Reply With QuoteWow, big step Eddie.
Hope the Mrs gets better quickly. Thanks for everything.
Today I’m making an announcement I thought I would never make; I’m handing the forum over to new management.
TZ-UK started in October 2002, taking over from the “Timefactors Watch & Clock” message board on Network54 (it’s still there but closed). Quite a few of you were there in the beginning and have seen members come and go but the spirit of the forum remains unchanged. You will remember experiments with live video feeds, the Doxa sub-forum, a few strange characters, a lengthy DDoS attack and bouncing the server until it fell over one day – thanks Crusader!! A bit of stress but most of all, lots of fun.
Two factors led to my decision to sell the forum:
1. My “real” work, Time Factors, continues to grow and make ever-increasing demands on my time
and
2. My wife Carol had an accident in January this year which has significantly affected her mobility and I’ve had to take over all domestic chores. Again, this is very demanding of my time.
These factors led me to conclude that the best solution was to hand over control of TZ-UK to Verticalscope, who are prepared to invest time, money and expertise into ensuring that TZ-UK maintains and improves its prominent position as one of the foremost watch forums in the world.
Verticalscope has a wealth of experience running forums, including a handful of other watch forums. I’ve been working with them over the past month to ensure a seamless move to their servers and this experience, whilst causing me some sadness at parting with “my baby”, does not cause me any concerns regarding the future of the forum.
I’ll still be around, just not as much as I was. Thanks for all the good times.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Wow, big step Eddie.
Hope the Mrs gets better quickly. Thanks for everything.
Hello everyone,
My name is Philip, I am a community manager for VerticalScope, I work with a small team that will continue to manage the webmaster duties for TZ-UK.com.
We are here to help primarily with the technical end of things. I posted a real basic run down to answer common questions below. If you have more questions or concerns please feel free to post them in response.
What are our intentions?
We bring reliability, support and the infrastructure needed to ensure that the community will continue to be around for years to come. It’s our goal to provide the resources and required work to give this community a broader reach, to attract new members, and to better the overall knowledge shared in the community.
Will leadership change?
Continuity is the focus here, YOU as the membership work very hard to keep building this community; we are primarily here to make sure the lights stay on. Every community is unique and should always be respected in that regard. You all have established your own unique rules and regulations and a strong reputation that is carried by all of this. For us it’s paramount to maintain this level of integrity and enthusiasm.
What am I here for?
Our primary role is to be the technical contact; you all contributed to building the strong foundation the site was built on. Moving forward we will all work together to keep the momentum and the community growing. We will be on the forum checking in daily to make sure regular maintenance is taken care of and keeping things running smoothly from behind the scenes. We will also be setting up a help desk on the site for when you have questions or issues with the site or your account and need assistance.
Looking forward to working with you all.
Best,
Philip
Wow.
Cant say I blame you Eddie! Must be a pain in the bum (and probably a legal quagmire) running this place.
Sorry to hear about your wife Eddie
I am sure that everyone will want to thank you for all that you have done regarding the forum
Cheers mate
Thanks for everything, Mr Platts- you've been a fantastic guvnor.
Best to Mrs P for her recovery.
Vive TZ!
Yes, thanks from me too Eddie - this forum is a fantastically rich place, and I love being here. Thanks for creating it and hosting it so well.
Sorry to hear about your wife though. Hope she's doing ok.
Its a great shame but it comes down to one thing, priorities. I'd do exactly the same in your shoes.
Hope everything keeps looking up for you, Eddie. And a welcome to the new boys!
Does that mean that everyone will access to Sales corner?
just kidding
Hope your wife is back to full health soon and you are released from the dishes.
and my thanks to Eddie for running this nice place.
Hi Eddie. Totally understand your decision. I just wanted to say a huge thanks for this amazing facility you have provided us with - it is unquestionably the best watch resource out there. Wishing you continued success with your business and a speedy recovery for your wife. Thanks for everything.
Hey Eddie,
Firstly thanks for all the years of tireless work you've put in so i have somewhere to hang around! I've not been here for the whole time, but I've been around long enough to really appreciate this place for what it is. Hope things get easier for you, and you get to a place where you find balance.
Every cloud has a silver lining tho, you may be sad moving the forum over, you can really power on with TF, should be realy cool to see what more you can achieve... Especially...
THAT (MY NEW) CHRONO!!!
Gosh...
I get it.
Thanks and, most importantly, best wishes to 'er indoors. Hope her recovery goes well.
I enjoy being part of this...happily I own a Smiths Radio Room watch so...i've got double the benefit.
Good luck EP.
:) Continuity is important so that will certainly not change.Originally Posted by Normunds
-Philip
Family first big Ed!
It’s been a pleasure and will miss you, especially the PM’s telling me off, but more so those offering untold support over the years.
Hope all stays good for you, Carol will be fine.
Good luck to the new guys and remember, it’s traditional to visit Sales Corner and kit yourself out head to toe (for under Ł50), following any Time Factors purchase
Wow, that's a bombshell Eddie!
I am a relatively new member here, but may I say thanks for providing this forum and all of your sterling work behind the scenes through the years. I wish you every success in the future, and my very best wishes to your wife too.
Hi Philip, welcome and thanks!
Will this remain an unmoderated forum?
A huge thanks to you Eddie - that's all.
I've only been here a relatively short time but thanks to Eddie for the opportunity. I've learned a few things here.
Cheers and Hello to the new operators
Sorry to see you go Mr flatts, but the missus must come first...........or else!!!!!!
good luck for the future.
mike.
I hope your wife recovers fully soon Eddie and thanks to you for starting and maintaining an excellent forum. Best of luck to the new chaps!
Thanks Eddie and all the very best for the future, you're a goodman, not a badman.
I hope your missus makes a full and speedy recovery.
Many thanks for all the hard work youve done , in giving us this fine forum.
And welcome to you Phillip!
Eddie, you have done an amazing job with this place!
Best wishes for the future.
"Bite my shiny metal ass."
- Bender Bending Rodríguez
I wish you the best Eddie and to your Carol as well. It is hard to be a caretaker even in the best of times. I started the Watchlord forum in 2009 using this site as the starting point. Thanks for all you have done over the years.
As to Verticalscope, well one only needs to look at the watch forums they have taken over and the spam resulting from it. From the Seiko forums to watch talk forum to Watchuseek, to watchfreeks, all have changed and IMVHO, not for the better.
Again Eddie, my best wishes to you and the family.
Alain
owner watchlords.com
Best wishes Eddie, Sorry to hear of your wifes problems
Best wishes also to Philip and any new encumbents- Eddie has set you up for success, lets hope the forum goes from strength to strength without any excessive moderation , as we are all used to.
I trust the fundraiser function will continue.
Goat
Best of luck, Edide and sorry to hear about the Mrs!
Welcome to the new top dogs
Thanks from me too Eddie, this place must have been a right pain in the arse at times (is it ok to say arse now in WT?)
Best wishes for TF, and your wife
Best wishes to your wife Eddie and a great big thank you to you for all your hard work over the years!
Wow, what a shock
All the best to Mrs Eddie.
You certainly created the most enjoyable forum that I have ever been on.
Best regards, Andrew
You'll be hard act to follow, Mr. Platts.
My best wishes to you & your wife.
A heartfelt thanks from me Eddie - as you say there have been many 'interesting' moments over the years.
Best wishes and a speedy recovery to Mrs P.
A big welcome to Philip and the team.
Is this April the 1st?
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Thanks for everything Eddie, it's been a pleasure. I hope Carol recovers ASAP, and wish you both well for the future. As for the change of ownership, anyone who has a feel for the forum would have seen this coming a while ago.
F.T.F.A.
Hi Philip. I've tried quoting your post but the quoting system doesn't seem to work. You must be quite familiar with some of the content posted on the forum over the years. I would like to know what your approach to moderation will be on the forum? For example, with regard to some of the topics in the bear pit, those dealing with Islam etc ? I would also like to know what the strategy is regarding advertising and the general commercialisation of the forum. Aside from these specifics, I would also be interested to hear what your general intended game plan is. Personally , as long time poster, I feel the forum is at a crossroads and will be interested to see how things develop. Best of luck , Dave
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Thanks for all the fun we've all had Eddie,hope Carol makes a full recovery I'm sure with less hassle from us she'll get more cups of tea.
Take care,
Best wishes,
Chris
I don't plan to lead your discussions or tell you what to do as long as we can all get along. The forum from what I gather has been self moderating for a long time. I am still here to make sure things run as they should. If something is broken or slow or not working right please make sure I am the first to know.
Thanks for the welcome.
I work very closely with the moderation team on all of the above mentioned sites and so far see nothing out of the ordinary for a big site. Spam is a problem all over the internet and the bigger the landscape of the site the bigger the job of managing it can be. Since working on all of the above mentioned sites personally I can tell you there is little we have made regarding any changes to how the sites where managed.
The fundraiser I believe is still Eddie's project. We are here to support you, if you need anything a PM is the fastest/most direct route to get my attention.
-Philip
Im actually shocked. I dont post much these days but always enjoy nosing in from time to time.
Its a sad day but Eddie, you gotta do what you gotta do and family comes first, it has to. I hope your wife makes a speedy recovery and you can relax a bit away from this unruly mob :-)
Best of luck to you and your family and thanks for the use of this forum.
Along with others I'd like to add:
My gratitude for the (very) benign dictatorship that you have operated in this forum. It is unique, and I hope it remains so, your character is in the fabric of this place.
My sympathy for the ever-increasing demands on your time.
My best wishes for your wife's recovery.
Dave
Having/being a member of all the aforementioned sites I tend to disagree. Regardless, thankfully the WL forum which is considered by some to be a sister forum will not ever be sold or sponsored. Once again thanks Eddie.
Thanks for everything Eddie. This place has been a great place to come over the last few years.
Best wishes to your good lady and good luck in future ventures. You could always start up a forum for watch lovers if you get time ?
I too, have misgivings about VS and their strategies. I know there's a few on here who used to frequent the Yorkshire Divers forum and are aware that went down spectacularly. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and continue to drop in.
Phillip,
You could always change your tz admin name, just sayin...
LONG LIVE EDDIE FLATTS
http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...t=eddie+flatts
I'm sorry to hear about your wife's health problems, Eddie. I hope she will get better. Thank you for this forum and best of luck to you and yours. Welcome Philip and the rest of the new administration. I think you are in for a ride.
Good luck, Eddie. I hope your wife recovers nice and quickly and that everything's fine.
Look forward to seeing your future creations of a horological nature :-)
Tris
Thank you Eddie for all your hard work.
Wishing the missus a speedy recovery also.
Welcome to you Philip. Don't cock it up. ;)
Dave.
That's sad news indeed Eddie. Thanks for all you've done for this place over the years, and my very best wishes for a speedy recovery for Mrs. Platts.
Ian
While we don't always agree, I have been consistently delighted and impressed with the single minded wisdom with which you have run this forum. While the new management will be fine, I'm sure, I'm under no illusion that you, and your unique philosophy of light touch board management, are both unique and irreplaceable. There are plenty in this world who talk a good talk, but there are precisely two, that I am personally aware of, who absolutely and consistently live their moral vision. You are one of them and there has been more than one time I have watched as you must have been gritting your teeth and yet done the right thing. You are the very best of examples and I am deeply sad to see you step back, as always for the best of reasons, from a forum that is as unique as you are. Good luck with caring for your wife. She's a lucky woman.
Thanks Eddie, you are a gent. Thanks for everything.
Matt.
P.S. There really should be a party!
Perhaps that Paul Newman type chrono will finally see the light of day?
I personally try not involve my self in conversations related to politics or religion. The site has always had a basic outline of rules that should be respected so I hope that this will be maintained.
Advertising on the forum I don't personally have all the info on this yet. I can tell you that we do put ads on all our sites but primarily for guest traffic.
I am not sure what you mean by a general intended game plan? I can tell you that we hope to keep the community growing and help make the site better for everyone over time.
I as I know more I can share more but I think the ink is still not even dry yet.
-Philip
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