[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.

[Chris 96 WS6]

Right, and I even would hesitate to restrict non-sponsoring vendors from doing the same.

Say if Brand X came out with a new valvespring...I see no reason they can't go in the Engine Tech forum and make a post about it as long as they aren't advertising a special deal or GP...but just to say "we've got this new Brand X spring, priced at $80 a set, and here are the properties of it, go to www.brandx.com or call us at 555-5555 if interested."

I would not see any problem with that as long as its not in the Sponsor's forum and not terribly blatant.

I hate how you can't really even discuss any product or vendor that's not a sponsor at some of these sites....members should be able to discuss this stuff and vendors should be able to make us aware of new products.