Allow Commercial Posts? - Page 2

WilliamHBonney · 08-02-07, 08:48

I voted no because I hate advertisers and I love how we do not deal with it here. Give and inch they take a mile and what happened before will happen again.

DavidB · 08-02-07, 09:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by cherryspeed

Hard to call advertisers out when there are several threads a day "evaluating" Ultima products.
Where is the difference?

You're kidding, right?

This community is open to talk about ALL products, and mine are no more talked about that any others.

The difference is I pay the bills and I keep all of my commercial content in an area specifically designated for commercial content. I don't spam the community with unwanted content... I keep it where it belongs.

phamkl · 08-02-07, 10:36

If you're doing away with paid advertising then I guess..?

Otherwise, I think if a retailer or a manufacturer wants to discuss in depth about its products, it needs a separate sponsor's forum. I really like being able to ask you [DavidB] directly for a direct primary source and then later ask the community members for an unaffiliated answer.

Any gray area I think would be new product announcements. Paul Dalton himself said he'd have a product line soon and I'd like to know when it comes out but I'm sure he wouldn't really want a new forum just for his line of stuff (this is only what I suspect.)

dheath · 08-02-07, 10:39

I vote no.

I just don't think having a specific forum would keep all the advertising at bay. Even if there was a specific forum which allowed for commercial posts, if an even moderate percentage of autopians didn't like it, these newly created forums would get less traffic. I think that would eventually lead into the same type of thing we are already dealing with. Judging by the first few posts it would seem that at least a moderate percentage (~40%) don't like the idea.

I could be wrong, but I say

DavidB · 08-02-07, 10:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamkl

If you're doing away with paid advertising then I guess..?

I have so little personal time that I am starting to get selfish and focused. My focus is Autopia, UDM, Ultima and Sonus... not much else will exist in my professional world for a while. Advertisers have not stepped up (many thanks to a few that have), so it's time for me to step back and focus on the bigger picture. I want Autopia.org to thrive, but it does have to earn its keep (or at least not eat me out of house and home!).

In a short 18 months, Autopia will be 10. Hard for me to believe, but true.

Every year I ask the hard question... What next? If the community does not evolve and grow, it will die. So, I am always willing to get it grow and change.

This question I pose is about just that... change. What does the community want? What does it need?

No doubt, this community serves me (I do earn an income), but I also try my best to serve the community.

zingyginger · 08-02-07, 11:11

I voted yes, not out of disrespect to the sponsors, but because they don't carry all of the equipment/chemicals for every single purpose. (FWIW, I spread my orders around.) I politely propose that the more secure the business is, the more confident they should be when it comes to competition. Maybe hearing about someone else's new mostwonderfulthinginabottle can give rise to ideas on how to make the good old one even better or create something new from needs that haven't been addressed adequately in the past (What did people do before clay?).

I also think detailing is process first and products second and, from time to time, would like to hear more from developers (sponsors or otherwise) on how to best use their products. Presumably, before bringing them to market, they would have tried different techniques that allow what they're selling to perform at its best. Wouldn't it be nice to hear them out?

Lastly, from hours of reading old threads, I believe there should be enough "grownups" in this forum who would pipe up if someone's overextending their case or be able to judge for themselves if they're being sold the Brooklyn Bridge. Or it could be just the optimist in me.

01bluecls · 08-02-07, 11:18

I would say no....This would be opening pandora's box. As one mentioned earlier, give a inch they will take a mile.

zingyginger · 08-02-07, 11:22

There's one way to find out - have a trial period and if it's a bad idea, shut the section down.

DavidB · 08-02-07, 11:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by zingyginger

I politely propose that the more secure the business is, the more confident they should be when it comes to competition.

And I have no problem with my competition being in my sand box with me... it's a big box!

Danase · 08-03-07, 04:40

Coming from a paying vendors point of view...if I was allowed to post for free I would not pay for my own private Autopian forum.

BlackElantraGT · 08-03-07, 05:20

I'm just really surprised 60% of the voters so far would actually want commercial posts. Isn't that one of the main reason why this site is better than some of the other detailing forums? It makes me question whether there are more shills than I suspected.

If you're dying to ask a question about a product, all you have to do is visit that product/company's website. It's as simple as that. Don't clutter this site with more, unwanted hype. We already have enough of that to deal with.

zingyginger · 08-03-07, 05:50

Sounds like it's going to be a tough call.

David. And thanks for being broadminded enough to start this poll.

How 'bout some form of limited exposure, say, one thread every 3 months for nonpaying entities? And the same unlimited threads for the current sponsors. Is that technically possible? I'll stop now lest I get too far down below

BTW, I've no commercial interests - just someone who's caught the OCD bug and would like to hear from more. I've pretty much stopped going to the other forums that only carry one line for the same reason: I like exposure to a variety of options and find this board far more interesting since it allows members to share their experiences, good OR bad, with any product. On that note,