Gronze FORUM (not website) is closing!

[El Cascayal]

Note from mods: The initial confusion about Gronze’s plans to close sparked a bit of worry. To clarify, only the interactive user forum is closing, and NOT the website with the camino stages and information that so many of us rely on.

This appeared on the Gronze Facebook page today.
Closing Gronze.com as of July 4th. 2024.
Anyone know anything about this?

 

[timr]

I think what it is saying is that the ‘foro’ is closing. They have a Spanish language forum, like this English language forum. There seems to be discussion about difficulty with, let’s say, misuse.
It doesnt imply that the other features of Gronze are closing. They are giving time for people to retrieve their posts before they close the forum.

 

[El Cascayal]

It doesnt imply that the other features of Gronze are closing. They are giving time for people to retrieve their posts before they close the forum.

Tim, thanks for clarifying this. What a relief. I did not know they supported a forum. Gracias, Aymarah

 

[timr]

Tim, thanks for clarifying this. What a relief. I did not know they supported a forum. Gracias, Aymarah

Foro del Camino de Santiago | Gronze.com

www.gronze.com

See it here.

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Tim, thanks for clarifying this. What a relief. I did not know they supported a forum. Gracias, Aymarah

Good lord, you had me scared there for a while! I thought the one guide I am relying on would disappear in a few weeks!

 

[dfox]

Gronze is too important to close! It is one of critical and dependable sources for planning.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Good lord, you had me scared there for a while! I thought the one guide I am relying on would disappear in a few weeks!

Me, too, what a relief..whew!

 

[t2andreo]

Here is the English translation of the Gronze Forum announcement:
Closing of the Forum
We will close the Forum permanently on Thursday morning, July 4, after which it will not be accessible. Until this date it will continue to function normally, so that those users who wish to recover their published writings (stories, diaries, stories, reflections, advice,...) can save them on their computer.
On behalf of the entire Gronze team, we greatly appreciate your participation in the Forum all these years, helping thousands of pilgrims resolve their doubts and concerns, with quality and first-hand information. It has been a good space for reflection and exchange of opinions, even a place of comfort in the times of covid, and we will stay with that and that is how we will remember it.
See you on the way.

As has been stated previously, this does NOT affect the remainder of the excellent web site. If THAT were to happen, we would all be screwed. There are excellent guides and accommodation web sites. But Gronze is a reliably "local" source.

Oops - forgot the direct web link - here it is:

Cierre del Foro | General | Foro del Camino de Santiago | Gronze.com

Cierre del Foro en General del Foro del Camino de Santiago

www.gronze.com

I hope this helps.

Tom

 

[timr]

Good lord, you had me scared there for a while! I thought the one guide I am relying on would disappear in a few weeks!

@Camino Chrissy

It is rather sad to read the postings on the forum of people who are to be deprived of their forum.

Cierre del Foro | General | Foro del Camino de Santiago | Gronze.com

Cierre del Foro en General del Foro del Camino de Santiago

www.gronze.com

Imagine (whisper it) if anything were to happen to this forum!

It is not clear what the problem has been, but there is mention of misbehaviour and trolling.

 

[t2andreo]

Thank your lucky stars that this forum is not going anywhere, at least anytime soon. I was more concerned about the HUGE resource that Gronze brings to the Camino. Were THAT to go away, then a lot of pilgrims would be adversely affected.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Imagine (whisper it) if anything were to happen to this forum!

@timr, I wholeheartedly agree! It would leave a pretty big "hole" in my daily routine if closure were to happen here. I'd have to "re-boot"; not a fun thought.

 

[grayland]

I have participated in the Gronze Forum for more than a year. It is a very good group with viewpoints from a Spanish look. The Spanish language (translation available) gives a very different slant to the Camino.
Very little concern with "luggage" and taxis.

The actual reason for the closure has not been shared. There have been a number of trolls active which, of course, causes great turmoil at times.
The forum is not as closely moderated as this forum and that may be from a lack of time or lack of volunteers by the Admins. I am only guessing as the reason may be something very different.

Take a look before it goes away.

 

[Paladina]

Oh dear, another casualty of antisocial media?

 

[Kathar1na]

Oh dear, another casualty of antisocial media?

There are currently several long threads where Gronze forum member express their shock and sadness about the decision to close the forum part of the website and ask for it to stay open and would like to know the reasons for the closure. There has been no reply from the side of Gronze so far. The announcement was made only 2 days ago.

Online platforms do close. I remember three such social media platforms where I was an active member over the course of 25 years that closed for good. Always a sad event. The first one was on Compuserve UK btw. During the previous century .

 

[timr]

There are currently several long threads where Gronze forum member express their shock and sadness about the decision to close the forum part of the website and ask for it to stay open and would like to know the reasons for the closure. There has been no reply from the side of Gronze so far. The announcement was made only 2 days ago.

Online platforms do close. I remember three such social media platforms where I was an active member over the course of 25 years that closed for good. Always a sad event. The first one was on Compuserve UK btw. During the previous century .

Yes those threads make for sad-nostalgic reading.

 

[Bradypus]

Online platforms do close. I remember three such social media platforms where I was an active member over the course of 25 years that closed for good. Always a sad event.

Ivar used to run a separate forum for the Via Francigena. I posted daily updates from my 2015 Canterbury to Rome walk on it. Sadly lost in the shuffle when Ivar merged it with this forum.

 

[Bradypus]

@timr Not quite as sad as that. I did get warning that the forums were going to be merged and took the precaution of saving the posts in a series of pdf files. No longer online but I do still have the text.

 

[BarbaraW]

Is that the bit of gronze which my phone translates as "to the parrot"?
In which case there will shortly be a dead parrot.
(Sorry, Brits of a certain age may appreciate)

 

[El Cascayal]

Is that the bit of gronze which my phone translates as "to the parrot"?

Thankfully, No!!! Al Loro lives to sing another day!

 

[timr]

Is that the bit of gronze which my phone translates as "to the parrot"?
In which case there will shortly be a dead parrot.
(Sorry, Brits of a certain age may appreciate)

Yes indeed! And like most expressions of this sort, there is not unanimity on the derivation. "Estar al loro" does mean "to be to the parrot" - but it means somehow to keep up to date, or pay attention, or be with it!

That section in Gronze is always worth a read.

And yes neither 'resting', nor 'stunned' nor 'pining for the fjords'.

 

[kelleymac]

Gronze is too important to close! It is one of critical and dependable sources for planning.

huh. And I've never used it....

 

[KYPolloFrito]

Makes me appreciate the moderators of this excellent forum. They do timely and superb work.

 

[Canche]

I loved that forum and used it a lot

 

[OzAnnie]

huh. And I've never used it....

You’re missing an excellent resource.

 

[SabsP]

Is that the bit of gronze which my phone translates as "to the parrot"?
In which case there will shortly be a dead parrot.
(Sorry, Brits of a certain age may appreciate)

Also Belgians of a certain age!
All praise to my excellent English teacher in secondary school!

 

[Flog]

Social media forums have a lifespan, they come and go. Thankfully, Gronze is going nowhere for now and will remain as a dependable resource. I would have been quite literally lost without it, countless times over the years.

 

[VNwalking]

Imagine (whisper it) if anything were to happen to this forum!

NO. Thank you all the same...
Sad to hear about this. It wasn't something I visited often, because of habit started before machine translation. Buttge Gronze forum has a nice vibe.

And yes neither 'resting', nor 'stunned' nor 'pining for the fjords'.

 

[timr]

Also Belgians of a certain age!
All praise to my excellent English teacher in secondary school!

We of course watched Tintin in our schooldays. But only in English.

 

[VNwalking]

We of course watched Tintin in our schooldays. But only in English.

English?! Quelle horreur!!!

 

[roving_rufus]

I quite liked the gronze forum - I certainly went down some rabbit holes thanks to it - including one that discussed an alternative on the camino invierno skipping Pobra do Brollon by following the river for longer and reaching a place called rozavalles - yes seemingly linked the more famous Roncesvalles on the CF. I had intended to try that alternative but ended up not taking the camino invierno for a few reasons this time. But I throughly enjoyed that conversation!
Sorry to see it is closing

 

[roving_rufus]

Update - they aren't closing the forum. But it will be changing.

Continuidad de Foro | General | Foro del Camino de Santiago | Gronze.com

Continuidad de Foro en General del Foro del Camino de Santiago

www.gronze.com