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 GOODBYE
TO THE FORUM
After an action-packed four years GH Online has decided to close
its forum, The Blackboard. We are very sorry to have reached this
decision, but the forum had grown into a monster and was detracting
from other areas of the site. And your views on the forum's closure
are mixed:
Mike Ellwood writes: "Sorry
to hear that mate. End of an era, etc. All the best."
Mark is also sorry to see it go: "Hi
Simon, Thanks for letting us know, I'm sorry to see the board go.
It was a good place."
Malcolm Neale has been on the forum since it began: "Hi
Simon, I was so sorry to read that the forum will be closing, but
to be honest I was not surprised. Over the last few weeks I have had
the impression that things were getting too much for you. You have
not been able to update the main GH Online site as often as you used
to, and as this has always been your "baby" it must have worried you
that it was being neglected. I think you have made the correct decision
to hand over the forum to Jack. Your health must come before everything
else, and it must be a relief to know that the forum will continue
without causing you any more stress. Best wishes and good health for
the future; I will keep in touch."
Andrew Startup: "I am sorry to see
the old forum has been forced to shut because of spammers. At least
there will be a replacement to look forward to, though losing old
and popular posts will be a great loss. Not only that it's one of
the very few forums I have been on that you can have a debate without
it turning nasty because you might have different opinions from
someone else."
Katy Booth, aka CapronCrazy, will remember with fondness her time
on the forum: "Simon, thanks for all
the time you've put in throughout the years - you have a lot to
be proud of: You've created the best GH website available and that's
not just my opinion, it's a fact! As well as creating such a warm
and bustling community here on the forum! I browse over quite a
few forums but only regularly post in this one. The reason being
is that this is nicest forum that I've ever come across, there's
none of the animosity that is so unnecessarily apparent in other
online communities. Everyone has been fantastic to talk to and the
forum was always very well run by yourself and the moderation team.
The four very enjoyable years that I've spent here at GHO are a
credit to you! I'm going to risk sounding very clichéd here when
I say "It's not the end, it's just the beginning..." But it really
is; all we are doing is entering into a new era. I've made some
great friends here throughout the years, which I would class all
our 'regulars' as. I do hope you will all sign up again to the new
forum, it is very much the people who make a forum what it is, and
there is no reason why the new Blackboard won't have the success
it's had here!"
George Christopher (Ziggy Greaves) was one of the first cast to
join: "Simon you've done a great job
with this forum, and I have really enjoyed chatting to you and my
buddies on here, and I totally understand and respect your reasons,
and wish you well and happiness! I will join the new forum, and
keep in touch with you all no worries! I have really enjoyed telling
a few inside stories here and there, and tried to answer most questions,
more so in the forum early days when a few twigged I'd been in the
show, if I never answered anyone I apologise as I may of missed
the post. But credit where credits due I joined a few forums when
I became online 4 years ago, LFC, whippets, movie forums etc. and
this is the only one I have stuck with and will continue to, why
because simply it' the best one."
Inevitably, some people are upset by the end of The Blackboard. Samantha
Clabby writes: "Hiya Simon, just got
the closure e-mail. That sooo sucks that it has to close. And how
stupid as well. How come you can't still run the new one though? Are
you still gonna be chatting on the new one?" Hi Samantha
- sorry you are so upset about the forum but as mentioned above, it
fell victim to its own success and the rest of GH Online was suffering.
Rest assured I will still be posting on the new forum, I just won't
be running it that's all, which should allow me to develop new content
for GH Online. But these are exciting times; hope you will be as happy
on The New Grange Hill Blackboard as you have been on our forum, see
ya there!
This is just a small selection of your comments and thanks all
of you for your kind words. The existing GH Online forum remains
live until 23 October and until that time you can read a wider selection
of your comments there.
So what happens now? In recognition of the fact that the GH
Online forum was a way of life for many, we knew that pulling our
forum would be devastating, as Samantha's comments above clearly
illustrate. So our good friend Jack Turrell will be starting a new
forum, The New Grange Hill Blackboard, which goes live from Tuesday
23 October 2007. The new forum will have a similar feel to the existing
board, and we hope as many of our existing members as possible will
sign up. The new forum will also have its own URL, www.ghblackboard.co.uk,
and will be cross-linked from GH Online pretty much in the same
way as the current boards. However, The New Grange Hill Blackboard
is a completely seperate being from GH Online with its own management
and production team.
Change is unsettling, but please everyone give this your full support.
We all know the rich benefits of GHO forums and the friends we have
made. There is no reason for this to change and under separate management
both GH Online and The New Grange Hill Blackboard can only go from
strength to strength.
Hello from Mary Johnson
You may remember Kim Dodge from the earliest episodes of Grange
Hill, though not necessarily with that name: "I
was in the original cast of Grange Hill, I was in it as Mary Johnson
- and my acting name is Kim Benson. I'm going to buy the dvd's of
the first series of Grange Hill but thanks for the offer of copies
... I'm currently still acting and writing ... so who knows what
you may see me in next."
Hi Kim and welcome to GH Online! Unfortunately your original appearances
in Grange Hill were a bit before my time, but I certainly remember
you from 2point4Children. Good to hear you're still in "the business"
and enjoy the site!
Grange Hill fan art
MJ Wood has sent us some fan art: "Hi
I was just wondering if you'd consider posting these GH drawings
I've done? I've attached a couple for you to look at."
Thanks - these are amazing and we'll happily post these for you.
Have you got any more? If so we'd love to see them. Click on each
image to enlarge.
* If you've done any drawings of Grange Hill characters, old
or new, why not send them to us and we'll publish them here!
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