Dtg, Please Keep These Threads

Technically I'm supposed to be working, but I wanted to get this ball rolling.

This thread is for posts offering links to threads that the community believes deserve to survive the upcoming forum changes. The intent is to be constructive, so please keep discussion on-topic and clean.

Going quickly, here's just a few to start. I couldn't find the general TSW forum thread for Steam sales for some reason; could someone post that one please?

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/awesome-tsw-service-mode-runs.32010/
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/connected-journey-ideas.98385/
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/monthly-masteries.88909/
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/steam-a-realistic-challenge.72641/

LeadCatcher and OldVern , you've both mentioned a thread about a joint run you're doing; can you post a link here?

Also, the annual TSW World Cup tournament has been greatly entertaining and has directly led to purchases by me. Here's the "main" thread, but if originator trainsimplayer wants to create/post something definitive according to his preference, please do.

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/the-tsw-world-cup-season-three.77086/

Finally, can I suggest to DTG a Gameplay subforum for posts related to, well, gameplay?

 

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/connected-journey-ideas.98385/

 

I've already made a Poll thread (albeit unsupervised as I watch the Scotland game and get p**sed) but I thank you for the mention of the TSWWC.
I brought it about as an attempt to bring some fun to an otherwise divided and daggers-to-throats forum.
The Gen. Discussion forum is the only place I can organise that without 3P apps, so the loss of the sub will kill that.
Not that that's my main problem. I think this move will kill the forums and community and prove to be a ridiculous move by DTG.

 

The Steam a realistic challenge thread really does need to stay it's been fantastic to read what's been done in there. They've really made the best of a poor situation and the posts have so much detail and care to attention! It's really the best side of steam that TSW has had. There's even a spreadsheet for the runs and some great screenshots!

Excuse the tags guys but I thought I'd mention you both on this one! lcyrrjp Lamplight

 

Thank you for including Monthly Masteries, not only is it incredibly useful, but it is also the most successful forum thread that I have ever created.

I'll be sad to see it go if that is indeed the case.

Where would be appropriate to move it to, or recreate it in now?

There really is no option seemingly.

 

I would like to see this thread kept somewhere. For those that use Ini files it is really helpful and the mod it's talking about is the main reason I still play TSW.

forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/tsw-6-enhancement-lighting-graphic-ep-v6-1.84738/

 

Thank you for your kind words. It really is a labour of love for everyone involved. It does truly warm my heart to see us mentioned here and there regarding the current goin-ons.

 

Thank you, it's very kind of you to mention the Steam thread.

Does anyone know (I have zero expertise in this stuff) whether it's possible to 'save' a thread from a forum like this? By that I mean, to download it for safe-keeping, and then potentially attempt to resurrect it somewhere else (perhaps a new unofficial forum) rather than losing all the content and having to start a similar thread again from scratch? I know there's talk of retaining a few threads on this forum, but there are no guarantees, the timescales are extremely tight and I suspect a lot of much-loved threads are going to disappear forever.

Clearly in the most basic form you could snapshot the whole thing and stick it in a Word doc, then make that available on another forum, but it wouldn't be very user-friendly (and I'm not sure whether it would contravene copyright or something).

 

Another 3 threads which should be kept are Tsw Route Annotations, the (Wip) Merged routes (US and UK) and the Tsw 6 Enhancement Lighting and Graphic threads.
Thanks.

 

I Created A Mod/software To Directly Control In Game Trains Using A Joystick (no Raildriver) | Dovetail Games Forums

I think this one needs a new home if/when GD gets shuttered as well. It's a great use of the API and useful for many, many people

 

My estimate is that around 90% of all threads are of great interest. Let’s move all of those to a new home!

 

A suggestion; if GD is shuttered, set up a new sub-forum called Community Corner or something like that, then move threads that are active and useful to it. New threads could be started by users, but only after pre-moderation to prevent spam, duplication, etc.

 

These kind of recs are especially helpful, as I don't use any mods or alt controllers, so I don't really notice the threads. If any mod developers want to ensure their support threads are kept, please post them.

Also, I've searched and linked the threads quoted, but I can't always do that, so please post requests as links to make it as easy as possible for DTG to find them.
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/app-tsw-route-annotations.93055/
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/wip-merged-routes-us-and-uk.98357/
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...t-lighting-graphic-ep-v6-1.84738/#post-897490

Just remembered Jamie's Model Railways thread:
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/all-things-model-railways.41809/

...and real-life one:
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/real-railway-videos-photos-and-news.41810/

 

One nice side effect of creating this thread has been seeing people's gratification at their own threads being recced by others for preservation. That's very cool.

 

I’m not that savvy with stuff like this either, but there’s always the Internet Archive and their Wayback Machine. You can manually save web pages for posterity here. I manually added each page of our steam thread this morning as part of my attempt to make a backup for it (e.g.: page 1; you can click through all pages from there).

It’s not perfect, it’s very hit and miss with pictures it would seem, but otherwise saves websites like they were.

 

Brilliant, thanks Lamplight. It’s good to know the thread won’t be lost.

 

Thanks, Jan.

I couldn't find the sales thread before for some reason, but someone kindly posted and bumped it.
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/latest-sales-thread.26334/

 

It’s not entirely obvious to me which threads will be lost. Given this, I thought I should flag the TSW keyboard shortcut guide as it’s been absolutely invaluable to me. Apologies if this will not be lost, but I wanted to make sure! Link below:

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/keyboard-shortcuts-keyboard-mapping-here-it-is.25433/

 

Thanks, Candace.

 

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/app-thirdrails-community-railway-network.86345/

 

may i ask where these threads will be relocated to?

 

I'd like to see the Model Railways and Lego Collections threads preserved, if possible. Myself and others have shared several photos of our collections that would be a shame to go to waste.

Edit: Saw you have the Model Railways thread on there, thanks!

 

Probably to General discussion or something like that

 

How about these threads...?

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/forums/tsw-general-discussion.190/

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/forums/off-topic.83/

 

Forum sections can simply be locked. There is no need to outright delete nearly a decade of massively helpful information on things like various regional signalling rules, German brake weight calculations, numerous guides, etc.

 

Its crazy to get rid of GD they may lose alot of players through this just lock the thread if people become horrible or delete them it will be sad for this shut down when the majority of people just have a civilised discussion

 

That's very welcome news! Big thanks to DTG for their willingness to listen.

I don't know what the plan is for Off Topic, but I'd like to suggest it be at least kept as read-only and thus still searchable. Then this thread can still be kept open for people to suggest threads from there that might be worth moving back into the fold.