Whirlpool (website)

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Whirlpool is an Australian Broadband user web site, started in 1998 by Simon Wright. Since then, it has grown significantly with over 140 thousand registered members (as of 2006) while remaining independent.

Whirlpool started as a pun on the name of Telstra's cable service, BigPond, however it soon expanded to cover Optus's cable Internet service (now known as OptusNet), ADSL based services, and other forms of broadband in Australia as they became available.

The web site now serves as a de facto industry watchdog for the larger players in the Australian broadband industry, such as Telstra and Optus.

As part of the site, Broadband Choice, is the most comprehensive list of broadband options, plans and prices in Australia. This allows a user to enter the features such as price and bandwidth they want in a plan, which in turn filters out plans they do not wish to see for comparison.

1 Whirlpool forums
2 Whirlpool Wiki
3 The people behind the site
- 3.1 There is no GUWPCT
4 Relationship with ISPs
5 Awards
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Whirlpool forums

One of Whirlpool's most noted features is that the entire site is hand-coded by Simon Wright, and it has its own custom forum engine. The forums are known for being fast, efficient, and not bloated as well as offering a significant range of features although signatures, avatars and in-line images are not supported and the search function is somewhat limited compared to other forums. Despite these limitations, many of the long term users agree that such differences are beneficial to the forum, and set it apart from "pre-written" forum software.

The Whirlpool forums are also famous for their 'TSOD' (Teal Screen of Death, a play on the Windows BSOD), which occur when the server undergoes high load. The forums are generally a popular place to ask broadband related questions - representatives from many Australian broadband ISPs actively support their current and prospective users through this medium, although they do stress that it is an unofficial support method.

The moderators are often accused for being heavy handed when it comes to certain issues and of over-moderation generally. Whirlpool uses an "open moderation" policy, so when threads and posts are deleted or moved, placeholders are left allowing users to see the moderation that has taken place. This is different to other forum software, where deleted threads simply disappear from view, and posts can be edited by moderators unbeknownst to users. As a result, any heavy-handedness or over-moderation is more obvious than it is on other forums.

The forum also has very few off-topic areas (known as 'lounges'), which are generally only available to long standing or highly active members of the community.

The Whirlpool forums have more than 146,000 registered users with around 89,000 active accounts.

[edit] Whirlpool Wiki

Whirlpool has its own Wiki, which is currently in beta. It has an accumulation of information put together by forum users in 'sticky threads' over time, with the hope of cutting down forum clutter while also allowing more collaborative content development. It includes information that is difficult to find aggregated into one place elsewhere, such as a guide to the locations of Australian Telephone Exchanges, a list of Australian PC shops (and Mac shops) and VoIP providers in Australia.

[edit] The people behind the site

Whirlpool is relatively unique in that it exists with no revenue stream. Unlike many forums, Whirlpool has no banners nor paid advertising. Bandwidth and web hosting are donated by WebCentral, an Australian hosting company, and all site administrative tasks are conducted by a team of unpaid volunteer members who have been given special privileges over time as they have built trust among the online community.

Simon Wright is the founder and developer of the site, and Phil Sweeney is the News and Broadband Choice Editor.

[edit] There is no GUWPCT

Grand Unified Whirlpool Conspiracy Theory is a term coined by Corey, a Senior Moderator, in 2004 to summarise contradictory claims of policy bias against particular users and/or ISPs.

It has since been appropriated by a group variously known as; 'Conspiracy Theorists' or (currently) 'Mutinous Dog' to deny their mysterious status.

[edit] Relationship with ISPs

Another unique property of Whirlpool is the degree of participation from industry players. A reasonable number of the more progressive ISPs have recognised the potential for Whirlpool.net.au to act as a bi-directional communication channel with their customers. While this very direct communication with their customers presents many challenges, it also allows ISPs to build strong grass-roots support and trust with their customer base. Whirlpool.net.au is somewhat unique in that relatively few online forums offer the ability for customers to discuss topics and issues with not only each other on a national basis, but also with the vast majority of large service providers in one spot.

A small selection of these ISPs have demonstrated a clear enough understanding of the consumer focus of the site to have been given moderation control over their individual forum. However, as all ISPs have no final control over what occurs in the Whirlpool forums, their participation represents a significant commercial and PR challenge.