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Zone Update ShrimperZone's 21st Birthday.

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Cricko

Cricko

Zone Owner⭐⭐
Staff member
Joined
Oct 25, 2006
Messages
38,690
Location
Leigh-On-Sea
We have come a long way since our humble beginnings. How did this all start you may well ask and nobody is better than @Napster to tell you all.

It's hard to believe Shrimperzone is 21.

21 years ago I used to get my online Southend fix from Yahoo Groups and shrimpers.net. Yahoo Groups was an email group, and it was populated with some very good writers, such as Hugh Cumberland, and Bob Sills. Then Mike Smith and Dave Scriven started SZ, and I used to post a lot. I then went along for a pre-match drink at the Spread to meet some SZ posters and met a lot of what are now lifelong friends.

Mike, Dave and I combined for a three-way partnership before Mike left for Spain and Dave got a job at the club. That was only the beginning - Lee Morgan (Leeboy) and I took on the site and from there, we got really involved with the club; I was on the Trust committee and we were invited to the House of Lords, we started a player of the year and we started SZFC. All in a few years before we had to step back.
SZ really has gone from strength to strength from there on - and it has continued because of its posters and its breadth of fanbase.

How ShrimperZone looked in those early days.

early SZ 1.jpgEarly SZ 2.jpg

During the past 21 years we have seen members come and go for lots of reasons but I am sure we must have a few on here who have been around since the early days. Speak up if you have. We have lost some great friends over the time as well, may they all rest in peace, you are all missed. It is hard to believe we once had 5 SZFC teams on the go at once.

The site owners and moderators have changed quite a few times and our thanks to all those that have taken on the task during that time. We would not be here without you all.

Over the next 12 months to celebrate our 21st we will be running various competitions with some decent prizes and we are looking to hold a party after a home game when it gets warmer for those of you that wish to attend.

I doubt very much i will still be around in another 21 years but this site will always be in capable hands have no doubt of that.

It's been a ride for sure with our team but we are all fans of SUFC and love our club dearly. So many memories with more to come and so many new adventures await us all. It is never dull supporting our club and long may it continue.

This site for 21 years has been the beating heart of our club for the supporters to air their views and meet new friends. We now cover most topics in one of our 20 odd forums and the variations of debate, input and threads is truly incredible.

These forums are the envy of many teams way above us so thank you to all members who contribute and use them.

Here is to another 21 years of ShrimperZone and our new sparkly banner. :Smile:

UTB and UTZ

John.
 
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Having visited many other clubs forum's, I don't think there's another forum out there even close to this one.

The quality of how it looks and works is second to none, well done!

Can't believe I've been a member for around 15 years of the 21! I remember quite well meeting @Tommy2holes at my workplace and him recommending me join up. 5,000 arguments later, I'm still loving it just as much. I don't know how I'd get through my working day without it to be honest.
 
Happy birthday shrimperzone. I would like to thank all those that have been involved in maintaining the forum.
It is as others have said by far one of the best football club forums around.
Some really good regular content posted as well that keeps us all involved.Always something for everyone.
Here’s to the future and happier times ahead!
 
Out of interest who has been a SZ member for the longest?

I’ve done an 18 year stretch (officially) so pretty good.

One of the best football forums in existence for sure and credit to all those who have contributed, some sadly no longer with us.

Well done to you all. To keep it ticking over and relevant for this long is not an easy task.

I’ve built some great friendships via this site and been involved in some great moments and have many memories because of it. Long may it continue to be the hub of Shrimpers worldwide.
 
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Smiffy said:
Out of interest who has been a SZ member for the longest?

I’ve done an 18 year stretch (officially) so pretty good.

One of the best football forums in existence for sure and credit to all those who have contributed, some sadly no longer with us.
Click to expand...
I think there was some change from the old forums when we went to vB and people had to re-register. It looks to me that the earliest members on the newer forum were Oct 26th 2003.
 
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Blimey this is a wonderful milestone to reach
I recall being a member of the Southend United chat room before venturing onto here which must have been around 15-16 years ago.
I have lovely memories from this site and indeed remember the SZ Sunday teams

I always enjoy the general chit chat alongside the football chat and have made some wonderful friends for life on here.

Keep up the good work guys
 
Cricko said:
I think there was some change from the old forums when we went to vB and people had to re-register. It looks to me that the earliest members on here are Oct 26th 2003.
Click to expand...
Yeah I’m certain I was here in 2000/2001 but like you say there must of been some issue with transferring members across in the early days.
 
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Blimey, 21 years? That's very impressive. Long may SZ continue. And my thanks to the moderators over that time.

Looking at my joining date, it looks like I missed the first 3 years (but certainly remember the original layout). Interestingly, I have been posting about SUFC for a lot longer than that. I remember the original email group run from Edge Hill College which came before Yahoo Groups.

I used to post surreptitiously from my work email account. That was way back in the 1990s when I worked in Canary Wharf for an investment bank. I even met up for a drink with Matt the Shrimp who was then working for Canary Wharf Ltd.

Cricko said:
I think there was some change from the old forums when we went to vB and people had to re-register. It looks to me that the earliest members on the newer forum were Oct 26th 2003.
Click to expand...

That might explain my missing years.
 
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21 years is pretty good going, good work to the mods for keeping sane all that time. I can't remember exactly when I originally joined as it was as under another (long gone) username although I think it was in 2004 at some point. Always a place where you can lose countless work hours every day, after a long absence I was pleased to find the Zone in just as rude health as it was when I drifted away all those years ago, and I think it's a credit that there are just as many contributions from newer members as there are from the venerable Zone veterans that I remember from the old days.

Here's to many more years of expressing our frustrations and revelling in the occasional wins here on SZ.
 
I feel very young and humble with only 13 years in harness. Before that I used to lurk on the old BBC 606 Southend board until the Beeb nuked it. What I love about this place is the never ending loyalty to ShrimperZone and the fact that although we are never going to agree on anything, we are all still Shrimpers at the end of the day. So.....Everywhere we go..........
 
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