[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.

[ESPCamaro]

That jives with my thoughts.

Here's another:

The Sponsor sales & GP forum:

Obviously non-sponsoring vendors would not be allowed to post in there, as the sponsor is paying for that privilege. My initial instinct is to treat that forum like CamaroZ28.com does, that private persons cannot post notices for deals by non-sponsoring vendors either. I know that comprimises the freedom of members to tell each other about deals, but w/o that limitation is really cheapens the value of the sale/Gp forum to the sponsor.

Thoughts?

I think this, plus the banner ad is the best policy.

[NataSS Inc]

That jives with my thoughts.

Here's another:

The Sponsor sales & GP forum: 

Obviously non-sponsoring vendors would not be allowed to post in there, as the sponsor is paying for that privilege.  My initial instinct is to treat that forum like CamaroZ28.com does, that private persons cannot post notices for deals by non-sponsoring vendors either.  I know that comprimises the freedom of members to tell each other about deals, but w/o that limitation is really cheapens the value of the sale/Gp forum to the sponsor. 

Thoughts?

I think this, plus the banner ad is the best policy.

I will agree with that. the only thing we would have to start doing as mods is policing up any of the non-sponsor threads.

How would we handle a general member plugging a non sponsor or posting sale info?

[Chris 96 WS6]

Well Boyce, goes back to my last post...what do we want to limit? Member's posting rights or sponsor's value?

More I think about it I think the best compromise is that members cannot post GPs and sales of non-supporting vendors in the Sponsor forum but they can do it in the tech forum that best fits the product that is on sale. (e.g. a "hey, great deal w/in" post in suspension tech about swaybars from ABC inc.).

[ESPCamaro]

How would we handle a general member plugging a non sponsor or posting sale info?

I don't think we SHOULD monitor individual members giving a plug to vendors.

If I think that Sam is the best place to buy Ground Control parts I'm gonna say so.

Just like if Mitch feels that LG Motorsports sells the best LCA's he should have the right to say so.

Or if Chris says that Comp Cams makes the best cam for X application, and none of the sponsors sell Comp so what?

The reason this board has taken off is because of the conglomeration of info. And you can't have all the information available if you have to worry about posting things that conflict with sponsors. At least not until we are sponsored by EVERYONE. Which will never happen.

[Chris 96 WS6]

I don't think we SHOULD monitor individual members giving a plug to vendors.

If I think that Sam is the best place to buy Ground Control parts I'm gonna say so.

Just like if Mitch feels that LG Motorsports sells the best LCA's he should have the right to say so.

Or if Chris says that Comp Cams makes the best cam for X application, and none of the sponsors sell Comp so what?

The reason this board has taken off is because of the conglomeration of info. And you can't have all the information available if you have to worry about posting things that conflict with sponsors. At least not until we are sponsored by EVERYONE. Which will never happen.

I agree, just think members shouldn't be doing it in the Sponsor GP/Sales forum since that cuts in on the benefit the sponsors are getting for their dollar.

But in terms of posting information in any other forum? No limits on members in that instance.

[trackbird]

I don't think we SHOULD monitor individual members giving a plug to vendors.

If I think that Sam is the best place to buy Ground Control parts I'm gonna say so.

Just like if Mitch feels that LG Motorsports sells the best LCA's he should have the right to say so.

Or if Chris says that Comp Cams makes the best cam for X application, and none of the sponsors sell Comp so what?

The reason this board has taken off is because of the conglomeration of info. And you can't have all the information available if you have to worry about posting things that conflict with sponsors. At least not until we are sponsored by EVERYONE. Which will never happen.

I agree, just think members shouldn't be doing it in the Sponsor GP/Sales forum since that cuts in on the benefit the sponsors are getting for their dollar.

But in terms of posting information in any other forum? No limits on members in that instance.

So, basically, business as usual everywhere but the "GP" section.

Fair enough.

I don't want to become the "link police", editing posts and such....We've seen where that leads.

Kevin

[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.