass.



*Really ? Is that what actually happened ?*










German Almost Became Official Language
Did one vote defeat a proposal to make German the official language of the United States?
https://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/german.asp

CLAIM: A proposal to make German the official language of the United States of America was defeated in Congress by one vote.

STATUS: FALSE.

ORIGINS: Legend has it that in 1795 a bill to establish German as the official language of the fledgling United States of America was defeated in Congress by a single vote. There never was such a vote; indeed, there wasn’t any such bill, either. A proposal

before Congress in 1795 merely recommended the printing of federal laws in German as well as English, and no bill was ever actually voted upon.

This most famous of language legends began when a group of German-Americans from Augusta, Virginia, petitioned Congress, and in response to their petition a House committee recommended publishing three thousand sets of laws in German and distributing them to the states (with copies of statutes printed in English as well). The House debated this proposal on 13 January 1795 without reaching a decision, and a vote to adjourn and consider the recommendation at a later date was defeated by one vote, 42 to 41. There was no vote on an actual bill, merely a vote on whether or not to adjourn. Because the motion to adjourn did not pass, the matter was dropped. It was from this roll call on adjournment that the “German missed becoming the official language of the USA by one vote” legend sprang.

The House debated translating federal statutes into German again on 16 February 1795, but the final result was the approval of a bill to publish existing and future federal statutes in English only. This bill was approved by the Senate as well and signed into law by President George Washington a month later. The legend lives on, though, presented a vivid lesson that the foundations of our world aren’t always as solid as we think.

LAST UPDATED: 9 July 2007


_Constitution Daily_
Smart conversation from the National Constitution Center

Did German almost become America’s official language in 1795?
April 1, 2016 by Scott Bomboy
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/april-fools-german-as-americas-official-language/









Frederick Muhlenberg

For centuries, stories have persisted about Congress almost approving German as our official language, except for one vote by its German-speaking leader. So how close is that story to the truth?

On April 1, 1789, Frederick Muhlenberg was chosen as the first speaker of the House of Representatives. Muhlenberg’s father, Henry, was born in Germany, and he was considered the founder of the Lutheran Church in the Colonies.

Young Frederick was born outside of Philadelphia; he studied theology in Germany. He began his life of public service as a member of the Continental Congress. He also served as the speaker of Pennsylvania’s House and led the Pennsylvania delegation that ratified the Constitution.

Muhlenberg then emerged as the preferred candidate for the speaker’s role as the House neared a quorum for its first meeting in 1789.

During two terms as speaker, Muhlenberg was the first person to sign the Bill of Rights, but his tie-breaking vote on the controversial Jay Treaty proved to be his undoing. Muhlenberg lost a re-election bid after that, and his national political career was over.

But his “legendary” role in preventing the adoption of German as the United States’ official language gained steam over the years.

The late German academic Willi Paul Adams published a study in 1990 that included an explanation of why so many people believed Muhlenberg acted to block a congressional resolution that would have made German the national language.

“Fascinating for Germans, this imagined decision has been popularized by German authors of travel literature since the 1840s and propagated by some American teachers of German and German teachers of English who are not entirely secure in their American history,” Adams wrote.

“In reality, this presumed proposition was never brought to the congressional floor and a vote was never taken,” he added.

Dennis Baron, professor of English and linguistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, also tells a similar tale in an article he penned for PBS’s website, after the Muhlenberg legend popped up in an Ann Landers column.

“On January 13, 1795, Congress considered a proposal, not to give German any official status, but merely to print the federal laws in German as well as English. During the debate, a motion to adjourn failed by one vote. The final vote rejecting the translation of federal laws, which took place one month later, is not recorded,” Baron said, who cites two contemporary sources for the account.

Baron traces the legend to an 1847 book by Franz Löher called History and Achievements of the Germans in America, which Baron says “presents a garbled though frequently cited account of what is supposed to have happened.”

Adams also pointed out that just 9 percent of the early United States was German-speaking, and that the vast English-speaking majority would have had a few problems with the concept of an official language.

“Colonial speakers of English fought only for their political independence. They had no stomach for an anti-English language and cultural revolution,” Adams said.

Muhlenberg’s role in passing the Jay Treaty with Great Britain was much more controversial than his alleged involvement in promoting the German language.

The Senate had passed the treaty by a mandatory two-thirds majority, but the House was needed to fund its provisions. Muhlenberg sided with the Federalists against an opposition led by James Madison.

In 1796, he cast the key vote in recommending the House fund the treaty. According to several accounts, Muhlenberg was stabbed by his brother-in-law several days later for that act. He survived that attack and later died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1801.

Scott Bomboy is the editor in chief of the National Constitution Center.
Historical Stories on Constitution Daily


----------

