Whirlpool (website)
From Free net encyclopedia
Whirlpool is an Australian Broadband user web site, started in 1998 by Simon Wright. Since then, it has grown rapidly and has remained independent ever since.
It started as a pun on the name of Telstra's cable service, BigPond. It soon expanded to cover Optus cable, ADSL, and other forms of broadband in Australia as they became available.
It now serves as a de facto industry watchdog for the larger players in the Australian broadband industry, such as Telstra and Optus.
Its sister site, Broadband Choice, is the most comprehensive list of broadband options, plans and prices in Australia.
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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 well known for being fully-featured, yet fast, efficient, and not bloated. They 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. However, 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. So as a result, the Whirlpool forums may appear to be more heavily moderated than others.
The forum also has very few off-topic areas (known as 'lounges'). It also does not support signatures, avatars or in-line images. Many of the long term users agree that such differences are certainly beneficial to the forum, and set it apart from "pre-written" forum software.
The Whirlpool forums have more than 100,000 registered users with around 89,000 active accounts.
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.
The people behind the site
Whirlpool.net.au is relatively unique in that it exists with no revenue stream. Unlike many forums, Whirlpool.net.au 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.
Who's Who of the WP Staff
Founder, Developer, Contributing Editor: Simon Wright
News and Broadband Choice Editor: Phil Sweeney
Reporters: Matt Borgo, Fiona McNeill, Liam Getreu, Tim Gaden, Brad Peczka, Dylan Repia and Martin Sinclair
Senior Moderators: Corey, The Librarian and Cafeman
Moderators: -Stu-, .Craig., Andrew Jones, Big Al, Big C, Brad., C@Wong, Comrade Stalin, Darren., Gnuthad, Mark ......, Mike Bee, Mosky, Sho Pi, Ray Macey and Tyson.
</br>Section Moderators: Hendikins, Viper6, <Thor>, Captain Obvious, Max Rockatansky, Nuggan, Spanky.
Another unique property of Whirlpool.net.au 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.