Re: Update on the Reservations System

The funny e-mail address indicates that I am a reader based in Australia (hence the "au" at the end). I latched onto this message board to try and keep track of what is going on with narrow gauge back home. While I am not active with Friends, I have been interested in N. G. railroads since the 1960's (Spencer Wilson was my history prof at NMIMT in Socorro, Doris Osterwald's son Ed was my roommate at geology field camp in Durango).
My grandfather was a very wise man, and he told me once that "you will catch more flies with honey than vinegar". But it seems to me from reading this post that not everyone sees it the same way. It is most unfortunate that the reservation system is not working as planned or as hoped. It is also unfortunate that this is having (I presume) a negative impact on the PR image of the C&TS. But, I assure you, this is not the only system that has had failures (the Qantas Airways global system in Sydney could be improved by adopting the C&TS software).
The point here is - if someone makes a mistake, they really do know it already, they don't have to have their face shoved in the mud, and in front of everyone in the world to read. Telling someone that his comments are "bull...." on a message board doesn't help the situation at all. I don't know either of the parties involved in this exchange, but it seems like there is a lot of vinegar here.
I would like to see a whole lot more discussion about abandoned cars, rights of way, locations of of motive power, etc. and a lot less of "it is his fault".
We have seen the enemy, and he are us.
TED