RailCon BuffDaddy,
Registration requires nothing more than a user name, which for most people isn't their real name, and an email address. We don't sell those email addresses and we don't send out emails to our members, even though we do have that capability.
That said, don't bother to sign up as after this mornings round of comments by you, I can assure you that your registration will not be approved. In more than 10 years of running this forum, the actual owner Anthony, and I have banned about 3 people from the thousands that have registered here. You're the first to be banned before ever even joining. But I'm tired of your continued insults and goading; I'd have figured by now that you'd have learned that goading me doesn't work. But apparently not!
As for your puppet master comment, had you been smart enough to think, you'd have quickly realized that couldn't be further from the truth. Remember, I told you more than once that some of the staff members wanted me to shut things down a long time ago. And I told you that some had stopped approving your posts, leaving them for me. Simple common sense would have told you that if they were puppets, then I would have ordered them to approve your posts. Instead, I let each person decide for themselves what they were comfortable & happy with doing in regard to your posts. So much for your puppet theory! Might I suggest that next time you approach a website that you actually think and try to be a bit less antagonistic?
Next, you'll note that one of the staff addressed the heavily negative comment directed at you.
Finally, this forum exists for two major purposes. The first, to fulfill the dream of the owner Anthony who when he was only 10 years old saw a lack of information on Amtrak's website back then. So he created his own little website to try to help people better understand Amtrak, see pictures of the insides of the cars, etc. That morphed into this forum, where people even as guests can still come and ask questions about Amtrak. Questions for which answers often cannot be found even now on Amtrak's website, despite major improvements to that site. Forums that allow posting without registration are few & far between; we’re a rarity on the net.
The second purpose that this site serves is to allow railfans to discuss all things Amtrak. Part of the reason for that purpose relates to the first purpose, those who ride the trains the most and the ones most likely to have the answers that new riders are seeking.
So it is only natural when you show up with wild theories and a clear lack of understanding on how things work that some push back against you. However, I believe that I remained quite tolerant and polite with you for a considerable time, despite your constant little barbs about how long things took to show up. Certainly I was urged by many people to shut things done a long time ago, yet I continued to allow you to make your posts and I approved them. But as I said earlier, my limit was reached with your posts yesterday. And this morning's round of nonsense has sealed your fate. You are done here!