El Wayne's allegation that I am shilling for Talacrest.

Personally I'd be careful if I were you. Eric (Peleton25) gets a free trip paid by McLaren to see the P1... And his defense of the P1 ring time PR fiasco has been strong to say the least. I have posted in that thread he sounds like a McLaren PR agent...

And reviewing that thread,... Eric is certainly the loudest pro-McL voice.

To be clear, I do not think Eric should be restricted in anyway.

I get this is not apples to apples,... But it does show there is enough grey to tread carefully.

 

While I respect the rights of sponsors that concern is secondary to the need for transparency. If any poster is less than candid about one matter his credibility is compromised on all other matters.

 

Completely agree. From all sides.

 

If I'm ever lucky enough to have a vested interest in anything I'll boast about it.

 

And if they receive compensation (unreported) from that brand??

I am fairly confident you would have an issue with talacrest paying an international airfare for the OP.

 

@miurasv
obsequious comes to mind

 

When did exposure here rate anything more than bus fare?

 

Sez the President of the local Massa fan club

 

In Massa I have vested disinterest.

 

I haven't been paying very much attention to the P1 N'ring thread, but from your description, I would say it is very much not apples to apples.

One gray area in the enforcement of non-sponsor commercial postings, is that we've almost always allowed commercial entities and affiliated parties who are non-sponsors is defend themselves against criticism and complaints. Dealers are allowed defense, manufacturers are allowed defense, seller and buyers are allowed defense, etc. They are not gagged within the boundaries defining the complaint or criticism being made. If McLaren had wished to defend their N'ring time decision directly, they would certainly have been allowed to do so. Even if a biased non-McLaren party wishes to defend them, that is also OK; so long as there is no apparent deception (e.g. low-post count sock puppet), i.e. there is reasonable transparency.

The issue that makes this situation different is that miurasv posted in a persistently abusive manner, which ultimately resulted in a gag order on him regarding Talacrest for reasons unrelated to the Talacrest car. Now that he wishes to defend Talacrest, his prior actions have precluded that option. Too bad, actions have consequences. If they wish, Talacrest is free to address questions or issues raised in the thread about their car, but just not through the specific channel of miurasv.

 

This is a forum run by a private enterprise. Unlike the US Government, they don't have accord free speech rights to you, they can ban anyone they want for any reason. If it were me, I'd ban you just for posting this thread.

 

I wouldn't ban him for posting it, but he certainly deserves a good spanking.


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rXFhHM3x4A]A Spanking - YouTube[/ame]

 

“Dennis the Peasant: Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
Arthur: Be quiet!
Dennis: You can't expect to wield supreme power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!”

 

So..... Fchat is really THE N.S.A and 1984?

 

I used to be a mod for another site and id say this was handled well. Enthusiam is fine. Enthusiasm for profit (or any other sort of materialistic gain) on a paid forum? Unfair for the sponsers that DO pay.

And as a former new car salesmen, the way to catch an employers eye is not posting ads online. They already pay people to do that. Simply go in for an interview. If you can sell, you are hired. A good salesmen never needs to "look" for a job.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxoMqs7iGqk]Shining bar scene: Words of wisdom Lloyd - YouTube[/ame]

 

I'd like to say thanks to the admins for sorting this up. That means sponsors can still have faith in the site and that it's fair for everyone. I haven't got any problems with people speaking for a brand or group, but transparency is key, especially where all you can do is read the black and white text. This is just such an obviously weird situation (his profile text?), he's obviously an enthusiast, he just went about it the wrong way and now he has to take the consequences.

The best current and relevant example I can think of is Nick Trott av EVO mag, he wrote an entire editorial supporting McLaren's decision to not release a 'Ring time. He vigoursly defended the brand anywhere and everywhere online. Well what do ya now, he's had a 12C long term loaner car from McLaren since March/April, free of charge of course! He even got to pick out over £10,000 of MSO options on the car.

I pointed this out on several places online, even news outles that referred to him. I suggested they edit his title from "editor" to "spokesperson".

As El Wayne commented, there is a difference between sharing pictures and info of a car for sale, and spamming the forum for anything related to the vendor.

 

As a low level collector, I read a lot of the vintage forum with a great deal of enthusiasm. I have certain cars on my radar, so to speak, and the forum has been a very useful tool to my car collecting hobby. Because I actually buy vintage cars and I'm spending my money on them, I also read the posts with a healthy grain of salt; probably to a higher level that someone who doesn't actually purchase these cars would have. One of the best parts of this forum is the wealth of knowledge. The other side of the coin is the vast amount of people who abuse the site for the purpose of promoting their own commercial interests and add little or, worse yet, add extreme bias and misinformation for their own purpose. Consequently, rob and the moderators have to take measures to maintain the integrity of the content on this site.

I am probably more conscious of posters that I feel, rightly or wrongly, to be here for self promotion more than true sharing of knowledge. I think that this and the ad restriction - look at those who simply post ads non stop in the classifieds but never contribute anything of value - go a long way into maintaining the ethics and value of the site.

I see (and have seen for a while) exactly where the mods are coming from with this.

 

I read quite a lot of what goes down in the vintage section, however I don't post very often (which probably makes any comment I have irrelevant for a lot of folk - or maybe worse I have another agenda?)

There was certainly a point where I found muirasv's posts to be a little annoying but that was only because I think he wanted to be the first response to any query. Maybe guilty of a little over exuberance in wanting to appear knowledgeable about the marque.

However I think this is the extent of it. At heart I believe he is an enthusiast and I believe unlikely to be promoting other traders.

I accept that I do not know all the facts here, but based on what's been posted, this is my view.