Long before “Rebel Rebels” the fanzine, came “Rebel Rebels” the internet message board (although, in fairness, David Bowie got there even earlier and nobody’s trying to claim exclusivity here!): the current incarnation dates from 2007 but it is at least the third forum that I can personally remember (having only got online seven years previously). The full ins and outs of how it came to be and what was there before are unfortunately lost to the mists of time (not least because I changed job, moved house and got married in a six-month period across the end of 2006 and the start of 2007).

In order to understand the popularity of message boards, one needs to forget the social media that surrounds us today: the early internet was made up of chat groups (literally: “UseNet” newsgroups existed before the worldwide web was created) and these evolved into message boards where like-minded people (and some not quite as like-minded) could congregate and share opinions on their chosen subjects.

In the early noughties, before the full extent of the club’s pre-George-rescue debt was known, there were a number of rumoured boardroom struggles bubbling under the surface: a couple involved the managers of the day (and their backers) and one revolved around a sponsor (no names, no threat of legal action…). This coalesced some of our support into a fiercely independent forum (the first “rebel” of the name) and has ever since maintained clear blue water between the message board and the club’s own official channels: this certainly applied to the version before our current forum, and the reason for the move was simply down to the previous provider ceasing their message board service (these could be disproportionately expensive to run due to the costs of bandwidth, dependent on the numbers of visitors: the forum providers we have always used were free and therefore very popular in those pre-social media days). A previous version of the Supporters Association had evolved for similar reasons and, aside from setting up the old wooden NW corner tea bar (now so fondly remembered as Roger’s hut), tried to steer a path through the competing boardroom interests to help ensure we all still had a club to support come Saturdays. Echoing moves elsewhere at the time, there was even discreet behind-the-scenes talk about what it would take to set up an AFC Worthing just in case the absolute worst-case scenario did come to pass.

Thankfully, things settled down during the 2010s: the club is unrecognisable in terms of its professionalism and sustainability and most, if not all, of our (now much bigger) fanbase trusts the current custodians of the club. Unlike most other clubs – at our level, at least – the message board continues to live on, healthy and active, albeit a little less traffic than the early days. Registration is required in order to keep spam to a minimum and cut down on any antagonism from rival fans (who are otherwise welcome to contribute), and the level of discussions tends to focus on tactics, ground improvements and travel tips for away matches.