Saturday 25 March 2017

Good Bye old friend…

… A Spring clean.

I’ve always enjoyed a Spring Clean, a rifle through the collected detritus of life, rediscovering long lost treasures.  A chance to organise, evaluate and possibly discard those items that inexplicably accumulate around the periphery of oneself.

With regards to this humble weblog, I had considered redesigning the décor, perhaps even updating one’s avatar, but over the last six years, ‘28mm Victorian Warfare’ has proved such an invaluable escape that I simply couldn’t bring myself to do it.  Instead I resigned myself to checking and updating the hyperlinks, returning my library books and generally titivating the front page.  It was during this time that my tired eyes fell upon the banner for the Gentlemens Wargames Parlour and I felt a pang of sorrow stab my hardened heart.  The Parlour was my first foray into the often troublesome world of online forums.  I had been lurking around its hallowed corridors for a while, before finally applying for membership, and was heartened by what I saw.  The quality of posting, the use of language and general good natured comments made by the members were all in stark contrast to other notable forums who were suffering from the curse of banter at that time. 

Having made my introductions in the Duke of Wellington Bar, I would be found, more often than not, in the Rudyard Kipling Suite, which whilst not as busy as say the Edward VIII Cocktail Bar still attracted enough passing trade to allow this novice contributor a real boost form the positive comments and general helpfulness of the members.  In short, I could not have been happier I had found a window for my creativity and was starting to consider the enlightened members as friends, many of whom are still with me today as we continue to pass comments on our respective blogs.

I can’t tell you exactly why and how the Parlour started to decline, many theories abound, but it did seem to happen very quickly.  I suppose the simple truth was that it didn’t have the numbers to sustain the interest, but whatever the reason, the end was inevitable.  Ultimately I followed the lead of many other respected Gentleman and commissioned my own blog, ‘28mm Victorian Warfare’ with a clear mandate to replicate the enthusiasm, kindness and jolly good manners that I had come to expect from the Parlour.

Every so often, I venture back, dust the cobwebs from one of the virtual armchairs and make a polite enquiry as to the whereabouts of the chaps, but these comments seem to dissipate down the now silent corridors.  My last post in March 2016 was simply not acknowledged, there was nobody there.
So the unescapable truth is that the Gentlemens Wargames Parlour is no more and I am resigned to take down the banner, fold it neatly and place it the virtual drawer marked ‘gone, but not forgotten’.  If I could beg your indulgence just a little longer then I would ask you all to charge your virtual glasses and raise them in one final toast,

Goodbye old friend.



53 comments:

  1. The same happened at a beloved forum I used to frequent prior to starting blogging.

    Virtual glass of a fine (cheap) virtual beverage raised in honour sir.

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  2. I also joined the parlour, but sustained real life difficulties intervened at that time and I'm afraid I forgot about it in the midst of everything. A shame it seems to have passed on. :/

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  3. The passage of time affects us all. Onwards and upwards towsrds the sunlit horizon

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  4. This happened to the zombie gaming forum that I belonged to, sad times

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    Replies
    1. Indeed it is, but these things happen I suppose.

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  5. I raise a glass of Scotch to your forum! There are too few gatherings of gentlemen these days.

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  6. Used to be on the GWP, great place. Why I stopped posting there I can´t remember.

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    1. I remember you there Paul, always a generous commentator, as you are now.

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  7. Just found one of my (possibly last, 2012! )Posts on the GWP3 http://gwargamesp.fr.yuku.com/topic/8581/Magna-carta-barons#.WNaqP2c2xxI

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    1. What a splendid post, but sadly nobody seems to have seen it - such a shame.

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  8. Indeed our Board of the Living Lead went the same way. I guess Facebook and blogs are more popular ways of cataloguing and communicating these days. There are some huge community groups on facebook.

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    1. I think you are absolutely right Simon, they live on just in a different format.

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  9. I used to really enjoy it too, but just as it was like a gentlemans' club, some of the worse aspects of that milieu were pepetuated by a fraction of the membership.

    Some of the spirit of GWP survives on the VBCW forum, which is not solely devoted to that one theme, might be worth a look?

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    1. I must admit I never really experienced any untoward behaviour, but I do remember one or two grumpy sorts. I am pleased to hear that the VBCW forum is going strong, I keep saying that I might be tempted into the genre at some point.

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  10. Jebus!!

    I thought you were wrapping up the blog there for a moment!

    Certain forums have their time thankfully it's esprit de corps continues

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    1. Sorry about, no still planning on carrying on for a while yet.

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  11. With a cold can of diet root beer and nap, I salute your decision, sir.

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  12. A great post mate! I too mourn the passing of GWP.

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    1. Thank you, I have no doubt that without the Parlour '28mm Victorian Warfare' would not have happened - I much to be grateful for.

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  13. As long as it is remembered, it lives on in your gentlemanly conduct.

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  14. To absent friends, or at least places where they once dwelled

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  15. I raise my glass (of French wine)!
    Cheers,
    Phil.

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  16. Before this young whippersnappers time, I'm afraid! Nevertheless I shall raise a glass to the old-timers who came before me!

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  17. Not a forum I was aware of, but, I think most of us have had a similar experience with one forum or another, my own being `with a recently deceased zed forum. In the latter's case I believe it was the diversity of what people played within the same genre, but being insulted by the moderators was the last straw in my case.
    In reference to the decline of "the Parlour", i think, perhaps that 'gentlemen' in our hobby are a fast declining breed.

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    1. Thank you Joe, I do hope that there will always be a place for gentlemanly behaviour in our hobby.

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  18. The times they are a'changing.

    Cheers Roger.

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  19. Such is the way of things.

    Not a forum I was part of. But if it was as good as you say perhaps I missed out!

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    Replies
    1. It was a fine place populated by fine people.

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  20. All of the older forums seem to be passing away sadly. To distant friends!

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  21. Hear, hear ... I'll drink to ... replicating enthusiasm, kindness and jolly good manners. Cheers!

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  22. Sadly GWP suffered badly from the change to a different web hosting provider and seemed to just never recover :(

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    1. That was a strange thing, I have no doubt that it was necessary, but your right it just seemed to sap all its identity.

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  23. Sorry for the loss Michael, but as in the virtual world, I find the same occurs in the real world. Our club goes through the ebb & tide of gamers. Seems of late we are back to the stalwarts, pretty much only seeing 8 fella's taking the time to set their phones aside & roll some dice. Good thing the blogs of like minded folks are active! Cheers!

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    1. Thank you Terry and you are absouyhey right, I see the same things happen all around, here's to stalwarts and diehards.

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  24. I never had the pleasure of donning my smoking jacket and sharing a ripping yarn or two within it's hallowed walls. More's the pity. Here's to you, gentlemen of the parlour...and God save the Queen!

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  25. I was a guest there a few times, myself. But, as so many others have mentioned, never really a regular member. Once upon a time I actually preferred that place run by the fellow with the fez. Now, I hardly have time to check in to anything, even here.

    A shame to see a good venue pass along, but I suppose that's the way of things.

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  26. I always enjoyed the GWP. Some really good ideas and conversations on the various forums. I think the reason it declined was a migration to a new hosting site. A lot of members (myself included) suddenly found we could not fully access the site. I don’t know how that happened, but it did. And if you can’t access a forum, you can’t discuss things, so people just went somewhere else. A great shame.

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