There's another one of those words.. "useful" if there are interesting or unusual matters involved then there will probably be grounds for a thread. If there is an incident of a common magnitude with a common cause then there almost certainly isn't.
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Service disruption threads
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There's another one of those words.. "useful" if there are interesting or unusual matters involved then there will probably be grounds for a thread. If there is an incident of a common magnitude with a common cause then there almost certainly isn't.
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But at the same time, where the likes of NRES may say there are delays between x and y and click here to see a pretty map that shows a rough area where it is, but it may be posted here that the cause is *whatever*, one can make a more informed decision on what the likely impact is and what not. This is why I’ve posted before, especially when stuck in the thick of it and hopefully for the benefit of others. I don’t understand why this should be discouraged - I think useful is an appropriate word!
221129
Established Member
Quite, If you take yesterday in the Newcastle area for example NRE was saying signalling problems... now is that a single signal failure and a 10 minute delay or is it (as was the case) a major signalling blackout with serious disruption. A quick look at NRE can make it seem the former whereas a quick look on here and seeing it is actually the latter means i can stay at home.
Both of these would sound like you're looking for travel advice and therefore, as stated in the opening post, would be perfectly acceptable. Someone posting:
Is not going to fall foul of the change that we've introduced. Someone posting:
Is probably going to have that thread deleted.
Failed Unit
Established Member
Must admit i agree recently he have had too many threads about what I see as standard disruption so glad about the forums stand on this. (Considering it is daily occurrence on the ECML it could have had a dedicated thread).
I know a recent example of the “Spalding incident” developed useful discussion. But recently we have had “signal failure at Retford” which is only causing 10 mins delays.
I know a recent example of the “Spalding incident” developed useful discussion. But recently we have had “signal failure at Retford” which is only causing 10 mins delays.
I mean this in the sense that someone posting that the ECML signalling has gone majorly up the wall (for example), even if not traveling, could prove useful, especially where the media hasn't picked up on it (how long does it usually take the media, lets be honest) or the likes of NRES are horrifically vague, if they have anything at all. I'm not sure this would necessarily come under "asking for travel advice" but could assist those who are, which is why I feel we should support at least some such posts. After all, whilst some such threads may not get many replies, they may get a number of views, including by non-members, so may have wider use
If those who are actually travelling are concerned then they can ask for themselves?
We shall see how it goes - I think it is a good idea in part, but could prevent potentially early useful info in other cases
I really don't see how? We're not stopping people for asking for information. Broadly we just don't want people replicating things like JourneyCheck and NRE by posting stuff from there to the Forum.
Certainly we will be keeping this under review (as we do just about everything!
) in any event as we are aware that it's a quite a change.Indeed not, but where here can be more comprehensive than any of the other passenger info sites, which can be vague, I don't feel they should be discouraged
Dai Corner
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I respect the decision, of course, and don't really want to prolong this discussion but if it was me I wouldn't spend time deleting threads as they're posted. If nobody finds them interesting enough to reply to they'll drop down the New Posts list and die a natural death. There could be a daily or weekly task, possibly automated, to delete threads without replies.
It's been beneficial in the past with many members pooling together and bringing new information into one place from many sources, be that NRE, OTT, RTT, internal systems, twitter, actually being on the affected train etc etc. I've found out something is going on from these threads before things have appeared on NRE and have been able to replan my journey before being affected by the incident.
It's a shame this cannot happen anymore.
It's a shame this cannot happen anymore.
bb21
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While we appreciate the good intentions behind such threads, as someone pointed out upthread, there has been a big increase in such threads in recent months, and many turn out to be of little interest to the wider audience. Unfortunately forum resources are still limited in many ways, so we have to make a decision on how these resources are best allocated.
As I said before, unfortunately we are not, and have no intention to play the role of, National Rail Enquiries, which contain details of disruption around the network fairly comprehensively. If anyone is adversely impacted, there is absolutely no reason why further help cannot be sought from fellow forumites in respect of information not on NRE. NRE are fairly good at detailing any ticket acceptance arrangements that may be in force, but again, anyone seeking further clarification or assurance is welcome to enquire about such matters in a suitable area on the forum. What we are asking is that such threads are not posted speculatively without a good reason. This helps keep the forum manageable and preserve resources for uses which add more value for members.
Incidents which cause extensive disruption will most likely result in topical discussions and/or be covered by reputable national media, with the possible exception of fatalities, a much discussed subject on the forum for which the aforementioned guidelines need to be taken into account. We have considered this possibility and decided to expressly permit theses threads via the given criteria above. Most importantly, each case will be assessed on its own merits and dealt with separately.
Forum moderation is a fluid task, the nature of which changes as the forum evolves. We have to respond to recent developments in posting behaviour in order to keep on top of things. For now, this matter has been looked at by the staff team in great detail and a decision has been made. We are not saying this is definitely going to be perfect, and may get some wrong, but such is the nature of managing a forum not run as a free-for-all. As usual, we request that forum members respect this decision for the time being. We will review this policy at the next available opportunity as with all newly-implemented changes, taking onboard feedback including those in this thread. Again as I mentioned before, if it is found to be ineffective or stifling meaningful discussion, we will be willing to reconsider it in due course.
As I said before, unfortunately we are not, and have no intention to play the role of, National Rail Enquiries, which contain details of disruption around the network fairly comprehensively. If anyone is adversely impacted, there is absolutely no reason why further help cannot be sought from fellow forumites in respect of information not on NRE. NRE are fairly good at detailing any ticket acceptance arrangements that may be in force, but again, anyone seeking further clarification or assurance is welcome to enquire about such matters in a suitable area on the forum. What we are asking is that such threads are not posted speculatively without a good reason. This helps keep the forum manageable and preserve resources for uses which add more value for members.
Incidents which cause extensive disruption will most likely result in topical discussions and/or be covered by reputable national media, with the possible exception of fatalities, a much discussed subject on the forum for which the aforementioned guidelines need to be taken into account. We have considered this possibility and decided to expressly permit theses threads via the given criteria above. Most importantly, each case will be assessed on its own merits and dealt with separately.
Forum moderation is a fluid task, the nature of which changes as the forum evolves. We have to respond to recent developments in posting behaviour in order to keep on top of things. For now, this matter has been looked at by the staff team in great detail and a decision has been made. We are not saying this is definitely going to be perfect, and may get some wrong, but such is the nature of managing a forum not run as a free-for-all. As usual, we request that forum members respect this decision for the time being. We will review this policy at the next available opportunity as with all newly-implemented changes, taking onboard feedback including those in this thread. Again as I mentioned before, if it is found to be ineffective or stifling meaningful discussion, we will be willing to reconsider it in due course.
Failed Unit
Established Member
I don’t think most of the information was useful to a casual user. Typical thread.
1A31 failed at marshmoor. (Title)
2C21 and 1X45 stuck behind. (Body)
Not really useful to the casual user. I know the use of train headcodes only is my biggest be hate but that is a different debate. But in my example which happen frequently it would mean nothing to a lot of people.
No information is better than jargon information.
That sort of thread, I agree, has no place - I can't recall what some of those such are either but I am sure I have reported some before
So, eight days after it was started I finally become aware of this thread. I saw no pop-ups or anything alerting me to it's prescence. I visit the forum multiple times a day. I mention this purely in the hope that the team may find it useful in working out how to communicate such changes.
For what it's worth, I despair of the quality of travel news given by the major news providers. A common one local to me would be disruption between London and Dartford without giving any clue as to the scope. It rarely affects all three lines. NRE is often a little better, but still leaves lots to be desired.
Perhaps it's as well that I mainly lurk in the fares forums.
For what it's worth, I despair of the quality of travel news given by the major news providers. A common one local to me would be disruption between London and Dartford without giving any clue as to the scope. It rarely affects all three lines. NRE is often a little better, but still leaves lots to be desired.
Perhaps it's as well that I mainly lurk in the fares forums.
For the record, as you will have seen from the posts, I was aware of it but came across it by chance noticing that there was a new post in the Announcements forum (which is only irregularly posted to). I too have not seen/noticed the popup that has been mentioned at any point over the last few weeks
Do the long waits for buses at Redhill today fall under this restriction? It is not mentioned on National Rail, which currently show Southern having a "good service". I only know about people waiting over an hour for the bus from Twitter.
It has since been posted about and would hope the discussion will stay
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