My congrats to Tonny on his Moderator appointment.

Big congrats Tonny on your appointment, which i am given to understand will be elevated to sole Moderator in 2016.

May u bring the genteelness a public forum requires, and may there be genuine engagement to draw new enthusiasts into a real collectors forum and circle.

The forum is overdue for a change - it is long overdue to rid itself of the draconian, jealous and paranoid stewardship that most identify the forum with.

May the forum grow into a genuine and real collectors forum, engaging the incredibly large number of collectors residing elsewhere in other social media, or who are simply not engaged enough to cease being a lurker of this forum, and not just the circle of 40-50 collectors who are tolerant of that stewardship.

Shing - I support your statement. Even though things have changed for the better in the last 12 to 24 months.

But my experience with an own circle of watch enthusiasts has shown that the format of an internet forum has also become old-fashioned. People like to communicate differently than they used to 10 years ago. So I think it is not only the question of a moderator, it is also the question of the tool used. If IWC wants to be ahead, like it was when the forum was opened, it should close this format for something really new.

OK, I am a bit confused about one aspect. Not even the president-elect of the USA has to wait more than a year before becoming president. If the idea is that Tonny takes over the (paid?) job as moderator of this forum, why wait so long? A junior moderator waiting till the senior moderator steps aside really gives the impression that there is a steep and long learning curve ahead, which, with all respect, I don't think is needed given what I know about Tonny.

As far as the forum format is useful in the forseeable future, I guess this should be examined, taking into account what is known about the existing group of forum members and potential new active members. ICT goes forward quickly, but people sometimes don't. So I would not throw away old shoes unless I would know the new shoes are fitting, and fit for the job ahead.

Kind regards,
Paul

The Forum needs to reclaim those individuals who have been unwelcome. Tonny's appointment as Co-Moderator and ultimately sole Moderator bodes well for the future. New innovation will be born of fresh blood and an inclusive personality. May the healing begin.

WOW! I was going to say something in reply to the earlier posts, but I believe I'll hold my tongue as I don't like the tone of this thread.

Tonny, you are a consummate politician and an all-around nice guy. Congrats on your rise to leadership here.

While, for many the forum is sort of a second home, where it's OK to leave and come back, and while social media is au current, what is new becomes old and what is old ultimately comes back again.

There would be no forum with out the stewardship of MF and ultimately, his knowledge, passion and leadership will be missed, and I'm sure Tonny will lend his charming personality to this august group.

Larry

Larry, thank you for this words - I fully agree.
Best,
-Christian

Larry,
I do not dispute that MF was instrumental in the establishment and success of this Forum. And few have more knowledge about IWC watches.
But times change and obviously IWC saw the need for such change. I applaud Tonny's appointment to address the changes that are needed.

+1

This forum is a good place to come to, to have fun about watches of our favourite brand, with like-minded people. The watches came first, then came the people.

There is a change in the way this forum will be moderated, change in who eventually will be moderator. Strangely enough this calls for some reactions about the past: I never saw that happen when there was a change of moderators at TimeZone for example. There really may be no need to say much about it. I think Michael did a great job in making the forum in what it is today, and his latest trick, together with others, the CF3, was a huge success. But there was also the other side that apparently must be mentioned now, the antagonism with members that had different opinions, to put it in a general way. I have been on both sides. Others chose to go away, I did not. I stayed for the love of the watches and the good contact with many forum members, but not all. But so is life, you cannot have it all: I feel no grudge, never minding if this is reciprocal or not.

To me there is no such thing as a new page, every day is the first of the dwindling rest. Let's have a good time here at the forum, with all that want to participate, in whatever form that will improve our communication about the watches, and maybe much more too. LET'S HAVE FUN!!!

Kind regards,
Paul

Paul,
You said it much more eloquently than me. I totally agree with you.

My congratulations to Tonny on his appointment.

I'm too new here to fully understand this not-so-subtle message. I have to say though that IMO this is a very well run forum.

I've visited many forums (not only for watches) and this is probably the best open public one I have encountered. The format is very good and reliable. The people here are generally courteous, helpful and knowledgeable. And this in my view includes the moderator.

The only thing I miss here is the possibility to discuss watches of other brands. But this is fully understandable since it's an IWC forum paid for and operated by IWC.

I congratulate Tonny on his appointment. And see no need to offer his predecessor anything but thanks and best wishes going forward (once the transition is made of course).

Thomas

Well said.

Sometimes old threads come back to life, and through one of them I stumbled upon this one. Apparently at the end of 2014 it was announced that in 2016 Tonny would take over the moderatorship of this forum from Michael. Throughout 2015 Tonny more and more took over the day-by-day tasks from Michael, the last few weeks there was no post by Michael.

A few months ago it was announced here that there would be new developments about the forum-like function, the communication between IWC and its potential customers. If I remember well the timing would be around SIHH. Both a new or refreshed kind of forum and a new senior moderator would go very well hand in hand, so I wonder whether the future of this forum was discussed during dinner or while visiting the IWC-booth.

Along with some very exciting watches the last two weeks, some developments about this forum would be interesting news: what can we expect about this?

Kind regards,
Paul

Aloha Tonny -

Congratulations on your appointment this month as the sole moderator of the Forum.

I'm sure that we're all looking forward to the new Forum software...

• Tracy
  

Wow, and I don't say wow that often: I just hadn't seen it. As far as I am concerned: congratulations Tonny, and thank you, Michael! I must say that I hadn't expected such a silent turnover, it doesn't seem appropriate after all the successful efforts by Michael. Again, Michael, thank you!

Kind regards,
Paul

I'm very excited to see what the new Forum software will offer. Instant picture uploads will be a welcome addition however things get recalibrated.
And congrats again to Tonny.

Congratulations Tonny ,
and i hope all the positive comments will prevail! Good luck on implementing the new software, and never a dull moment with a job like this for a crowd like us !

+2

Cheers Chris

Congratulations Tonny on your moderator appointment. I think we all look forward to a new software. Thanks for the preinformation about it.

Cheers Chris

Hi there,

Being new to the forum I have a question but couldn't see where to start with a fresh question so I have used this as a starting point.. I own an IWC 5002 Big Pilot watch and I wanted to know if there is an option to change out the leather strap to a more water friendly strap?