[Chris 96 WS6]

OK guys, the day has come. I've been approached by a vendor to become a sponsor here. You may be familiar with Street Lethal Performance already. David Mercier is who contacted me, and informed me they sell Koni and Ground Control among other things.

In a nutshell, I told David that if we were to bring him on board as a sponsor, it would be with the understanding that SLperf would not be immune to criticisms and they would be responsible for defending themselves and doing right by the customer. There would be no protection or favoritism given to protect the sponsorship income, as it is not essential to maintaining the site.

I closed by telling him we would discuss the issue among the members and arrive at a conclusion in the next couple of days.

So, I want an honest dialog here and whether you think we should bring in sponsors or not. This one would probably open padora's box.

Let me just throw out my thoughts on the subject. Personally I'd like to see sponsorships. I see it as part of the future for the site (which I think can be more than just a board...I see tech articles and such in the future). But anyway, I want to assure you guys as long as I own and maintain the site I will never compromise your ability to speak your mind. Sponsor dollars would/will never get in the way of that, and if it comes down to it I'd rather tell a sponsor to walk than create dissention among the members here. I also think that with the maturity level we have here, big blow ups with sponsors are not likely, but rather would be handled in an adult fashion.

So, with that, I'll let you guys hash it out. Whatever I think is the prevailing opinion is what I'll go with, despite my personal preferences. After all, without members, there is no FRRAX.com.

[mitchntx]

Most of the topics that would concern me have already been addressed.

A random sponsor banner in the space next to the red TA in the site flag across the top would be a nice location. Just an idea ....

A sponsor posting in a thread, giving an opinion, is more than just an opinion. It HAS to be clouded with a sale in mind. The sponsors that come to mind have shown that exact attribute when posting on other boards. So, it's not about the user, rather the sale. Nature of the beast as best as I can tell.

Sam, Jason, Lou and others I have yet to identify, all have great things to add based upon their experiences. Even though their respective username is covert advertising, so far it hasn't been an issue. But it certainly could, especially if the site continues to grow. I certainly wouldn't want to introduce policy that precluded those precious site resources from weighing and injecting their opinions. If I were a paying sponsor and had an opposing opinion on a part I recommended, I would question what the point of paying would be. That could easily be a moderating nightmare ... ask me how I know ... (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

We say sponsor get "no protection", but is that truly the case? I thought the "open environment" fostered on the site many of us came from worked out great and would have continued that way. Why? because we are grown-ups ... not having the street racer mentality that seems to foster conflict. We have heated debate and that is healthy. But we certainly don't need baby sitters.

So based upon that OPINION, I have to ask once again why would a vendor want to even sponsor this site with such gross exposure? If the vendor says because he loves us, then by all means, let them in ... (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

If sponsorship monies are coming in, I would like to see them spent for webspace to host images and video clips. That can get pricey really fast. But, I think with limited time in the space, limited file size, specific file types accepted, no external linking, available to only registered users ... it cold be easily managed and not be too costly.

There are a few pros and numerous cons to site sponsors. Lile Chris said ... let's openly debate this and look long term. I would REALLY like to hear from Jason, Sam and Lou and get their POV as they don't have a horse in this race .... yet ...