Fox Reviews Rock

The End… Sort Of

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Fox Reviews Rock

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Download Festival 2024 mud

Dear Fox Reviews Rock readers,

First and foremost, rest assured that the website is going nowhere. I thoroughly enjoy sharing rock music with all of you, and that core mission will not change. However, I am implementing some necessary changes to the site moving forward. Changes that I did not want to make.

Recently, there has been a significant rise in inappropriate and abusive comments on certain articles. Monitoring and clearing these comments daily has become unsustainable and has taken a toll on my personal mental health as they have turned abusive in nature. This negative feedback has primarily targeted posts that feature AI-generated logos or imagery.

I would like to point out that these were only ever used because we publish the same type of post on a weekly basis and it made sense to have the same image every time.

However, I have made the hard decision to eliminate the feature types that attract this behaviour. Moving forward, Fox Reviews Rock will strictly focus on content utilizing official press images, band artwork, and original photography by our team members.

While I have deeply enjoyed creating these diverse features, the following post types will be permanently discontinued:

  • This Week’s Tunes
  • Guess the Rockstar
  • From the Archives
  • Weekly Rock Question
  • New Rock Roundup (Note: The accompanying playlist will still be updated) SAVED AFTER POPULAR DEMAND
  • What is the Best Song By…
  • Battle of the Bands
  • A-Z of Rock
  • Judging by the Cover

Our focus will now shift entirely to high-quality reviews, interviews, and expanded band features. This change allows us to dedicate more time to our core purpose: reviewing great music.

I want to extend my sincere gratitude to the many readers who have contributed meaningful, respectful discussions to these posts over the years. Your support is highly valued.

Thank you for your understanding and (I hope) continued readership. This really was not how I planned on us celebrating 1500 posts on the site but life is like that sometimes. It also was not how we planned on celebrating hitting 250,000 views either.

This will be our only post this week. For a couple of reasons. Firstly I think this sort of behaviour needs highlighting as it is unacceptable. Secondly I need a break and this feels like as good a time as ever. Finally I want this post to really have the impact it deserves.

Sincerely,

Fox

My Chemical Romance – The End. (All Rights Are Retained By My Chemical Romance)
All rights to the song used in this post are retained by the recording artist. This site claims no rights over it.
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87 responses to “The End… Sort Of”

  1. richardbist avatar
    richardbist

    So sorry to see these great features are going away, but I understand your predicament. I hope the changes help you to better manage both the site and your mental health, mate.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      Thanks Richard! I am honestly gutted to have to do it as they are the fun little posts I put together to cheer people up. Sadly I can’t deal with the negative comments that keep coming my way which are nothing to do with the actual post

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply
      1. Troy Tennard avatar
        Troy Tennard

        It’s a shame that a few faceless people hiding behind a screen can ruin things. And for all of the great comments, it takes just one bad one to ruin things. And the bad comments stick with you. Over the years with my blog one overdone told me to STFU. Another said I wrote like a tenth grader. Another used his comments to tell others not to waste time reading one of my posts. We need people to read and like and comment and share our blog posts. But we do not need the grief of immature, inappropriate or rude comments. Bravo to you for putting your mental health first.

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply
        1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
          Fox Reviews Rock

          Yeah this is meant to be a supportive place, but it turned into something pretty sinister for me unfortunately. Thankfully most of the comments via wordpress were lovely in general. It was more via the wider places wordpress pushes it that the comments were coming from.

          regardless mental health is more important, and tbh i am excited about this change!

          Liked by 2 people

          Reply
  2. Owen Johnson avatar
    Owen Johnson

    Gutted to hear this… Sorry to hear that you’re going through this. People can’t behave sadly 😦

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      Thank you Owen! Sadly yes people find joy in making other people sad. It’s a shame but it is what it is.

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply
      1. Owen Johnson avatar
        Owen Johnson

        Sadly that’s the truth 😦 I’ll still keep interacting with your stuff even though I rarely do due to following so many people 🙂

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply
        1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
          Fox Reviews Rock

          I know all about that, I love to follow many peoples work and it results in less and less time actually reading each of them. Just know I appreciate you Owen 🙂

          Liked by 3 people

          Reply
          1. Owen Johnson avatar
            Owen Johnson

            I know you do! I just got back from my month-long break. Everytime people like and comment on mine, I’m always appreciative for those who interact and read my posts 🙂

            Liked by 3 people

            Reply
            1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
              Fox Reviews Rock

              A month long break! Maybe I ought to extend my week without posts haha!

              Liked by 3 people

              Reply
              1. Owen Johnson avatar
                Owen Johnson

                I rarely take breaks from here as you’re aware that I do post quite frequently. I’m in the process of writing a new post for my site. All about Steam Deck Emulation. If I do takes breaks, it’s usually between 1 week to a month.

                Liked by 3 people

                Reply
                1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
                  Fox Reviews Rock

                  When that post is finished, please leave a link to it in these comments 🙂

                  Liked by 2 people

                  Reply
            2. Troy Tennard avatar
              Troy Tennard

              I just subscribed to your blog.

              Liked by 2 people

              Reply
              1. Owen Johnson avatar
                Owen Johnson

                Thanks!

                Liked by 2 people

                Reply
  3. missparker0106 avatar
    missparker0106

    I respect you and your decisions, and I’m deeply upset that it’s the actions of others that have led to it. I personally have enjoyed your site, have learned a lot, and have looked forward to your posts. The fact that stupid, uncaring, jealous people who hide behind a keyboard like the cowardly monsters they are have forced these changes is just sad.

    You are absolutely correct to look after yourself and your well-being. Please know that for every obnoxious, waste-of-space that exists out there, there are infinitely more kind, compassionate, and caring people that support you and your efforts.

    Rock on. 🤘💖

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      Thank you! I appreciate you and everyone else who makes meaningful comments so damn much ❤️ The time and effort (a lot of it ) that went into those posts will now be spent bringing really high quality content for bands that need it the most which is the positive I’m taking from it 🙂

      Liked by 5 people

      Reply
  4. Not all who wander are lost avatar
    Not all who wander are lost

    I agree what other people said they enjoyed most and I’m sorry that you need to shift it because it’s been joy. Good luck with all of your future. Look forward to reading them

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      It’s a shame as I enjoyed doing these post types, but I am looking forward to really upping my interactions with bands, and doing more reviews. The new post types should at least make up for it 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply
  5. robinmaderich avatar
    robinmaderich

    I’m so sorry! I think the anonymity of texts, comments, etc., make people feel free to be negative in a way they wouldn’t in an actual face-to-face conversation. They feel empowered somehow, and not really in a good way. Kindness is a much better way to be empowered. I always say it takes courage to be kind and none at all to be a bully. I’m glad you’ll still continue, but I feel terrible you will have to alter your wonderful presentation.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      Oddly enough I have never had a negative comment about the site to my face haha

      I appreciate your kind comment! I will moan these post types this week, and then look forward to a rebirth of sorts next week onwards 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply
      1. robinmaderich avatar
        robinmaderich

        Looking forward to the rebirth, too.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
          Fox Reviews Rock

          It starts next monday with a rebranding that our very own Vixen has done. Excited for people to see it 🙂

          Liked by 2 people

          Reply
  6. Jordan Francis The Mad Poet avatar
    Jordan Francis The Mad Poet

    Guess I’m going to have to dust off my Spotify account because of hateful people. I’ll greatly miss your new rock roundup posts every week.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      Here’s the link if you need it 🙂 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2XNSN4wu2Zvhh19VzWdjfH?si=0ca5769997ed4a40

      It’s the one post type I’d be willing to keep alive IF someone was kind enough to create me an image to use. With the caveat that it couldnt be AI.

      Like

      Reply
      1. Jordan Francis The Mad Poet avatar
        Jordan Francis The Mad Poet

        I found it thank you though.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
          Fox Reviews Rock

          I have good news for you 🙂

          Vixen the sites resident graphic designer is actually going to create us a brand new image for this post type! Still wont be a post this week, but once I have an image for it then that post type will be staying

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
          1. Jordan Francis The Mad Poet avatar
            Jordan Francis The Mad Poet

            Hells yeah that was my favorite feature of yours. 😊

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
            1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
              Fox Reviews Rock

              I have no idea when the image will be created, but just know it’s going to come back. Probably won’t have the post appear on the main screen, but it will have it’s own spot under the playlists header and you will be able to find them all there 🙂

              Like

              Reply
          2. missparker0106 avatar
            missparker0106

            Yay!!!! 🙂

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
  7. steveforthedeaf avatar
    steveforthedeaf

    Aww Mate. I know what that feels like. People can spoil what’s meant to be fun by picking on details that make them think attacking a creator is justified.

    Conversation is fine. Varying viewpoints is necessary. But people being rude is not what blogging communities should have to tolerate. I know being the target of that rudeness can take its toll.

    Great song choice by the way. Love that MCR schtick!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      Thanks Steve! 🙂

      Yeah I mean I could understand if I was just posting copied and pasted slop from the internet, but all most post contents took time, lots of it,

      I don’t necessarily disagree about the AI stuff, but at the same time, this is my hobby and not my job. I don’t have time to keep up with creating my own images for everything… Proper convos are great and I welcome, but I have been somehow getting private emails too which crossed the boundary somewhat!

      I actually saw MCR Saturday, and plan on releasing a review of it next week! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. steveforthedeaf avatar
        steveforthedeaf

        Lucky you. I hope you had a great gig!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
          Fox Reviews Rock

          THE.BEST!

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  8. Lesley Aeschliman avatar
    Lesley Aeschliman

    I’m sorry to hear that this has happened to you. That really sucks. 😦

    I apologize for not commenting more, but life and running my own blog take up so much of my time. But I do read the vast majority of posts on your site each week and enjoy them a lot.

    Do what you need to do, because taking care of your mental health and being able to enjoy what you’re doing is so important.

    Take care. I’m looking forward to seeing what the new era of Fox Reviews Rock will have to offer. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      Thanks Lesley but you really do not need to apologize 🙂 I know all about how much work it takes to run your own site let alone interact with other peoples.

      The new era will be bright that is for sure, starting with new branding on Monday that our very own Vixen has designed.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  9. Greg Dennison avatar
    Greg Dennison

    I hope everyone is ok 😦 I really enjoyed the guess the album cover and rock star posts… :\

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      It’s was only me that ever saw the comments Greg as I shielded the others from them before they hit the site. But yeah I’m alright just feeling a bit meh. I put a lot of effort into the posts themselves and got fed up of being attacked simply for the image that I chose to use for them.

      I really loved doing those posts too, but I am trying to see this as a positive. I’ll have more time to come up with neat new ways of interacting with bands and hopefully you’ll like those posts too 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  10. Ernie 'Dawg' avatar
    Ernie ‘Dawg’

    It’s a damn shame haters are ruining another fantastic site. I completely understand your frustration Fox and will sadly miss the enjoyment of those categories, especially guess the rockstar [which I was never that good at but liked to try.] Keep up the great work you do and know that some of us still follow and care.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      Thanks Ernie! Those that stick about are going to be more appreciated than ever 🙂 I am excited about the future direction the site will be taking though. Starting with the re-brand monday 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Ernie 'Dawg' avatar
        Ernie ‘Dawg’

        Looking forward to the continued success my friend. 👍

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
          Fox Reviews Rock

          Heres hoping 🤣

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  11. LCRWriter avatar
    LCRWriter

    AI can be a slippery slope, but also a great tool. People need to relax and realize that not everything is black and white, and they also need to be polite when they disagree or don’t like something. Not to mention, there are many bigger issues going on in our world right now to worry about than some AI pics on a blog. Enjoy your week off and I’m sorry you had to adjust your content to fend off the haters.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      It can be a slippery slope for sure! I think people just need to be nice to each other, or just dont interact. I dont think it is that hard to do 🙂

      Thank you, and I’ll probably find it odd I have posted for over a year every day straight haha

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Troy Tennard avatar
        Troy Tennard

        For some reason there seems to be a group on social media who are at war against all things AI. Not sure why. I do believe AI can lead us down a dangerous path, but it is here to stay.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
          Fox Reviews Rock

          I’m not a massive fan of it myself. But it has its uses. Like when I’m posting the Same themed thing every week I want thr Sams image. But I don’t have time to draw something.

          Like

          Reply
  12. Lina Valkema avatar
    Lina Valkema

    I’m so sorry that this is how you’re celebrating this amazing achievement :c. WordPress is a community! Not an arena. Praying for you :). Your articles were always dope, and I enjoyed reading them and will continue to enjoy reading your new posts! Take all the time you need 😻💕

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      It’s ok I know people are on the most part amazing, but this post unfortunately did need to be a thing. I hope that any new post ideas you will enjoy too, just might be a while for those ideas to come to the foreground 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  13. RasmaSandra avatar
    RasmaSandra

    The first thing that popped into my mind was the saying “All good things must come to an end.” Good luck in getting it all sorted out, and I’m looking forward to your next post.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      I hope what we do moving forward tickles your fancy 😁

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  14. writinstuff avatar
    writinstuff

    Kinda bummed to lose some of those features but you have to take care of yourself fist. People suck, but I’ll be back. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      I’m bummed about it too 😞 but it is what it is 🙂 glad you’ll stick around hoping you like the new stuff we have planned 🤘

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  15. Sven Anger avatar
    Sven Anger

    Bummed, but I get it, I bailed a few months ago as well. breaks are good. Thank you for all the work, creativity, music over the years, I loved this blog and all the best with what you do next.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      The site will continue just with more interviews and reviews 🙂 working closer to bands is no bad thing either. I’ll have more time to have that extra level of creativity 🤘😁

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  16. gwengrant avatar
    gwengrant

    Sad and sorry you’ve had to suffer this.

    Gwen.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      Thank you Gwen, life and the site goes on! 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  17. lyndhurstlaura avatar
    lyndhurstlaura

    I’ve noticed the spam comments, and am sorry you’re having to deal with it all this way. I’ll still continue to make genuine comments when I can. There’s too much of this sort of thing, and it’s getting worse. Sorry you’ve become a target – but rock on! xxx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      Rock on Laura 🤘🙂 you’ve probably noticed the ones that slipped through through net. Imagine that many and 10x it

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. lyndhurstlaura avatar
        lyndhurstlaura

        Flaming awful. 😠

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
          Fox Reviews Rock

          It’s alright, I’m excited about the future of the site, we have a big rebrand coming monday that our very own Vixen has designed that I cant wait for people to see 🙂

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  18. Margaret McCaffrey avatar
    Margaret McCaffrey

    All the best. Do what you need to do. Maybe a rest is a blessing in disguise.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      It probably is to be honest 🤣

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  19. Lynette d'Arty-Cross avatar
    Lynette d’Arty-Cross

    So sorry to hear this! I haven’t experienced these abusive and/or threatening comments but I’ve certainly read posts about this issue. If you haven’t already be sure to report this to WP as it’s my opinion they’re not doing enough about it. Good luck going forward and enjoy your hiatus. https://wordpress.com/support/

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      Thank you Lynette! I haven’t reported it purely because they all seemed to be coming via Mastodon, but I’ll think about reporting it there 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  20. lyndhurstlaura avatar
    lyndhurstlaura

    I hate that this has happened to you. What’s to dislike in a site dedicated to music and all-around good sounds? I don’t take part in every post these days, but I still love those to which I can contribute. So sorry, but you have to do what you have to. Hoping it works. 😪

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      You take part loads 🙂 I’ll make it work don’t you worry 🤣

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. lyndhurstlaura avatar
        lyndhurstlaura

        Fingers crossed! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  21. Mr. Rock Candy avatar
    Mr. Rock Candy

    Sorry about the jerks! Keep up the good work!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      Thank you! More new ideas etc coming very soon

      Like

      Reply
  22. Roger avatar
    Roger

    I liked the site. Sometimes, I’ve even guessed the musician/album et al. Looking forward to your return

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      Well you only have to wait till Monday for our big reopening 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  23. Laura M avatar
    Laura M

    Sorry to hear of the nasty comments, always love reading your posts, and you’ve inspired me in many ways!! As sad as I am to see some of these features go, I’m excited for this new chapter for you!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      Thanks so much for this lovely comment Laura 🙂

      The new era of the site actually just launched! New branding post now live.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Laura M avatar
        Laura M

        I’ve just seen it, looks great!!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
          Fox Reviews Rock

          Glad you like it! 🙂

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  24. ibarynt avatar
    ibarynt

    I’m sorry to read this and how it’s affected you personally. It’s sad to see those features discontinued but you got to do what you have to.

    To new beginnings ✨️.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      Thanks! It was a terrible position to be put in, but I had reach the end of my tether. I will genuinely miss those post types as I enjoyed doing them, but it has freed me up somewhat for reviews, interviews, and other post types that I hope people will still enjoy.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. ibarynt avatar
        ibarynt

        Some people are party poopers. I don’t understand how they can be mean in a blog about music… anyways, on to better and bigger things.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
          Fox Reviews Rock

          Yeah I just don’t get it, oh well the future is bright at least 🙂

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  25. Swav avatar
    Swav

    It seems like the more we go into the future, the more polarity responses might be ai related. Raw, imperfect pictures are always better, but then the time that is needed has to be there.. otherwise haw could you win?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
      Fox Reviews Rock

      It was always about convenience for us here. But it got to the point where I was no longer sleeping so a change had to be made!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Swav avatar
        Swav

        so many of us has learned about healthy boundaries recently, especially blogging related.. which is almost as hard as becoming an artist, stay true to your self and (if) needed say: no.. it’s healthy! Cheers!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
          Fox Reviews Rock

          Cheers Swav!

          For ages I did a post every single day like over a year. Now I’m contemplating a 3 week break. Life changes quickly

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
          1. Swav avatar
            Swav

            content distribution is changing faster than we think.. came back to blogging sphere after.. roughly 10 years of break.. whatever used to be called organic traffic as per (class of 2014) blogging university with wordpress.com has changed a lot.. some of the folks are still in the game, but the real issue is monetization, since you can’t pour your creative side when the container been emptied long time ago.. on the other side, we have all them influencers on insta making decent monies. how do you see the shift in blogging from your perspective?

            Like

            Reply
            1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
              Fox Reviews Rock

              I personally think the money in the blogging game has gone completely out the window tbh. Even wordpress’s ad program is not paid anywhere near enough as it should be

              Liked by 1 person

              Reply
              1. Swav avatar
                Swav

                Yeah, blogging became like super-niche these days, even more of a focused window of communication within the world; TikTok and Insta or whatever is on top took the podium.

                Liked by 1 person

                Reply
                1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
                  Fox Reviews Rock

                  Yeah we have social media, mainly because to be honest I consider this more of a website than a blog. I know the distinction is small but I think it is valid 🙂

                  Liked by 1 person

                  Reply
                  1. Swav avatar
                    Swav

                    totally agree, you can’t fight the change.. or shift in perception of your audience.. love, hope, happiness, freedom for the week ahead! choose wisely.. cheers!

                    Liked by 1 person

                    Reply

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