Just thought Id voice some concerns....

[DSMConvert]

Ok well for those of you on other LARGE forums you'll notice a company called Vertical Scope is snatching up every car forum they can get their hands on to integrate into the autoforums....the whole point of this "microsoft" style buyout is to be able to sell mass advertising spaces to ALL the sites they control...This has been disaterous for many forums sites, as it has led to changes for the worse...extremely slow load times, crappy hard to navigate forums, and concerns about personal information safety....a lot of us are trying to fight against this consolidation as we believe forums were intended to share information not make profits....FD owners you're next in the cross hairs, and I have a feeling this community isnt too far behind....I guess the point of all this ranting is to raise concern, as many forum communities didn't know until it was too late...AND if this site is ever offered a buyout I would strongly suggest bringing it to your members...or if money is what is desired allow some of us vendors the opportunity to bid against them...I don't often get involved in forum politics, but in this case i believe its in the interest of car enthusiasts to prevent things like this from happening...

 

[boostisgood]

Frikin A Right. Posting a link in the staff only section. Great post bro.

 

[derrick1623]

i highly doubt this site would ever "sell out". although i cannot speak on behalf of antoine, i simply don't forsee it happening.

 

[jersey_emt]

The owners of this site have put far too much work into this forum. They would not 'sell out' after coming this far.

 

[jersey_emt]

They are using the "Mazda Forums" title, which is copyrighted:

http://www.autoforums.com/forumdisplay/627/Mazda

"Mazda Forums is an AutoForums discussion group for all Mazda enthusiasts. AutoForums covers all makes and models, and includes discussion topics on Mazda performance, tech, modifications, and maintenance. It is free to become a member, so join today!"

 

[DSMConvert]

hehe jump on em!!!!! anything to make thier lives miserable sounds good to me! on the selling out note, thats the same thing a lot of other forum owners have said, but when they wave upwards of 50K in your face, even I would be hardpressed to say no...

 

[vashthestampede]

That place wont make it anywhere. I went to a couple sections and its just one guy posting continuously time after time with just stupid autoweek type threads. Those kind of sites are totally incapable of building an actual online community because they try to bulk to many different types together. Take a look at automotiveforums.com, by far one of the biggest jokes of an online forum I have ever seen.

I've been on miata.net now for years and that is by far one of the most respected online forums. There is alot of modding and you can only voice your opinion to a certain extent, but it keeps it from becoming the next honda forum. You can usually tell right away how resourceful a forum is just by lurking for a couple days and reading.

I like it here because it seems alot of you protege, mp3, etc owners have it pretty well built up. I do however wish there was more of a Miata base here. I seem to find a good amount of misinformation floating around in that section. But the laid back attitude this place has is key for sure. Nobody goes online to forums to be continuously mothered and fathered or just in nothing but child yelling matches. (thumb)

Vash-

 

[Antoine]

That place wont make it anywhere. I went to a couple sections and its just one guy posting continuously time after time with just stupid autoweek type threads. Those kind of sites are totally incapable of building an actual online community because they try to bulk to many different types together. Take a look at automotiveforums.com, by far one of the biggest jokes of an online forum I have ever seen.

I've been on miata.net now for years and that is by far one of the most respected online forums. There is alot of modding and you can only voice your opinion to a certain extent, but it keeps it from becoming the next honda forum. You can usually tell right away how resourceful a forum is just by lurking for a couple days and reading.

I like it here because it seems alot of you protege, mp3, etc owners have it pretty well built up. I do however wish there was more of a Miata base here. I seem to find a good amount of misinformation floating around in that section. But the laid back attitude this place has is key for sure. Nobody goes online to forums to be continuously mothered and fathered or just in nothing but child yelling matches. (thumb)

Vash-

(werd)

Guys...This forum has no price...In other words it's PRICELESS to me. There is no way in hell I would sell this community.

Looks like it's MODIFIED mag behind this endeavor. Yeah...These attempts by large media companies to take over online communities is a joke. There is A LOT more to developing a successful community than simply buying a few domains and setting up a board. Sites like automotiveforums.com make me sick.

I left a comment in there "Contact Us" form that we've been using "Mazda Forums" for years now and that they should CHANGE their Mazda forum name. I wonder if I will get a response at all...This actually annoys me A LOT and could become a big problem.

We should organize a mass-e-mail rally to get the point accross if they don't cooperate.

 

[Antoine]

Found this contact info:

Editorial Contact: Shaun Keenan, Editor-in-Chief (AutoForums.com), 416-436-9751 or e-mail: shaun@autoforums.com

I'm going to send an e-mail his way...I would appreciate it if you guys sent a few e-mails as well to let him know the real "Mazda Forums" already exists. Thanks!

 

[Amemiya]

Auto Forums stop! This Forum rocks and it is way way better here than there.

 

[DiS]

email sent!!!

Ok I just got to this thread. Thats just horse s***! Bunch of a-holes over there just come up with crap like that and no one does anything about it.

Antoine: I have sent that guy an email to get the point across.

 

[mountjonas]

have you guys ever read the forums at autoweek? flame war after flame war. i don't think i read a single thread that didn't turn into a domestic vs. the world b****-fest.

 

[BradC]

As Antoine pointed out, Vertical Scope is the company that owns Modified Magazine.

 

[PharmacyMSP]

DSM : thanks for informing members.

I've sent an email.

 

[Kansei]

Antoine it's VERY good to hear how important these forums are to you. This is such a freakin great community.