Whirlpool (website)
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Type of site
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discussion forum |
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| Available in | English |
| Owners | Simon Wright, Phil Sweeney |
| Created by | Simon Wright |
| Revenue | Google AdSense |
| Website | whirlpool |
| Registration | Free |
| Launched | December 1998 |
| Current status | Active |
| Written in | CFML, JavaScript |
Whirlpool is an independentAustralian website founded in 1998. Since then, it has grown significantly and has over 700,000 registered accounts. Primarily a discussion forum, some extra functionality such as Broadband Choice was included, although this functionality has been removed from the site.
Whirlpool began as a parody of the name of Telstra's BigPond cable Internet service. However, it soon expanded to cover Optus' Optus@Home (now known as OptusNet) cable internet service, ADSL-based services, and other forms of broadband ISPs in Australia as they became available.
On 11 September 2007, it was announced that 2Clix Software was commencing legal action against Whirlpool founder Simon Wright for posts made by users in the Whirlpool forums that 2Clix claimed were "false and malicious". 2Clix claimed it had lost approximately A$150,000 income per month between January and July 2007 and sued for this amount plus legal costs. Whirlpool users responded immediately by sending PayPal donations to assist with the site's legal costs, with some users claiming they had sent donations exceeding A$1,000. The co-founder of PIPE Networks personally pledged a donation of A$10,000 towards the cause.
On 19 September 2007, 2Clix solicitors stated that they had received instructions to discontinue the case. 2Clix entered voluntary liquidation in late 2007 and its director was subsequently declared bankrupt.
Broadband Choice allowed a user to find options available to them and to filter them by features such as price, speed and usage limits. In most cases, details about internet service providers (ISPs) and their plans were maintained by staff of each ISP, which were then editorially approved by Whirlpool. Forums for a few ISPs, such as Telstra, were maintained by Whirlpool.
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