So apparently we are no longer allowed to give negative feedback on companies we deal with.

wythors

Get off my lawn!!!
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May 17, 2000
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There is a post in 5.0 Talk asking about UPR k-members. I made a post that recommended that the OP do his research on UPR before giving them several hundred dollars. I said nothing bad about the company, I provided no examples, just suggested that they might want to do a few Google searches. For this I received a Nastygram from Gearbanger101 telling me that I needed to stop "slandering" UPR and he deleted my post.

So this is what we've come to? If someone asks about a particular product or company we're not allowed to give an honest opinion? Since this is a privately owned site, I know that "freedom of speech" doesn't apply, but perhaps a clarification of who we can or can't say negative things about ought to be added to the TOS?

What say you MRaburn?
 
Wythors,

I'm going to move your thread to the feedback and testing forum. MRaburn will find it there just as easy and can talk about the rules of engagement if he chooses and has the chance.
 
So this is what we've come to? If someone asks about a particular product or company we're not allowed to give an honest opinion? Since this is a privately owned site, I know that "freedom of speech" doesn't apply, but perhaps a clarification of who we can or can't say negative things about ought to be added to the TOS?

What say you MRaburn?

Very interesting question indeed. How do we know we are getting a fair and balanced review as automotive enthusiast on an enthusiast based site, if we cannot get complete reviews of product, especially sponsored products. I am all against slandering, yet I am also against not getting a true representation of a service or product.
 
Personally...

I think those threads were shutdown because they end up turning nasty. People cross the line and get them shutdown. I don't think it's because anyone came out and talked about their business practices (or lack thereof).
 
Mike Raburn told me in a reply to my thread (which has also disappeared) that he shut down, and removed the UPR thread by MFE92 after it turned into basically a pissing match between vendors. MFE asked what happened to that thread and his disappeared with no response, so I reposted asking what happened to that thread and that's when I got the reply. Everyone has their own moderating style, but I don't know why the factual information would have been removed from the public view, when closing the thread would have accomplished the same thing, by ending the discussion. I guess I felt that the community was better served by the information, and attitude of UPR's staff being visible for all to see. This place gets a ton of page ranking with Google, those threads should, in my opinion, remain for all to see, so we can improve the Mustang community and aftermarket, not harm it by covering it up.
 
I red wythors reply and it basically said to the OP do your UPR homework before buying from them. I guess avoiding another 28 pager thread about UPR before it turned ugly was a deciding factor. Mike has the final say on this. However I don't think UPR threads should be deleted. The OP has the right to know the facts about UPR good or bad. The OP was doing the right thing by asking questions and doing the research before buying. That's what the forums are all about.
 
Here's how to look at it.

10 of us are physically in a room.

We all had one big pissing match about some of the few in the room.

A couple of us just said chill out and lets get over it for now.

Man number 11 walks in the room and asks about one of them in the room again.

Crap here we go again 5 of us say.

Number 12 walks in the room because and had gotten a text earlier about the previsous spat.

So number 12 says to knock it off.

Another 5 in the room go WTF. Another 5 go "oh crap here we go again."

Weirdness no? But this is what it is.

Was your post fine? I imagine so, I did not read it. Did he do what he felt was right by closing it? Sure.

This has nothing to do with sponsors, I could give a rats ass.

I think maybe others can sound off their opinions if they like, we have plenty of members. Wythors you were one of the original 10 in the room so Im sure thats why the others are again saying "Calm down".
 
MRaburn - Thank you for taking the time to respond.

This is the thread in question. Towards the bottom of the first page, Gearbanger101 chimes in with this:

Positive and negative experiences with a company or their products are going to happen. You can’t please everybody and that’s just business. And if comments made are based on someone’s specific experience with a particular item in question, or they would recommend an alternative, or quite frankly are merely directing a member to do their research before buying.....I probably would have let it go. The continuous trashing of a company anytime their name is mentioned to satisfy your personal vendetta against them because you don’t like the way they choose to conduct business on the other hand is not acceptable.

If you’ve got any relevant and/or personal experience with the product in question, or technical advice regarding spring rates like the OP asked, then by all means feel free to give your input on the matter. Entering the thread for no other reason that to jump up onto a soap box and blatantly slam a company every time someone mentions their name because you’ve got a personal bone to pick with them isn’t going to happen. Especially in light of recent thread closures.

Any further derogatory or defaming remarks or attempts to steer the thread in such a direction will result in thread closure and disciplinary action if deemed necessary!

The last line is what concerns me. Who gets to be the arbiter of what constitutes "derogatory or defaming remarks or attempts to steer the thread in such a direction"? The way I read this, Gearbanger101 is going to ban me if I say "I don't like UPR" in any thread at any time. Now, I've been a member on this forum for coming up on 12 years. I have spent thousands of dollars with your advertisers. Is this the way you want your members to feel? Are we not allowed to speak our minds on shady business practices? Can you please provide some clarification on this issue?

Thank you for your time.
 
Another complaint against gearbanger? SAY IT ISNT SO!

There needs to be a forum specifically designated for gearbanger complaints.
 
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I think Gearbanger was spot on. I went and looked at your original post. Did you add any value to the post? All I saw was 'lookup up "UPR SUCKS"'. Heck we could say that about any company for someone to search just 'because'. If you have first hand knowledge of UPRs K-member then I'm sure you would have your own opinions to give and it would be warranted.

This is the issue, your own quote:

You're a bunch of thieves, plain and simple. I am going to bookmark this thread and post a link to it every time someone asks if they should buy a UPR product.

That's not gonna happen on this site. You take issue with UPRs practices in business, and that's fine. You are welcome here and I appreciate the time and value you have given fellow members for years here and I hope you continue to do so.
 
Another complaint against gearbanger? SAY IT ISNT SO!

There needs to be a forum specifically designated for gearbanger complaints.
In Brian's defense, it's sometimes difficult to remain nice when you're tasked with keeping the peace and ensuring the rules are followed all the time. Having said that, we're pretty much all guys here, so maybe a little thicker skin is needed by a few at times. Harsh words are exactly that. They're not infractions (I don't know if those still exist with Xenforo), but someone trying to make sure that we don't end up creating another vendor bashing thread. I don't want to see that happen either. It's counterproductive to the discussion and ends up with the topic closed and no one able to participate. I don't believe wythors has a hard on for UPR, but he knows something about their quality, enough to share his knowledge when a topic is started, or they're asked about. I still think it's a disservice to close it down, but well, I stepped down from staff here, so it's no longer my decision to make.
 
In Brian's defense, it's sometimes difficult to remain nice when you're tasked with keeping the peace and ensuring the rules are followed all the time. Having said that, we're pretty much all guys here, so maybe a little thicker skin is needed by a few at times. Harsh words are exactly that. They're not infractions (I don't know if those still exist with Xenforo), but someone trying to make sure that we don't end up creating another vendor bashing thread. I don't want to see that happen either. It's counterproductive to the discussion and ends up with the topic closed and no one able to participate. I don't believe wythors has a hard on for UPR, but he knows something about their quality, enough to share his knowledge when a topic is started, or they're asked about. I still think it's a disservice to close it down, but well, I stepped down from staff here, so it's no longer my decision to make.


Agreed with one exception... I DO think wythors has a hard on for UPR but I also think that UPR went out of their way to earn it. Only they (UPR) has control over how they do business. All anyone else can do is put that information out there so that others are aware.

Factual statements about a business' practices shouldn't be shut down IMO. When it turns to mud slinging though... I would expect that they'd be turned off. That's no different than any other topic though. Folks are just more sensitive to it because the topic is so high visibility.
 
FWIW, I just did a google search "Maximum Motorsports sucks" and all I found were threads ripping on UPR's quality while saying MM's products are excellent :rlaugh:


LOL... I don't think that could be avoided. MM goes ABOVE AND BEYOND 100% every day. It must be nice to have a reputation so good that EVERYONE in a similar business is compared to you.
 
I've purchased several things from MM and I've been VERY impressed with the quality of the products they sell. All things considered, they really aren't that much more expensive when compared to the competition. To me the small difference in price is worth every penny because they sell stellar products and provide excellent customer service.
 
+1. When I opened the boxes to my MM k-member, a-arms, and CC plates I didn't know if I should put them on the car or hang them on the wall. Their technical support is off the charts too. Jack Hildey has probably forgotten more about mustang suspension than I will ever know.
 
Anyone who thinks UPR and Granatelli aren't hip to how to manipulate threads that make them uncomfortable so they stand a better chance of being locked away from public view and search engine crawlers on the grounds of "pissing match", I've got some prime beachfront property in Montana you might be interested in.