Gwlad

Gwlad Rugby
Gwlad Rugby (www.gwladrugby.com) is one of the most significant rugby union discussion forums on the internet [http://www.welshpedia.co.uk/wiki/wales/index.php?titleRugby&redirectno], and certainly the one with the greatest sense of community, as evidenced by its massive support base (nearly 9,000 members), international flavour and ability to carry on despite financial crises that would ruin small countries, or indeed the Welsh Rugby Union it so often parodies. Gwlad has recently taken the decision to ban Wikpedia discussion from the forum on the grounds of notability and relevance.

Gwlad History
Gwlad was created in 1997, taking it's name from the Welsh Language word for land or country. It is also a prominent phrase in the Welsh national anthem, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. It has two main parts, the front page and the forum. The front page articles are often humorous parodies of recent events in Welsh Rugby. The forums provide a source for lively topical debate.

Gwlad has grown since its early days, when it was hosted at www.hotchips.demon.co.uk with the message board at voy.com . "Cannot obtain lock" has become a war cry for many rugby fans in Wales, (until the emergence of Evans and Wyn Jones at the Ospreys). Gwlad currently has almost 9,000 members who have posted over 1.5 million threads, boosted by Gwlad anti-legend PhillBB's (thought to be interpreted as "PhilBoringBarsteward") 240,000,000, financially-oriented, anti-Ponty Cardiff-centric posts.

Gwlad's early experiments in 'social networking' which included buddy lists, allowing an early version of 'blogging', private messaging, providing sub-forums for distributed communities of interest demonstrably predate johnny-come-lately sites such as Blogger, Myspace and Facebook by many years (although these particular sites may have actually made money for their owners/backers - whereas Gwlad's founding fathers were commercially clueless / beardy lefties / from Gwent). Gwlad's early attempt at a 'reality internet' competition, Mam Fach, broadly based on 'Big Brother' was a spectacular success, and resulted in internet traffic of sufficient volume to overwhelm the capacity of the then current Internet Service Provider.

Members (well those brave enough to put their pics up) can be viewed here: http://www.gwladcam.gwladrugby.com/

Gwlad's reputation amongst Welsh rugby fans has been enhanced by the administrators' steadfast refusal to submit to allowing advertisments on the site - another feature that separates Gwlad from other prominent rugby website rivals e.g. which all too frequently are riddled with advertisments. Gwlad is 100% funded by donations from members, most of which are given voluntarily and some even willingly. Apparently, if anyone needs the payment details, they should ask self-appointed treasurer Clunk.

Gwlad Home page

The Gwlad homepage at is often perceived to have declined in importance since the early days of the site. Recent attempts have been made to attract more users to the Home page by i) regular front page writers submitting articles more often and, ii) encouraging a wider range of users to submit articles.

Gwlad Rugby Chat
The 'Chat Site', accessible from the Home page, remains the beating heart of Gwlad. Some regular posters have been posting almost continuously since day one, amassing astonishing numbers of posts. The atmosphere is generally tolerant, even during discussions about 'the Blues' or 'the Dragons'. The users are generally adults, rather than children, and so a certain amount of childish name-calling is pretty much a requirement. This often features shocking profanity and some fairly ripe phrases have become catchphrases amongst the users. These catchphrases are known as Gwlad-isms, among the Gwladerati. There is, however a fine but ruthlessly policed line of what constitutes acceptable Gwlading, and members are often banned without trial for repeat offences by the website Moderators, or Gwladstapo as they are secretly known among the proletariat.

Deliverance - The Banjo Lounge
Performs a vital 'care in the community' function especially when Rugby Club is in turmoil following the all-too-frequent unsatisfactory performances by the national team, any referee, or Gavin Henson. It provides a general discussion board where film, music, medical, travel, gift, cycling, television and SBS advice can be obtained or given. Ambitions of the Banjo Loungers include stamping out stamping, fighting for peace, burning fascist books and making sure Maddie will never be forgotten.

Gwladisms

* 240,000,000 - any large number.
* SBS - Surprise Bum Sex, when one is surprised upon receiving said act.
* Pics or STFU - to be posted when a user makes an unsubstatiated claim.
* Firstname vf Lastname - First a reference to Shawn van fucking Rensberg, 'vf' can now be inserted between the names of any over-rated and over-hyped player, often applied to Jason vf Forster.
* The Hensonwitch - Gavin Henson. A prominent Welsh Rugby player who may or may not be a witch.
* FACT! - when added at the end of a point, it is used to add force to one's argument. Often accompanied by PAL!
* Cock out - Erm members post with their cock out...h'apparently
* The Lewering - a being created by the fusing of two particularly odious members of the WRU hierarchy.
* Soz bois - obligatory precursor to any request for advice, particularly with regard to travel.
* Looks weak - regular response to the selection of any Welsh team, particularly those selected by former coach Gareth Jenkins.
* Garteh - The aforementioned Gareth Jenkins.
* Gyppo - Gareth Jenkins
* Shewerly - Gyppo speak
* The Pedants' Shield (or should that be Pedant's Shield?) - more often claimed than awarded trophy for noticing and highlighting the smallest, most insignificant error in grammar, spelling or syntax. May be awarded in several different threads simultaneously.
* Humilificated - to be humilificated is much, much worse and far more Welsh than being humiliated.
* NEWS (Not Even With Slacker's) - normally used in reference to a female whom one of the posters thinks is attractive but is, in reality, a bit of a moose.
* Rep Whore - one who posts with the sole, shameless aim of earning "Rep" (reputation points).
* Pre-madonna - a prima donna.
* Peroquilism - parochialism.
* KFC - don't ask. No, seriously, you don't want to know.
* A wash and a jam sandwich - Take time off to have a wank.
* JWM - Japanese Wanking Machine.
* Dargnobertha - reference to a former poster who struggled with his typing due to being afflicted with "bard 'ands".
* In the Gayers - To be homosexual. NB Gwlad is a non-discriminatory site.
* HLF - hands like feet. Used to imply a player is not particularly skilled at catching a rugby ball. Exclusively used to refer to Mark Jones, current Welsh winger.
* HLHLF - Either of the Brew's.
* 'Ickle - the world's most elusive winger according to some, Rougerie's rag-doll to others - Shane Williams
* 'Brian' - Not the Messiah but actually James Hook.
* HB - The Gorgeous Hard boiled
* LS - The Gorgeous Lady Scarlet
* Gog-ette - The Gorgeous Gog-ette, funnily enough.
* BMBHSAS - Bring Maddie back home safe and sound.
* MJWtf - Scarlets player Matthew J Watkins who has a reputation for not being very good
* SHEEERRRRRIIIIIDAAAAAN - THE MAN MOUNTAIN KING KONG BURGER EATING SALAD DODGING ANDREW "FEEL THE FORCE" SSSHHHEEEERRRIIIDDAAAANNN. England and Sale prop who can bench press tall buildings with his little finger. Likes to bash 'eads with the his other prop to knock some sense into each other.
* I blame Ceri G - A regular message where Mr G is blamed for nearly everything that goes wrong.
* Get a grip ffs - Sadwrn's favourite saying.
* Sadwrn - Old timer who loves to copy, paste, drink and piss all at the same time thanks to "the bag".
* RETWTY - Rhondda Exile the Welshman turned yank.
* Fuxed - any post fixed (err, i mean fuxed) by undercoverkiwi.
* Confustulicated - A confused Slacker.
* Phillibluster - To witter on and on and on and on about a subject for which you have no proof in the hope that the other party will jump off a bridge rather than carry on the debate one second longer.
* Simony - To stroke ones beard whilst discoursing.
* Festering - the condition of an open wound caused by a religious zealot Gwlader gone mad.
* Gwladnost - the cessation of hostilities in a long, pointless argument which occurs when various warring factions realise that they haven't got a farkin' clue what the original bone of contention actually was.
* Lord Bald - Former international rugby coach, highly respected and admired amongst Gwladers.

Gwlad Reputation

Reputation, or "Rep", is a highly sought after but utterly intangible and pointless points-scoring system whereby members can reward fellow members with reputation for insightful or humourous posts, or admonish them for offensive or disagreeable posts. "Green" points for positive rep or "Red" points for negative rep are dished out via the rep system, which calculates the rep points awarded according to the giver's own rep score and the number of posts and days they have amassed as members. Confused? So are most new posters who remain convinced that rep actually means something and can be cashed in for a trip to New Zealand/Australia/Japan for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, whoever ends up holding it.

Rep was originally dished out anonymously, meaning the handing out of Red Rep was commonplace and could be accompanied with cheeky, or sometimes snide comments to the rep-ee. However Gwladsnost (mid-2007), the sudden removal of anonymity in rep awarding had seismic effects on rep. Members were suddenly able to see who had "redded" them send the nasty accompanying comments. These were dark days - friendships were destroyed and several members exiled for their repping. Red repping is now much rarer, given the propensity for someone red-repped to red rep back. Childish? Perhaps.

The Gwlad rep leaderboard can also be viewed on the site, where unsurprisingly the website owner, HRH Ceri G sits atop, followed by a shiny bi-curious robot creation known as "Bender".

Significance of Gwlad

The significance of Welsh rugby worldwide is incapable of being overstated, currently the Welsh rugby team is ranked tenth in the world, , ergo the significance of Gwlad as a forum for that discussion is without measure.

Media References
The first port of call for those who wish to discuss Welsh Rugby, Rugby in general and a wide range of somewhat related topics, Gwlad has been referenced worldwide in the media:

* "Whatever happens is unlikely to satisfy the organisers of the 'Ruck The WRU' website-based protest which extended their campaign against the governing body yesterday by handing in a 5,000-signature petition at the union's offices."

* "The Gwlad Rugby site has developed iconic status in Wales."

* Gwlad was thanked on air by Brian Price of the BBC for researching the answer to a question during the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia in 2001.

* Gwlad was recently referenced by the national media in the debate as to the most fitting way to honour rugby legend Ray Gravell.

* Gwlad rugby offers a "peerless coverage of Welsh rugby"

It is often the initial port of call for rugby journalists seeking to get the inside track on breaking rugby stories or to gauge the feeling of fans on one of the many 'crisis' situations Welsh Rugby has found itself in over the years. Gwladerati are used to reading their posts on the site recycled as stories in the Welsh press .

Listed on the BBC ahead of the Millennium Stadium and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), Gwlad is the ONLY discussion forum listed amongst the regional clubs and administration -

Cultural Significance
Gwlad is culturally significant both externally and internally. Originally intended as a focus for Welsh rugby fans living in London it swiftly became an online meeting place for Welsh people of all stripes (some not even that fussed about rugby). It has helped many ex-pats keep in touch with their 'Welsh-ness' and fended off (or perhaps produced) hiraeth. The increasing prominence of Gwlad in the Welsh media is a mirror of the increasing social relevance of the site to the Welsh, both at home in God's Own Country and amongst the country's diaspora.

Internally, Gwlad has a deep and thriving culture. Regular posters have become close friends, bitter enemies, lovers and drinking partners. The ongoing growth of Gwlad's shibboleths sheds light on the increasing sense of community experienced by posters to the site.

Gwlad Extras

In addition to rugby debate, a quick browse reveals illuminating and informative discussion on an unlimited range of themes such as philosophy, theology, society, law and order, large sheds, planning law and TV reception at a distance, food & drink, SBS and vegetables. The cream of the principality's intelligentsia resides here interwoven with an extensive lay population.

Threads containing recipes for traditional Welsh dishes such as cawl and welsh cake make regular appearances on Gwlad with Blod's welsh cakes receiving critical acclaim from the regular posters (with the exception of one poster who it appears has yet to taste them).

Gwlad's support group "Techie Help" should be the first internet port of call for any half-informed IT practitioner. One can guarantee to get a range of opinions and suggestions, at least one of which is probably right. Gwlad has taken an advocacy position on adoption of leading edge technologies, such as DAB radio, since the early days.

Over the years there have been virtual whisperings of a highly secretive and exclusive 'super Gwlad' chat area, known as Gwlad Gold. Regularly discussed alongside other conspiracy theories (such as the shooter on the grassy knoll, Loch Ness monster, the 2003 World Cup Wales vs. New Zealand 'chat under the posts', reasons for Will James suddenly finding the form of his life two weeks before the 2007 world cup) Gwlad Gold is rumoured to be populated by the super-elite original members of Gwlad, who became disillusioned with the regular descent of each thread, about ten posts in, no matter what the original topic, into all out war between a number of regular contributors. Mere mortal Gwlad members continue their life-long quest to one day stumble upon Nirvana and make the transition into the inner sanctum of Gwlad Gold. Various other heavy metal versions of Gwlad are also rumoured to exist, each being more rare and exclusive than the last. Gwlad admin are presently attempting to gain entry to Gwlad Ununoctium , which seems to have just one login but 240,000,000 posts and is reputed to be PhilBB arguing with himself.

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