We all love this place and the other place, including particularly Martin.
Is it time that Metropol24))7 rediscovered its roots by adopting the same look as TV Forum?
Should TV Forum again tightly link to this new Lounge in the way it did before?
The general consensus seems to be that the two places are great, but poorer without each other.
Should MP24))7 become the old Lounge again in every way, albeit on Martin's domain name?
Since this concerns both forums, I hope Asa, Ison and itsrobert will allow me this one indulgence after 3+ years of membership. I have never posted off-topic like this before, but I'd appreciate it greatly if you could at least keep it open for a few days to get people's opinions
You know what Jonny, you've already said it, but I really do think that TVF isn't really the same without the lounge. I was a staunch supporter of keeping the old lounge and wasn't really happy when it disappeared.
If the main forum here is the "classroom", the lounge was the "common room" where people could hang out and have a laugh without having to justify what they were talking about to TV Presentation.
I think it would be great to more tightly knit TVF & Metropol back together, sadly Metropol hasn't really captured the old atmosphere of the lounge, so perhaps we could get some of that back...
This'll probably be locked but what the heck..
I posted this on Metropol earlier...
Antz on Metropol 24))7 posted:
I preferred the Lounge when it was on TV Forum. Since the sites were split up, both seem to be quieter. When was the last time we had a "scandal" either here or at TVF?
Personally, I think that if Asa and Martin worked together to kind of join them together (saying that I mean that Asa should put this place as a menu on the forum (like TV Home Forum or The Newsroom), change the design of Metropol to a TV Forum style look (although I do like this look!) and merge all Metropol forums into one). That means that Metropol would remain seperate, but also joined on more to TV Forum. I'm sure if that happened both places would be busier!
No offence to Martin or anyone else, I just feel that they could be joined on more to make both places busier like it was intended!
You know what Jonny, you've already said it, but I really do think that TVF isn't really the same without the lounge. I was a staunch supporter of keeping the old lounge and wasn't really happy when it disappeared.
If the main forum here is the "classroom", the lounge was the "common room" where people could hang out and have a laugh without having to justify what they were talking about to TV Presentation.
I think it would be great to more tightly knit TVF & Metropol back together, sadly Metropol hasn't really captured the old atmosphere of the lounge, so perhaps we could get some of that back...
I think we should all thank Martin for keeping something similar to the Lounge open. He has done a brilliant job at his own expense, and this needs to be recognised.
Speaking 18+ months on though, there does feel like 2 separate camps. Metropol24))7 is too far away from TVF, and vice versa.
Keep it on a different domain, by all means. But the different looks between the two places keeps the places apart, in the same way that the old Lounge once had a different look and traffic fell.
Let's re-establish the link - not necessarily in the same way as before, but making clear that TVF and MP24))7 are the
Terry and June
of the television presentation world.
I was far happier when they were both under the same umberella, with one log-on covering both.
I know many of you don't, but I worry about security, so I always log off when I leave a site.
I would, therefore, prefer the two sites to be one, so I can log on, browse the current TV Forum areas AND The Lounge, then log off again and go elsewhere.
I find it annoying to have to log off here (okay, my preference, I accept that) to go and log on at Metropol, and the reverse if I come back here.
I haven't voted as my preference wouldn't be for any of the above, but for it all to be ONE site, albeit with different moderators for The Lounge, on the assumption that the current TV Forum moderators don't want the fuss or worry.
I always prefered the Lounge as part of the main forum, so I won't pretend I'm not one of those who thinks it was better as it was. That said the old Lounge did have its own problems. But looking at Metropol as it is, it's hardly a hive of activity.
I hope Asa allows this thread to continue and that both he and Martin have a think about some of the things that are said. I'm sure they're both prepared to take on board peoples suggestions and opinions.
It would be nice to see things a bit more democratic around here. We are all part of a community, albeit a virtual one and so I think a vote setup by the moderating team would be a damn good idea.
I've just posted this on MP24/7, though no harm here, is that most of us would favour a return, probably due to the increased activity and more posts, with it being a bit more exciting. Maybe people can't be bothered signing up, I didn't become a memeber there until January 2004, been with TVF since November 2001!
Though Asa wanted out with The Lounge, it explains why it was temporarily closed several times and why MP24/7 was eventually set up. Good idea at first as it allowed a bit more freedom and the swear filter was turned off, but it seems to have died down alot, especially since the creation of the extra Forums.
Everyone cares about what happens to Asa's TV Forum. A significant minority of us care about what happens to the old Lounge aka Martin's Metropol24))7.
There is really very little disagreement between anyone. The people bothering to post to the threads here and at MP247 want some sort of re-unification.
The vast majority of members seem to feel that both forums are dying, and that, to recover, they need each other.
I remember the days on TVF's main forum where the time difference between the top and bottom post on the front page would be less than 2hrs. It was quite similar for the Lounge too. Now, there can be more than a week between the top and bottom posts on MP247's Lounge replacement.
We all care about the community. Let's be honest, despite the squabbles and infighting sometimes, we have a community here worth defending and worth building up.
So, what are we going to do to make this a reality?
Without any disrespect to Martin and others; where's the fourth option; to re-open the old Lounge at TV Forum?
Having been one of the old "cynics" when the old lounge closed at TVF, I've always had a feeling that Metropol would end up 'drifting' further away from TV Forum than if the original lounge stayed open.
I have said many times that this place sometimes feels like it has none of the old lounge - not as many people visiting, even at busy times on TVF. And then, there's the problem of having yet another login to do and sign up to.
Without wishing to sound like Peter Snow, this forum hasn't had its most users ever online record broken since August last year - IIRC around at the time of the new, if slightly controversial rebrand to this garish red that we see today. When I log on every now and then when I have a spare moment during the 'working weekday' - i.e. around 9-4pm for me, there's probably only around 3 users online at most, which is a shame, as the old lounge always appeared to be full of life - I have been around since the days of the Ikonboard.
Although I do not wholly agree with Digital Spy's moderation policy, I end up visiting their forums and read the threads in general discussion alot more than I do at here, simply because there's more activity. Put simply, this place doesn't get much posting or viewing and so, people end up not bothering to visit. Hell, I even seem to post more there as well than at TVF and here combined.
Going back to the earlier point about not many people visiting, if there is one thing that bugs the hell out of me, it is the very fact that I've got to do
yet another
one of these damn registrations, which loads of sites seem to have nowadays even to access fairly mundane content such as news stories or reports. Posting and viewing the lounge would just be one click away once you were logged into TVF.
I think since TVF became purely "pres only" and got rid of the general chat lounge, it has become more 'clinical' and there's nowhere for members to interact if they wish to chat about subjects not related to TV pres (yes, there is here but it seldom seems to get many visitors).
Anyway, I feel some sort of merger should be on the cards, for the best of both forums. I never seem to visit TVF or MP as much as I have done so in the past, simply because there isn't much going on.
For what it's worth, if the majority want a re-unification, and if Asa allows it, I would be more happy to refund Martin for any remaining time he has on MP247.
Ask MrTomServo. Ask Bail. When I say I will pay someone, I will pay someone. Regardless of whether I use the work or whether it has any ongoing value for me.
I love here and MP247/Lounge. I want things back to the activity levels they were before. And, on behalf of this community that has given me so many laughs and good feelings since Jan 2002, I would be willing to assume the cost for it, as my contribution to the cause.
Anyway i'll post again 