Nostalgia: Old IF & New IF

Vijay started India-Forums in 2003. Those were the early days of internet in India. Cable Television was getting started in Indian homes. This was the peak era of Indian Television. Legendary characters like Tulsi and Parvati were being aired on people's television, everyday. If you missed an episode during telecast, there was a rare chance you would get to watch it again, because it was difficult to find videos online and internet was costly. And this is where India-Forums helped you. You would get detailed updates and multiple opinions. You could discuss every minute of the episode with your fellow members and enjoy the fun and banter.

As the popularity of Indian Television grew, multiple more channels started being launched. More and more people joined in the revelry. IF also grew alongside. It became the one stop shop for everything related to Indian Television. As ITV evolved, IF evolved along side and kept changing according to the requirements. Membership of IF kept growing, and bonds were formed. People found some of their best friends on IF. They even met each other in real life. IF also became an outlet for people's talent. They discovered the writer in themselves and many also became PS experts.

• Were you part old IF, like pre 2015? If yes, do you miss it?
• Do you think the quality of ITV shows has affected the discussion on IF?
• Have you made life long friends on IF?
• How did IF help you in unleashing your creativity?

• Were you part old IF, like pre 2015? If yes, do you miss it? Yes I have been here throughout the whole journey...I do agree that technology has advanced now and we do have some great new features like the tagging (which has its pros and cons just like everything else), but I would still say nothing beats the original. The first IF was the best IF❤️ it was also the most active I feel due to IF radio and chatroom. Members Lounge is so dull now along with most other sections. If you browse through old pages, you can see for yourself just how lively these sections used to be once upon a time.
• Do you think the quality of ITV shows has affected the discussion on IF? Partly, but the main factor is definitely the revamp of IF which happened in April 2019. Most members were not happy with it and shifted to other platforms. I feel if we still had the old IF, it would be more active today than it was in those days, since the youngsters of the new generation are more introvert and tech savvy, they would efinitely be more active here just like Twitter and other SM platforms.
• Have you made life long friends on IF? I made many close friends on the old IF, but they all left. Now I am making new friends. Bas main hi akeli reh gayi hoon yahan.😭
• How did IF help you in unleashing your creativity? Well I guess I did get inspiration from some great writers here (they have also left), and wrote some stories of my own. KYPH section had the best writers I feel, like bheegi and pallavi25. I still miss their stories. Then I also downloaded photoshop and tried psing a few times, inspired from the amazing graphicers here who guided me.😳 Sadly, now the Avi/Siggy section is not much active either.😔 Really missing the old days.

Originally posted by: la_Reine

• Have you made life long friends on IF? I made many close friends on the old IF, but they all left. Now I am making new friends. Bas main hi akeli reh gayi hoon yahan.😭
• How did IF help you in unleashing your creativity? Well I guess I did get inspiration from some great writers here (they have also left), and wrote some stories of my own. KYPH section had the best writers I feel, like bheegi and pallavi25. I still miss their stories. Then I also downloaded photoshop and tried psing a few times, inspired from the amazing graphicers here who guided me.😳 Sadly, now the Avi/Siggy section is not much active either.😔 Really missing the old days.

One thing about IF is, you are never left alone.😆 Many of my old friends too, are not on IF anymore. But then, I found new friends, log judte gaye..😊

Yes, I do miss the old Avatar and Signature forum. The old Creation Galleries used to be such hits. I miss all those blingy, beautiful Sigs and Avis. But we still have some really good creators on IF. And Its a different kind of high when a member uses a Sig you created.

Been here for almost 10 years now!! And I've seen it change... Like a lot.

Were you part old IF, like pre 2015? If yes, do you miss it?

Yes, I miss the old stuff, the Avis and gifs and embedded music in threads

Do you think the quality of ITV shows has affected the discussion on IF?

Yes and somehow there's way too much over analysis of things, baal ki khaal utarna instead of enjoying the shows and discussing what we liked. Although the shows are barely giving such stuff, but still.

Have you made life long friends on IF?

Yes!!! Some of them aren't around lately but they'll still be my friends! Dost to bahot hai apne 🤗

How did IF help you in unleashing your creativity?

I read some amazing stories and the fellow writers encouraged my (then) trashy writing and hyped tf out of it, and I continue to write and remember how they kept complimenting and made me a better writer with their long comments and constructive criticism and occasional, update kab milega Qs 😳 I also.did some rudimentary editing, aajkal thoda thik thak kar lete hai 😆

Also a bunch of online friends are even my offline friends to some extent and it's awesome!

Were you part old IF, like pre 2015? If yes, do you miss it?

I have been here for 11 years now. And its certainly different. I think there was more engagement then. It was also more chilled out, I feel. There was a healthy debate which was possible without wounding anyone's feelings. I remember making so many fun posts those days, ridiculing the storyline & it was so much fun. But then, I can't say it doesn't happen now as I'm not an active part of any ITV fandom here. I do like some of the new changes such as tagging and notifications and the FF section.

Do you think the quality of ITV shows has affected the discussion on IF?

I'm not sure I'm qualified to comment on this because I barely watch any ITV shows. But what hasn't changed for me is that I've managed to find like-minded people here that share my passions no matter what they are. It doesn't have to be a TV show forum - it could be anything: books, music, movies. This is what has kept me glued on this site for so many years. But yes, I do miss the mad interactions from back then. I remember LU threads getting filled up in no time and it used to be a mad scramble to react and respond to each person that quoted you! It may not necessarily be that the quality of shows has suffered, there were bad shows back then too and we used to enjoy taking apart the writing and criticizing the inane tracks. But I do think audience awareness has increased which means they are more woke and unwilling to take BS from showrunners. It's also easier these days to reach out to actors & showrunners through social media such as Twitter & IG. Those days there was only FB and not every actor had their own page so direct interaction was limited. Also there are multiple OTT platforms available these days which gives audiences more variety in terms of content, & not everyone has access to every type of platform which again leads to limited discussions unlike ITV shows which have a more universal reach, but then again not everyone watches ITV because they have access to so much (better) content. So there are multiple factors that have affected discussions here, but yes, I agree the discussions are very different and probably less engaging than what they used to be earlier.

Have you made life long friends on IF?

Yes, I did make some friends here who are no longer part of IF but they continue being friends irl. And like I said before, I always find like-minded people that share my passions so its not been difficult (for me) to make friends here. You just need to be polite and open-minded.

How did IF help you in unleashing your creativity?

Oh this. I cannot stress enough the role IF has played in this. I first began writing here with a FF on a show I was watching back then on SONY and my God the response was unprecedented! People were so kind and so effusive about my work. But then I lost interest in the show and therefore my writing stopped too. It did give me the confidence to post stories on other platforms (FF.net and Ao3) for other fandoms.

Years later, I decided to take it up again and thought I would find zero takers for a story based off of the same characters but I was wrong! Though not as many as back then (understandably), I still have a few readers and they have been so so encouraging.

Not to mention the new FF section that makes it so much easier for your story to have a wider reach whereas before it would be limited to the forum you posted it in. Then I became part of the FFDT by applying to be a beta-reader (I still continue to be one) and found that reading other works helped me broaden my perspective, besides helping me sharpen my editing skills. So yes, IF has played a huge role in helping me unleash my creativity, come out of my shell & post my writing. While I agree that a reader's validation does play a huge part in encouraging writers & I will always cherish every comment that a reader leaves on my work, I also admit that I have grown in confidence as a writer and now do not seek validation as actively as I used to before, I find joy and satisfaction in writing what I want to. And IF and my readers here are responsible for helping me gain that confidence!

• Were you part old IF, like pre 2015? If yes, do you miss it? Yes. Joined in 2012 when the colors tv show Parichay was airing. There used to be so much discussion about every episode of the show. And the OS's and the FF's would be really interesting. I was in high school back then and those FF's were probably the reason why I read novels now. I moved to the IPKKND forum after that. I think IF had the highest number of active members when it was airing. I still remember how some topics would run for 1000s of pages. The number of likes on some posts would be more than 500. Man I miss those days.

• Do you think the quality of ITV shows has affected the discussion on IF? Yuuup. There were a lot of good shows before 2016. I mean they were still corny and glorified toxic relationships but overall the quality was way better than whatever crap they are showing right now. These new shows just feel like a rehash of all those old shows. Nothing new. Same saas bahu fights, same toxic families in every show.
• Have you made life long friends on IF? Nope and its partly my fault. I added a lot of IF friends on FB. Kept in touch for few years. One day I randomly decided to delete FB and now I cannot remember their id's. Dont think they are active on IF anymore.
• How did IF help you in unleashing your creativity? I was a part of the CC on my main account. Made some cute threads with my fellow CCs. Does that count?

Originally posted by: devashree_h

One thing about IF is, you are never left alone.😆 Many of my old friends too, are not on IF anymore. But then, I found new friends, log judte gaye..😊

Yes, I do miss the old Avatar and Signature forum. The old Creation Galleries used to be such hits. I miss all those blingy, beautiful Sigs and Avis. But we still have some really good creators on IF. And Its a different kind of high when a member uses a Sig you created.

OMG you are also as old as me here...how come we havent interacted much until now?😆I have been here since yars, seen all the good and bad times, it's like my safe place now. Can't go a day without IF. I'll be here until I die or the site shuts down.😆

• Were you part old IF, like pre 2015? If yes, do you miss it?
• Yes Of Course I Joined Back In 2009 Have Been Here For 13 Years I Do Miss It.

• Do you think the quality of ITV shows has affected the discussion on IF?
• Oh Yes Definitely It Seems Like Most People Prefer Saas Bahu Tv Shows Even Long Running Shows Which Are Quite Boring Really.
• Most Of The Forums Here Don't Have Mods Or The Banners Updated I Saw Many Forums On The Sabtv Section Without Banners
• The Sabtv Section Needs Clean Up Close Old Forums And Update The New Ones Currently Running With Cast List And Banners.

• Have you made life long friends on IF?
• Yes I Make Lots Of Friends Here But Alot Of Them Left Or Iam No Longer In Contact With Them. 😢

• How did IF help you in unleashing your creativity?
• Oh Since Iam Always On Here It Has Helped Me So Much In Making Posts
• In Various Forums

Were you part old IF, like pre 2015? If yes, do you miss it?

No, India Forums completely escaped my notice until mid-2021, even though I've been watching Indian TV (mostly Marathi) for a decade, and I've been active on internet discussion boards and writing fan fiction for much longer. Now that I've joined India Forums, I wish I could have participated in some of the threads from years ago that are locked now.

Do you think the quality of ITV shows has affected the discussion on IF?

No, I started posting on India Forums in the forum for an extremely poorly written show, and it was very active. Other shows with original plots and memorable characters don't have much discussion at all. I try to start discussions on whatever I find interesting, but it takes time before anyone else joins in.

Efforts by longtime members to intimidate and suppress outsiders seem to be the major reasons why meaningful discussion is so hard to find on India Forums. Private forums could create places where everyone is welcome, but not as long as private = invisible. There is plenty of mindless mutual congratulation on India Forums, which I avoid.

Have you made life long friends on IF?

No, there are several members whose intelligence and creativity I appreciate, but I stick to exchanging ideas honestly, avoiding personal alliances, quid pro quo compliments, popularity displays, taking sides etc.

How did IF help you in unleashing your creativity?

My reason for joining India Forums was to share a fan fiction that I wrote. Some features of this site really helped me to express ideas: topics and polls, reactions and notifications.

While my fan fiction was in a forum, it got a few comments that told me specifically what a reader liked or disliked, and many generic delighted comments. When I continued to write fan fiction after its TV show ended, I had to switch to the fan fiction section, where reader response was almost zero even before FFEditors updated the guidelines to discourage "detailed" comments. I have a few readers who give nonverbal encouragement (Likes), but until lately, I had only one commenter, who was obviously unversed in the jargon she showed off in her hurry to put me in my place. Slowly, other readers are giving me feedback, and it feels good to receive it from people who mean what they say.

The writing contests on India Forums are a commendable effort to unleash creativity. Even when winners are selected by ignoring the stated criteria, it's fun to participate. Some contests put too much emphasis on judging and winning. Instead of simply giving anonymized submissions to the judges and telling them to stay away from the discussion topic and FF section while judging, the organizers silenced the participants, as if we're writing only for the judges and only waiting to know who won. By the time these contests wrapped up, most contestants had lost interest in sharing their creations. The best-organized contests allowed everyone to read each other's work right away.

The FF Graphicers team is not only talented but super supportive. I love almost every cover that I've received, and it wouldn't be "almost" if I had provided better images.

When FFEditors censored one of my mythological books (refusing to tell me what was offensive about it), I put most of my books on Wattpad. Perhaps I get more readers on India Forums; it's hard to tell because Wattpad supposedly counts "unique readers" and "engaged readers," while India Forums scores reads even if I edit a book or click a notification. I know I have some silent readers on India Forums who read slowly, and others who flip through thirty chapters in a minute, looking for what? I get equally few comments on Wattpad, but the nonverbal response there is much more encouraging because Wattpad doesn't have a FAIL button. Wattpad tells me which countries my readers represent, and I've suggested that India Forums could do it as easily as giving us flags on our profiles.

I just can't ignore this post.

• Were you part old IF, like pre 2015? If yes, do you miss it?

Yes. I do miss a couple of things about old one. The scraps were the best thing about it as I used to have lots of conversations there. Now it's completely forgotten.

• Do you think the quality of ITV shows has affected the discussion on IF?

Maybe. Not sure. But I think people moved on and many of us believe in our own peace. I mean I avoid taking part in most of the discussions because it affects my peace and patience. So I just roam around, read some of the posts and leave a couple of reactions, that's it.

• Have you made life long friends on IF?

Certainly. I have met so many people here that I don't have a count. Over the years we lost contacts but I do still keep a bond with a few. They are special. ❤️

• How did IF help you in unleashing your creativity?

I don't know if I can say I'm a creative person. I have always loved writing when I was a kid, I used to imagine stories in my head and even tried to put them in paper. And when IF happened, I tried my hand at writing seriously and even tried photoshop. But more than creativity I think IF helped me a lot to be a better reader, and to improve my language. I'm forever grateful for that.

It even helped me to be a better person, now I may sound exaggerating but it's the truth. I was going through the worse phase of my life when I joined IF and I found a safe place here. But at the same time, IF has given me bad times too but what's life without some struggles?

I want to thank the founder of IF, Mr Vijay. You have given a hell lot of experience to a lot of people here. Perhaps this is a social networking site for many but I'm sure, at least a couple of people learned how to live through Indiaforums; like me.

Hugs to you and all. 🤗