Farewell...

[Put The Telly On]

Well, I've been a bit frustrated as to Rob closing the forum so suddenly but I have to admit, I only really browse this place these days.

Rob, I totally understand your decision to close, I never realised how much of your own funds you put into getting this place off the ground and making it what it is. The fact you've been bullied is totally out of order. I'm not against constructive criticism but when people resort to blatant name calling and the such, it's not acceptable!

Some say Rob has been too harsh with this place but I guess we haven't known what he has been through. Nobody needs that mental stress.

I was a member of TV Forum since 2004, it seems like half my life and then made the switch to here. I only originally went on TV Forum to post about an episode of Coronation Street and loved the community atmosphere and stayed. The regular Big Brother threads were great too and of course the many many events over the years.

Forums are still great for that concise summary of TV events, presentation and technical jargon that you don't get in 280 characters on Twitter. Lets not forget those many members of the TV industry who have tread the threads over the years. I will miss that.

I'm not saying I won't ever join another TV discussion forum, but with the uncertainty of where everyone will go, I am happy to call it a day for the meantime and continue on Social Media. A bit contradictory of myself but Social Media is far more instantaneous. That, you could argue is killing off the traditional forum discussion of old in many ways.

Rob (and to Asa before him), thank you for everything you've done over the years. Stay well.

@putthetellyon

[AaronLancs]

First, I don't like too much change. So when Rob announced this was closing at the end of August. I had a bit of adjustment to make and where to go in the spiritual successor to this and the Blue Place. The closure being brought forward brought a bit of a shock to the system. So haven't been posting much to try and the up any loose ends like I did beforehand.

Second, I'd like to diff my beanie hat to Rob for taking on this ventured finding a singular place to go for those of us from the Blue Place. Take care in whatever pursuits you now have time to do.

And thirdly, I have decided on TV Talk Forum and Pres Cafe as my next go to boards. Same username, avatar and same signature. So I'll see you lot on the other side.

Aaron out.

[Blubatt]

Hi Rob,

I am sorry to hear that you have been going through a horrid time with your mental health. Abuse should have no place in this community, and its a shame that it has led to this. I join TVLF because I believed in your vision of continuing the great tradition of complaining about pres and TV on forums. Moaning about BBC Chameleon, looking at the international presentation thread, giving honest and fair critique of the great and not-yet-great mocks on The Gallery. Truthfully, you've done a bang up job with this, better than I could anyway.

I won't be calling out the bullies or the freaks attacking you, because they are undeserving of it. Blubatt will be around, however, on any other forums that people recommend. Heck, I've even considered creating a subreddit for pres related things. If there was sufficient interest, I would happily do it. Otherwise, I will be around...

[CantGetIn]

had enough of people pm' me to join the 'TV Talk' Server, no i ain't joining, i ain't going to full details about the owner, but the owner is toxic outsid of the forums. Please stop messaging me to join, i don't want to and it is really annoying. Tah.

Interesting they are only targeting certain users. I have received nothing. Even some popular users have not.

[lepeterrr]

Just to clarify, a certain group of members are attacking me for PMing people, when it wasn't even me! So apologies to those who were annoyed about the PM's.

Secondly, This will probably be my last post here, so I want to express my thanks to Rob and the moderators for a great forum over the past 18 months. It's sad it has to end this way but I wish Rob and everyone else the very best for the future.

See you on the other side!

[DavidWhitfield]

Less than 24 hours to go now until this site will close down, so I feel the time has come for me to sign off.

It's been a pleasure to be here over the past year and a half, both as a user and as a moderator.

My thanks, of course, go to Rob, not just for setting up the site in the first place, but for also inviting me to join his team.

My thanks go also to that aforementioned team, who welcomed me into the fold with nothing but warmth and support.

And finally, many thanks to you - whether you signed up to TV Forum back in the early 00s and have posted frequently there (and here) over the intervening two decades, or whether you only signed up to this site last week, your presence is appreciated, and it's been lovely to get to know you and hear your thoughts on everything from the new 'Reithed' BBC logo to Talk TV's launch, and everything in between.

I'm @DavidWhitfield4 on Twitter, I'll be DavidWhitfield on Pres Cafe, and... I'll now be off.

[bkman1990]

I would like to thank Rob and Asa for giving me the opportunity to go onto these forums over the years. I first joined TV Forum back in 2011. I thought the blue place was a great experience to talk about TV presentation back then. I was only a novice using message boards at the time. I only began using sites like boards.ie online a few months after that. I then joined other forums like Blu-Ray.com and Digital Spy a few years afterwards.

My highlight using the blue place was thread on the behind the scenes progress of bringing back Broadcasting House as the Main BBC Headquarters in London back in 2012/2013. I loved every bit of the photos talking about the building of the current studios before B had it's major refurbishment this year. I thought they looked absolutely amazing at the time.

I remember watching World News Today on BBC Four in where it broadcasted in the "brand new" Studio C back then in January 2013. The layout of that studio had me fascinated at that time. The size of it was absolutely magnificent. The use of the London Skyline in C was a real treat.

Moving back to the main reason of this post. I think the behaviour of those who mistreated and bullied Rob on this site over the past while has been absolutely disgraceful. In an ideal world;  people like them need to take a step back and think about how the approach of their own behaviour causes them with they use their words and actions.

The bullies should recognise that using certain words within the English language today have meanings and consequences when they are applied in the context of taking part in an abusive argument towards someone who is completely innocent for no reason at all. If these words have a massive influence in how they damage those people with mental health issues. Well using those words rests with the bullies themselves and not the victim. It is not the victims fault when they go through this. It is the power of the bullies that apparently says that this should be the case.

However that is not how the world works in reality. Whatever is being said between the two parties; the bullies are at fault here and not the victim. I been through that many times before, for completely different reasons mind you, and it is not a nice place to be at all. It really feels like you are living in the pits of hell. But that doesn't mean that you will have to live like that for the rest of your life.

If you have the proper levels of support around you to help you get through these horrible incidents. You will come out the better person. I hope that reality comes through for Rob. He does not deserve any level of this abuse from certain posters from Metropol under any circumstances.

I'm feel sad that site is closing down for good tomorrow. It has been a great experience over the past months. I wished I could have used it for much longer. I am quoting a song from the band  Aslan here however your mental health is important to keep you sane in this crazy world. I hope Rob gets through it in the future. Best of luck guys. I hope to see you soon.

[Josh]

And with the time rapidly approaching 6:30 on this Saturday, 30th of July 2022, I'd like to thank all of the team here at TV Live Forum for their work over the past year. Your help does not go unnoticed. Whether you've lurked or posted, thank you for taking part and this is Josh signing off for the final time. Have a very good evening. 

[CocuGrimshaw2001]

Just a final message from myself.

I was more of a lurker on here and I have rarely posted (The first time I posted was when Fox UK closed down), but I have been here every day since Autumn 2018, when I discovered the original forum (whilst I was still a teenager so out of boredom) and I have enjoyed it ever since. I enjoyed reading posts about tv breakdowns, rebrands and upcoming shows. In the more niche sense, I liked reading topics on bringing up memories (such as analogue TV and music channels).

It was a beautiful website and I appreciated the occasional logo changes on the webpage, like the spinning bauble every Christmas and more recently, the logo in the Neighbours font to celebrate it's finale. It was one of my favourite go-to websites in my downtime. It was also useful when finding out news about channels that are launching, rebranding or closing down, and I have become more interested in this overtime.

This website is just as good and overtime, despite a few bugs (which is expected, making a website doesn't come without it's problems), has turned out to be well designed and functional and a great job was done keeping everyone together and the transition was smooth.

It is a shame that Rob feels he needs to close this forum. It's also a shame that he feels that he can no longer continue with it because of some trolls (lack of a better word) making his life miserable, thus, spoiling it for all the good people who have supported him over the years. It makes me angry, but health comes first so if letting go of the forum will help for him, that's what needs to be done. 

I will say that I appreciate what he has done and that he (along with Asa, but before my time) has brought together a small and niche, but amazing community (In my experience, whilst there was the odd person trolling and creating arguments for no reason, for the most part, it was a nice, friendly forum whilst allowing people to express their own opinions on the topic of a post, which is just as important). It was a welcoming place for fanatics of TV presentation and channel rebrands/launches/closures like myself and pretty much everyone here and it was nice to know other people had the same interests as myself.

I'm impressed how everyone has come together and has made new websites (or subposts from reddit/discord) to continue the legacy of the forum. I do hope that these are good successors and the forum can in some way still exist.

I am aware this website will be achieved, so I will enjoy reading back topics I haven't yet read. I do still occasionally read back topics on the blue forum just for fun, such as the Oneness launch.

Thank you for everything you have done for us Rob. To the moderators, you have done a good job in keeping both forums regulated. It is a difficult task but you did help in making it a good forum to read. 

To all the other users, thank you for making this a warm community (besides the odd idiot trolling, but this happens in all walks of life on the internet) and making my nights reading this posts enjoyable, entertaining and informative. I do wish I posted more but being just a lurker still made me feel a part of it. I hope to see some of you on a similar website in the future and I just hope this community can stay in some way, shape or form and that our paths will cross again.

Finally.. to the trolls who made Rob feel that he could no longer continue running the forum, thus it being closed... shame on you and "congratulations" for ruining it for everyone else.

[robert.louiz]

NOTE: You must read this like a continuity announcer.

(cue clock)



And that's all for the memories we have here on TV Live Forum.

And just to remind you that the radio stations, anywhere you are right now, are still on the air to keep you company from the days ahead.

Or if you are a telly person, just turn on your TV and use your remote for your best viewing experience. Or if you are a streaming-kind-of-a-telly-person, there are so many websites and applications you can access to; which I would not mention due to product placements.

And, almost forgot, there would be so much to look forward to tomorrow, as when the old forum ends, the new set of forums begin. The successors of this forum will start in many hours time.

But, as for me, after being a reader in the final years of TV Forum and throughout its lifetime here in TV Live Forum, and finally made an account and a very first post here, it's been an honor for me to come up with this unusual but nostalgic, and familiar, farewell message to this lovely forum. And I regret to not posting my thoughts often when it was already there.

Maybe I was not ready for it to share my thoughts freely and confidently or maybe it's not the right time yet.

But, on behalf of the people involved in this forum, for me, robert.louiz, a fellow TV presentation enthusiast, wishing you a peaceful farewell, amen, auf Wiedersehen, a good luck to the future successors, goodbye... wherever you are, and peace.

Ooh. And don't forget to switch off your internet when you're done browsing.

(cue ident)

[VMPhil]

Many thanks to Rob, hope you find some peace not running this place anymore.

[Inspector Sands]

Can I just say the following ....

[VMPhil]

In the past year I’ve had an offline experience where - despite many attempts to make it work, to fix things - I’ve had to all but remove some people from my life because they drained me, were inauthentic people and were having an unhealthy effect on me and my well-being. Looking back, it’s strange that it took me so long to realise and to stop blaming myself for feeling that way.

This is to say that I understand it, I can imagine the unburdening you must feel, Rob, and that this is surely the right thing for you.

That said, I’m sad about what that outcome means for me and for us. To be honest, I doubt I’ll transition somewhere else again, not least because there seems to be no single direction of travel this time.

I will miss many posters here - people like Brekkie, VMPhil, Inspector Sands, many others whose usernames I am struggling to recall right now but as soon as I see them I know I will enjoy their posts. This has been a great place, along with TV Forum, so it’s all quite bittersweet for me.

Joe - I only just saw your post, I'm sorry. I'm honoured you would mention me, I've always long appreciated your posts too, and similarly like you, Brekkie, Inspector Sands, but also the likes of Steve Williams, Jonny, gottago, nwtv2003, Pete - I'm sure there are many others I've failed to mention.

When I joined TVF in 2005 I was literally a child and I still feel a little like a newbie sometimes but I hope my contributions have been appreciated and not seen as a waste of space.

I'm not sure which of these new places I'll end up posting on if any, but I hope this isn't the last I see of some of these familiar names that I highly respect.

[01tomki]

Just to say thank you Rob for all your hard work here on this forum, I don’t post very often, but I normally visit daily.

I joined TVF back in 2004 (ish) when I would of been 14, in an effort to improve my English skills (I didn’t do very well at school).

It’s very disappointing that this forum is having to close because of the grief that Rob has had to put up with, but I absolutely understand, mental health and well-being is everything.

I’ve signed up for Pres Cafe, I hope we can continue as a community.

[Hardfg5000]

Here's a final message from me:
I have always been a lurker, other than posting videos of first idents, launch of bbc three etc. I am also very new to tv presentation (I was never around in the TV Forum days) so reading posts on this forum helped me learn a lot. This site has helped me through a very difficult year at school, I always used to check the site everyday when I logged into the school computer and see what was new and looking through all the posts when I was bored in class.

My favourite part of the forum was the discussion of the BBC rebrand before when it was speculation and after the changes and reading all the updates as the rebrand went along. I also really liked when everyone came together to witness the launch of something at the same time, it felt like a group of friends being together and commenting on what they felt of the launch. I hope this will continue on the new forums being set up.

I'll be keeping an eye on all of the new forums, but my focus will be Pres Cafe since.

Thank you so, so, so much Rob for making the website and I wish you success on the TV Live rebrand, the radio show and more.