…and finally

Unexpected, but completely understandable.

I think I've been a member for just over 10 years, but much more of a lurker than a poster.

TV Forum is the site I probably have visited most, and visit it at least once a day (sometimes once an hour...).

Whenever I've had stresses in my life or have just needed to get away from stuff, TV Forum is where I would come to look through all the different discussions and to lose myself in the expert ( and sometimes not so much expert ) knowledge of everybody on here.

So thank you everyone for helping cheer me up or distract me when I most needed it, and thanks to Asa for providing a much-needed space where like-minded folk can gather.

Wow! Late to this, but big news. Came here well over a decade ago as a young teen with crap mocks, knew nothing in reality about TV and on other side of life experiences only dabble in posting from time to time. Very much will be missed but good luck to you Asa and everyone on their ventures beyond here.

I do think that is so true - channels used to regularly refresh every few years (not to mention launch every 5 minutes) and news programming probably even more often, but now even with a move to a new location and a change in the company font BBC News has essentially had the same look for 13 years, ITV News for 8 years (without a tweak every couple of years as happened in the noughties) and Sky News seemingly forever.

Even ITV refreshing their idents every month (and previously every week) is barely even noted here now because more often than not the idents are quite uninspiring - and I think idol thumbs having little of substance to actually discuss over recent times has made keeping the site presentation focused increasingly complicated, not to mention the world we all live in geting a little bit more complicated over recent times too.

Ultimately I think this is absolutely the right call for Asa and as difficult as it is for TV Forum too - the timing just feels right.

Very sorry to hear this, but after reading the reasons why, I completely understand and applaud you, Asa, for sticking to your principles and for your passion in maintaining the site.

I can't believe it was 2008 when I joined TV Forum. I am by no means the biggest contributor on here in terms of posting, but I can confidently say I visited and enjoyed reading the forum more or less on a daily basis. I started making (sometimes questionable) mock-ups in PPT as a kid, developed those skills, and finally found the courage to post a couple on here several years back. I thought I was the only one with an odd obsession with TV graphics haha It was great to converse with so many others that shared the same passion and I have definitely learned a lot in my time here.

The fact that this site even existed and seeing so many others sharing the same interest as me when I was younger, spoke volumes to me. So much so that it cemented my reasons for going to college and pursuing a career in graphic design. I've worked at agencies and now work freelance and have the opportunity to do what I love for a living.

Thank you Asa and to everyone behind the scenes, I wish you all the best for whatever you move onto in the future! All good things must come to an end.

Haven't posted as often recently but, like so many others, still visit the forum a few times a day as part of the social media cycle. It'll be a big void to fill.

Good luck to Rob with keeping the candle burning, but he'll have big shoes to fill. Thank you to Asa and the mods for all your hard work and dedication over the years.

I'd imagine it's only really now that many of us are realising what a significant part of our lives this forum has been.

I'll miss it immensely.

By the way, has anyone contacted Richard Stilgoe to see if he will write and perform song, with barbs aimed at TV Live, at the end of the month?

He has form at doing that...

Followed by a slow pan across all the TV Forum members in the studio, some smiling and others grimacing.

The words "a Vrillon online production" appear on the endcap, before the V with quotes spins off into space.

All socially distant, of course.

I have been fascinated with what happened behind the scenes, television history, etc. for over 40 years. Watching Tiswas and seeing the ATV cameramen dive out of the way of the Phantom Flan Flinger probably started my interest as cameras were never meant to be seen, nor the people on the floor!

I am extremely sorry to hear that TVF is closing down for the final time, and that white dot fades off into the distance forever. Bit like the final closedown for ATV London except no-one is taking over the following morning.

Running any forum, and being a member of it, can be a nightmare and take over your life; it is also open to abuse, trolling and downright stupidity of a minority which then ruins it for the majority. We have all seen, no end of times on here, where there have been some ridiculously heated arguments over the most trivial of things, whether it's "which was the best ITV regional company" or "is Good Morning Britain the same as Good Morning Britain" ... I don't think those were actual ones but it gives you an idea. I sit back and enjoy it - I shall miss that!

Asa, and others involved over the years, has created a well-respected, well-established resource which has become the "go to" place for information and history (which is usually 99.999% accurate lol).

TVF helped unearth some rare, and once thought disappeared themes, that people have generously uploaded, such as Blockbusters - and the 1,000,001 versions of David Lowe's BBC News themes! There are some themes which have defeated us, too many to mention, and will sadly never see the light of day, despite our requesting, begging and grovelling umpteen times, knowing that they are out there. (I hope a bug ruins your Family Fortunes tracks )

Thank you for everything and I wish you all the very best for the future - enjoy the well-earned rest.

Don't forget to switch off your TV before you go to bed!

The forum's closing, I should confess that part of me wanted to message some members for fonts that I wanted personally.

Just for the sake of having them.

20 years. Where has it gone?

This website has been with me for my entire adult life. It saw me through the last few difficult years of school, through my first job, my stressful transition to freelancing, my hellraising years (which still aren't really over), even a period when I dabbled in some TV work myself. And now here, hopefully on the verge of coming out of lockdown into a brave new world, I find myself facing life without TV Forum.

But actually, not for the first time. Last summer, I actually walked away in disgust at some of the attitudes being displayed. I found that this forum - which had often been a place of solace away from the bullies during my high school years - suddenly had me feeling like some sort of irrational 'woke' preacher, and it affected me deeply. I no longer felt I belonged.

I was very gently persuaded me to give it some time before deleting my account and sure enough I returned several weeks later, only after convincing myself that there were enough other decent members that shared my quite reasonable views and standards in life. And I'm sure I was correct to think that.

Asa, my 'wobble' last year gave me a different perspective on the daily challenges you must face in maintaining this forum, and while it will sadden me to see its demise, I absolutely 100% understand and respect your decision. I hope you are incredibly proud of your creation. For all its flaws, it really has meant so much to a lot of people, and it's not too dramatic to say it has helped many of us through some truly dark times.

In April, when I instinctively type 'TVF' into my browser to catch up on the latest goings on, I will feel a real sense of grief that it is no longer active.

But very happy and lucky to have been a part of it for 20 years.

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