Urban75
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History
Urban75 initially originated from a football comic that started in 1991 as a reaction against the media's near-rabid misrepresentation of Cardiff City F.C. fans. The first issue sold out in three hours and at one point became the fastest-selling small press comic in the UK.
From here, a Football Fans Against The Criminal Justice Act campaign started in 1994. The campaign received large amounts of exposure in the media, and in May 1995 a helper on the campaign from Brighton put together the first version of the Urban75 site, using a modem donated by The Levellers (band).
The first bulletin boards appeared in 1996, when the site was still largely based around Cardiff City F.C., but were soon abused by users and quickly taken down. Gradually, as the site expanded into areas other than football and protest, it grew in popularity and was moved to a different, bigger server. In December 2000, the current version of the bulletin boards were launched, using vBulletin.
Site Content
Protest and Activism
Politically, Urban75 has a leaning towards an anarchist left wing mindset (although the editor has insisted that the site has no specific political affiliation). The 'Action' section of the site contains an events diary, information, articles, reports and photos from various protests and marches.
Photography
Urban75 features around 3,500 original photographs. There are galleries of Brixton, London, New York, Chicago, Brighton, and Wales, as well as various 360° panoramas and photography tutorials.
Drugs
The drugs section of the site calls itself a 'bullshit free guide'. There is information on most well-known drugs available, with the aim of being honest about their effects and legality, "'neither condemning nor condoning drug use'. The site says the infomation "is for people to access the facts and make their own, informed decisions."
Games
The site features dozens of 'useless' games, made by various web designers. The section revels in the fact that many games are pointless and have no meaning (such as 'The DOT-CLICKING game' and 'The Curious Thingy!'). The most popular games are:
- Mr Insult - a series of games based on a character who swears frequently
- The Cossack - games with a mysterious Soviet character
- Punch a Celeb - a hugely popular section where images of nominated celebrities are clicked on and are, supposedly, punched.
Football
Football remains a solid part of the site, with articles and features on recent cup competitions as well information on the Criminal Justice Act and original strips from the Bluebird Jones comic.
The Boards
The bulletin boards have grown into a hugely popular community, with around 20,000 registered members, ranked as the 481st biggest forum on the internet by big-boards.com (http://www.big-boards.com). At present, there are around a quarter of a million page impressions each day, with at least 5,000 new posts daily. There are currently 26 sub forums covering a range of topics. Some of the most notable forums are:
Drugs
A forum for open and honest discussion and advice about drugs. Some members are frequent drug users or addicts, and there have been several astonishingly frank and fascinating threads where users have spoken openly and candidly about their experiences.
Politics And Protest (P&P)
This is a collection of five sub-forums (often including a sixth for topical issues such as elections, conflict etc). This is where the main political debate debate takes place, and at peak times the discussion can be extremely heated and lively.
Suburban75
Often a source of amusement among many members, Suburban75 is the forum for all things domesticated, and features discussion on topics such as cooking and recipes, gardening and DIY. It is generally considered to be the friendliest forum on the boards, and has spawned a knitting club.
The Dustbin
If, as is often the case, a thread quickly descends into flame wars, is posted in the wrong forum, or is simply spam, the moderators rarely delete it immediately. Instead the thread is moved to the Dustbin, where it can be viewed temporarily. The dustbin is popular with many members who enjoy reading the aftermath of extremely heated arguments.
Community
This is where urbanites discuss the state of the boards and organise meet-ups. There is a strong community feeling, with many real-world meetings taking place. Many urbanites meet up for curries or meals, or go for the monthly walk. Meet-ups regularly occur at music festivals and raves, the highlight of the calendar being the Glastonbury Festival. There is a complex network of on and offline friendships and even relationships amongst the community.
Forum Culture
- Members of the boards tend to be referred to as urbanites, although this is not necessarily widely used.
- The traditional greeting to new members is "Come in, sit down, have a Hobnob and don't lend Dub a fiver". 'Dub' refers to the long-time member Dubversion, but the origins of the greeting are largely unknown, as will be the meaning to non-British readers.
- At one point, many urbanites appeared to be obsessed with kittens, and posting up pictures of them. This reached a peak until the editor put a stop to it.
- Many urbanites like to be the last poster on a thread before it is binned. If a thread looks likely to be binned (if it is spam, for example), many members will rush to post a message like 'Last in bin?' This is a rather dubious honour and many urbanites frown upon such behaviour.
- A popular game played by urbanites is Mornington Crescent, as popularized by the BBC Radio 4 series I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. When played it can stretch on for days, weeks and even months, confusing old and new members alike, whilst amusing those who play it.
- Various 'board games' (ie. games played on the bulletin boards) have been pioneered by the urbanite DrJazzz, such as the semi-popular Thread Killer Competition, where posters compete to be the last person to post on the alloted thread, and other competitions such as thread bumping, or predicting the times of certain events, such as the death of Pope John Paul II. In recent times, 'poster above you' activities and word games have become more popular, despite their lack of originality.
- Popular phrases on the boards include:
- Well here we all are then (often posted on a thread that is clearly going nowhere/headed for the dustbin)
- I'm surprised no-one's mentioned [originally: "recommended"] Groundhog Day yet (ditto; the phrase is then repeated by other posters, mimicking the repetitition of the film)
- *shakes fist* (a usually ironic angry post, accompanied by a similarly angry smiley. Variants include: *bangs on window* and *lights torch*)
Offline
On 19th February 2004, the first Offline club night was held at the Brixton Ritzy cinema. Organised by the site's editor and various other urbanites, the free night was intended to produce an eclectic mix of DJs, poets and artists, all for free, as well as expanding the urban75 community further into the real world. The night was a success and is held on the last Thursday of every month. On 30th September 2004, the night moved to the more suitable location of the Dogstar club in Brixton, where it remains. It was described by Time Out magazine as "the best thing to happen to the Dogstar in donkey's" and "...so sucessful it hurts!"
Clan
In January 2005 a number of urbanites set up a website and a server for an Urban75 clan, which allowed members to play computer games with each other online. Although any online-enabled game can be played, the most popular is Counterstrike.
Radio
On May 1 2005 a group of urbanites made a pilot radio show for the community, available to download as an mp3. The three pilots that followed including an interview with the editor of the site, music contributed by urbanites, alternative documentaries, and live recordings from the Offline club night. A regular show is planned from June 2005.
Brian Paddick
Urban75 entered the national news when Brixton's police chief Brian Paddick posted on the bulletin boards in order to discuss issues with Brixton's community while he was conducting a cannabis tolerance experiment. However, when the tabloid press discovered Paddick's posting on the site, a scandal was born. In particular, the press highlighted one post on the boards, where Paddick supposedly said 'The concept of anarchy has always appealed to me'. Although this was taken out of context (http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=8148&postcount=70), Paddick was suspended (although later reinstated).
External links
- Urban75 (http://www.urban75.com/)
- Urban75 bulletin boards (http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/)
- Urban75 clan (http://www.u75clan.com/)
- Urban75 radio (http://www.urban75radio.com/)
- Offline Club Night (http://www.urban75.org/offline/)