Last week, the model railway world was shocked to discover UK Modelshops website had closed down. In this interview, Adrian Hall explains what has happened.
There is a valuable lesson here. So many hobby websites rely on a single person to operate them. Often, it's a thankless job as disgruntled users will let you know how unhappy they are, without once contributing to keeping the service going. Even Facebook groups suffer this way, with people unable to understand that the moderators aren't offering a 24/7/365 service, for no money.
Adrian devoted huge chunks of his life to keeping the very useful (I'll certainly miss it) service going. I got to know him while running MREmag, another unpaid (for most of the time) occupation.
This is relevant, because I, and before me, Andy, find myself defending RMweb becoming a commercial entity. Truth is, Andy sold the forum to Warners because otherwise it would also have disappeared. Costs were rising dramatically, and the work to keep the doors open was more than a spare-time person could handle.
So, if you use any hobby website maintained by volunteers, be nice to them. If they say they need donations to keep it running, donate. And please don't give them grief. They are giving up their hobby time to entertain you.
1 comment:
Understandable in the difficult circumstances Adrian faced. Always a 'go to' site for both shops and exhibitions. Let's hope someone takes up his offer of some sort of 'relaunch' using a modern format based on his original data.
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