Urban75

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The Urban75 homepage
The Urban75 homepage

Urban75 (also sometimes referred to as u75 or urban) is a website and messageboard based in Brixton, England. It was founded in 1995 and includes various content (photographs, games etc), as well as bulletin boards.

Contents

[edit] History

Urban75 initially originated from a football comic that started in 1991 as a reaction against sections of the media's representation of Cardiff City F.C. fans. Its editor claims that "the first issue sold out in three hours and at one point became the fastest-selling small press comic in the UK." [1].

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.[2]

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.[citation needed] Gradually, as the site expanded into areas other than football and protest, it grew in popularity and was moved to a different, bigger server (becoming part of The Head-Space Project until it moved to its own domain in 1998). Early publicity was generated by Shockwave games in which celebrities could be virtually "slapped" or "punched".[3]

In December 2000, the current version of the bulletin boards was launched, using Ultimate Bulletin Board and subsequently vBulletin.[citation needed]

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 internet users while he was conducting a cannabis tolerance experiment. However, when the tabloid press discovered Paddick's posting on the site, a scandal was born.[4] In particular, the press highlighted one post on the boards, where Paddick supposedly said "The concept of anarchy has always appealed to me".[5] A police investigation was launched, during which Paddick was moved to another position.[6] The front-page attention from the tabloid newspapers, outraged at the concept of a senior police commander being attracted to anarchism, led to many contributors joining the bulletin boards.[citation needed]

While the site has a diverse readership, it is incorrectly regarded as being dominated by anarchists.[citation needed]

[edit] Site content

The 'Action' section of the site contains an events diary, information, articles, reports and photos from various protests and marches.

Urban75 features around 3,500 original photographs, mostly taken by the site's owner. There are galleries of Brixton, London, New York, Chicago, Brighton, and Wales, as well as various 360ยบ panoramas and photography tutorials.

The drugs information 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 information "is for people to access the facts and make their own, informed decisions."

The site features dozens of 'useless' games, made by various web designers. The games 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.
  • Slap a Spice Girl - a hugely popular game that was available at the height of the Spice Girls fame, similar to Whac-A-Mole, it was inspired by the girl group's political campaign to back the Conservative Party in 1996, with bonus point for slapping Margaret Thatcher,[7] would go on to inspire the slap a person nomination which led to Punch a Celeb and Slap A Superstar DJ[8]. Despite being the website's popular feature, the Slap a Spice Girl game has since been removed for unknown reasons[9].

Football remains a solid part of the site, with articles and features on recent cup competitions as well information as on the Criminal Justice Act and original strips from the Bluebird Jones comic.

[edit] The boards

The bulletin boards have grown into a popular community, with around 33,000 registered members, although only a fraction of these are active posters. At present, there are around a quarter of a million page impressions each day[10], with at least 5,000 new posts daily. There are currently 26 sub forums covering a range of topics. The boards are managed by a team of moderators, led by the site's owner.[citation needed]

The forums are divided into "General discussion", "Community forums", "Politics, protest and current affairs", "Travel & places" and "Art, tech & science", in addition to an archive section.[11]

[edit] Offline

On 19 February 2004, the first Offline club night was held at the Brixton Ritzy cinema. Organised by the site's editor and various other members, it showcased a mix of DJs, poets and artists, for no admission fee, as well as expanding the urban75 "community" further into the "real" world. On 30 September 2004, the night moved to the Dogstar club in Brixton, and has now moved to Jamm up the Brixton Rd.

The night is held on the last Thursday of every month and has put on big acts such as author Howard Marks, comedians Rob Newman, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring, and new wave legend Tom Robinson, with all acts being paid two pints of beer.[12]

[edit] Radio

On May 1, 2005 a group of posters made a pilot radio show for the website, available to download as an mp3. The three pilots that followed including an interview with the manager of the site, some originally recorded music contributed by members, documentaries, and live recordings from the Offline club night. As of August 2006 the project has folded, and its domain's registration has lapsed.[13]

[edit] Press

Quite a few journalists use the site - some openly, some not - and posters can find themselves quoted in national papers or other websites. An example is when a survivor of the London tube bombings posted an account on the boards of her experience, which became a blog on the BBC website.[14]

[edit] Corporate resistance

Urban75 has often been approached by corporate multimedia drawn by the popularity of the site and its huge forum membership database, but the site has a strict anti-commercial philosophy with a resolute anti-advertising policy in place from the very beginning.

The subject has, however, come up for discussion amongst forum members, and a public vote showed the majority backing the site's stance, even when it came to carrying advertising for 'politically acceptable' items like Fairtrade and ethical products.

http://www.urban75.org/info/about1.html[citation needed]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bluebird Jones
  2. ^ Wired world: Eighties survivor cracks the zine scene, Wired
  3. ^ The Urban Web Warrior:Urban75's Mike Slocombe Online Journalism Review
  4. ^ The Guardian profile: Brian Paddick, Guardian Unlimited
  5. ^ Police chief rebuked over 'anarchy' remark, BBC
  6. ^ MPA STATEMENT CONCERNING CMDR BRIAN PADDICK, Government News Network
  7. ^ http://www.smug.com/5/such.html
  8. ^ WFMU's Beware of the Blog: Slap A Superstar DJ
  9. ^ urban75 information page
  10. ^ Alexa Traffic rankings for Urban75
  11. ^ urban75 forums
  12. ^ Urban75: Offline
  13. ^ Urban75 Radio
  14. ^ Tube Survivor Blog

[edit] External links

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