West Somerset Railway General Discussion

I note the original poster 'does not currently volunteer'!!!!!

 

The last update was on the 12th February. Doesn’t seem stalled to me. Why are some people so eager to jump on the smallest thing and have a go at the WSR.

 

I think an update on 9351 every week or so is good enough for most of us. http://www.wsr.org.uk/news.htm#1693

The Trust website carried about six or more updates in the last week.

The Plc website has new news items over the last few week or so.

The WSRA website has a synopsis of the latest board meeting and the full minutes of the previous meeting, posted recently.

The Facebook pages of Wagon Group, Infrastructure, FoMS, and Mechanical Engineering carried new items just yesterday (those who refuse to look at facebook are hardly in a position to complain about lack of news )

Modesty prevents me mentioning the churn of updates on a particular unofficial WSR website.

I too feel there is (always) room for improvement but hey there's stuff out there online...

Steve

 

Yes and No. It does take time but once you get the hang of it and have the right accesses it can be almost as fast as you can type. The key issue is having content to post. I tend to keep at least a couple of general interest posts on standby for use as needed.

 

I think you are mistaking quantity for quality - better to have a smaller number of well-written and illustrated articles than a picture a day that might have nothing to show.

Beyond that - culture comes from within. So if you are a supporter, don't assume that it is solely down to the "they" department to effect the change you wish to see.

Tom

 

That's all fine, but a 24:7 rolling news channel would be even better. Like a webcam but with interviews, analysis, and demonstrations funded by adverts from the cafe and shop. Use YouTube or something and your mobile phone camera - how hard can it be?!

 

I believe it was stated that updates would be every day that 9351 was worked on? No update = no work. They appear to be very busy in and around the workshops with various contracted projects, 9351 isn't their sole focus?

 

Steve,

Many of us on here refuse to use Facebook, in the same way that some are not prepared to use Internet banking.

We all have our various reasons and don't expect to be (mildly) criticised or disadvantaged for it.

 

Agreed, I'm always surprised that, despite the continuously recurring security problems, and the warnings issued by various Governments, so many people are happy to leave themselves exposed by using that platform.

 

OTOH, the fact that many people are prepared to use Facebook means a railway would be remiss not to use it as a core part of their communications.

I must admit, if this thread is a reflection, the WSR is playing to a hard crowd! There are lots of things you could criticise for, but I don't think the quality of the railway's external communication (such as news of restoration projects etc.) is one of them: the WSR is better than many in that regard, helped inestimably by @West Somerset Wizard's site acting as a central port of call to draw things together.

It's also worth reflecting on the fact that to get 180-odd thousand paying visitors through the gate is no mean achievement; probably no more than about half a dozen other railways do better. The WSR's key problem is that it's length means that it will inevitably be an expensive railway to operate; the geography means there is no obvious way to cut the cost of service (a.k.a the number of loco and carriage miles needed to run a viable service; and the volume of annual infrastructure and rolling stock renewal needed to maintain that service); but its structure means that it is less successful than it should be in finding alternative sources of funds to meet the renewal shortfall.

Tom

 

I somehow think that if each of those working to get 9351 or any other project completed, had lapel-style live streaming video cameras running then this would only increase the amount of posting on this forum questioning method and reasoning. WSR could surely disappear up it's own rear end if the business is expected to be run on a fully democratic basis by NP committee. Reading some of the posts may suggest from some that this has already happened?
I don't see daily updates for other locomotives under restoration or overhaul being demanded from other heritage railways - does it just come down to the water being different in parts of West Somerset or am I being overly flippant?

 

Facebook is a useful tool if like other online platforms is used by grown-ups or at least in a grown-up fashion although sadly, 90% of content in my opinion relates to inert, aggressive & banal tosh so I decided not to waste any more time running though pages of crap to find something useful and truthful. Having said this, as well as enabling one to share pictures of your breakfast with the wide world, on a positive note the system can be very useful for specialist interest groups if used appropriately.
I once saw FB described as a social experiment application that can be used to show which of your 'friends' are the most stupid.
Any social media platform that remains free of charge should be expected to use data for commercial purposes to some degree - sharing personal details therein is not necessarily the most grown up thing to do - again in my opinion, and leads to unwanted outcomes. Online banking and security however should not be confused with social media.

 

Lack of information and secrecy seem to be the last things you can say about the WSR family. I'm 250 miles away, not a member and not involved yet I find it very easy to keep tabs on what is happening. I'm not one who needs to be spoon fed, though

 

3 ship tornado (not the loco) flypast along minehead coast soon between 1338 and 1356

 

If you just want to look at (say) a public facebook page for a railway then most people's privacy/tracking concerns and desire not to give any ad revenue to facebook can be addressed fairly easily:
1/ Don't sign up or sign in - public pages can be viewed without doing so, clicking on the 'not now' link reduces the nag banner to a tolerable size.
2/ Use a browser privacy extension such as ghostery or privacy badger - if you're concerned about privacy/tracking by facebook you should already have one of these installed since there are facebook buttons/trackers all over the internet.
3/ Use a good adblocker such as uBlock Origin to further avoid tracking and giving ad revenue to facebook.
4/ Use your browser's incognito mode.

With these precautions, you're not really giving facebook anything by viewing a public page (and if you really dislike them, remember you're actually costing them a (very small) amount of money by viewing these pages).

This is not intended as a criticism of anyone who still doesn't wish to view public facebook pages, just to point out that at least some concerns can be addressed using methods which may apply to other internet sites and may be of general use to anyone concerned about privacy/tracking etc. on non-facebook sites as well.

 

Damnit I heard but didn't register what it was

 

Modesty prevents me from noting that, having been involved in Government Security matters, I have grave doubts about using facebook - for any purpose - hence I refer you to the fact that communication is a 2-way thing requiring both sides to give out AND receive messages. If you are aware that some of your market does not / will not use Facebook then it is YOU who must find an alternative method of communication to ensure they receive the message. As the person who is initiating the message I suggest you are not in the best position to dictate how that message should be received.

 

Thanks for that @fred and I welcome a PM on your 'grave doubts' - I too have some experience in the matters you refer to. For what it is worth, much of what is on Facebook is available elsewhere on the web so assuming folks are happy to use those vehicles, the message will be seen there too, although maybe not as promptly. We should all take great care when revealing our personal information with the internet whether on Facebook or Nat Pres or whatever.

Steve

 

That means nothing. Many people including myself cannot volunteer for medical reasons. Judging people in this way is unreasonable.