Farewell...

[lepeterrr]

Good to see people stepping up and offering alternatives, I do fear we splinter the community here, It would be best to have just one replacement ideally?

Yes - when we jumped from TV Forum to TV Live Forum, TVLF was pretty much the only major attempt at replacing the forum and it was clearly signposted. I do think we need to somehow arrive at a place where there's just one agreed successor, otherwise we risk fragmenting the user base.

I totally agree, that is why I'm trying to make my forum as smooth a transition from here as possible. Whilst obviously I can't control where people should go, I hope lots will migrate over to my forum page.

[Roger Darthwell]

Yes - when we jumped from TV Forum to TV Live Forum, TVLF was pretty much the only major attempt at replacing the forum and it was clearly signposted. I do think we need to somehow arrive at a place where there's just one agreed successor, otherwise we risk fragmenting the user base.

I totally agree, that is why I'm trying to make my forum as smooth a transition from here as possible. Whilst obviously I can't control where people should go, I hope lots will migrate over to my forum page.

I have already joined your forum!

[lepeterrr]

I totally agree, that is why I'm trying to make my forum as smooth a transition from here as possible. Whilst obviously I can't control where people should go, I hope lots will migrate over to my forum page.

I have already joined your forum!

Thank You! I aim to include links to previous TVLF threads during the first few months of launch, and much more!

[Roger Darthwell]

I have already joined your forum!

Thank You! I aim to include links to previous TVLF threads during the first few months of launch, and much more!

And I am thanking you for starting a new place for this amazing community! I am sure that you will do an amazing job!

[TVGuy]

I've moved over to TV Talk, and I am Furcorn the Animator now, so in my final moments of being TVGuy, this is goodbye to TV Live Forum. Disappointed that it's closing 31st August, but putting health first is what's important I think. That was for Rob by the way.

[Juicy Joe]

Very sad to see this news this afternoon. I was completely unaware Rob had been receiving such abuse. It baffles me why this would occur on a TV presentation forum which, you would think, wouldn't attract anyone who wants to air any strong political views or "agendas" or go around people bashing on here. I knew there were a few dodgy "off-topic" posts now and again that were swiftly deleted by Rob and the moderators, as all we want to discuss on here are the latest idents, jingles and so on. Or you would think we do. I can't claim I have any TV knowledge but I feel I have learnt a lot from others by being on here and on TVF and have always felt comfortable posting and reading other's replies. I can't imagine what it must be like to receive continued hatred. So I think you have made the correct decision Rob, there is only so much you can take before it gets too much - I too have reduced the number of workdays due to overload & stress and feel a lot better for it. You will too by completely stepping back. I do hope the TV Live podcast continues as I and others have enjoyed listening to all the episodes so far.

Hoping an equally as good TVLF replacement can be found swiftly (as I feel the t'internet will be all the worse if there isn't one) and whoever takes it on, you will have BIG shoes to fill!

Many Thanks for all you hard work and commitment for us all over the past year or so, Rob. It means a lot.

[lepeterrr]

Thank you to those who have joined so far, the forum will have improvements made to it before I go on holiday on 14th August at which point it will close. It will then reopen the day before TVLF closes. Thank You

[Thames1985]

So sorry to hear that rob it’s great forum I was so pleased to be member of your forum

[Spencer]

Thank you to those who have joined so far, the forum will have improvements made to it before I go on holiday on 14th August at which point it will close. It will then reopen the day before TVLF closes. Thank You

It’s great that you’re offering to provide a replacement forum for TVLF. Can I strongly urge you (or anyone else who may provide a replacement) to look carefully at how to prevent the same situation occurring - maybe a more group/collective approach to running a forum so one person isn’t a targeted, or some kind of buddy/support arrangement perhaps.

Without knowing the full ins and outs of what happened to Rob, it’s hard to know what kind of measures might be appropriate, but the last thing anyone wants is for someone else to become the target of bullies, and another forum to end up closing after a short period. I don’t want to put you or anyone else off launching a new forum, but please look at how to protect yourself.

[lepeterrr]

Thank you to those who have joined so far, the forum will have improvements made to it before I go on holiday on 14th August at which point it will close. It will then reopen the day before TVLF closes. Thank You

It’s great that you’re offering to provide a replacement forum for TVLF. Can I strongly urge you (or anyone else who may provide a replacement) to look carefully at how to prevent the same situation occurring - maybe a more group/collective approach to running a forum so one person isn’t a targeted, or some kind of buddy/support arrangement perhaps.

Without knowing the full ins and outs of what happened to Rob, it’s hard to know what kind of measures might be appropriate, but the last thing anyone wants is for someone else to become the target of bullies, and another forum to end up closing after a short period. I don’t want to put you or anyone else off launching a new forum, but please look at how to protect yourself.

I am currently considering this very issue, I've already had someone try to troll who has been swiftly banned. I also currently don't have Private Messages enabled and I have a banned list of words. If anyone has any more ideas please feel free to Private Message here.

[Moz]

Very sad news - but Rob, your health comes first and I totally respect your decision.

As someone who's added to your stress since the site started, with several warnings to my name, can I sincerely apologise. It wasn't my intention of course. I'm an argumentative bugger and a place like this where people's opinions will sometimes clash is likely to make me worse, but I'm gutted if that has been to the detriment of your mental health.

Sorry also to those who kept to the rules and who will lose their forum due to actions of idiots like me.

Thanks to Rob and the moderators for all you've done, and all the very best for the future.

[Rob]

As someone who's added to your stress since the site started, with several warnings to my name, can I sincerely apologise. It wasn't my intention of course. I'm an argumentative bugger and a place like this where people's opinions will sometimes clash is likely to make me worse, but I'm gutted if that has been to the detriment of your mental health.

You've got nothing to apologise for... mistakes were made in the early days, you learnt from them, we moved on. It's not your fault that the forum is closing. I'd say exactly who it was, but I'm the better person...

Anyway, thanks for the kind words everyone. Just over a month to go, let's make it a good one.

Without knowing the full ins and outs of what happened to Rob, it’s hard to know what kind of measures might be appropriate, but the last thing anyone wants is for someone else to become the target of bullies, and another forum to end up closing after a short period. I don’t want to put you or anyone else off launching a new forum, but please look at how to protect yourself.

I concur. Please think very carefully before considering setting up a replacement forum.

[maplaptop]

I must admit I never posted on the forum, But I will miss it when it's gone. It has a unique appeal that is not elsewhere not even on social media. I miss this place when it's gone for sure.

[Medianext.MX]

A bit late to the discussion, but I am absolutely stunned by the news. I’m still trying to process it.

Maybe someone of you might be thinking the same, but TV Live Forum was a worthy successor to the legendary TV Forum, and it should have stood for a long time. However, health is first, and you have indeed done the right decision to close the forum and focus on your own wellness.

Now more than ever, mental health is an issue that matters us the most, and we need to do the most of caring ourselves and each other. I am sorry for you who suffered the most of the agressive and sometimes unfounded criticism that certain people did against you. These people, as you said in your discourse, should be ashamed of themselves, and certainly accelerated your difficult decision.

I want to thank also David, Ben, Matt and James for doing the best of making the forum stay put during these 16 months. They also deserve our support. Additionally, I want to thank all of the experts which contributed their experience and knowledge during this timespan, and all of the members which made its best to contribute, comment and correct (when necessary) to make this forum an enjoyable place for informed and learning conversation about TV presentation and all the bits in between.

We couldn’t believe during these 16 months we passed through many big moments and headlines in telly history: the roll-out of BBC’s Chameleon branding and the centenary celebrations, the relaunch of Studio B, the appointment of Deborah Turness into BBC News, the restructuring of ITV’s and Channel 5’s evening news, Jon Snow’s retirement, the rebranding of Sky’s entire channel portfolio, the (messy) launches of GB News and TalkTV, two big media mergers, the executive and presenter earthquake going over at CNN, a war, the death of Prince Philip, two Olympics, the Platinum Jubilee, Sam Ryder’s skyrocketing 2nd place in Eurovision and the confirmation of the UK as host nation, the axing of Neighbors, the launch of many new streaming offerings, the passing of many media legends, and the unexpected takedown of TVARK (to which some members replied for quick restoration, patience).

It was certainly an enjoyable and big trip of which I have enjoyed, even if I didn’t take part on many of the conversations. Additionally, we hassled through a forum software change which we eventually embraced; even with the technical problems we had with the original software, this forum survived this lapsus and the software change was seamless. We became used to it, and even if some features didn’t carry over, we went on with the conversation.

To Rob, I wish you the best on your new and existing endeavours, including your TV Live site and podcast, and hoping for a full recovery. To the mods, big thanks for making this place compliant with its remit: TV presentation and discussion. And to everyone else, both to all who I met in this time, and to all who I didn’t have the time to meet you, hoping to see you soon in the case a successor is finally confirmed in the interim.

Remember: all of you, you’re not alone. If you need help, look after for the Samaritans. Don’t let any risk make it too late.

Thank you, god bless, make yourselves strong (without any distinction) and farewell.

(PD: I will stick in here until a few days before the closure.)

[dvboy]

Absolutely the right thing to do, Rob, put yourself first