PDA

View Full Version : Closure of Ceroc London Forum



DavidB
9th-September-2003, 04:59 PM
It seems that the new Ceroc management has taken its first decision. The following message has just been posted on the Ceroc London Forum:


Dear Forum user,

We are very sorry to advise you that due to the lack of interest, this forum as temporarily being shut down with a view of relaunching it later in the year.

Ceroc Enterprises Ltd.

frodo
9th-September-2003, 06:01 PM
Originally posted by DavidB
We are very sorry to advise you that due to the lack of interest, this forum as temporarily being shut down with a view of relaunching it later in the year. ... Ceroc
Perhaps they mean the number of people reading it. I seldom saw anyone browsing it at the same time.

The post count at ~2500, the rate of which is probably something around half that of the Ceroc Scotland forum seems very respectable. Compare that with the nice looking forum at South West Swing (http://latis.ex.ac.uk/forums/dancecafe/)

They seem to have been reasonably friendly about it though, by leaving access to the previously posted articles.

One thing they might be looking to do, which might fit into corporate goals, would be to print logins and passwords on Ceroc memberships cards.

Jon
9th-September-2003, 06:53 PM
Ceroc London should just admit defeat, why reinvent the wheel. This forum is the CEROC forum why dont they just link to it!

Divissima
9th-September-2003, 07:08 PM
Ceroc London should just admit defeat, why reinvent the wheel. This forum is the CEROC forum why dont they just link to it! Hi Jon - think I've seen you on the London forum. I my view is that the London forum had something to offer (but only really for people based in London and dancing in London). It wasn't trying to be a national forum, and it wasn't trying to muscle in on Franck's impressive achievement here (as if it could, anyway!) - it was developing along slightly different lines.

I am surprised that they claim there was a lack of interest. It seemed to me that it was starting to gather its own momentum and mature (some quite interesting threads). My suspicion is that the underlying reason is that they simply don't want a forum in which the punters can air their criticisms of ceroc (whether directly, or indirectly by praising the competition). I doubt it will ever reopen, but if it does, I'm sure it will only be after enough time has elapsed to get some changes through the system.

Doc Iain
9th-September-2003, 09:42 PM
i would have to agree with claire on this one. I think that the forum was not doing badly, 2,500 posts and getting on for 150 users considering the only promotion was from word or mouth from us guys who posted in there, or those people that spend their time searching through all the ceroclondon website (whihc will mainly be people very new to ceroc who would have much less to say in a forum).

I feel that the reason it has been shut down is likely to lie in other spheres than a lack of interest (personally if I wasin charge and there was a lack of interest you get your teachers and taxis to mention it a few times and voila, interest generated! ;) ) I think anyone that posted there knows the real reason and it is a real shame that it has shut because as u say it was good for london dancers.

Well I for one have met some great ppl and got to know a few other better than b4, which is a good thing. and found out about Bill's bash which was fab.

The Chip squad will go on though!....the ball has started rolling it will not stop!!!

:cheers:

Doc Iain
9th-September-2003, 09:43 PM
AND!!

we NEVER got erik's top 10!!

Boomer
9th-September-2003, 10:38 PM
Hiya Doc and 'Divi' (such a charming abbreviation :what: ) I have to agree with various elements in both of your posts. I only found the london forum by trawling the site, and as a newbie (to both Ceroc(tm) and the forum) am still finding my stride. If the forum was thought to be slow, then london classes could have brought it to peoples attention with minimum effort. I'm personally grateful that I caught it in time, my first post 'Nervous newbie...' generated the right kind of response to give me the confidence to go to my first ever dance class, more importantly, on my own. As I fully intend to continue ceroc at least three times a week the forum has guaranteed that Ceroc(tm) is earning an extra £84 per month. That's an income not derived from advertising, but the good nature of other 'clients' who used the forum as a means of contact. I would be interested to know how many others were inclined to ceroc(tm) as a result of the forum.

Given that the forum has generated direct income from me, and incidentally indirect income - I'm introducing 4 friends to Ceroc(tm)) one must wonder as to the 'real' reason. Divi (sorry:sad: ) may be close to 1 of the reasons. It became obvious to me within 10 mins of finding the post that Ceroc(tm) was taking a Stalinist/protectionist stance towards criticism. It appeared that 'London-HQ' took the view that criticism might drive people away. The critics actually made me more inclined to go (I like a balanced opinion). Criticism has two outcomes (keeping it simple), it improves or it destroys. One either listens to criticisms and addresses them, by change or expalining why no change is forthcoming, or one ignores them and runs away. I sincerely hope that Ceroc(tm), under new management, is not running from criticsm, that IS a beginning of the end.

I hope that there is a genuine reason for the closure, but the lack of warning makes me wonder.

Any mistakes are entirely my own, and I fully appreciate being corrected on any aspect of the rather long rant.

P.S. See ya at Jive bar tomorrow night!

Boomer
9th-September-2003, 10:41 PM
'Ya' being in general, not specific to anyone :-)

Doc Iain
9th-September-2003, 11:01 PM
i get ya, as u say, I think we all hope it is the beginning of the end as it were (in an entirly good way!)

will be at fulham on thursday this week i think, but i may make it to the jive bar instead.

Anyone off to hammersmith?
:grin:

TheTramp
10th-September-2003, 12:55 AM
Ack :(

It looks like all the people from the London forum are coming and posting on here.

There goes the neighbourhood!! :D

Steve

Boomer
10th-September-2003, 01:01 AM
But they cant be! There was no interst in the London board! At least, that what I have been led to believe:yum:

'There goes the neighbourhood', yep, the English are comming again! Hold on! That's closer to the truth than I thoght! Hasn'e that happened before, The 'English' (read Normans) powers that be forving the 'English' off their land and forcing them into Scotland...or something like that. Not a good business. anyway, nice to be welcomed:yum: :nice: :innocent:

Grant
10th-September-2003, 08:42 AM
Originally posted by Divissima
My suspicion is that the underlying reason is that they simply don't want a forum in which the punters can air their criticisms of ceroc (whether directly, or indirectly by praising the competition).
If this is really this case then how long will it be until pressure is exerted on this forum to toe the party line :sad:

grant

Dave Hancock
10th-September-2003, 09:10 AM
Originally posted by Grant
If this is really this case then how long will it be until pressure is exerted on this forum to toe the party line :sad:


Don't think (and certainly hope) that the party line as you call it shall never be exerted on to this forum. As far as I'm aware it is totally run by Franck who at times has to defend Ceroc from the odd bit of criticism, but I think he does a marvelous job in allowing all people to make their points and he then takes a lot of them on board. Example, 10th yr party in Glasgow was a little disappointing due to overcrowding, so this year he got an absolutely massive floor in Perth (heard one or two people say it was to big!!!), he really can't win.

In addition, he allows people to mention alternative nights and dances such as Route 66 and things which Lindsay is organising. Often these nights don't detract from Ceroc but allow the Scottish dancers a chance to enjoy a slightly different style of dance and music as opposed to the regular Ceroc night. Highlighting these nights can actually enhance Ceroc as sometimes people attend these who have never been to Ceroc, see a load of us having a ball and then think about trying Ceroc.

Anyway starting to ramble, but final word is well done Franck and I trust that this forum shall continue to be run along the lines which we've come to know and love :D

Grant
10th-September-2003, 09:15 AM
Originally posted by Dave Hancock
final word is well done Franck and I trust that this forum shall continue to be run along the lines which we've come to know and love :D
i agree :waycool:

grant

stewart38
10th-September-2003, 09:19 AM
This is the worse news since they closed the weather channel without warning :confused:

'Lack of interest' does seem odd as it was never advertised and seem to be building up.

I have no fixed 'home' now

My great great great grandmother visited Scotland and if I promise to vist your wonderful land and spend my tourist pound can I have a permanent place here :tears:

Pammy
10th-September-2003, 09:47 AM
Completely agree with Diva. Trampy & Will were talking about this happening at the w-end, but it wasn't til Tony told me last night that I knew it was going ahead.

It's such a shame and to put "lack of interest" on there as the reason; could the "powers that be" not have thought up a better excuse than that, even "re-designing the site due to recent changes at the top" would have been better.

Billco, the pressure is on you now to open one on your site :grin:

Grant
10th-September-2003, 09:51 AM
Originally posted by Pammy
Billco, the pressure is on you now to open one on your site :grin:
don't know how you keep up with two forums, i have enough trouble with one
i blame my slow connections...the ones between my ears :D

grant

Chicklet
10th-September-2003, 10:03 AM
Originally posted by Dave Hancock

Anyway starting to ramble, but final word is well done Franck and I trust that this forum shall continue to be run along the lines which we've come to know and love :D

oh dear, got to publically agree with a large brown dumb dog!!!:waycool: :eek: It won't last...but on this one "Hear Hear".

And - perhaps the new, most welcome, Londoners would be awfully kind and introduce themselves in the "By Way of Introduction" thread??
That way we will know what we're getting!!
C:D

Pammy
10th-September-2003, 10:13 AM
Originally posted by Chicklet
And - perhaps the new, most welcome, Londoners would be awfully kind and introduce themselves in the "By Way of Introduction" thread??
That way we will know what we're getting!!
C:D

Everyone knows me already I think :blush:

Px

Paul F
10th-September-2003, 10:17 AM
To be honest , i started posting on here well before the London one. I like the london one and feel it could have become very useful (as boomer said with maintaining revenue).

I have to agree with the 'no interest' excuse being feeble. Its very easy when you have classes all over london with 100+ (well) people there.

Could it be the level of competition down there?? To many references to other nights?? Or is it simply the case of not having the time to moderate it?

Franck - How much effort is in maintaining a forum. I have no idea you see. Would love to know, for example, how many hours a day you spend moderating :confused:

Pammy
10th-September-2003, 10:32 AM
Originally posted by Paul F
level of competition down there?? To many references to other nights?? Or is it simply the case of not having the time to moderate it?

down there? You mean DOWN HERE buddy; you've not gone yet!! :wink:

I think it's the "references" are definitely the main contributing factor, which is a shame.

Px

PS Don't forget the tap .:devil:

Chris
10th-September-2003, 10:57 AM
Originally posted by Dave Hancock
Don't think (and certainly hope) that the party line as you call it shall never be exerted on to this forum. As far as I'm aware it is totally run by Franck who at times has to defend Ceroc from the odd bit of criticism, but I think he does a marvelous job in allowing all people to make their points and he then takes a lot of them on board. . . . In addition, he allows people to mention alternative nights and dances such as Route 66 and things which Lindsay is organising. Often these nights don't detract from Ceroc but allow the Scottish dancers a chance to enjoy a slightly different style of dance and music as opposed to the regular Ceroc night. Highlighting these nights can actually enhance Ceroc as sometimes people attend these who have never been to Ceroc, see a load of us having a ball and then think about trying Ceroc.

Anyway starting to ramble, but final word is well done Franck and I trust that this forum shall continue to be run along the lines which we've come to know and love :D

As someone who can be openly critical :wink: , I have to second this! Franck once said to me "you're free to say make posts for or against Ceroc" which got a lot of respect from me.

It's a bit like academic freedom - a good head of department encourages all associated interest as well as reasonable or substantiated criticism of it's own position. That way it enjoys a credibility that more specifically party-line interests don't.

Chris (Docker)

Boomer
10th-September-2003, 11:10 AM
Originally posted by Chris
[It's a bit like academic freedom - a good head of department encourages all associated interest as well as reasonable or substantiated criticism of it's own position. That way it enjoys a credibility that more specifically party-line interests don't.

Chris (Docker) [/B]

I couldn’t agree more. My main concern about criticism regarding London’s decision to close its forum (yes, my own are very much included in this...perhaps more so than anybody else’s, Pammy and others seemed to have been aware if this earlier) is the question of ‘informed and substantiated.

The rather tardy manner in which things were done, no prior public announcement (by email for instance) and the token explanation create a situation where it is easy to reach a conclusion based on cynicism and assumption. I do hope that the reasons for the closure were genuine, and are the beginnings of a bright new future (cue fanfare). If this is all just a case of new management pausing to take stock, with a view to improve, then huzzah (or whatever the yell is:nice: ).

Time will tell I guess.

michael
10th-September-2003, 12:40 PM
Yes well done to Franck for all his efforts. It is amazing what can be done with plenty of drive and enthusiasm.

If this forum has more cerocers joining from down south then it should make us all seem closer at hand and more in touch with each other. Its nice to know we are not that far away from each other. :hug:

In the short time i have been dancing Franck seems to be doing great things for Scotland. Noticed the Leroc Dance last weekend in Glasgow had Lounge Lizard up from London and doing his DJ. Also strutting his stuff with the lovely Sheena (opportunity snapped up) on stage looked great. Plenty of nice disco lights and posters making it feel like a real special dance night packed full of dancers.

If Franck continues to drive forward others have to do likewise and vice versa. The end result is more and better nights for us dancers. Its also great to see Aberdeen and Dundee/Perth making such an effort to be recognised it makes Ceroc scotland trully Scottish and not just Glasgow and Edinburgh. :waycool:

Pity about London Forum i just hope the new owners realise that dancing is all about having fun and enjoying each others company, we are all special to each other as fellow dancers:D

Pammy
10th-September-2003, 12:45 PM
Originally posted by michael
Pity about London Forum i just hope the new owners realise that dancing is all about having fun and enjoying each others company, we are all special to each other as fellow dancers:D That is so true. I think that enjoying each others company has been the biggest plus for the whole dance scene for me. I love walking in and seeing loads of smiling faces that I know. Makes you feel special and makes the whole evenings dancing so enjoyable and with so many new people joining each week, what better way of making friends from all different walks of life.

I must say, that from Beach Boogie, meeting loads of the Scottish crowd, I can say they are the friendliest, nicest bunch of people going, without exception :grin:.

Can't wait to see you all again very soon.

Px

Franck
10th-September-2003, 12:56 PM
Originally posted by Paul F
Franck - How much effort is in maintaining a forum. I have no idea you see. Would love to know, for example, how many hours a day you spend moderating :confused: First of all, I am quite sad to see the London Forum closed as I feel it was starting to provide a very useful service in London!

Secondly, a huge welcome to all London Forum members, I'm sure we can provide you with a temporary home, and make you feel at home! :nice:

Finally to answer your question above, the Forum is very time consuming, just reading / monitoring all the posts takes ages, and posting or moderating, makes it a several hours a day / night job. I really enjoy doing it though and I need little sleep, so it's not a problem, more of a labour of love, and I'm glad I don't have to justify the time I spend on it to anyone else! :D

Franck.

P.S. Thanks to everyone for all the kind words of support, it's greatly appreciated, and I'm sure this Forum will keep growing from strength to strength! :cheers:

Franck
10th-September-2003, 01:01 PM
Originally posted by Pammy
I must say, that from Beach Boogie, meeting loads of the Scottish crowd, I can say they are the friendliest, nicest bunch of people going, without exception :grin: I' would like to agree wholeheartedly to the above, the genuine friendliness in Scotland is what made this forum what it is, and is also one of the reasons I decided to make my home in Scotland 12 years ago, instead of going back to France!

Big cheer for Scotland and the Scottish folk! :cheers:

Franck.

Grant
10th-September-2003, 01:04 PM
Originally posted by Franck
Big cheer for Scotland and the Scottish folk! :cheers:

Franck.
ditto to that from another blow-in

:cheers:

grant

Paul F
10th-September-2003, 01:32 PM
Originally posted by Franck
I' would like to agree wholeheartedly to the above, the genuine friendliness in Scotland is what made this forum what it is, and is also one of the reasons I decided to make my home in Scotland 12 years ago, instead of going back to France!

Big cheer for Scotland and the Scottish folk! :cheers:

Franck.

Thats one of the reasons why I would love to get up to Scotland. It makes all the difference. You guys epitomise what dancing should be about.

Paul F
10th-September-2003, 01:33 PM
must qualify my last statement by saying that, of course, there are extremely friendly people south of the border too :grin:

Andy McGregor
10th-September-2003, 01:33 PM
Originally posted by Franck
I' would like to agree wholeheartedly to the above, the genuine friendliness in Scotland is what made this forum what it is, and is also one of the reasons I decided to make my home in Scotland 12 years ago, instead of going back to France!

Big cheer for Scotland and the Scottish folk! :cheers:

Franck.

Every Scot I've met through dancing has been full-on friendly and totally up for it. I'm not surprised so many people have stayed there - and now you've seduced the Tramp:wink:

I think it's a Celtic thing. I was in Howth near Dublin last week at a huge regatta. Two crew from another boat were thrown out of their accommodation for being overly rowdy and falling down the stairs drunk with unauthorised guests of the opposite gender - these two were talking in the pub about needing somewhere else to stay and a local guy overheard the conversation and put them up at his house for free:D

I'm told there's more of us Scots outside Scotland than there are in it. Maybe that's why my grandad moved to Sussex - or maybe he had a premonition about the Tramp moving there :devil: :devil:

Lounge Lizard
10th-September-2003, 01:46 PM
Originally posted by Franck
I' would like to agree wholeheartedly to the above, the genuine friendliness in Scotland is what made this forum what it is, and is also one of the reasons I decided to make my home in Scotland 12 years ago, instead of going back to France!

Big cheer for Scotland and the Scottish folk! :cheers:

Franck. I will agree with that, Blackpool, Hammersmith and Beach Boogie were buzzing because Scotland was there. I have had a great time in Edinburgh and Glasgow and I will be back at every opportunity.

Something must also be said about the Scottish Teachers because great dancers need to learn somewhere and wherever I go dancing in my travels the standard of dancing from you northern folk is really high.

Franck, as all the (residential) dance weekenders seem to be based down here - when are you going to do one in Scotland.

London Forum closing - That means we all get to share opinions in one place, but it would be nice if a link to this forum was now made on the 'old' london forum.

Mary
10th-September-2003, 11:43 PM
Just found out that the London Forum is closed!! Just as it was getting going as well. With luck and a bit of badgering, hopefully it won't be closed for too long.

Thank goodness for Franck is all I can say!

BTW Steve, sadly I cannot accept your gracious invitation to, what sounds like, a fab weekend in Scotland. Another 5:30 alarm call for work on Sunday rather precludes a weekend away. (I hate these early starts, especially on a Sunday, - occupational hazard). Even worse, I may have to duck out of the Chip Squad run because of it.:tears:
Totally impressed you made the journey for Twyford though.:cheers:

M

MartinHarper
26th-August-2004, 01:13 PM
Temporarily being shut down with a view of relaunching it later in the year.

Anything come of that?

jivegirl100
26th-August-2004, 03:40 PM
Ack :(

It looks like all the people from the London forum are coming and posting on here.

There goes the neighbourhood!! :D

Steve

Are all us non-Scots "intruders", then? :confused:

And after finding such a good forum too. :sad:

Claire xx

TheTramp
26th-August-2004, 03:49 PM
Not at all.

Just some of you :wink:

Anyhow, I'm a non-Scot too. Just trying to get naturalized.... Another 1 year and 11 months, and I'll be able to play for the football team!

Trampy

baldrick
26th-August-2004, 03:56 PM
Anyhow, I'm a non-Scot too. Just trying to get naturalized.... Another 1 year and 11 months, and I'll be able to play for the football team!

Trampy

Its a big club up here, the non-locals. Maybe I should start charging membership? :whistle:

And i hate to ask but how long before i'm eligible for the footy? Not that i'm needed, just interested. :confused:

Dance Demon
26th-August-2004, 05:35 PM
Another 1 year and 11 months, and I'll be able to play for the football team!

Trampy

Unlike the lot that are currently eligible to play.......but don't seem to be able...
:tears: :tears: