Car4play will be twelve years old next month.
Are there plans for a gigantic knees-up to celebrate? Will it breach Covid distancing rules? Will Boris be invited? Will regular posters find a case of Scotch (other alcoholic beverages are available) on their doorstep? Should I hold my breath?
Who was first joiner after the original setters-up?
It's a quiet Sunday - isn't it?
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Well I can see stuff you can't so can supply one or two answers.
Stephen first logged an account on 19 Feb2010, followed by VxFan on 20th.
Then a rash of users on 22nd - in order -
Dave
Bellboy
Crankcase
Robin the Technician
Runfer D'Hills
Sunaruqiet
BobbyG
Aaron C. Rescue
and others including
Zero
bathtub tom
Falkirk Bairn
RP
Ted
Rattleandsmoke
I was a late joiner on 23rd!!
Latest stats show over 5000 have signed up but this includes many SPAM accounts, which due mostly to Dave's efforts, never show up here.
In Dec 2021 there were 169,974 unique visits to the site but this will include bots, crawlers and spammers. Tuesday 7th was the busiest day for some reason.
It's hard to judge but based on Jan to date I'd say there are about 50 (what I'd call) regular users here, based on pages accessed.
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My own extensive research looks like Bellboy was the first to 'introduce '' himself, I was the 15th, a couple of days after Duncan. The First post seems to be from Fotheringham Thomas on the 22nd Feb.
I wonder where some of the early ones who stayed here went in the end.
Ted
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This is the full list of people who joined on 22 Feb. I believe in the order they signed up.
VxFan
Dave
Bellboy
Crankcase
Runfer D'Hills
Subariquet
BobbyG
Aaron C. Rescue
bathtub tom
Zero
Falkirk Bairn
= ( - I think it was old timer)
RattleandSmoke
Bobby
RP
Ted
Chris White
Fotherington Thomas
Perky Penguin
LINGsCARS
jc2
Old Navy
Pat
Focusless
Fenlander
ricardo
captain grimes
SLK500
ilikecars
Glad to see that some are still about.
Last edited by: smokie on Sun 30 Jan 22 at 17:27
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I was invited by pugugly (IIRC). Shouldn't they be somewhere near the top?
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PugUgly = RP
This is the order in which people signed up, I believe
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Out of curiosity, who has the most posts?
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That info isn't in the screens I can see. Only on a monthly basis, and then on a top 100 basis.
And most months are just full of bots and crawlers.
In the one month which has sensible names sooty, which is this month, you equal fourth with me, but that's counting unique page reads not posts, and I don't believe it as I'm sure the number is too low (but the relative position may be right, or not. I've no idea).
The most prolific poster may not want publicity anyway... :-)
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The most prolific poster has zero interest ... next they just get banned ;-)
Obfuscated for those who don't like the publicity
count, forum_alias
52571, 0
23716, RBLS
20982, Astronaut from Bromton
20869, .. may he rest in peace
18407, Woof
17599, Run as high as you can go
17548, French Arthmael Foodie
15627, Car Go Norwich
13902, Trichechidae Trichechus
13038, Old Ship
12358, Smells a bit off
11223, Black chimney dust 123
11074, Why would anyone be a Vauxhall fan
10767, A very simple, concise, or straightforward answer or a flat round deposit of cow dung
9403, English rock band "Living Next Door to Alice"
8529, Tomneedsawash
7988, Falling to bits and smoking
7928, Received voice procedure
7870, Dell Boy car
7829, .. should have gone to Specsavers
7791, Cliff the Supreme Pontiff
7532, CamelCaseGnu
7464, First Red Guardian
7449, US secretary of state aged 98
7092, Managing Director
7037, Crankshaft housing
6983, Earl Beauchamp
6980, Lad inherited some dosh
6674, Likes to dip his biscuits in tea
6077, French snail
6014, Contracted Edward
5682, Manx Amateur Drama Federation
5524, Dish of meat and vegetables
5484, Orange puppet in Rainbow
5377, Springer Spaniel type gundog
5268, Cartographer
5204, West of England derogatory police office
5105, Nederlander
HAPPY C4P BIRTHDAY ALL !
Last edited by: car4play on Tue 1 Feb 22 at 10:23
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I congratulate you on the effort that must have gone into composing those cryptic user names!
Is that me at 6674?
Edit.
Ah, yes, I see that it is.
Last edited by: Duncan on Tue 1 Feb 22 at 11:55
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Happy Birthday.
I was invited by , I think, Pug-ugly and Pat… was a long time ago! I didn’t reply immediately, but am glad I did. I used to be much more active, have often kept a quiet eye on what is going on and am enormously grateful for advice I have had on all sorts of subjects.
With time in HJ, it must be around twenty years
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You're right, Bigs. I can't get further back than 0008 on the 23rd, which was Bellboy. Can't see any earlier ones on my PC.
Ted
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>> followed by VxFan on 20th.
And what with my time on HJ as well, that must be getting on for over 20 years.
Crikey! I would have had a lesser sentence for murder ;)
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I joined in the very early days, but over the years became increasingly cynical about some of the discussions - and some of the moderation, it has to be said. I probably became generally more cynical about message boards/forums and even the whole internet in general as time went on anyway.
The booting of Pat was a low point for me, for many reasons - one of which was that I knew her outside the forum. Conversely, the booting of The Chilean (as he now calls himself elsewhere) was a kind of justice, poetic and/or otherwise. The forum seems like a somewhat less hostile place these days, but I doubt I'll ever see it the way I used to.
In case I seem like the grumpy old man I have sometimes been accused of being (and with good reason) I should acknowledge the help and advice I have had from here from time to time.
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Whatever happened to Rattle?
I used to enjoy his stories with his first brand new car ( can’t remember what it was) -was it a Panda or was that his old one?
And his computing business - wonder what came of it all?
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I believe Rattle lived fairly close to Ted, they may be in contact with each other?
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I think he said recently, that he hadn't seen Rattle for a good while.
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I've gone missing as usual :-)
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>> Whatever happened to Rattle?
>> I used to enjoy his stories with his first brand new car -was it a Panda?
From a forum search, it was a Panda, and if he's still got it, then he's had it for approx. 12 years now. He also mentioned a Hyundai i10
www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?t=18879
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AFAIK Rats is ok, I'm only in touch if my PC plays up and it's been good for a long time. He lives about 600 yds from me, I guess, and I could take a little detour past when we go to Aldi. He did, or does have, an I10. His world is very different to mine socially. I think he's a Punk, although without the gear on a daily basis and likes clubs and some sort of dancing. He's a Facebook Friend but doesn't seem to go on very much, if at all. He has put the odd 'like' on a few of my posts so must be still active.
He did have a Corsa in the past which I fitted with new shocks in exchange for some computer work, I think. Nice lad.
Contracted Edward.
Last edited by: Ted on Tue 1 Feb 22 at 12:20
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>> Contracted Edward.
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....wishing you a quick recovery...
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>> ....wishing you a quick recovery...
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Thank you, the ointment came today.
Ted
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12 years! Doesn't time fly when you're having fun!
Thanks to C4P and the mods for running this place and keeping it together over the last 12 and here's to another 12!
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On a not totally dis-similar theme, how many posters have met other posters?
Thinking about it, in my case it comes to a grand total of 0.
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>> On a not totally dis-similar theme, how many posters have met other posters?
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>> Thinking about it, in my case it comes to a grand total of 0.
And we are all eternally grateful.
I have met 4. One of whom was before the internet was really a thing.
I'm not traveling 4 miles down the road to make it 5
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 1 Feb 22 at 21:16
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Is there not a 'Spoons midway to soften the blow?
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...I can see the film now; "Hogs Back Mountain"....
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> Is there not a 'Spoons midway to soften the blow?
I think Duncan may be too engrossed working on his new map.
www.thesun.co.uk/money/17505327/map-reveals-where-to-find-the-cheapest-wetherspoons-pint/
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>> I'm not traveling 4 miles down the road to make it 5
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I'm not travelling 4 miles down the road to meet someone who can't spell 'travelling'.
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>>I have met 4. One of whom was before the internet was really a thing.
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Many years ago I think we might have passed each other in a field by the weir on the Severn near Gloucester ?
I did meet HJ and a few members at the Ace Cafe
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we did, you are one of the 4, and your wife i think
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 1 Feb 22 at 23:20
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>> we did, you are one of the 4, and your wife i think
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You are correct. Twas we.
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>> we did, you are one of the 4,
I think I remember seeing a 'photo of this event - at the other place.
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>> I think I remember seeing a 'photo of this event - at the other place.
If they were uploaded to the HJ MSN photo site, then I believe it doesn't exist anymore.
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>> I did meet HJ and a few members at the Ace Cafe
>>
I still have that picture somewhere in my PC.
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I recall a discussion about the Panda's registration number at the time. A quick search shows it's still MoT'd at only 63k miles (Bravo Juliet ten Sierra X-Ray Sierra).
I was one of the early adopters on here, although I've tweaked my username slightly a few times depending on job and car. I first joined HJ in 2002, so I too have been doing this for two decades now.
I became good friends with Pat as we shared industry interests; I met her many times and fundraised for her charity for several years. I also once dropped in on Ted for a cup of tea when I was in the area, he was the perfect host and didn't mind my lorry being parked outside his house at all.
The biggest thing the C4P community has done for me was offering comprehensive advice and (completely unsolicited) help with bankruptcy fees following the end of a toxic personal relationship in October '10. It prompted a lot of debate at the time but was absolutely the right path for me. Everything worked out in the end, I'm now happily married and a homeowner; in the darkest days I couldn't have seen either being possible.
Happy upcoming 12th birthday to the website!
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Glad to hear that life has turned out pretty good for you Dave. I don't know if you're still on the road but you will always find a cuppa here if you are.
I have met 4 from here, as well as Dave and Rats, I met Pat and Ian at the commercial motor show at the NEC when they were starting up the PDA. Steve Parish was in the group and I chatted to him. I said that I had been a professional motor cyclist, like him. He asked if we'd ever raced each other, I said we hadn't but if we had, I'd have caught him and upset him with a speeding summons.
How we chuckled !
Ted
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>> I have met 4 from here
Same for me, if you also include the other place.
Met up with Mark and No Dosh (Alan) and had a moderators meet up in a pub somewhere out near Finmere IIRC.
Met up with RTJ70 (Rob) and had a drink together in a local Hungry Horse pub when he was on business nearby.
And also met up with Zero, when he bought my late fathers mobility scooter off me for his mum IIRC.
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I joined July 2010. I was a few weeks late as in those days you had to work out where it was as direct references from the other place weren’t allowed (by them as I recall).
Motoring is the original raison d’etre but the non-motoring section is exceptional for its fund of knowledge and good sense.
Good luck to all the regulars and thanks to the mods and others who keep it running.
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I first joined HJ in 2001 and transferred here soon after it started. It is a shame the numbers have diminished, but it's still a very useful site. Back in the HJ days tech was the busiest part of the forum by a long chalk, but as cars have become more reliable but considerably less DiY friendly it can now go weeks without a single post.
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Is HJ (Peter) still around? There was never an explanation in The Telegraph why his column had stopped.
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"Is HJ (Peter) still around? There was never an explanation in The Telegraph why his column had stopped."
"Honest John" - the business (is "brand" the appropriate term?) went into administration in early January 2020, citing "financial difficulties". The contract with the Daily Telegraph was always separate from the website and I wonder if there were issues related to the fact that the newspaper was put up for sale in October 2019. The last HJ column appeared on 22nd February 2020, as far as I can tell. ("Honest John" was the nom de plume of Peter Lorimer.)
The website was acquired by Heycar in February 2020 - see this link if interested: tinyurl.com/2p9hb4rf
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I've never met anyone from here. I offered to talk to Rats with a view to taking him on on a short term contract once when he appeared down but he never followed up the offer with me. I think I contacted RJT once when I was working up his way but can't really remember why we didn't meet. Also Zero helped me on the phone when I was job hunting.
Unlike one of the other forums I moderate, which started as a chatty forum mainly about Le Mans then gradually we got to meet each other when there and one year we have a meeting on the Saturday night during the race where I should think there were upwards of 50 of us - certainly a lot anyway. I still talk and meet some on a semi regular basis.
I remember in "the other place", before I became a mod there, asking Mark and Dave why wasn't there a general chat area, and I got a "just wait and see" kind of response, and it turned out the non-motoring discussion section had already been thought of and it opened shortly afterwards. (I am not claiming any credit for it though!!)
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No Dosh! What happened to him?
Can’t recall what the subject was but I remember he was extremely helpful to me years ago. Wish I could remember!
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>> No Dosh! What happened to him?
I don't think he came over this side of the fence.
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(very) Long term lurker both here and on HJ before. I normally check in most days but subscribe to the view that it is better to appear stupid and say nothing rather than to open my mouth and remove any lingering doubt !
Seriously over the years there has been some fantastic advice given and the concensus view is normally as good as it gets. I have learnt so much from so many over the years and particually enjoy some of the different points of view when they dont become too agressive.
Was a little late getting here as I didnt get 'invited' probably due to my lurking .
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>>Was a little late getting here as I didn't get 'invited' probably due to my lurking.
Me, too. Although I posted rather more then than I do now, but wasn't a fully paid up member of the inner circle.
Actually, being a loyal sort of chap, I had intended to remain at the other place. That was until (I think) the gent with a hat put a flea in my ear regarding a comment I made about adverts.
:-)
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I like this forum. Literacy. Full sentences that make sense. Construction. Punctuation. Well thought out opinions, counter opinions. Intelligence. Humour. All the things that are woefully lacking on FaceBook.
Could do will a few (single) women on here, though.
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I can ' gender re-classify ' for you Dave, if you're desperate !
Ted.
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...how desperate can he get?....
(though thinking about it, I should brace yourself, Ted)
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Edit for you BBD
..few more (single)…
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Happy Birthday! - smokie
