LFGSS and Microcosm shutting down 16th March 2025 (the day before the Online Safety Act is enforced)

Shitty news and as usual I have nothing useful to contribute so...

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What a 2nd kick in the dick of the day

Hopefully something can be sorted out to keep this community going

Moving back to Poland is looking more and more attractive

Broken country

Still kind of in denial about this, terrible news.
Even as mainly a lurker, this forum has brought me daily happiness for so many years.
Thanks so much @Velocio.

Really sad
Online cycling culture and communites outside of LFGSS are mostly concered with consumption - the latest bits of plastic and e-waste, which to buy and why you need it, and then onto the next thing.
It's a watch/shoes/knife/figurine collection, those rollerblades at the back of the garage you said you would always learn. Will you be the muted tone kit, white shoes and helmet, and always those fucking Oakley Sutros kind of consumer or the neckerchief, supplelife, gravel specific consumer? something to think about on the drive home from work today.

Here people understood there is more to it than that.. the way you move through the world, see things, interact with people etc etc. always leaning towards community and kindness and mutual aid.
All that's left with this place gone is vapid consumption!! demographics and markets to exploit.

going to blow my brains out over an internet forum closing down
this was the last place on the internet that where I didn't have to explain why 'we shouldn't just be nicer to drivers'
you'll never buy a thomson seatpost for a reasonable price again. never hear 'I'm happy to let it go for cheap to keep it on the forum'

Parklife!

I'm hoping you missed a couple of words from the end of the last paragraph.

Edit: beginning of the last paragraph, don't blow your brains out, at least not all in one go.

you forgot to sub to my patreon to see the rest of my comment
lowest tier is only £5 a month but for £10 you get the 'nodder' tier which comes with a sticker pack

Gotta go to the woods cyclery and look confused to get the same experience now

Gutted.

Thanks for everything @Velocio

Do A Skid you cunts

we need to archive the porsche thread

You're never going to recover financially from the eBay fees

They don't charge fees anymore

Just so incredibly sad. This place is a complete one of a kind.

Thank you for everything @Velocio

Thank you Velocio. I rarely post but I'm always reading. I'm gutted for you and the rest of us on here. This place has been a wonderful engagement and brilliant distraction x

Ffs, was just thinking the other day how increasingly glad I am to have on here as an antidote to the increasingly commercialised, malgorithm-driven social media ‘communities’. Genuinely gutted and would gladly stick hand in pocket on a recurring basis to keep it going, but totally understand this isn’t the ultimate problem for the bossperson.
Are there any other forums that we can migrate to? Some sort of wiki-based site?

Nice to see this place hasn't lost its sense of humour

This place has enriched my life in many ways, links to routes, the weight loss thread, buying and selling so many bikes and components, inspiration from ride reports, the bird thread, i could go on and on. In particular during lockdown and a subsequent marriage break-up it was a constant solace. I will be very sad to see it go. Thanks for everything @Velocio

+1 on recently reflecting on what a positive impact this forum has had on me (even as a lurker). Thank you for everything. Let us know if we can do anything to keep it alive.

thanks for firing up the fizz, signal, brother amey.

I do still pop on here occasionally. This place holds a certain place in my heart, and I will miss it.

Thanks to bossman and the rest of you for making it a decent ride. Will be keeping an eye on what the new place(s) might be...

Absolutely fucking dreadful news.

This place is one of the last holdouts of an older, more utopian view of what the internet could be for. I've only met a few of you out in the real world but thank you to anyone who ever answered a question, dug out a much needed part for me, wrote a build or trip thread, or just called me a cunt.

You've all provided years of inspiration and laughs. I've been on here half the time many people have and I still honestly don't know what I'll do without it.

Thank you @Velocio for everything.

I'm trying to work so only skimming this but in case it's at all useful/relevant, there's a group fighting "online safety" laws in the US - NetChoice https://netchoice.org/

I know of their existence because the Dreamwidth founders post about it occasionally. But I think a lot of their arguments rely on the constitution. (I don't understand much of the issue.)

DW also protects users data and identity but it's pretty clunky to use.

I will be very sad to see it go

If it goes.

It's not over till it's over.

I may be in denial or hyper optimistic but there is a lot of knowledge and potentially funds on here, and a little time. And Sparky may spark a media storm. And who knows.

I'm not writing a forum obit yet

I'm not really a regular poster, but "fuck".

I'm still at the denial phase, but glibbly, as I'm not the one at personal risk, there must be something to be done?

Does this Act mean that 'small' or independent forums, websites or whatever will no longer be able to operate without a compliance team behind them?

I suspect though that whilst actually managing the risk would be achievable, litigation risk would mean the forum becomes too financially bursensome? One solution might be to stick lufguss into a ltd co, giving at least a little bit of personal protection to the owner/directors, but I get that you might not want to give up control.

I say again, "fuck".

On a serious note, I've not really been present here for a while - just skimmed. But I've made (and sadly lost at least one) lifelong friends through this forum - and it's shaped my life in so many ways it's hard to put into words.

Just wanted to express huge gratitude to those people I've met (but not you @hippy ) and even more so to @Velocio for keeping the lights on here for so long.

Such a shame. Thank you @Velocio for all your work over many years.

Can we have a last round of some sort of merch?