MrWigggles

I have noticed that the forum has had a rather short fuse so to speak with manufacturer reps talking about their own products.

Whether they are pushing, hocking, talking about etc. there stuff at least they are identifying themselves.

It is much worst and I am sure will be much more likely that people will just stop identifying themselves accurately. If you censor them now, they can just reregister as someone else or just register as Joe Bloe to begin with.

A recent case that brought this up is ACTman talking about how his clutch is going to have the "proper" counterweight whereas the Mazdaspeed flywheel doesn't. His posts were heavilly edited and I don't think it was necessary. There were plenty of people like myself who gave information to the contrary to make his story less plausible.

The point is it is possible that one of the people arguing against the ACT flywheel could have been a Mazdaspeed rep/retailer and simply didn't identify themselves. You never know.

Personally I like industry presence here on the forum and I don't think it has gotten out of hand. I have been on plenty of other forums where a manufacturer will give out a free or at-cost sample of a product to a forum member just so that they can become a shill to hock a product. Or the manufacturer will just come on the forum as shill to begin with.

I would much rather we have more industry reps and less shills that will pop up if the moderators here keep such a heavy hand in things.

-Mr. Wigggles

Elara

The problem is this is a vendor-supported forum. Advertising is what's paying for all of this. We have to be very careful in not allowing random companies to advertise their product- and they will go to great lengths, pulling out all stops, just to try and sneak around the rules.

MrWigggles

Elara,

That is the other extreme.

I don't think ACTman fit that description.

I know how the board is finaced and I understand that as well.

This is my suggestion.

-Mr. Wigggles