Questions, answers, Google and Trolls.

[Green_Elite_Cab]

There are lots of times that someone will do a search and not come close to finding what they're looking for because maybe they didn't put in the right search term, had a typo or maybe because the search engine was having a bad day. One doesn't always know why someone has to ask, but those crude "go look", answers always seem to come from some smart alec that has to show that they know the answer but don't want to share it right then. When I first got into the hobby, I went to the Atlas Forums for answers, and it almost drove me away to some other hobby. I wonder if it did, would there have ever been a Big Blue????

That really can be the issue to.  Search Engines can be very finicky, and if you don't word your question exactly right,  or know how to efficiently narrow down your searches, it can become impossible to answer even a simple question.   There is also so much "Railfan lore" that doesn't match with reality,  and so you can see several answers that contradict each other.  

Even something as simple as "who build a particular car"  can have wildly different answers, especially for some of those commuter cars and things that slipped through the cracks of railfan attention.  

I will say this, the Atlas forum is particularly populated with rivet counters.   I can't say I'm not a rivet counter, I totally do, but its more due to fascination than any particular need to be a pain in someone's ass or enforce some idea of what is "right".  It is the same reason I am a scientist, I like to find the information then spread it.   Hence me not being please with the look it up crowd. 

If its a simple answer, answer it, move on!

Another peeve along the answered question line is when someone asks a specific question about a model or control system, (or other) I hate the ones that reply :your model is junk, you just need to throw it away and get (their recommendation). 
Charlie

This one I struggle with a little.   I have done that to people, but I believe it is sometimes justified.   I had a guy come to one of my club open houses and he was asking me about how to improve the reliability of his train set.  He was complaining that despite cleaning the track, his engine wasn't going.  He acknowledged that he had some brass track and was replacing it, but noted that even after cleaning he couldn't get the train to run reliably. 

Then he showed me picture, and his engine was a big Tyco Alco Century (maybe a C630 or similar).  We actually had one sitting in our junk pile,  and I tried to explain to him that this particular locomotive probably didn't run very well even when it was fresh off the assembly line (pancake motors, traction tires and lack of all wheel pick up).  I recommended replacing it and pointed out we had cheap engines on our flea market, or he could probably get a robust Blue Box locomotive that would last for decades for relatively cheap if he shopped around.   I don't think he liked that answer. 

Here is the thing,  I wasn't trying to be a jerk, and he asked for the advice. Still, the disappointment on the guy's face has bugged me for some time,  and I wonder if there was a better way to handle it. 

I think it is well accepted that most of the old Tyco trains are not meant to last, they are toys meant to survive long enough to occupy a child without also being an expensive loss when the kid inevitably breaks something.  I'm not of the impression that they were meant to run reliably in the long term, and the model is probably older than I am.  At the same time, an inexperienced model railroader isn't going to know that,  and I don't feel right telling people what they want to hear if they end result is that their problem won't be solved.