UCPSB

From Fen Spinner Wiki

UCPSB: The Collective Pen Spinning Board was a forum hosted on Invisionfree that was started by MasterShadow as a replacement board for UPSB V2, after it had closed down. It was originally intended to be temporary until the opening of UPSB V3 but after a lack of updates and delays on the project, UCPSB grew into a well developed community, even getting its own sponsorship from JetPens.

Invisionfree was acquired by Tapatalk in 2018, which led to the old UCPSB forums being updated to the platform[1]. This broke most of the links, despite the added benefit that UCPSB continues to endure in a frozen state, while all UPSB boards have been consigned to archives.

History

UCPSB V1

UCPSB V1 was originally created as the "Uber Cool Pen Spinning Board" in November 2005 by MasterShadow, also commonly referred to as "Nigel". The slogan was "What cool dudes do", and the site had a more relaxed atmosphere than the older UPSB V2 forums. The date that the site was opened to the public for registration is not known for certain, but was likely the 1st of December, 2005.

It ran on phpBB.

UCPSB V2

On January 7th, 2006 the new iteration of UCPSB came about in the form of V2, powered by Invision Power Board and providing a host of new features. These included an arcade, logo and warning system. Without competitors and experiencing success in growing the community, UCPSB reignited projects such as the Research Department to assist with standardizing pen spinning.

The second UCPSB USA gathering was held in Brea, California on the 29th December 2006 inside the Brea Mall[2]. Spinners such as Kam and Voltaire attended.

By August 2006 UCPSB had begun to suffer from a rotten reputation[3] after inactive moderation, spamming and a failed Pen Spinning Olympics[4] that only 50% of competitors submitted to. This led to attempts to improve the reputation of UCPSB by the two remaining active moderators: Zombo and Sketching. On October 2nd, 2006, a block feature was implemented on the UCPSB site[5]. This was intended to cut down on flaming that was damaging the atmosphere of the board. At this point the site also ditched the unprofessional slogan and rebranded the site name with a new recursive acronym "UCPSB: The Collective Pen Spinning Board"[6]. This was followed by a variety of changes such as expanded moderation against flaming[7], a shutdown of the feuding with FPSB members on the board[8] and the promotion of new moderators[9][10][11].

PS Conclave

Announced on the 10th April 2006 by UCPSB member elliot, PSConclave was one of the first pen spinning wikis created[12]. Originally named Esoteric-Conclave, it was renamed to PSConclave after suggestions. The goal was to catalogue information to reduce repetitive questions by newcomers. It was once featured on the Internet Juggler's Database as an editor's pick. PSConclave was known to have closed on the 21st March, 2007, but is considered the predecessor to the UPSB Wiki.

Pen Spinning World Tournament 2007

See also: Pen Spinning World Tournament 2007

The first major international competition, the World Tournament 2007, was organized by CrAsH, a UCPSB member on the board, with feedback from the members on how to run it. Eriror, a UCPSB member, came second place in the event.

UCPSB Round Stics

Eso held two Bic Round Stic giveaways[13] one year apart. Each Round Stic was custom colored and printed with the UCPSB logo and text.

  • On August 29, 2006: the first giveaway was started with a black barrel, white cap custom job.
  • On August 29, 2007: the second giveaway was started with a blue barrel, orange cap custom job.

Sponsorship

UCPSB was sponsored by JetPens since the 17th June 2007, who had provided them with pens, UCPSB-branded products and income. In return, UCPSB maintained a link to JetPens on its front page. Three sets of custom Pentel RSVPs were made with a custom "UCPSB" text and logo for UCPSB as part of the sponsorship:

  • Medium point orange (called "Orange Sizzle" by JetPens) Razzle Dazzle RSVP body with black RSVP grip
  • Medium point blue ("Ice Blue") Razzle Dazzle RSVP body with sky blue RSVP grip
  • Fine point RSVP body with black RSVP grip

UCPSB V3 and merger with UPSB

See also: UPSB#UCPSB V3 merger

UCPSB V3 development started on June 11th, 2007, but after talks with Kam the new UCPSB V3 site was rebranded to UPSB V3 for the opening, restarting the UPSB community.

References