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Thread ID: 151033 2022-12-13 06:56:00 The end of PressF1: I remember when ... Jen (38) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1489658 2022-12-13 06:56:00 Foundry ANZ (formerly IDG Communications) have officially given the end date for PressF1 - 20 December 2022 (pressf1.pcworld.co.nz)


I thought this thread could be used as a final farewell to each other (at least on this forum) and an opportunity to reminisce.

I have been a member for over 20 years and had the honour to be appointed a moderator (along with Chilling_Silence), for nearly 18 years. It has certainly been an experience which I have learned so much from. While I may be a much quieter particpant these days, it was PF1 members who encouraged and supported me in learning so much about computers, Windows and Linux - not too mention all the off-topic discussion held. I joined the forum on my new Pentium III 733 MHz PC with 128 MB of RAM, with Windows ME which I loved, despite the disparaging comments I got for my taste in OS :rolleyes:. I built my first computer here, although I was informed by godfather that unless I also soldiered the capacitors to the motherboard, this didn't count as a build from scratch. We had members that literally built some of the first NZ computers. I was in awe of their knowledge. :nerd:

I became a Linux g33k, running this as my sole OS for several years while using a 56K dial up modem. Redhat/Fedora with KDE was my go-to distro and desktop, but I did dapple with others and compiled a Gentoo system from start to finish. Chilling_Silence was always compiling the heck out of his kernel to make it faster and more minimal. I was lucky if I remembered to include support for my audio chipset each time I tried to follow his enthusiastic footsteps...

Bruce Buckman (aka Biggles plus another alias I won't mention ...) and Chris Keall were some of the original moderators who held no mercy for wayward behaving members but were approachable and funny as hell. Us members were a handful and it was certainly the Wild West at times keeping members under control. Bruce (Biggles) first broke the internet with his recipe for R(h)ubarb muffins. There were Christmas day give-away prizes to members and other competitions. Tweak'e used to post a weekly IT news update thread with links to informative websites.

Metla took special pleasure in getting banned by me or his threads locked, and I'm sure went out of his way to see how many times he could achieve this each month. Others tried to reach his heights, but failed. A few members (who shall not be named) had a special skill that caused the most placid well behaved members to lose their sh*t and foam at the mouth each time they posted.

Some memorable threads: :D

Finding out how popular PF1 was with search engines and a warez thread that morphed ... : pressf1.pcworld.co.nz

"Big wigs" joining the forum to participate in a serious thread that soon derailed: pressf1.pcworld.co.nz

The classic "Whats wrong wif my fridge" - a thread migrated from the pre vBulletin PF1 forum that had no dedicated Chat forum. Posts were labelled with OT (off-topic) that caused the die-hard IT geeks to bemoan the standard of the forum was dropping: pressf1.pcworld.co.nz

The airplane on the treadmill, although I cannot find that thread right now. Bet someone can drag it up!


So, what an end to an era. Very sad to see it go as it has been a big part of my life and its members, you, made it this great community.

I wish you all the very best.

:wub
Jen (38)
1489659 2022-12-13 07:15:00 Some good memories Jen!

I remember when... CDs stopped being included with Netmag, and only with PCW.

I also remember when the first Live Linux distro was included, Knoppix, and how there was an issue that you could fix with rsync (which blew my mind back in the day).
Chilling_Silence (9)
1489660 2022-12-13 07:22:00 Ah yes, the CDs! They were gold considering the 56K download speeds we had. :waughh:

I also remember getting each months NZ PC Worlds magazine and they had a section on Q&A's as posted on the forum. Got terribly excited once when one of my replies was published in the mag. :clap
Jen (38)
1489661 2022-12-13 08:00:00 Thanks to all my friends on the forum since 2006. I have loved being part of the community.

The 20th is a big day for SWMBO and I. We leave our home of the last 27 years to be in a retirement village on that day. Life changes for us.

Regards to you all!

Ken :)
kenj (9738)
1489662 2022-12-13 08:29:00 Some real good discussions in the past, OK call it what they were -- Fights :D Then some members whose names shall not be mentioned ;) What the hell Winmacguy

Then more recent, the Thread I started as a bit of tongue in cheek, over 1 Millions views.

11456
wainuitech (129)
1489663 2022-12-13 08:56:00 God save the King. prefect (6291)
1489664 2022-12-13 10:36:00 My apologies for making the mods change my username every few years :D pcuser42 (130)
1489665 2022-12-13 17:02:00 This site has been a godsend to me. Everyone has been so helpful and knowledgeable. It will be a sad day when we close down. Many thanks and good wishes to you all. Bryan (147)
1489666 2022-12-13 17:33:00 The end of another era. Been very helpful to have this forum.

When I was a struggling student on ACC while recovering from surgery and decided to study IT which was not an easy thing to do when you are a carpenter and not a natural computer geek this forum became my lifeline for a while.

Thanks everyone mods and especially wainuitech.
gary67 (56)
1489667 2022-12-13 18:11:00 This forum has been a daily read for me for years. Very sad day ahead when it closes. Only hope that we all migrate to TMMB and keep a facsimile of this alive :-) ManUFan (7602)
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