Bye bye, Kalmbach

[edwardsutorik]

Kalmbach said they were going to tighten up the password requirements for their forum. And that we had nothing to worry about.

That may indeed be true.

One thing I don't have to worry about is using their forum. I tried three browsers. Firefox worked this morning, but it won't now, either. The other two failed yesterday.


I wonder if their advertisers mind if I'm not viewing their paid ads anymore. Naaahhhhhhhh!

An upside is that I'll be hanging out here more. With all that that implies.




Ed

[jeoffreythecat]

Per a Steve Otte post: "Turns out they were able to "grandfather in" the old passwords. So if you already had an account on the site, your old passwords will still work. You will be subject to the new more high-security password requirements only when creating an account for the first time, or if you change your password voluntarily."

I had no trouble logging in and getting to things.

John

[edwardsutorik]

I didn't have trouble, either. Until I did.

Perhaps I'm the only one.

Perhaps not.

I tried their phone number, but I ended up on hold. And found other things to occupy me.



Ed

[grahamline]

Tried to log on, but it asked if I was Ed S..... :-)



... no problems logging on as myself, however. Firefox on Win7.

[mvlandsw]

I just tried to log on but it kept asking for a correct password, which I was already entering.

Mark

[Mark R.]

Went there tonight and noticed I was logged out. Entered my username and password like I had in the past and was logged back in no problem. Using Google chrome on a 12 year old XP machine.

Mark.

[riogrande]

I had to re-log in myself but it was fine, logged me back in, no issues. They are just trying to get into the 20th century by requiring even rudimentary password standards. Even fairly simple passwords still meet the minimum new requirements; they were just getting rid of "123" or other super simple ones. With every other company getting hacked these days, it would be irresponsible to not implement some basic security protocols. I've been using both IE11 and Chrome. It can be frustrating when things don't work but not sure why in your case.

[tdspeedracer]

I wasn't able to log in, but then I remembered I let my subscription lapse waiting for a better deal. I don't typically peruse the online content, but I probably should. For what I get out of the Mag, even their best price don't hardly seem worth it anymore.

[edwardsutorik]

Mar 24, 2016 4:25:46 GMT -8 riogrande said:

They are just trying to get into the 20th century by requiring even rudimentary password standards.

I don't think that's true. I note that they said some browsers would have to be updated. That has nothing to do with resetting passwords, I think.

I believe what they're trying to do is have both a forum and a selling site in one. And their perceived needs for the latter take precedence.



Ed

[jaygee]

I can do without 90% of Kalmbach, or any of 'em for that matter !

[fr8kar]

Not to get too far off topic, but I still get more use out of MR magazines from the 80s than I have out of anything they've put out in print or online in the past 20 years or so. I can't remember the last time I logged in there (though I have browsed on occasion). It's been probably three computers ago since I had any iteration of their forum in my favorites. I'm glad for those who find their products and experiences useful, but they are generally irrelevant to me now, with the exception of the past issues I mentioned.

[grahamline]

EDIT: Turns out I was a bit premature. After clearing cookies here in a routine clean-up, couldn't log straight into the MR forums. My account there was mapped to an ancient e-mail address -- one I haven't had for several years -- so I opened a new account. Funny thing is, the old RS1 icon popped right in.

I like the approach at MRHmag.com. Everything on that site is accessible at no charge, magazines, forums, search tool etc. Their pay/subscription video site is at trainmasters.tv and the video etc. sales site is something else.

[Spikre]

James,
aren't we now in the 21st Century ?
leave the 20th century foxes behind you now.
Spikre

[jhuteman]

"Passwords" need to go the way of the Horse and Buggy! They protect nobody from anything! They WERE a good idea but that time is long past.

[TA462]

I don't need to worry, I was banned from their forums years ago.

[platec]

I think it must be close to a decade since I've looked at their forums, have I missed anything...?

[riogrande]

Nate. Yes and No. It depends; I've been a forum person since my freshman college days at California State University Sacramento in 1977 and enjoy perusing forums with topics of interest.

My personal interests lean toward forums which focus on things I like which are HO and prototype railroading of the 1970's and 1980's especially. There is a good deal of that here and at Train Orders and to a lessor extent at a few other forums including Model Railroader forums.

I have been checking a few topics here and there and occasionally posting at MR for the past 8 years or so. There is a diverse crowd there ranging from some experienced hobbyists as well as a lot of beginners. And there is definitely a small contingent of trolls and grumpy old men, some who habitually start topics that are often only marginally related to trains and seem more subtlety purposed to stir drama - occasionally referred to as "whimsical" topics some there who are tying to put a positive spin. Those threads seem more like "bait" or "troll" topics because they inevitably tend to upset people or "poke the bear" and many get locked after they have gone their often predictable course. Every time a see a new topic like that, my spider senses start to tingle. Why those habitual bait topic starters remain is hard for me to fathom; MR forums could be a nicer place if a few of the grumps and pot stirrers could be removed permanently.