RIP forum.demon.net

[ruf...@gmail.com]

Looks like the Demon forum has finally been killed by Vodafone.

http://forum.demon.net now redirects to http://help.vodafone.co.uk/ with no obvious place in its new home to post anything relating to Demon.

Ho hum!

I wonder if someone from Vodafone management started reading the posts on the old forum, and decided it was prudent to pull the plug!

Thank goodness they can't kill dissension on usenet that easily

Rufus.

[Richard_CC]

You are right, its gone.

Nothing on announcements or support pages.

I rarely went there of late but might possibly have been the last to
post a day or two ago. (plays last post in head). I am a registered
Voda forum member from back in the days when I had a Palm Centro phone,
so have registered a post in support of yours. Done a bit of
explaining, I doubt the forum mods even know what Demon is. (too soon to
play reveille in head)

I think it shows we are moving inexorably towards the end as we know it.

[ruf...@gmail.com]

Thanks Richard - I have now gained a badge on the Vodafone forum - how exciting!

Just for sh!ts and giggles I tried contacting Customer Services via chat, I have posted the transcript below:

Priya: Hello, welcome to Demon, you are through to Priya. Please be aware that these chat sessions are recorded for training purposes. How can I help?
Rufus: I was trying to access the Demon forum http://forum.demon.net and it seems to have disappeared!
Rufus: The page redirects to a random Vodafone help page!
Rufus: There was no announcement on the Demon site about this!
Rufus: [No response for 5 mins] Anyone there?
Priya: I am very sorry to know about this.
Priya: Please bear with me.
Rufus: Okay!
Priya: Once you have the page loaded could you please scroll down and click on the option that says forum.
Rufus: Do you mean the link "Join the discussion" - this takes me to the Vodafone forum to talk about mobile phone issues etc.
Rufus: What happened to the Demon forum?
Rufus: Where have all the useful historical posts gone?
Rufus: Why was no announcement made?
Priya: The initial link is redirecting you to http://www.vodafone.co.uk/get-support/index.htm
Priya: Since vodafone has taken over Demon, I am afraid this redirection is added.
Priya: I am very sorry to know that no notifications were given.
Rufus: Okay - I guess this is the beginning of the end of the Demon brand.
Rufus: *sigh*
Rufus: Very disappointed with the complete lack of communication or warning from Vodafone.
Priya: I am very sorry for the inconvenience.

God's Final Message to His Creation:
"We apologize for the inconvenience."
Douglas Adams, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

Rufus.

[John Hall]

In message <baa59587-999d-4947...@googlegroups.com>,
ruf...@gmail.com writes

I suppose one could post about Demon on Vodaphone's forum here:

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Online-services/bd-p/onlineservices

Probably none of the Vodaphone staffers who might read it would know
anything about Demon, but we'll be no worse off than we were posting to
a forum that nobody from Demon read any longer.

I wonders if www.demon.net will be next to go, perhaps replaced by some
Demon-specific pages on Vodaphone's website?
--
I'm not paid to implement the recognition of irony.
(Taken, with the author's permission, from a LiveJournal post)

[Richard_CC]

On 10/02/2015 16:55, John Hall wrote:
> In message <baa59587-999d-4947...@googlegroups.com>,
> ruf...@gmail.com writes
>> Looks like the Demon forum has finally been killed by Vodafone.
>>
>> http://forum.demon.net now redirects to http://help.vodafone.co.uk/
>> with no obvious place in its new home to post anything relating to Demon.
>>
>> Ho hum!
>>
>> I wonder if someone from Vodafone management started reading the posts
>> on the old forum, and decided it was prudent to pull the plug!
>>
>> Thank goodness they can't kill dissension on usenet that easily
>>
>> Rufus.
>
> I suppose one could post about Demon on Vodaphone's forum here:
>
> http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Online-services/bd-p/onlineservices
>
> Probably none of the Vodaphone staffers who might read it would know
> anything about Demon, but we'll be no worse off than we were posting to
> a forum that nobody from Demon read any longer.
>
> I wonders if www.demon.net will be next to go, perhaps replaced by some
> Demon-specific pages on Vodaphone's website?

An archived copy dated 5 Feb 2015, so missing only a couple of posts, is
here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20150203090608/http://forum.demon.net/

[Simon Turner]

On Tuesday, in article <mbddp1$3cj$1...@dont-email.me>

ric...@nospam.rjcresources.co.uk "Richard_CC" wrote:

> On 10/02/2015 16:55, John Hall wrote:
> > In message <baa59587-999d-4947...@googlegroups.com>,
> > ruf...@gmail.com writes
> >> Looks like the Demon forum has finally been killed by Vodafone.
> >>
> >> http://forum.demon.net now redirects to http://help.vodafone.co.uk/
> >> with no obvious place in its new home to post anything relating to Demon.

> [...]

>
> An archived copy dated 5 Feb 2015, so missing only a couple of posts, is
> here:
>
> http://web.archive.org/web/20150203090608/http://forum.demon.net/

If only it were missing only a couple of posts...

Although the Wayback Machine's top page was indeed archived on 3 Feb
2015, it doesn't seem to have archived any of the actual threads since
August 2013 (the last time the ancient but ongoing "FTTC any new news?"
thread was archived, with only 94 of its final tally of 189 posts
available), so none of the other threads apparently available from that
archived top page actually exist. 8-(

Worse, following any of the apparently-but-not-really-available links
takes you to a page saying

Hrm.

Wayback Machine doesn't have that page archived.

This page is available on the web!

Help make the Wayback Machine more complete!
_Save this url in the Wayback Machine_

because all the old Forum URLs appear still to exist, with redirects to
Vodafone's generic support page, so the Wayback Machine will probably
end up with all the redirected Vodafone pages safely saved in its
archive.

I happened to have a copy of the forum open in a browser, last refreshed
on Monday or Tuesday this week (latest post 08/02/15 17:29), which shows
the following threads, if anyone's interested (down up 02/02/15, the top
one on the Wayback Machine's as-much-use-as-a-chocolate-teapot copy):


Topic Posts Last Post Views

Vodafone Broadband to
Launch in The Spring ? 1 whome3000 08/02/15 17:29 21

Demon Twitter - broke ? 1 whome3000 08/02/15 17:21 13

Forum Broke ? 1 whome3000 08/02/15 17:19 17

Broadband Account
Options - Decreased ? 1 whome3000 08/02/15 17:15 18

NTP outage? 2 csm 06/02/15 12:11 37

retaining emails after
moving to another ISP 6 RufusA 05/02/15 09:36 551

Broadband speed I am
supposed to get 3 jcmchugh 05/02/15 00:06 203

Demon Support :( 2 jcmchugh 05/02/15 00:04 132

FTTC any new news? 189 Old Cockney 02/02/15 10:11 28272


Sigh.

I'll save a screenshot of that final page for old times' sake.

--
Simon Turner DoD #0461
si...@twoplaces.co.uk
Trust me -- I know what I'm doing! -- Sledge Hammer

[John Hall]

In message <20150211.09...@twoplaces.co.uk>, Simon Turner
<si...@twoplaces.co.uk> writes
<snip>

>Forum Broke ? 1 whome3000 08/02/15 17:19 17

I think I responded on that thread on the following day, the 9th,
ironically to the effect that the forum seemed to be working correctly
now. So you could argue that I am to blame for its demise!

[John Hall]

In message <baa59587-999d-4947...@googlegroups.com>,
ruf...@gmail.com writes

I see that you've now taken the initiative in trying to get an area for
Demon users set up on Vodaphone's own forum:

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Forum-feedback-and-suggestions/Area-for-Demon-users/idc-p/2353278#M129

Thanks for that.

[John Hall]

In message <YeDCtFDtHI3UFwwR@jhall_nospamxx.demon.co.uk>, John Hall
<john_...@jhall.co.uk> writes

>In message <baa59587-999d-4947...@googlegroups.com>,
>ruf...@gmail.com writes
>>Looks like the Demon forum has finally been killed by Vodafone.
>>
>>http://forum.demon.net now redirects to http://help.vodafone.co.uk/
>>with no obvious place in its new home to post anything relating to
>>Demon.
>>
>>Ho hum!
>>
>>I wonder if someone from Vodafone management started reading the posts
>>on the old forum, and decided it was prudent to pull the plug!
>>
>>Thank goodness they can't kill dissension on usenet that easily
>>
>>Rufus.
>
>I see that you've now taken the initiative in trying to get an area for
>Demon users set up on Vodaphone's own forum:
>
>http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Forum-feedback-and-suggestions/Area-for-D
>emon-users/idc-p/2353278#M129
>
>Thanks for that.

Having now joined up, I've discovered that both the emails from
Vodaphone that I've been sent as a result were regarded as spam by
gmail. :)

[Stephen Wolstenholme]

On Thu, 12 Feb 2015 11:00:26 +0000, John Hall
<john_...@jhall.co.uk> wrote:

>In message <YeDCtFDtHI3UFwwR@jhall_nospamxx.demon.co.uk>, John Hall
><john_...@jhall.co.uk> writes
>>In message <baa59587-999d-4947...@googlegroups.com>,
>>ruf...@gmail.com writes
>>>Looks like the Demon forum has finally been killed by Vodafone.
>>>
>>>http://forum.demon.net now redirects to http://help.vodafone.co.uk/
>>>with no obvious place in its new home to post anything relating to
>>>Demon.
>>>
>>>Ho hum!
>>>
>>>I wonder if someone from Vodafone management started reading the posts
>>>on the old forum, and decided it was prudent to pull the plug!
>>>
>>>Thank goodness they can't kill dissension on usenet that easily
>>>
>>>Rufus.
>>
>>I see that you've now taken the initiative in trying to get an area for
>>Demon users set up on Vodaphone's own forum:
>>
>>http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Forum-feedback-and-suggestions/Area-for-D
>>emon-users/idc-p/2353278#M129
>>
>>Thanks for that.
>
>Having now joined up, I've discovered that both the emails from
>Vodaphone that I've been sent as a result were regarded as spam by
>gmail. :)

I haven't taken part in any of the Vodafone forums for a while. The
last one I used was to do with a Huawei USB stick I was using on a
laptop while in hospital. When I got home and attempted to continue
with one of the forums most of the messages were regarded a spam or
viruses.

--
Neural Network Software for Windows http://www.npsnn.com

[Richard_CC]

> Having now joined up, I've discovered that both the emails from
>>Vodaphone that I've been sent as a result were regarded as spam by
>>gmail.:)

I wonder: had you joined using a Demon email address would Demon have
regarded Vodafone as spam? That would have been wonderful.

[John Hall]

In message <mbi6pq$4ch$1...@dont-email.me>, Richard_CC
<ric...@nospam.rjcresources.co.uk> writes

:)

For redundancy, I have email for jhall.co.uk forwarded both to gmail and
to jhall.demon.co.uk. (gmail occasionally flags as spam emails that I
want, and Demon occasionally block them because of SPF, even though I'm
opted out, but that way at least one copy always gets through.) On this
occasion the Vodafone ones via Demon got through. Since Demon seems to
let most spam through anyway, I suppose that's not too surprising.

[Ian Jackson]

In message <nojhLaAT8y2UFw9G@jhall_nospamxx.demon.co.uk>, John Hall
<john_...@jhall.co.uk> writes

>In message <20150211.09...@twoplaces.co.uk>, Simon Turner
><si...@twoplaces.co.uk> writes
><snip>
>>Forum Broke ? 1 whome3000 08/02/15 17:19 17
>
>I think I responded on that thread on the following day, the 9th,
>ironically to the effect that the forum seemed to be working correctly
>now. So you could argue that I am to blame for its demise!

How do you log into the forum? The user name and/or password that I'm
sure I used to use are rejected, and as I'm not a Vodafone phone user, I
can't register.
--
Ian

[Ian Jackson]

In message <mpro.njorqo...@ypical.nospam.invalid>, Fred
Bambrough <fred@[127.0.0.1]> writes
>In message <NJi$GYIGsS...@g3ohx.demon.co.uk>

>Following on from my own trip-ups, did you receive a welcome email and
>respond to it? Did you click the 'Yes I read the T&C' tick box?

I'm not sure what you mean. Which 'welcome email' are you referring to?
I don't recall receiving any welcome email from anyone for ages.
--
Ian

[John Hall]

In message <NJi$GYIGsS...@g3ohx.demon.co.uk>, Ian Jackson
<ianREMOVET...@g3ohx.demon.co.uk> writes

>In message <nojhLaAT8y2UFw9G@jhall_nospamxx.demon.co.uk>, John Hall
><john_...@jhall.co.uk> writes
>>In message <20150211.09...@twoplaces.co.uk>, Simon Turner
>><si...@twoplaces.co.uk> writes
>><snip>
>>>Forum Broke ? 1 whome3000 08/02/15 17:19 17
>>
>>I think I responded on that thread on the following day, the 9th,
>>ironically to the effect that the forum seemed to be working correctly
>>now. So you could argue that I am to blame for its demise!
>
>How do you log into the forum? The user name and/or password that I'm
>sure I used to use are rejected,

If you mean used to use on the Demon forum, the Vodafone forum is
totally unconnected so you will need to register.

> and as I'm not a Vodafone phone user, I can't register.

You don't need to be a Vodafone phone user to register. It's like
registering for any other forum. Just click on Register and follow the
instructions.

[Bill]

In message <HdFxxmAb0b3UFwjg@jhall_nospamxx.demon.co.uk>, John Hall

<john_...@jhall.co.uk> writes
>In message <NJi$GYIGsS...@g3ohx.demon.co.uk>, Ian Jackson
><ianREMOVET...@g3ohx.demon.co.uk> writes
>>In message <nojhLaAT8y2UFw9G@jhall_nospamxx.demon.co.uk>, John Hall
>><john_...@jhall.co.uk> writes
>>>In message <20150211.09...@twoplaces.co.uk>, Simon Turner
>>><si...@twoplaces.co.uk> writes
>>><snip>
>>>>Forum Broke ? 1 whome3000 08/02/15 17:19 17
>>>
>>>I think I responded on that thread on the following day, the 9th,
>>>ironically to the effect that the forum seemed to be working
>>>correctly now. So you could argue that I am to blame for its demise!
>>
>>How do you log into the forum? The user name and/or password that I'm
>>sure I used to use are rejected,
>
>If you mean used to use on the Demon forum, the Vodafone forum is
>totally unconnected so you will need to register.
>
>> and as I'm not a Vodafone phone user, I can't register.
>
>You don't need to be a Vodafone phone user to register. It's like
>registering for any other forum. Just click on Register and follow the
>instructions.

As far as I can tell, there is one username and password for the main
Vodaphone site and a separate one for the forum. I keep thinking I'm
signing into the forum, but being rejected. I think you have to be a
Vodaphone user to register for the main site, but not for the forum.

As one would expect, it all seems to be a bit of a shambles.
--
Bill

[Richard_CC]

Indeed. I have been a Vodafone user and forum member long before Voda
darkened the door of Demon. No great fan of the company, but one place
I go to regularly only has a Vodafone signal. I get the impression that
the forum moderators really do try to be helpful though.

For clarity.

If you are a Vodafone customer you can register you account and do
things like see your bill, manage some settings and so on. For that you
need a Vodafone number.

The e-forum is different - anyone can register for that. I am
registered for both but keep the usernames and passwords completely
different - the proper Vodafone account has your billing details after all.

It looks like Demon thought they were being too helpful redirecting the
Demon Forum to the Vodafone Forum page, it now redirects to a page one
higher in the structure. From the landing point you need to go to
support, e-forum. It's not intuitive.

You will find a register button top right, all they ask for is a the
username you want, password and email. Postcode is optional, no need
for phone number.


Scroll down to the topic under Forum feedback and suggestions for posts
from Demon users.

[John Hall]

In message <k9pj9XMd...@itsound.demon.co.uk>, Bill
<Billa...@gmail.com> writes

Ah, could it be that you were in fact already logged in? I found that if
you try to log in when you are already logged in it simply rejects the
second attempt without making the reason clear.

>
>As one would expect, it all seems to be a bit of a shambles.

:)

[Wm...]

Thu, 12 Feb 2015 11:39:06 <jo3pda9cci822jq2v...@4ax.com>
Stephen Wolstenholme <st...@easynn.com> wrote...

>I haven't taken part in any of the Vodafone forums for a while. The
>last one I used was to do with a Huawei USB stick I was using on a
>laptop while in hospital.

Somewhere between RIP in the Subject, you no longer being in hospital,
viruses (or whatever it was that put you in there in the first place)
and having survived the food (spam ref) I found myself smiling at your
good fortune.

And then you got home :)

> When I got home and attempted to continue
>with one of the forums most of the messages were regarded a spam or
>viruses.

--

Wm...

[Wm...]

Fri, 13 Feb 2015 11:19:17 <mbkmij$cm0$1...@dont-email.me>
Richard_CC <ric...@nospam.rjcresources.co.uk> wrote...

>Indeed. I have been a Vodafone user and forum member long before Voda
>darkened the door of Demon. No great fan of the company, but one place
>I go to regularly only has a Vodafone signal. I get the impression
>that the forum moderators really do try to be helpful though.
>
>For clarity.
>
>If you are a Vodafone customer you can register you account and do
>things like see your bill, manage some settings and so on. For that
>you need a Vodafone number.

Hang on.

I was an early adopter of paper free billing and when I check my Demon
account on-line it is all Vodafone branded and has artefacts like
Billing details / Services / Numbers
that suggest it really is Vodafone.

plus, my bank account shows me paying VODAFONE LIMITED.

So am I (and other demon flox) a Vodafone customer or not?

>The e-forum is different - anyone can register for that. I am
>registered for both but keep the usernames and passwords completely
>different - the proper Vodafone account has your billing details after
>all.

See above. My Vodafone billing account and account number ends in 666
and hasn't changed since I was a demon customer. I'm guessing Vodafone
allocated numbers are either phone numbers or not-ending-666 account
numbers.

>It looks like Demon thought they were being too helpful redirecting the
>Demon Forum to the Vodafone Forum page

Maybe Vodafone said, "if you can't be arsed to reply to your customers
give us a go?" That is just a guess, I'm not a forum fan generally.

>, it now redirects to a page one higher in the structure. From the
>landing point you need to go to support, e-forum. It's not intuitive.

...

>You will find a register button top right, all they ask for is a the
>username you want, password and email. Postcode is optional, no need
>for phone number.

I might try this out of curiosity.

>Scroll down to the topic under Forum feedback and suggestions for posts
>from Demon users.

Is this all in the nature of probing aliens and experimentation or are
flox expecting Vodafone to do what demon (owned by Vodafone) didn't do?

--
Wm...

[Richard_CC]

On 14/02/2015 00:00, Wm... wrote:
> So am I (and other demon flox) a Vodafone customer or not?

Sorry, I think I should have said Vodafone Mobile Phone customers with
an actual real Vodafone phone number.

I guess we are customers of Vodafone Group but not Vodafone mobile.

Is this all
> in the nature of probing aliens and experimentation or are flox
> expecting Vodafone to do what demon (owned by Vodafone) didn't do?

Prodding to see what happens I guess. I doubt the generally helpful
forum moderators knew that Vodafone owned Demon until we popped up in
their Forum. Its unreasonable to expect people who can confidently
advise you on how to configure your iOSdroiddows device to have much
knowledge of ADSL and Demon's curious configuration of various services.

[Wm...]

Sat, 14 Feb 2015 12:47:23 <mbng3p$6s9$1...@dont-email.me>
Richard_CC <ric...@nospam.rjcresources.co.uk> wrote...

>On 14/02/2015 00:00, Wm... wrote:
>> So am I (and other demon flox) a Vodafone customer or not?
>
>Sorry, I think I should have said Vodafone Mobile Phone customers with
>an actual real Vodafone phone number.
>
>I guess we are customers of Vodafone Group but not Vodafone mobile.

No need to apol, I think I've got it now.

>Is this all
>> in the nature of probing aliens and experimentation or are flox
>> expecting Vodafone to do what demon (owned by Vodafone) didn't do?
>
>Prodding to see what happens I guess. I doubt the generally helpful
>forum moderators knew that Vodafone owned Demon until we popped up in
>their Forum.

I've seen your ... well, it is certainly plausible it is yours :)
===
by richard_c on 11-02-2015 01:42 PM
===
which mentions most of what I'd probably have said except for the
obvious "where the heck has all the accumulated knowledge from t'other
forum gone?" That is rhetorical here but I do wonder what a forum only
person's view of the whole affair is. It is OK for those of us who
didn't see it as a prime resource but I imagine some people are
wondering "where did all the stuff I said and read go?"

> Its unreasonable to expect people who can confidently advise you on
>how to configure your iOSdroiddows device to have much knowledge of
>ADSL and Demon's curious configuration of various services.

Fx:nods I wasn't thinking much beyond mutual help, my turn to apol if I
appeared to suggest non-demon Vodafone people should be dealing with
demon specific stuff.

--
Wm...

[Andy]

In message <aj2jV+Dt...@tarrcity.demon.co.uk>, Wm...
<tcn...@tarrcity.demon.co.uk> wrote
[]

>Fx:nods I wasn't thinking much beyond mutual help, my turn to apol if
>I appeared to suggest non-demon Vodafone people should be dealing with
>demon specific stuff.
>

Yes, but are there any Demon Vodaphone people?
--
Andy Taylor [Editor, Austrian Philatelic Society].
Visit <URL:http://www.austrianphilately.com>

[Wm...]

Sat, 14 Feb 2015 15:49:16 <CbnKipI8...@kitzbuhel.demon.co.uk>
Andy <an...@kitzbuhel.demon.co.uk> wrote...

>In message <aj2jV+Dt...@tarrcity.demon.co.uk>, Wm...
><tcn...@tarrcity.demon.co.uk> wrote
>[]
>>Fx:nods I wasn't thinking much beyond mutual help, my turn to apol if
>>I appeared to suggest non-demon Vodafone people should be dealing with
>>demon specific stuff.
>>
>Yes, but are there any Demon Vodaphone people?

Ummm, I expect so in the sense that people get paid by their ultimate
employer and there is someone on the board, etc.

In the sense you probably mean I've no idea.

Although I use a dcu address in newsgroups I wouldn't cry for long if it
all stopped tomorrow as I (and hopefully all readers here) have moved my
main communication routes to not depend on a single point of failure.

--
Wm...

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message <8vcq24KF...@tarrcity.demon.co.uk>, Wm...

<tcn...@tarrcity.demon.co.uk> writes:
>Sat, 14 Feb 2015 15:49:16 <CbnKipI8...@kitzbuhel.demon.co.uk>
>Andy <an...@kitzbuhel.demon.co.uk> wrote...
>
>>In message <aj2jV+Dt...@tarrcity.demon.co.uk>, Wm...
>><tcn...@tarrcity.demon.co.uk> wrote
>>[]
>>>Fx:nods I wasn't thinking much beyond mutual help, my turn to apol
>>>if I appeared to suggest non-demon Vodafone people should be dealing
>>>with demon specific stuff.
>>>
>>Yes, but are there any Demon Vodaphone people?
>
>Ummm, I expect so in the sense that people get paid by their ultimate
>employer and there is someone on the board, etc.

If what was left of Demon was even big enough to justify a board member.

>
>In the sense you probably mean I've no idea.

FWIW, on at least one of the occasions I rang over their recent bungling
of change of payment methods, the person answering the 'phone did say
"Hello, Demon internet", or similar. Probably more a payments-oriented
than technically- (though I may be misjudging him - I didn't raise
anything technical), but it suggests Demon hasn't disappeared
completely.

>
>Although I use a dcu address in newsgroups I wouldn't cry for long if
>it all stopped tomorrow as I (and hopefully all readers here) have
>moved my main communication routes to not depend on a single point of
>failure.
>
--

J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

... the closest thing the movies have ever got to a human special effect.
- Barry Norman on Arnold Schwarzenegger (RT 2014/9/27-10/3)