606v2 as a Virtual Community

[neil.treacy]

Hi all,

I'm a former 606 poster finally getting stuck into v2for the first time.

But firstly, as part of a college project, I'd like to get some feedback from many of the users about v2 for a cultural studies project I need to somplete for college.

For starters, I'd ike to ask about the establishment of this site, how many founders it had, and how it is financed (broadly speaking, ofcourse!).

For those who regularly use the site, I'd also like to pick your brains too. How would you describe this site for somebody who has never used it before? How doesthis online community differ from other sports forum? Have many users formed friendships outside this forum with fellow members through debates and conversations in 606 and 606v2?

It'd be great to hear back from some regular posters about this! Aside from that, I'll give ye a little bit about myself. I'm a student journalist, with long term ambitions to be a sports writer. Since I'm from Limerick in Ireland, my exposure to sports writing has mainly been in rugby, and I've been lucky enough to do some exclusive interviews with Keith Earls and Anthony Foley, and also interviewed Richie Gray, new Bristol City manager Derek McInnes, and jockey Timmy Murphy when I was on my Erasmus in Scotland. Expect to find my name in almost any section of 606, I've got a very broad and open passion for sport!

Cheers

[Fists of Fury]

Welcome aboard, Neil.

The site originally had 1 founder, Hero, who set it up with the help of Y I Man and Hobo, so I guess you could say there are three 'founding fathers'.

As for financing the site, it was purely from the pockets of the founders/admins in the beginning, and the recent addition of the adverts you see on the site help toward some of the running costs (when people click on them, that is).

Hopefully that is something to get you started, and others can contribute toward your other questions.

Cheers

[neil.treacy]

Thanks Fists!

Much appreciated!

[Guest]

Hi Neil, thanks for joining us here.

Regarding the inception of the site, when the BBC announced that 606 was closing in January there was a brainstorming session on a thread there and Hero started this place off. It wasn't just myself and Hobo who helped out, Enforcer was here from the start along with King Beer. As time progressed and the site got busier, we added more Admin and Mods to the team.

We all advertised on a regular basis on 606 until it closed. The Golf members were the first to come over en mass, followed by boxing, tennis and then rugby. Each section had a base core of members, but with those 4 sports, the majority of members from 606 joined.

Each section has then picked up new members from word of mouth, advertising through twitter and other means and its gone from there really.

[Adam D]

Forgot to mention that Hero pops in on Tuesday afternoons to see how we are all doing.

(not the last Tuesday of the month though - thats his monthly crown green bowling work tournament)

[ADMIN]

Ooh it's Tuesday afternoon so I better grace you with my presence!
Welcome onboard Neil, I think pretty much everything has been covered by the other guys but to cut a long story short on the day 606 announced it was to close I realised that I really didn't want to lose touch with the people that I'd spent several years chatting to online so I made this place. I quickly realised that other communities were the same on 606 and whilst other alternatives were popping up it wasn't the same vision as what I felt was the reason people enjoyed 606 for so I invited them along for the ride.

[Guest]

in all honesty its a fantastic site, and im very happy to be a part of this site

[cherriesfna]

hi
first of all this is a great site
i think a part of why it is as good as it is is that unlike many other forums it isnt dominated by football. (I DO LIKE FOOTBALL)
there is still a good following but what this site thrives in is the general intrest in other sports
Rugby
Golf
etc

[Beer]

Don't forget certain former Admins!

[Mad for Chelsea]

cherriesfan makes a good point. Where the admins and founders really got it right was advertising across the whole of 606 rather than just targeting the football boards. They're already a couple of decent 606 alternatives for football, but this is easily the most varied, and that's what makes it great IMO (also the fact that three of my fave four sports happen to be in the top 5 mos popular on here doesn't hurt ).

[Guest]

Considering its such a young site, V2 hasn't even had its 1st year anniversary yet, it has managed to cater for over 3000 sports enthusiasts, which is quite an achievement. Many came here from 606, but many have arrived from other shores or who are new to sports forums.

It is still teething time of course, but the overall vision of its founders is still viable and I can say with all honesty that V2 to me is one of the best sites to discuss a whole plethora of sporting events. Yes there are problems, but they are being discussed and addressed and in conjunction with the feedback the admins get here and on threads, the only way is up.

It will take time, but already the site is well established and has a good core of contributors that form the basis for expansion. Socially, as an ethereal meeting place, some groups have formed outside relations, so the bond is stronger, others maintain a pseudo friendship in line with sites like Facebook etc, but it can also lead to strong bonds within its online community.

To anyone new to online forums and web communication, a place like this can be daunting, its big and covers many subjects but a little patience and dipping of toes can be rewarding to the initiate. On many sections, one only has to ask and help will be at hand, which is a useful tool as the OA will find out soon enough.

[Celtic Warrior]

It's a shadow of it's former self due to the banning of that wonderful Admin David Tails...

[Beer]

It's a shadow of it's former self due to the banning of that wonderful Admin David Tails...

Absolutely, 100% agree,

[ADMIN]

Don't remember him myself.

[Davie]

I thought he was a bit of an idiot

[Beer]

Davie, weren't you an Admin????

[Davie]

I was never a real admin - just Hobo's pooper-scooper

[Beer]

I was never a real admin - just Hobo's pooper-scooper

Weren't we all!!

[Celtic Warrior]

I was never a real admin - just Hobo's pooper-scooper

Yeah we all took our fair share of that duty. There was plenty around to be scooped

[Guest]

A mention of certain Global Mods wouldn't go amiss....

...Nando does an excellent job!

[Guest]

nando does do a very good job......

aso does sainty

[Celtic Warrior]

Sainty was a founding member of #TeamAirTight. What more needs to be said?

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