Re: SELECTIVE FORUM INDEX

Batty said:

Sam the Eagle said:

Well I meant to say more than that earlier (though not much). Indeed, well done Seant.

 

Any idea why for some reason whatever I type from my phone won't appear here, whereas smileys do?

 

 

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Perhaps it is for the same reason there is a **** great blank space on the top of my browser now?

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Nope, nothing to do with that. I think it's just to do with the fact that this site hasn't yet entered the 21st century.

And iphones are for mugs.

Re: SELECTIVE FORUM INDEX

car4mh said:

Seant, this is amazing work, thank you! 

Seant,
you've summed up the reason why - despite the clunky technology and the odd plug - I keep on returning to this forum for all my car discussion needs. I've quite simply learned an awful lot and keep on doing so.

I guess this would be the right occasion to say "thank you" to all of you!

Re: SELECTIVE FORUM INDEX

Can this reference guide be made a bit more permanently prominent so people can find it easily?

Re: SELECTIVE FORUM INDEX

And thank you for the thank yous. I admit that this index was intended as a farewell present to you all. I've left and returned several times and, like any addiction, I'd be a hypocrite to pretend I might not come back again some time. I managed 3 months or so this year, then AReader posted that bloody Throwaway Lines thread - too good to ignore - and I was sucked back in. Yes, I have some gripes at Car, but I think TP, SJH and whoever else do a pretty good job with Car Online under Bauer’s leaden hand. My main reason for going is simply lack of time - and I just don’t have the temperament to dip in a couple of times a week.

But I am a bit disturbed at Batty's and AReader's comments. This certainly wasn’t intended as a provocation to persuade any of you that the best days were over. In a way, I thought it might encourage some of us (I mean 'you', stop it Sean, you will leave) to re-explore some old threads, and alert others to how much potential there is here. Some of the thread topics are inspired, but generally it’s the quality of comment I’ve enjoyed. Other sites I’ve looked at might start OK, but often seem to degenerate into a couple of blokes discussing DIY or some such.

Anyway, you will do what you do, and I wish you all the very best. I’ve enjoyed being here greatly. Some of you have my email so, if that Northern Hemisphere get together ever happens, do let me know. I'll try my best.

Sean

Re: SELECTIVE FORUM INDEX

 
There is something of an elegiac feeling to this thread, which is possibly the opposite of what Sean intended when he posted it. While it is no work of deduction on my part to suggest that the forum has been declining for some time, Sean’s timely and thoughtful round-up probably marks some form of ending as well as anyone could.

It is sad to think that some of the forum stalwarts are departing, but maybe it will mark a new beginning with some fresh thinking from Bauer as to how not to fatally neglect a valuable resource. For myself, I am finding modern cars less and less interesting and therefore feel less inclined to impose my thoughts on the collective.

I would however like to say a few words of appreciation to several of the forum founders and to those whose contributions have enriched and informed over the past five years.

Batty:  Who made me feel so welcome upon my initial faltering steps into the forum and encouraged me to get more involved. His warmth and humour made him for me at least, the forum’s father figure. And he can write too. It’s just a shame we saw so little of it amidst his fire-fighting duties.
Kubrick:  Who single-handedly lured me from the mud-slinging of the front pages to the gentler waters of the forum. He also nurtured and encouraged my hitherto latent Jaguar obsessions - (a double edged sword this) - and has enriched the forum with much of his own excellent writing and thread ideas. I can also attest that in person, he is the most charming of men.
Bertandnairobi:  A figure whose erudition and exacting approach could have seemed intimidatory, has in fact proven to be a fascinating, fiercely intelligent and wonderfully funny correspondent. A forum giant and one who deserves a statue in his honour for the monumental Archie Vicar archive and his sheer determination in plowing a furrow very much his own.
Car4mh:  Another forum member (and periodic staffer) who has always been a positive and constructive presence on the site. Mark’s gentle wit and good humour has enriched many a thread. 
Areader:  Provocateur, wit, look-alike obsessive, the forum’s king of puns. Areader’s contribution has been enormous. For his work on Double-takes and Lookalikes, he deserves a medal. He has also made me laugh like a drain. Chapeau sir.
Seant:  Relative latecomer that he was, within no time at all, it was as though he had always been here. Always beautifully written, Sean’s posts have a lightness of touch, biting wit and always seemed to contain a ‘why didn’t I think of that’ style twist. Sean has on occasion made me blurt coffee and other consumables over my keyboard in helpless mirth.

I’ll pop in from time to time but for now I think I'll keep my thoughts to myself....