MikeM
OBS Chief
You know Amtrak is having a bad time of it with train derailments when The Onion starts to run "news" items like this one below...
The Onion - train derailment news
The Onion - train derailment news
Think Amtrak has maybe had too many accidents lately?
- Thread starter MikeM
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bobnabq
Lead Service Attendant
I love the Onion. :giggle:
Acela150
Super Buff
As much as I love the Onion I didn't really find this one that funny. 
It had it's moments but I've seen so much better! I do give them credit for saying that the families never existed! :lol: That was pretty good! :lol:
One minor issue with this video, no superliner's run in DE. :huh: Only the Amcans! But what do they know! -_- We'll cut them a break!
I guess I should call my Family in Newark, DE to make sure they still exist! :lol: :giggle:
It had it's moments but I've seen so much better! I do give them credit for saying that the families never existed! :lol: That was pretty good! :lol:One minor issue with this video, no superliner's run in DE. :huh: Only the Amcans! But what do they know! -_- We'll cut them a break!
I guess I should call my Family in Newark, DE to make sure they still exist! :lol: :giggle:
I'm still here (in Newark, DE). *wave*
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George B
Guest
Explain why regular users are allowed to post links to The Onion, but guest postings are rejected if they reference it?
Probably depends on what the reference was.
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George B
Guest
Twice now I have tried to post that The Onion had a funny and satirical video several months ago about a reporter that was on-scene of a train accident (not a real one, folks) where a pedestrian was hit, but the reporter was more concerned about whether the train got dented and didn’t seem to care about the dead guy. I suspect that one of the moderators here does not like The Onion.
Devil's Advocate
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I can't speak for the moderators decisions but I think you'd be welcomed as a regular member if you find that guest access is too limited.
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George B
Guest
I don’t work for a super-secret organization, or Amtrak. But my employer discourages membership on certain forums because of potential conflict-of-interest issues. Guest posting allows me to retain anonymity and keep things kosher with the boss. Not my choice, but it works for now.
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Guest
Guest
Do you work for the GOP?
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George B
Guest
I hope not!
The Davy Crockett
Engineer
:lol: :lol: :lol: :giggle: :giggle: :giggle: Mica, perchance? Or FOX?
I can't help but wonder if the idea for this report came out of the wildly exagerated missing person estimates for the recent tragedy in Nevada.
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The Davy Crockett
Engineer
Okay, it is not onions or Amtrak, but it did happen in Delaware: Mr. Potatohead and a tractor-trailer load of his cousins hit a train! :help:
I'm sure this has caused lots of anxiety for potatoes across the nation. :giggle:
At least some were salvaged. Here is a link to the story: http://www.wtop.com/?nid=681&sid=2456467
I'm sure this has caused lots of anxiety for potatoes across the nation. :giggle:
At least some were salvaged. Here is a link to the story: http://www.wtop.com/?nid=681&sid=2456467
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George,
I know that I killed at least one of those two posts, quite possibly did the other too, but at this point in time I'm not just not sure. It's been a crazy couple of weeks for me.
I recall not being impressed by the video when I went to look and finding it rather tasteless frankly (just my opinion), and especially since the topic that you had placed it in was a topic on an actual Amtrak crash. So again, I deleted it for those reasons. It had nothing to do with it being from the Onion. There are other old posts containing things from the Onion.
And while I appreciate your reasons for not joining, the simple reality is that it probably would have made a difference, as it did in this case. Not so much because I treat members differently simply because they are members, but simply because their posts are immediately visible to all and therefore people can start responding right away. Translation, I'm still not happy or impressed with this video. Had I seen the topic before anyone had posted, I might well still have trashed it. The fact that it is a stand alone topic and the fact that many people have now responded had a lot to do with why it is still here.
I guess to some extent it could be argued that we are treating guests differently since their posts aren't immediately visible. But that's not a decision that we made lightly or frankly even a decision that we wanted to have to make. It unfortunately was forced upon us by the despicable scummy spammers. They've now learned how to get around all of our other protection methods, so the only defense we have left to protect the general membership from their crap is to subject the moderating staff to first reading their crap as well as the good posts from well meaning guests like yourself.
And trust me; we're wading through quite a bit of posts these days, about a 1/3rd of which are spam. Not a complaint by the way, but it is a time consuming process. That's one reason for the staff changes that have already been made. It gives us more eyes on the board and more people to wade through the guest posts. We've also probably doubled our membership here in the last 5 years or so, yet another reason for increasing the size of the staff.
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George B
Guest
I appreciate you responding on why the posts were rejected. It was infuriating to have the posts rejected and not know what the problem was. You explained here, and that’s fine.
Based upon what was already being posted on the “Train 85 hit trespasser 7/8/11” topic, the video fit in well. To be brutally honest, the video sums up the attitude most rail fans have about these accidents. I don’t find the real accident funny at all, but the video is meant to mock rail fans and their occasional insensitivity in situations like that. I am guilty of that insensitivity as well, which I stated in the original post. I don’t think the choice of an “autistic reporter” was a wise decision, but the art of satire is exaggeration.
If I were an engineer or conductor, I would not find it very funny at all as it hits too close to home on something that is just as traumatic for the operating crew. The conductor in the video is the one who has to sternly remind the reporter that a man is dead.
As with other topics, Alan and I will just have to disagree on this one as well. The double-standard for guest posts is troublesome considering the unmoderated comments made by members on this board. It seems like members have to take things to a big extreme before they are censored. But, it’s not my site, I don’t have to do the work it takes to keep it running, and I now know further my limitations as a guest.
This is way too much analysis on my part for a video that was relevant at the time, but is not relevant anymore. I’ll just move along.
Based upon what was already being posted on the “Train 85 hit trespasser 7/8/11” topic, the video fit in well. To be brutally honest, the video sums up the attitude most rail fans have about these accidents. I don’t find the real accident funny at all, but the video is meant to mock rail fans and their occasional insensitivity in situations like that. I am guilty of that insensitivity as well, which I stated in the original post. I don’t think the choice of an “autistic reporter” was a wise decision, but the art of satire is exaggeration.
If I were an engineer or conductor, I would not find it very funny at all as it hits too close to home on something that is just as traumatic for the operating crew. The conductor in the video is the one who has to sternly remind the reporter that a man is dead.
As with other topics, Alan and I will just have to disagree on this one as well. The double-standard for guest posts is troublesome considering the unmoderated comments made by members on this board. It seems like members have to take things to a big extreme before they are censored. But, it’s not my site, I don’t have to do the work it takes to keep it running, and I now know further my limitations as a guest.
This is way too much analysis on my part for a video that was relevant at the time, but is not relevant anymore. I’ll just move along.
George,
To be honest, I hadn't even considered that angle at all. I just watched the video and didn't see anything funny about it at all; hence my reaction. Had I thought of that aspect at the time, I might have decided differently quite honestly. But being a moderator often requires a quick, gut based decision on what to do.
We've always been a very lenient BB and in fact I've been to a few where one can't even put one's toe nail outside the lines without getting it whacked and I don't like that attitude at all. And most of our members seem to appreciate the fact that we're rather lenient and really only step in when personal insults are involved or things are way out in left field. And again, it was only a double standard because of the nature of how the posts are handled. Had I not been so busy this week it is likely that I might well have killed the post that started this thread, as again, prior to your reply above I hadn't even considered the play on railfans. I just didn't see this video as being appropriate, period.
Finally, just as an FYI, no doubt you know that as a guest you cannot send PM's to communicate with people on the forum. However, should you ever have any questions about why something did or didn't happen, you are more than welcome to contact me by email. Simply put my user name in front of "@amtraktrains.com" to send me an email.
I can't promise that you'll always like my answer’s :lol: ; but I'm always willing to discuss things.
That applies to my decisions and those of others or even just general questions.MikeM
OBS Chief
Guest George, if it makes you feel any better, I recall that Onion post myself and thought it was a hoot myself -- tasteless, but funny. However, I fully understand why many (particularly in the industry) would be offended by anything making light of anyone losing their life to a train accident.
I think the "autistic" reporter was far enough beyond the pale of anything real that it wasn't that offensive. Had it been patterned after a real person, particularly an individual who was not a public person, it would have been quite another matter. But the autistic reporter really was just an excuse to create a train fan obsessed with railroad hardware and equipment and little else; the reporter's "disability" was just an expeditious route to that end. Before anyone flames me for being mean to those with disabilities, I'd note I have a disabled son, and have spent lots of time with kids with different disabilities including autism. Many times, you find in these settings the parents have learned to find humor in unusual situations that would make you die a little inside otherwise; with our son, I tend to use humor to redirect him when he's struggling in an area because of his disabilities rather than act stern and lecture. (my son watched the video with me, and gave me grief afterwards saying it reminded him of me - he gives as good as he gets...)
Having said that, I have lots of sympathy for anyone moderating on this board. Several other web discussion boards I've followed for a long time are having to really restrict comments because of an assortment of spam. Alan and the rest of the moderators are wonderful train fans, and have done a lot to build a very successful community. This board is and continues to be an excellent train forum with a minimum of personal attacks, frothing at each other, and junk postings that make some other of the rail boards tiring to view after a while.
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