Ahh the old days! Dec 25..6..7..the forums would be mobbed with 'Why won't this...!!'

[b.yingling]

Makes me think slots have taken a big step backwards. While FB groups seem more active than online forums these days- even those are quiet compared to just five or six years ago. Back then HRW, SCI and SFI would be hopping with inquiries, complaints, and "OMG this is great! I'm a kid again along with my kids" type posts.

It's a shame, because this still is loads of family fun. When my grandchildren bring friends by everyone is entertained, and no one wants to go home!

[arroldn]

Yeah I noticed how quiet the boards were.

[Slotspeed]

Bruce, that is really funny, but... a bit of a worry for the hobby. I think the "fragmented" nature of user controlled media (forums, facebook, other social media platforms) of course will absorb some of the interest in other directions, but the curiousity in me wants to know how to best harness and measure the actual interest in the slot car hobby.

With regards to : 'Why won't this...!!'
I am waiting for the English speaking Carrera digital movement to catch up with the German speaking community on the decoder performance issue on some of the new models. (in simple terms, more aggressive decoder behaviour) Have thought about starting a new thread on this but I am still waiting for a response from my personal enquiry to Carrera support. Even Brumbaer has weighed in to comment on this issue. https://www.freeslotter.de/index.php...iert/&pageNo=1

Well I hope plenty of kids got new sets for Christmas anyway.

Steve.

[Doc]

Thought I would reply since you mentioned it,(just joined today and my first comment)! Built a deluxe 16x8 Carrera Digital track for my grandkids with complete surrounding border and all available accessories for Christmas and started them off with 16 cars: 8 D132 and 8 D124. Trying to spread the love!

[Slotspeed]

Hi Doc, great that you have joined, congrats on making your first comment! Would be nice to see your layout when you get sorted out on the forum. Sounds like a very nice gift for your grandkids. Carrera is a good robust system, the cars are quite durable so are good for kids. Have you had a Carrera setup before or is this the first one? Do you use the speed settings with them at all?

[BiggusMikus]

I think a lot of that is due to how spread out things are online these days, and places like FB have a larger fanbase than how it was only a few years ago. I also think that there's going to be a little time needed for HRW forum to get up to speed with the old forum. I know it'll thrive. It's got a great membership and Harry is an awesome owner/moderator/guy. But now with so many options to use, it spreads the fanbase out.

It takes very little effort to find and join an FB group, and it's an easy spot to ask the easy questions that a first-timer may have. Then as their habit increases and the questions become more technical, they come to forums like this to get the in-depth info that is available here. It's up to those people who might be running those places to make sure they point people in the right direction so they can get here. It's also great when pros from forums like this are around the other places to offer their expertise, and it's very much appreciated. I think it brings down the intimidation factor that a noob might encounter when they're just getting started.

[b.yingling]

I am part of several FB slot car related groups. While they are more active than the forums (HRW, Freeslotter, and SF International)- they are still nearly dead compared to the forums of 9-10 years ago.

[Just_Steve]

Some speculation on my part but I'd be willing to bet some of the reduced activity can be attributed to Google (and other Search engines). While Google has been around for quite awhile, I suspect more and more slot car racers now turn to Google first when trying to find an answer instead of posting the question online. Google makes it easier and easier to find answers to questions without having to "expose" your lack of knowledge to the slot car community for asking a basic question.

[b.yingling]

I probably shouldn't have focused on the "Why won't this..." part of those posts so much. There were also many. many posts about how much fun people were having, what should I buy next, what are the best places to shop, etc. Those questions are more useful and enjoyable if they are put to like minded people who you can connect with immediately, and ask for more detail, rather than a search engine query.

Add all the posts I've seen in the last 4 days on the three Facebook slot car groups I follow, all here at HRW, all I've seen at Slot Forum International and Freeslotter- and you still won't equal a typical post-Christmas morning on SCI from around 2010-2012.

[BiggusMikus]

I agree with you on that, Bruce.

The FB slotcar fan pages are down in activity compared to the past, as are many other fan pages. I agree with you that it's not like it was - that's showing each year. But there are still new companies, technology improvements, and great stuff happening in slot cars, so that's a good thing. There are new people to the hobby every year, But yeah, when it was just the big three forums and not a lot else in internet info, people were more centrally located and there was more of a cohesive fanbase. Nowadays there are so many ways to find and get to information that it has diluted the water. I guess that was my point earlier.

Great point about Google, Steve.

[Slotspeed]

As I posted a couple of track layout ideas on a social media platform this morning, I thought to myself... It would be better if I was doing this on HRW where it would become an easily accessible archived post, useful in the future. Then I realised, part of the advantage of social media is the flux of ideas (which is often also its downside) and the spontaneous nature of it, because in the way I perceive it, you can just throw ideas out there, and if they suck then you just accept it, but if they fly, you also find out, or receive feedback quickly. But I am more likely to save the best quality content for a forum such as this one. The reality also, is that (as most of us have probably already reckoned) the social media platform taps into the pleasure centres of our brains, rewarding us with good feelings when we are acknowledged by others, of course this is what makes it addictive... And over time we possibly are reducing our patience and attention spans!

[b.yingling]

Technical and in-depth issues definitely work better here than on Facebook, as back and forth discussions and questions are better suited to this format. When we use Facebook it constantly works to keep us in the present. Not to wax philosophical- but the ephemeral nature of Facebook posts is a constant indicator of how quickly the past becomes the past.

[Slotspeed]

Agree Bruce, I like what you said. Sometimes the immediacy from facebook helps the creative collaboration of ideas. Though that can also happen in the forum format. But yes, technical issues work better in forums.

[Bob]

I think the fact that slot cars have all but disappeared from large retailers has much to do with it. There are no surviving hobby stores in my area but up to a couple of years ago slot car sets like Carrera (especially GO) and many HO scale sets were readily available. Now you wont even find a small HO set on any retail stores not alone a quality set like Carrera or Scalextric. People shopping would see these items on shelves for Christmas and get started somewhere in the hobby at least. The only item you may find is a cheap battery operated set of cheap quality that does more to discourage the hobby than embrace it.

[Slotspeed]

True

[b.yingling]

This is very true. 12+ years ago now (has it really been that long!?!) my wife and I were walking through a mall (don't do that much anymore, either) before Christmas and saw a store with several large routed slot car tracks setup, and Scalextric and Carrera sets, cars, and parts along the walls. We went in and looked and watched . Her father had run a store that sold toys in the 60s, and I had slots when I was a kid. We were both transfixed and stunned that these things still existed. As we walked out of the store, she looked at me and said: 'Why don't you spend some of your money?', and I went back inside and bought a Carrera set. Pretty sure she has since regretted that statement LOL.

That store is gone, the mall almost is, and the hobby store around the corner from that mall that sold some slots is also gone. There were two other train/hobby stores within 20 miles of my house that had *some* Carrera slots. One is gone, the other no longer sells slot cars.