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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB 11:57 - Apr 30 with 27479 viewshubble

For the denizens of this board the fate of WATRB is probably not much more than an afterthought. It has an interesting place in the Rangers' message board pantheon, catering for perhaps a different demographic than this one. It is generally looked down upon by the more highbrow message boards and politically it is summed up by the fact that it is (as far as I am aware) the only Rangers' board that is majority pro-Brexit.

It seemed to have its heyday several years back, but has persisted as one of a quartet of most popular QPR forums, the other three being this one, the ersatz QPRdot.org and not606. However, in recent times it has been riven by internecine strife, with whole threads dedicated to accusations and counter-accusations, much to the detriment of the board as a whole.

Things reached a head a few months back when two key members of the admin team left to form a rival message board that was free of the in-fighting that clogged WATRB. Having formed the new board they attempted to recruit posters from WATRB, resulting in a Stalinesque clampdown from the remaining admin, which included severe breaches of forum protocol, i.e. reading the private messages of board members. The private message function was subsequently removed all together and left remaining members in a kind of limbo, with the in-fighting and arguing continuing.

I was one of the members who was contacted by the new forum and moved over. In trying to contact a friend from WATRB by simply posting on the forum I was put on the naughty step ( pre-mod) and all my posts either criticising the handling of the whole debacle or trying to reach my friend were deleted.

What I find fascinating about all this and message boards in general are what they reveal about us, about tribalism, belonging, ideas of ownership and connection and loyalty. With larger clubs pretty much the only thing that binds the disparate members of football forums is their allegiance to a particular football team, to which most have no more connection that any other 'brand'. With smaller teams like ours, there is something more profound that binds most of us, a physical connection to the place itself, often through place of birth or strong family connections. At bottom it is about belonging, in a world that is increasingly globalised and empty of value. I wouldn't be surprised if there have been anthropological studies of fan message boards, but if there haven't, there should be.

Of course there are other issues at stake: for WATRB it's about income, footfall driving revenue, hence the desire to cling to its membership and fight off any interference. But the mistake is to alienate your core users in the first place. Where this board succeeds so admirably I think is in its inclusivity: it is by and large a broad and tolerant church. Exclusivity is not useful in a free-to-use forum that relies on numbers.

It's also fascinating to note how different each QPR board is (let alone forums in general) in their unique 'flavour'. This is partly due to how the board is administered, partly due to the look and feel of the board itself. Hiving off non-QPR related threads to sub-forums is attractive to some posters who want their QPR fix unadulterated, but for most, the open, anything goes style of this board is much more attractive. The original (and I think best) QPR forum, qpr.org, was an uncensored and completely open forum which had the benefit of being privately funded. Boards funded by advertising like this one (I think that's its key funding model, please correct me if I'm wrong Clive) and WATRB have to place certain restrictions on posters to avoid falling foul of the dreaded Google adwords bots that flag up things they don't like, such as swear words. These restrictions are fairly easily circumvented by members using asterisks for letters, or creative alternatives to standard expletives. Again, the very fact that this happens is interesting in itself. We are all slaves to the mighty Google and other mass media social media platform purveyors to some extent. Perhaps to a scary extent.

The splinter forum has a witty name if you've been a long-term follower of QPR message board wars: Rangers Fantasy Island. A name that seems apt when refugees from WATRB wash up on its shores. As a fledgling QPR forum it doesn't even register on Google unless searched by name directly. It will be interesting to see (from an anthropological perspective at least) what happens to the various QPR forums over the next few years, especially if the decline in the club's fortunes continues. On here at least there is much outside of QPR to continue to entertain its members.




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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 12:07 - Apr 30 with 10734 viewsSonofNorfolt

C'est la vie, as I said whilst tossing my last box of Swan Vestas onto petroleum soaked rags at Notre Dame the other week.
We are ranked as one of the highest in fighting firms in the country so this should come as no surprise, however any one of these message boards is better than the Facebook groups available.
I've been toying with starting up one myself: QPR RETARD.
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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 12:11 - Apr 30 with 10721 viewsBAWHoops

Unfortunately I, and I'm sure many others, will forever associate that board with a disgustingly toxic time at QPR.
Set up by 'QBlockPete' so that Gianni Paladini could pedal bullshit to the fans. It was popular for ages because it was just full of stupid nudge nudge wink wink transfer rumours, essentially clickbait.

Was nigh on impossible to have a decent discussion on there as there were prolific posters who were clearly posting on behalf of the Chairman and would defend him despite the fact he was ruining the club.

The period from 2005 - 2009 was so toxic. proper fans driven out and the club lost it's soul. Arguably paved the way for the cash grab Fernandes era which the club looks like it will never recover from.
WATRB and that wnker Pete played a significant role in that and I don't think it should be forgotten

http://blogandwhitehoops.wordpress.com/

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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 12:20 - Apr 30 with 10652 viewsLblock

I’ve heard it all now

Your position on BREXIT is also intrinsically linked to which football message boards you use and your profile is that of a warring narcissist

Have a fcukin word!!!

Cherish and enjoy life.... this ain't no dress rehearsal

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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 12:25 - Apr 30 with 10631 viewsJJB

I like this board the most, that's mainly down to the fact I haven't been banned from it yet like I have on all the others.

Remember The White City Fighting?
Poll: Would you like to see the return of Mr Warnock?

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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 12:36 - Apr 30 with 10593 viewsCroydonCaptJack

Good OP Hud.
I joined WATRB in about 2011 (a bit after the issues from the sound of it) and have posted on there, here and not606 as well since discovering football forums around then. I agree about the different feels of each forum and have enjoyed all of them for different reasons until recent events at WATRB. I hadn't picked up that there was any political leaning on WATRBs though. I am sure the posters views are mixed, just like here.

I too moved across to the very very very wittily named Fantasy Island forum when it was created a few months ago. There are several posters who post on all sites except I notice not606 has a smaller bunch of posters who I don't see anywhere else. That site came from the original BBC 606 forum which disappeared when the BBC didn't want to pay to moderate it any more. The good thing about that was you could post on other clubs parts of the forum.

As Hud says, it will be interesting to see how it all pans out.
[Post edited 30 Apr 2019 12:38]
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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 13:21 - Apr 30 with 10417 viewsHayesender

Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 12:20 - Apr 30 by Lblock

I’ve heard it all now

Your position on BREXIT is also intrinsically linked to which football message boards you use and your profile is that of a warring narcissist

Have a fcukin word!!!


Basically if you voted for brexit, you're nothing more than a thick wacist who doesn't even know what they voted for.

The smugness of remainers holds no bounds

Poll: Shamima Beghum

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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 13:41 - Apr 30 with 10328 viewsNorthernr

Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 12:11 - Apr 30 by BAWHoops

Unfortunately I, and I'm sure many others, will forever associate that board with a disgustingly toxic time at QPR.
Set up by 'QBlockPete' so that Gianni Paladini could pedal bullshit to the fans. It was popular for ages because it was just full of stupid nudge nudge wink wink transfer rumours, essentially clickbait.

Was nigh on impossible to have a decent discussion on there as there were prolific posters who were clearly posting on behalf of the Chairman and would defend him despite the fact he was ruining the club.

The period from 2005 - 2009 was so toxic. proper fans driven out and the club lost it's soul. Arguably paved the way for the cash grab Fernandes era which the club looks like it will never recover from.
WATRB and that wnker Pete played a significant role in that and I don't think it should be forgotten


Internet forums, serious business. Laughable really. But I'd strongly second this.

I haven't looked on there in years so I'm sure it's different now (no surprise certain people vanished when Paladini left, just as we said they would) but that site at birth made an already toxic situation worse and enabled Paladini and his hangers on to continue dividing the fan base, going after people, targeting people that weren't onside, stripping the club of QPR people who'd been there all their lives. Your last line is absolutely spot on.
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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 13:49 - Apr 30 with 10290 viewshubble

Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 12:11 - Apr 30 by BAWHoops

Unfortunately I, and I'm sure many others, will forever associate that board with a disgustingly toxic time at QPR.
Set up by 'QBlockPete' so that Gianni Paladini could pedal bullshit to the fans. It was popular for ages because it was just full of stupid nudge nudge wink wink transfer rumours, essentially clickbait.

Was nigh on impossible to have a decent discussion on there as there were prolific posters who were clearly posting on behalf of the Chairman and would defend him despite the fact he was ruining the club.

The period from 2005 - 2009 was so toxic. proper fans driven out and the club lost it's soul. Arguably paved the way for the cash grab Fernandes era which the club looks like it will never recover from.
WATRB and that wnker Pete played a significant role in that and I don't think it should be forgotten


All that stuff happened long before I joined that forum, but it's definitely worth pointing out, as you have done. I am aware of course that it was the reason it got given the moniker 'Fantasy Island', but I have to admit I never even looked at it in those days. It does underline how powerful message boards can be in their effect, both positive and negative. It also says a lot about how factionalism operates amongst people supposedly united in a similar cause.
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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 13:51 - Apr 30 with 10270 viewsloftboy

Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 13:41 - Apr 30 by Northernr

Internet forums, serious business. Laughable really. But I'd strongly second this.

I haven't looked on there in years so I'm sure it's different now (no surprise certain people vanished when Paladini left, just as we said they would) but that site at birth made an already toxic situation worse and enabled Paladini and his hangers on to continue dividing the fan base, going after people, targeting people that weren't onside, stripping the club of QPR people who'd been there all their lives. Your last line is absolutely spot on.


I once bumped into Pete outside the ground, when I told him my user name he took a step back and genuinely thought I was going to punch him.
[Post edited 30 Apr 2019 13:53]

favourite cheese mature Cheddar. FFS there is no such thing as the EPL
Poll: Are you watching the World Cup

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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 14:42 - Apr 30 with 10107 viewsPhildo

Tough one to get right though isn't it.

The old .org that the OP mentioned was great although even on that there was talk of cliques etc as I remember and then when the guy who ran it - battletank - went missing or the site went down people were not very loyal. I found this site not long after and it is the most similar in spirit to that board.

What would happen if Northern got very busy at work or was ill etc -there might well be another meltdown. I think that those who run boards should get a medal to be honest as it is a great way of talking to people with a common interest who are generally very kind see for example the discussions around depression in recent months on this board. It can go a bit dark now and then but easy enough to ignore. I dont think having to put a few ** in your f**ks makes too much difference and moderation here is very light touch basically don't offer people out when p*ssed is about the only hard and fast rule I can discern.

WATRB however I really would not go near because I think Paladini and the people he surrounded himself with really did rip the heart out of the club from which at this point in time I am not sure if it is going to recover. I suspect most of them as mentioned above are no longer there but it is totemic for me. It was used to do harm to people and should really have been distanced from that era by renaming itself or some-such.
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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 14:53 - Apr 30 with 10060 viewsMetallica_Hoop

I posted there about 3 times then heard about all the shit so stopped but my main gripe was a unsatisfactory Ginger hedgepig clique.

Geri Halliwell...that's like the ginger version of cheese in a tube..

Beer and Beef has made us what we are - The Prince Regent

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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 14:54 - Apr 30 with 10056 viewsSharpy36

Rivals was number 1, end of.

'You didn't know that was wrong, but now you do. If you do it again, I'll know you are doing it on purpose.'

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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 15:01 - Apr 30 with 10029 viewsjonno

Message board wars always remind me of this;
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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 15:02 - Apr 30 with 10031 viewsWokingR

Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 14:53 - Apr 30 by Metallica_Hoop

I posted there about 3 times then heard about all the shit so stopped but my main gripe was a unsatisfactory Ginger hedgepig clique.

Geri Halliwell...that's like the ginger version of cheese in a tube..


Doesn't matter which one you pick
They're all mingers
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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 15:06 - Apr 30 with 10021 viewsCroydonCaptJack

Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 15:02 - Apr 30 by WokingR

Doesn't matter which one you pick
They're all mingers


I was always very partial to Ginger Spice but I saw her recently and she looked quite old. A few years ago she still looked great so maybe she had just had a heavy night (or couple of years!)
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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 15:09 - Apr 30 with 10008 viewsloftboy

Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 14:54 - Apr 30 by Sharpy36

Rivals was number 1, end of.


Especially when we invaded other teams boards and shared virtual lagers!

favourite cheese mature Cheddar. FFS there is no such thing as the EPL
Poll: Are you watching the World Cup

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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 15:13 - Apr 30 with 9995 viewsMetallica_Hoop

Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 15:09 - Apr 30 by loftboy

Especially when we invaded other teams boards and shared virtual lagers!


Who was it went on the empty Leeds board and switched on the 'lights' and hhad a rummage in their virtual 'fridge'. Made me laugh.

The Plymouth lot too.

Beer and Beef has made us what we are - The Prince Regent

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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 15:15 - Apr 30 with 9984 viewsdoogi10

rival was great balloon popping on the brizee message board
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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 15:59 - Apr 30 with 9843 viewsthame_hoops

Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 15:06 - Apr 30 by CroydonCaptJack

I was always very partial to Ginger Spice but I saw her recently and she looked quite old. A few years ago she still looked great so maybe she had just had a heavy night (or couple of years!)


She’s definitely got better with age, the proper definition of a MILF
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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 16:00 - Apr 30 with 9838 viewsloftboy

Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 15:59 - Apr 30 by thame_hoops

She’s definitely got better with age, the proper definition of a MILF


Baby spice for me.

favourite cheese mature Cheddar. FFS there is no such thing as the EPL
Poll: Are you watching the World Cup

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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 16:17 - Apr 30 with 9764 viewsrsonist

Have never bothered to verify but it's always felt like we have a comically disproportionate number of different message boards and quarrelling fans associations relative to our size.
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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 16:29 - Apr 30 with 9718 viewsrrrspricey

Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 15:15 - Apr 30 by doogi10

rival was great balloon popping on the brizee message board




Also the Dhull lot, Dutchmountaindog et al, happy days
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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 16:29 - Apr 30 with 9716 viewsloftboy

Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 16:17 - Apr 30 by rsonist

Have never bothered to verify but it's always felt like we have a comically disproportionate number of different message boards and quarrelling fans associations relative to our size.


I remember Smiffy (RIP) getting tracked down in a pub one Saturday after being a bit vocal

favourite cheese mature Cheddar. FFS there is no such thing as the EPL
Poll: Are you watching the World Cup

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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 18:25 - Apr 30 with 9474 viewsBoston

Enjoyable read Hudders, the cheque from Fantasy Island is in the post!

BTW....the QPR.org, ‘stolen’ from Ben Humphries by Drew Garro, also suffered from the reading of pm’s and had an inner circle, but was quite comfortably the craziest mb in its day.

Didn’t use WATRB much, but their posters were often itk on matters Rangers.

Poll: Thank God The Seaons Over.

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Board wars: the slow implosion of WATRB on 18:28 - Apr 30 with 9464 viewsBoston

....and the one night / week stand(hope all the lesbo stuff is true), award goes to Ginger Spice.

Poll: Thank God The Seaons Over.

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