# To join or not to join?????



## Guest (Jan 10, 2008)

Ok so i was thinking of upgrading to 1st class but there are a few problems holding me back. 1st web site is very slow now that the new site is up and running, i thought it was my computer but i tried a freinds and it did the same thing.  2nd seems like it is very hard to upload a picture to the site from us non computer freindly people, it would be nice to have a button to click and upload like the aristo site has..i know a lot of you people out there work on computers every day so it is easy for you to upload pictures and video's, but for me and i'm sure some others that are computer dummies it's not that fun to try to do. so in a nut shell thats my thoughts.......
Nick S.


----------



## ShadsTrains (Dec 27, 2007)

1st, speed.  For some people the new site is supposedly faster, for some it's slower.  I'm constantly working to speed it up across the board.  

Uploading pictures is much simpler now for 1st class members.  There is an 'attach' button similar to the aristo forums for 1st class members only.


----------



## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Nick, 

I don't think you'll find a better resource that MLS for the price anywhere. We should all support Shad in keeping the site up and running by becoming/renewing 1st class members. 

Best, 
TJ


----------



## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

I re-upped my first class status just to support this site since Shad is putting so much effort into MLS. I consider it money well spent. I have not yet taken advantage of the available first class space since I have adequate space already, but it is nice to have that option. MLS is a very good setup with a great deal of participation. It is particularly valuable because the members relate their own experiences with the various products and services available to us in large scale which enables smarter purchasing decisions. Then there are all those operating tips, building tips, what not to do tips . . .


----------



## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Nick,

In my opinion,  the $20 for the space is well worth it.  It used to be a lot harder to upload pics, but Shad has continued to make it easier and easier.  I think it is worth it and you should consider it strongly.

Mark


----------



## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

So the only advantage is storage space? I was trying to figure out the difference between first class and others. 

From years of posting on the old forum, I did not know there was a difference until the move this month when posters wondered why they were not Foremen, First Class, Engineer, etc....


----------



## Allan W. Miller (Jan 2, 2008)

Certainly you should upgrade to First Class if at all possible. I recently renewed my First Class membership (for two years) even though I'm now editing an O gauge magazine and don't have all the time available that I would like to spend here (or spent here in the past). I don't even take advantage of any of the extra features that are available to First Class members, but still consider the cost of membership to be well worthwhile. What I do take advantage of is the wealth of information that's available here and the (generally) friendly tone of the discussion. I can't think of a better place to visit online if you're a Large Scale/garden railroad enthusiast. 

Since the magazine I work with also operates an online discussion forum--the largest, by far, devoted to the O scale and O gauge segment of the hobby--I fully appreciate the effort Shad and his moderators put into making this site the most attractive, friendly, and informative one there is for the Large Scale community. I have tried to support it since its inception, and I will continue to do so for as long as I'm able.

...Forgot to mention:  I'm also grateful for the On30 area since I'm in the process of constructing an On30 layout myself.


----------



## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

I get lots more from MLS than from my Garden Railways subscription, but I pay the magazine. Go for it!


----------



## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

If I had the $$ I'd upgrade, but I guess until Bill gets his hand outta my pocket, I'm stuck in coach, lol


----------



## ShadsTrains (Dec 27, 2007)

Posted By Spule 4 on 01/10/2008 3:09 PM
So the only advantage is storage space? I was trying to figure out the difference between first class and others. 

From years of posting on the old forum, I did not know there was a difference until the move this month when posters wondered why they were not Foremen, First Class, Engineer, etc....

It's not the only benefit, but it's certainly the main one right now. But as we move into this year, more articles, reviews, and other features will be released to 1st class members only.


----------



## altterrain (Jan 2, 2008)

The only real advantage I can see is loosing the column of advertising on the left. If you have a nice big monitor, its not much of an issue. 

-Brian


----------



## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I am on Dial up.   The speed of MLS on my  computer  varries  according  to the time of day I am on line.     But so is my Banking accout website  and  so is  E bay.   It just varries.  How ever  This is  still much faster than the old  site.


----------



## dawgnabbit (Jan 2, 2008)

I'm first class mostly because (1) I want to support this helpful, friendly site, but also because (2) I don't like my screen cluttered with advertisements, and (3) I need webspace somewhere to post photos, so why not here? 

I can pretty much take or leave the other first class perks. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/doze.gif

Dawg


----------



## Duncan (Jan 2, 2008)

I will offer this opinion on becoming a supporting member. 
Look in that previous sentence, and extract the key word. 
Starts with an "S". 
While all contributors (well most of 'em anyway) help support MLS by offering their first hand knowledge, opinions, and encouragement to others, I have elected to also financially support MLS, in order that we keep the juice on in our little club house. 
Oh, and help replenish the "ammenities" offered to riders in the First Class Club Car (also known as the "Gold Room"). 
I look at it as being "share holders" in what has proven to me to be a wealth of information. 
The choice to write a check or submit an Electronic Funds Transfer is a personal decision that each member (paying/renewing or not) needs to make, with the understanding and knowledge that both types of contributors are welcome here. 
MLS (Shad) has always maintained that the general forums will be available to the general public, for free. If my annual fee allows him to keep that main entrance open to "passers by", then I've done at least a piece of my part to help grow the LS hobby, by letting folks come in here, ask questions, get answers and become more comfortable with their (hopefully) eventual decision to play with the big toy trains... 
You can help carry the load, too. 
If you care to...


----------



## Eric Cooper (Jan 3, 2008)

Well, you guys shamed me into it. Actually, Torby's post was the straw that broke my back. I also have gotten more out of this site than from GRR magazine. Sooooo.....I just signed up. So there!


----------



## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

Well Duncan's answer is good.
I had not thought of it for awhile. 
Free is important to get folks interested to help the hobby grow., thus the supporters enable that to happen.
Its not always what you get ....


----------



## GaryY (Jan 2, 2008)

Yup me too.  I'm in. 
I've been waiting for Shad to upgrade and I have now upgraded to 1stclass.  This is a great forum and I like to show support.

Gary


----------



## BigDigger (Jan 3, 2008)

This upgrade is bound to have problems in the beginning, but the benefits I'm sure, will be worth it! I upgraded in an effort to add my support about a week ago. 

David


----------



## ShadsTrains (Dec 27, 2007)

Thanks everyone for your support!!


----------



## rangerjoel (Jan 4, 2008)

There is an altruistic benefit to becoming a 1st class member.


By doing so, you will be supporting a web page that allows visitors to view, post and respond without having to pay a membership.


I lurked on this board for about a year before I finally bit the built and decided to become a member. Other web sites make you join before seeing any really good articles or sneak peak photos of new products.


The way I got hooked was that I was able to see what the other posters had going on here and eventually wanted to share some of my projects as well. At that point, the 1st class storage space was necessary. Yes I could have stored my photos on other web sites, but why not support the one that is providing us with all of these benefits?


It’s like public television or radio. If it’s something you believe is worth wile, you should support it.


(Administrator; Please do not take this as a request to introduce pledge breaks!!!)/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/whistling.gif


----------



## Don Howard (Jan 2, 2008)

It took me some time to become a first class member, about 2 years of lurking. 
That was WAY too long. 
In an attempt to make up for it, I try to now be 2 years ahead in dues! 

Semi-related. 
Duncan and I were some of the few Platnium members, meaning we joined up to use a particular ISP, that supposedly would have benefitted Shad even a little more than just the yearly fees. I'd like to get the Platnium stars back, but I will wait to submit a suggestion on those for a looonnnnng time, so the other more iimportant suggestioins get taken care of. 

Thanks to Shad, we have a great place to meet and share. 

I get my daily fix here!


----------



## Duncan (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Don Howard on 01/11/2008 1:41 PM
Semi-related. 
Duncan and I were some of the few Platnium members, meaning we joined up to use a particular ISP, that supposedly would have benefitted Shad even a little more than just the yearly fees. I'd like to get the Platnium stars back, but I will wait to submit a suggestion on those for a looonnnnng time, so the other more iimportant suggestioins get taken care of. 

Don,
Shad told me the "dimmer" status stars were causing him problems with the old system, so I don't imagine we'll be seeing them in this one.
I'm gonna miss mine, too.../DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/sad.gif


----------



## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

I'm not even sure what the new stars mean at this point. Everyone has three and all are green. Not that it makes much difference.


----------



## tmejia (Jan 2, 2008)

_I'm not even sure what the new stars mean at this point. Everyone has three and all are green. Not that it makes much difference. 

_Not everyone, seems you have four._

_Tommy
Rio Gracie


----------



## llynrice (Jan 2, 2008)

I dedcided to upgrade to first class fairly early on after getting active on MLS because the site really is a great resource and I wanted to support it.  The extra benefits available, so far,  have been  useful; but that was not my main reason for upgrading.

Llyn


----------



## jdmitchell (Jan 2, 2008)

It's simple, I went first class because I liked what the site had to offer and I wanted to support it. I don't post much, but I am learning everyday. 
Thanks folks. 
Jim


----------



## ShadsTrains (Dec 27, 2007)

Posted By Dwight Ennis on 01/11/2008 3:06 PM
I'm not even sure what the new stars mean at this point. Everyone has three and all are green. Not that it makes much difference. " src="/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/smile.gif" />

On the old system, 1st class members had gold stars.  I custom programmed that feature, and don't think I can do it in the new forum.  The number of stars is directly related to the number of posts made just like the ranking titles.


----------



## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

The force is strong with this one!!! As the stars grow, so to will your knowledge grow.. With him I see it..../DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/unsure.gif


----------



## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for the explanation Shad. Makes sense. 

Tommy - I hadn't even noticed. Shows how much attention I really pay to stuff like that. hehehe


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Site is faster for me... and it's worth 5 1/2 cents a day to not see those obnoxious ads. 

Regards, Greg


----------



## cmjdisanto (Jan 6, 2008)

Posted By Duncan on 01/10/2008 7:13 PM
I will offer this opinion on becoming a supporting member. 
Look in that previous sentence, and extract the key word. 
Starts with an "S". 
While all contributors (well most of 'em anyway) help support MLS by offering their first hand knowledge, opinions, and encouragement to others, I have elected to also financially support MLS, in order that we keep the juice on in our little club house. 
Oh, and help replenish the "ammenities" offered to riders in the First Class Club Car (also known as the "Gold Room"). 
I look at it as being "share holders" in what has proven to me to be a wealth of information. 
The choice to write a check or submit an Electronic Funds Transfer is a personal decision that each member (paying/renewing or not) needs to make, with the understanding and knowledge that both types of contributors are welcome here. 
MLS (Shad) has always maintained that the general forums will be available to the general public, for free. If my annual fee allows him to keep that main entrance open to "passers by", then I've done at least a piece of my part to help grow the LS hobby, by letting folks come in here, ask questions, get answers and become more comfortable with their (hopefully) eventual decision to play with the big toy trains... 
You can help carry the load, too. 
If you care to...


I musta tried 10 times yesterday to reply to this and other topics and whenever I typed a letter it wasn't the one that appeared on the screen or my keyboard would lock up. Really stange stuff. Actually it's happening again. Only juist started when I tried to edit the topic. Either m,y com,puter is shot after only one y]ear or som,ethiung has corruipted the site.
Anywho......

Mr Dimmer (as he will always remain in my mind sure) nailed it with what he said. Persoanlly for me if it wasn' for the more open format that Shad has provided I never would stuck around to get to the point of actually signing up. As I've said on more than one occasion, I hung around in the background for a few years until I finally built a layout and then decided to join. First Class membership is how I entered and has been worth from day one. Plus it gave me the opportunity to let someone else sit in the shadows of things to finally decide to make a go at it. More or less just repaying my debt./DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/satisfied.gif

As far as the rankings go I've already said my peace in the 1st Class forums so I guess you'll just have to upgrade to see what that was.  And even with all the change and all I will still remain in 1st Class. Mainly cause it's the only form of 1st Class I can afford./DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/whistling.gif


----------



## Pagardener (Jan 10, 2008)

Definetly First Class is the way to go.  I have been so busy the past months I have not been here for awhile/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/blush.gif WOW what a change!!!!!!! It is really a good change. Guess I will have to come more often again so I get my engineer status back.  Since everything in Red Rock Valley  and Elsewhere is finished I have no real projects..just adding a few more details but I will try to contribute once in awhile...just have to remember to make a 'small' version of all of my pics.
Barb


----------



## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

Either m,y com,puter is shot after only one y]ear or som,ethiung has corruipted the site.
Personally, I think it's the typist.  

Seriously, this is the first such complaint I've heard. Since no one else seems to be having the problem, I'd suspect your keyboard. Try another one. Keyboards are cheap, and they do periodically go Tango Uniform.  

A couple of years back, one of our supervisors decided to clean her keyboard. She got a 1" paint brush, dipped it in alcohol, and proceeded to scrub the keyboard. Naturally, the alcohol ran down inside and saturated everything. I had to replace it. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/laugh.gif It didn't even work after drying out for a couple of weeks.


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

One possibility is your version of Java and/or Adobe flash. I'd try updating these. I had problems on another PHP-based site and this fixed it. 

Regards, Greg


----------



## John Allman (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg - what are you talking about? I see the obnoxious ads. Can I turn them off? I seriously doubt it. That "feature" is not an upgrade from the old MLS. That was amoung the original reasons I joined. 
However, I suppose it supplies a tiny kickback to Shad. 
The other reason I joined was Jerry (where is he, how is he) pointed out a good deal on the public forum years back. I saved so much money buying stuff from that deal I figured I owed it to Shad to throw him 20 bucks a year. 

John 
ps. please tell me there is something wrong with my computer and I am not supposed to see the ads....


----------



## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Maybe my  puter is broke./DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/shocked.gif    I don't see  any adds/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/w00t.gif   Only the ones on the Home Page when I sign on.


----------



## cmjdisanto (Jan 6, 2008)

Posted By Dwight Ennis on 01/12/2008 5:30 PM
Either m,y com,puter is shot after only one y]ear or som,ethiung has corruipted the site.
Personally, I think it's the typist.  

Seriously, this is the first such complaint I've heard. Since no one else seems to be having the problem, I'd suspect your keyboard. Try another one. Keyboards are cheap, and they do periodically go Tango Uniform.  

A couple of years back, one of our supervisors decided to clean her keyboard. She got a 1" paint brush, dipped it in alcohol, and proceeded to scrub the keyboard. Naturally, the alcohol ran down inside and saturated everything. I had to replace it. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/laugh.gif It didn't even work after drying out for a couple of weeks.


The typist? Now hooooold on thar Bubba Louie.!!!!!!!!/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/tongue.gif

Yeah I thought of it being the typist right off so I installed that neat little spellcheck thingy so's that wouldn't happen, but to set the recored straight it seems to be the 'puter. It's a laptop and it seems now when it gets "heated up" the keyboard starts to Foxtrot Uniform as we would say. I'm not sure why it's getting to the overheating point being just over a year old but since it is just a couple months out of warranty that would 'splain things. Murphy's at it again./DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/blink.gif Martha's gonna bring a keyboard uith a USB cable home from work today to see if it's more than just the keyboard. Good thing is the replacements are only 25.00 from Dell. 

Alcohol huh? Now I have seen people try to use compressed CO2 in restaurants to clean the keyboad in the office before. Unfortunately it's not as easy to control in 50lb cylinder with a 3/4" hose as it is in those 3.00 cans of computer stuff. Before he could stop the Manager blew all the keys throughout the office/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/w00t.gif. It had us rolling on the floor for days.


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

John, when you upgrade to 1st class (read below people's names on the left side) the ads on the extreme left side go away. Looking at your ad, you are not a 1st class member. Perhaps you are confused with the free "join mls" vs. the "it costs money to be a 1st class member and the ads go away"? 

Regards, Greg 

p.s. there is still an ad at the bottom of the page and a sponsor ad at the top.


----------



## ohioriverrailway (Jan 2, 2008)

As previously opined, the place is worth the $24 a year. Lots of content, lots of opinion, lots of help, etc. Also a good place to store parts of your website, if not the whole thing. 
I also get varying speeds as well as some strange results when using Opera instead of IE. 
But all in all, once we get through the learning curve, MLS will continue to be a valuable resource. Attaboy, Shad!


----------



## cephius (Jan 10, 2008)

I'm very glad to support MLS. When I think of my current project, MasterClass Porter, and the PDFs for it provided free! All the hours David and others put into those classes. The least I can do is join ! 

Dave


----------



## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By altterrain on 01/10/2008 5:07 PM
The only real advantage I can see is loosing the column of advertising on the left. If you have a nice big monitor, its not much of an issue. 

-Brian


I am not first class and have no adverts/problems?


----------



## John Allman (Jan 2, 2008)

Well, I used to be a 1st class member. I did send in a payment. I guess it got lost - or with the upgrade lost in translation. I will wait a week or two then check with Shad.


----------

