wankelhead

i had no idea there was no group purchases allowed anymore.i have gone trough all that work to try and help out my fellow rotorites[as well as myself],and everything was just wiped of the forum.i'm sorry,but,a warning in the beginning could have been VERY nice,instead of waiting a few weeks and then erasing it all.i'm just a little frustraded here.i guess i can understand some of the reasoning behind it,but,come on,guys.i mean,why have a for sale section?you could be loosing revenue there,you know....
anyhow,a earlier warning would have been in order,i think.i love this forum,its a great place for information+resources.but,right now,i'm just a bit "unhappy"here....
done venting now
peace out
david

RETed

Agreed - that's how you **** people off, and someone builds their own forum.&nbsp I know there are at LEAST 3 other RX-7 forums, but I don't have the time to keep track of all of them.&nbsp Maybe this is how this place gets the bandwidth down?&nbsp That's the downside of posting on a "private" board...

I'm taking bets how long before my .sig gets banned too! :O



-Ted

wankelhead

thanks ted
i'm glad i'm not the only one that feels a bit disturbed by this....
david

88GTU

Speaking of, does anyone think its a little hypocritical to take donations for this board from the users but still retain it as a Jason and his RX-7 store exclusive advertising medium? By luck and chance this board has become the most popular RX-7 board, which kind of forces us to come here (and dig through the useless posts) for good information.
-Matt

Ted,
On another thread I saw some people bashing on you. Just to let you know that I appreciate what you bring to this board (and the RX-7 mailing list) and that you're one of about 5 people on here that is more concerned with REAL knowledge than inflating their useless post count.

SirRX7

Yeah thats kinda weak. I always thought that the RX7forum and the RX7store although owned and run by the same people would be separate from each other. The Store would be the money maker and the forum would be used for the good of RX-7 owners. Can someone please explain how removing group buys where we can get great deals is good for the RX-7 owners?? I was seriously considering donating but if the forum is just another business venture or is part of the store than forget it. It doesn't make sense to help pay for someone else's business and not gain from it.

If the forum were kept seperate from the store I wouldn't have a problem with donating.

RETed

Such is life...can't keep all of the people happy all of the time...

*SIGH*

I'll just file this one away under "irony"?




-Ted

banzaitoyota

This is disturbing to me also. I made a contribution the first day I saw the PLEA for donations. It wasn't much but it was a DONATION. IF I HAD REALIZED I WAS DONATING TO SUPPORT A PRIVATE BUSINESS'S PERSONNEL WEB SITE I AMY HAVE RECONSIDERED MY DONATION.

gr0undz3r0

Hit my site.... then you will see....
Its right on the main page.

RX7LIFE.COM

rx7_ragtop

You can blame me. I deleted the thread, per the instructions that we have been given regarding advertising and group buys.

If you want to organize a group buy on here, go through Jason. I am sure he would be very happy to work with you to get a great deal on anything he already sells, and possibly even to work with companies like this one to import parts if needed. Please realize that Jason/RX-7 Store puts about $500 per month into this site. To see his $500 go to another business's gain is very irritating- I hope you understand where he is coming from.

Yes, donations were requested for a hardware upgrade, to speed up the forum and to allow for daily backups- this doesn't benefit Jason, it benefits US, the users. His advertising from the forum is just as effective no matter the speed- we already have nearly 4000 members without the upgrade. The upgrade just makes things more pleasant for US, the users.

Let me put it this way: How many businesses would allow a competitor to set up a "booth" in thier parking lot to sell items that are also sold in that business? None, I suspect. The same principle applies here. Please respect the rules set out for the forum.

Again, if you want to set up group buys, go through Jason. If you want to advertise, that is possible, for a fee- again, see Jason. That's not so unreasonable, is it?

Brad

RETed

I've got nothing against everything else except for this point...

I was under the assumption that Ryan Scott (BOOST7) ran and owned the www.rx7club.com website.

I always thought the RX-7 Store was *UNDER* this RX-7 Club website.

Are you saying that Jason Baughman OWNS the RX-7 Club website also?&nbsp Does he call the shots?&nbsp Does Jason dictate policy to Ryan Scott on his RX-7 Club website now???



-Ted

rx7_ragtop

Honestly Ted, I cannot answer that. I suggest inquiring with Ryan and Jason. I DO know that Jason (And Ryan too I guess) puts a lot of money into supporting this site.

I'm just following orders, and trying to give y'all an honest overview (to the best of my knowledge) of WHY things are done the way they are.

Brad

RETed

Thanx Brad for the quick responses.

I thought you could possibly shed some light on some things.



-Ted

Suparslinc

So I have to wonder, is this site for profit?
I understand; in a sort of way, that keeping bandwith for all of us is pretty expensive and ALOT of work. But who benefits in the end? Us or the owners?

BOOSTD 7

I just found this thread, and I guess I should reply.

I do technically own rx7club.com. Jason did however start the forum. I guess it was almost 2 years ago (or was it one year?), that I decided I wanted a forum on my website. I had found some software and was ready to do it, then I heard about rx7forum.com. Went there and they had like 600 members. I didn't want to squash another enthusiasts site (which I could have easily done with my brute power :-). Instead I called Jason out of the blue and said, "hey, you wanna merge and work together?" Since rx7club.com was popular already, and was at the top of all the search engines, it made sense. So we joined, and of course the combination fueled explosive growth.

Also at the time I was running a small webhosting operation here which mean free hosting for the site. But shortly after, that fell apart and the site needed a new home. It was then that Jason stepped up to the plate and offered to pay all the bills - which currently is over $500/month. However, as we saw yesterday, by opening up our T1 to 3 mb/sec connection, the forum is much faster. So we're going to upgrade and Jason is going to again pay... but this time the bill will be $900/month.

The reason why no 'unauthorized' group buys is simple. It's not so that Jason can use this forum for advertising exclusively. Actually, Jason does very little on the forum to push his product, other than the small banner at top. The reason is because we are trying to get a base of advertisers, and we offer banner advertising. But none of the active vendors on here have expressed interest in advertising. Why? Because they feel like they can get free advertising whenever they want by just starting a group buy. We also don't allow vendors to give free plugs to their business. If you want advertising, pay for it. Pretty simple. Our prices are very reasonable. We have to pay to keep the site up, but Jason's getting tired of coming up with the bill out of his own pocket every month. Think about it, $900/month - that's a nice house payment.

If you want to arrange a group buy, contact Jason. If you don't, it will most likely get closed. If you want advertising, again contact Jason. He pays the bills, so I let him handle the money side of things. If you don't like this, go to one of the other rx7 fourms and get your free advertising. Maybe 10 people will see it. And if those forums ever get big, they'll be faced with the same issues that we have here. Running a popular website isn't cheap.

So all you dissenters can think what you want. You obviously don't know the full story.

gr0undz3r0

The problem has been or was already fixed. So i just provided a link to it on my site. rx7life.com
Later
GZ

BOOSTD 7

You know, when rx7city.com was formed we spoke with the founder (I don't remember his name). We agreed that he would not compete with us - which is exactly what you're trying to do. Instead we said that he could promote his forum as a backup for this forum. Everyone agreed and we've been living happily together since then. Maybe you should speak to him before making posts like this, and before making comments like
on your website - nice editing job on that comment btw.

BOOSTD 7

Always the cynicist, that's the Ted we love

We do make exceptions for certain people. You would certainly have to be one of the exceptions Ted (in more ways than one). You've contributed enough help to the forum that it certainly counts as much as some other vendors advertising dollars. I will personally see to it that your group buys are allowed to continue. It's the vendors that sign up for the forum, and do nothing but plug their business that we have a problem with.

gr0undz3r0

So I cant post a link to my site that propigates a solution to a problem. "Compete with you" What are you talking about. I dont even have a forum. I offer information and free web hosting for RX-7 sites. Plus your banner was the first banner ever uploaded to my site. Am I not supposed to mention that you don't allow group buy post??? Is this grounds for being banned from this forum???
Just wondering if my Favorite site is turning into some sort of DICTATORSHIP.
This is crazy....OH BTW you need to refresh the page. I has changed a little...

BOOSTD 7

Are you a woman? Because you sure sound like you're menstrating... seriously, calm down. I nominate this thread for the "most reactionary off-the-wall post of the year".

Posting a thread here, and then creating a link on the front page of your site proclaiming the other forum as a solution to your perceived problem is definately trying to cause competiton - which is what rx7city and this site agreed not to do. It's dissenters like yourself that segment a community. And it's been my drive for the last 8 years to try and unite the rotary community.

David88vert

The group buys section on the RX7city website was not started to be competition for RX7Store. If that is what it is being used for, rather than to just have additional sources for good deals on RX7 parts, I am sure the admin there will shut it down. The purpose of RX7City is not to do anymore than to provide a good technical backup of valuable information that is available whenever RX7Forum is not available.
While they are run by two seperate individuals, there should be mutual respect between the two forums so as to not step on toes.
I will make certain that the admin there is informed of this thread so that he can make an informed decision.

gr0undz3r0

So the people form rx7forum and the people from rx7city agreed not to compete With each other. Thats great. Rx7life.com (me) has nothing to do with either site and doesnt even have a forum so how do you figure that I am competing again???
That seems a little funny since I am getting scorned because of whats on my web site. Nice way to bring people together. Maybe you should review and tell every one who has a site that has a link to another forum that they are competing with you. Thats a great start to bringing rx7 people together.

88GTU

I have to disagree here... a faster connection benefits Jason. Quicker speeds mean more page loads, more time spent on the forum, more users, and more advertising. All of these translate to more income for Jason.
Group buys, in my experiance, are 90% of the time started by the users. Just because Jason advertises here should not mean a ban on mentioning deals by other vendors. At that point we become a captive audience of Jason and are subject to his whims, pricing, etc... His store does not offer everything we need and many of us have actually had bad experiances with it. Those should be allowed to be shared as well.
Has Jason made an attempt to seek outside advertising for the board? By giving all the $$$ control to him you have given him full control over the forum. Its not in his best interest to find other ad revenues as this translates into lost income for him and an audience that would actually be aware of competition.
-Matt

BOOSTD 7

Unfortunately, I would have to assume that the group buy section there was started because it was an 'opportunity' to capatilize on our restrictions on group buys. It is good to see however that you agree with me, and that what we had decided before still stands.

Just for the record, I support rx7city.com, and encourage others to visit it. I don't however condone others saying to go there as a solution to this forums 'problems'. This forum doesn't have problems, we just have big bills to pay every month.

gr0undz3r0

OK I think I get it. I alot of RX7 fans from this forum have a problem (ie:where to get group buy info). And you all say "Hey no information of that nature here". We as users cant say "Hey I know where you can" Does that sound about right?? Just want to make sure that I as a user am not allowed to help other users find information they need on other sites. So basiclly If you cant find the info you need here you don't need that info right.? Thats a great plan. Way to unite us. "One Nation Under Rx7forum" "Hail Rx7fourm".
This is stupid. If you havent noticed your forum kicks every other forum I have ever been to right in the ****. There really is no competion for you. So why worry. Don't make this forum suck. Pleez! Many people depend on this forum.

As for the whole donation thing. Just so everyone knows.. DONT STOP SENDING THEM MONEY. This is a great forum and it does cost alot to keep up a dataserver of this nature. Thats one of the reasons you will never see a forum on my sites. Bandwidth cost money. Alot more that most of you know and I personally like my pages to load fast. So even if they advertisers and have money coming in from rx7store it probably wont be enough at this point. I honestly belive that if they where "in the black" as they say that they wouldn't have asked for donations.

Boy I am just in mega-rant mode. sry.

BOOSTD 7

I don't know why you can't see it. Saying that the Rx-7 Forum here has problems, and the solution is to go to rx7city is most definately trying to segment the community and create competiton. If we don't want you to do it, and if the admins at rx7city don't want you to do it, then why are you doing it? Other than to bring attention to yourself I can't see any reason.

Be a team player. All you guys who have your own theories and speculations about why we don't want group buys really need to grow up. Stop trying to cause drama and think about it as if you were in the same situation. We're still VERY allowing of things that other forums don't allow. We still give the vendors a lot of space to promote their businesses. It's a shame that you choose to think we're the evil dictators of the Rx-7 underworld, but there will always be naysayers. If we lose a couple people because they think similarly to you, than so be it. The bottom line is we've had almost 500 new registrations in the last week, we're more popular than ever. So we must be doing something right.

... and just for the record, rx7club.com has by far cost me more than I've received from it. Not to mention countless hours of de velopment and administration. I know the same is true for Jason, but we're true enthusiasts that do it for the love of it... no other reason. That might be hard for you new guys to grasp.