I apologize for the sense of gossip this has but everyone needs to be aware of what they can and can not do on that particular site.

 

Damn, they think highly of themselves... First thing they should keep in mind is that you can not link to a post or thread directly in the VMC (hopefully Andy doesnt censor that lol). I am all for keeping trolls out but I think they are going a little overboard here. I am shocked they still allow Kevin to post since he is the president over there. I will say I have been riding Vic's and posting for about 5 years and that is the one forum I never heard of...

 

I think that site is where the HD guys get their impressions about Victory riders from..

 

What I dont understand is in all the post back and forth Admin keeps saying it is the members site for the members but then wont do what the members say... Thats the problem when you get big business involved in enthusiast sites...

 

The idea of the censorship is to keep from sending potential buisness that may have gone to a victoryforums sponsor to another forum. The sponsor could be upset by the links because their competition may be on the other forum. Honestly I see BBobs point but at the same time I see an easy fix. If you want to provde a member a link send the member a PM with the link; it doesn't become a problem until the link is posted for anyone to see.

 

The idea of the censorship is to keep from sending potential buisness that may have gone to a victoryforums sponsor to another forum. The sponsor could be upset by the links because their competition may be on the other forum. Honestly I see BBobs point but at the same time I see an easy fix. If you want to provde a member a link send the member a PM with the link; it doesn't become a problem until the link is posted for anyone to see.

I just spent about 20 minutes reading that thread, it was my first time ever going on that site. I can honestly say they have bigger problems then losing members to competing sites. There biggest problem is all the ads slow that site to a crawl. 10 seconds to go from page to page would not be acceptable to me. As far as PMing a member a link, how does that help other people with the same problem when they are searching for info.... I just read that thread and keeping thinking of Macy's and Gimbels...

 

A_U: But doesn't that defeat the purpose of a forum in the first place. In my mind, when I post info for someone, I'm not only posting it for that person but for anyone else who might read it in the future. Years; maybe decades down the line. I can think of one person on that particular forum who is constantly harping on new members to use the search function. What good is that if the info has been sent via PM?

 

I have never ever heard of that site. I go to the 3 main sites (BTW, I really need to renew on the one...), but this is the site I check every single day. Made a lot of friends here and get a lot of information. BBob, I think you may have just single handedly quadrupled their traffic in one post......although I'm sure that wasn't your intention. I don't think thevog.net is any trouble of losing it's status as the biggest Victory site on the web. Oh, and while we're on the subject, Thanks Andy!!

 

I have never ever heard of that site. I go to the 3 main sites (BTW, I really need to renew on the one...), but this is the site I check every single day. Made a lot of friends here and get a lot of information. BBob, I think you may have just single handedly quadrupled their traffic in one post......although I'm sure that wasn't your intention. I don't think thevog.net is any trouble of losing it's status as the biggest Victory site on the web. Oh, and while we're on the subject, Thanks Andy!!

I didn't think of that but good for them if they do get more attention from it. Maybe others will chime in and ask why they censor so much. Thanks for the belly laugh and I also thank Andy!

 

I am sad to see it get to that. Things get sticky when a hobby or special interest website turn into a business. Politics and personal interests take over the spirit and character of the virtual communities they have become. I have a feeling that will take away from the population on their website. Around here, I don't hide my affiliation with the VMC as I am Local Chapter VP. I do so as a way to connect with other Vic owners not to attract them to another site. It demonstrates my passion and commitment to the Victory brand. When I post here I am very mindful of what my Dad once told me. "Even a newborn kitten knows not to crap where they sleep." It is with that wisdom that I post here being respectful of the good folks here and am very grateful to Andy for giving us all such a wonderful forum to share and support each other. TheVOG.net was the first website I began to use when I was shopping for my first Vic. It was and still is friendly and fairly drama free. I value the advice I have gotten here and I reciprocate WHENEVER possible. This site is kind of like a broken in leather couch... nice and comfy, I hope it stays that way unlike the aforementioned website.

 

That's why we have a choice. If you do not like something, just stay away. By posting your frustration on this site, you gave a bunch of people a link to go there. I have never been there. I will now check it out. Why give credibility to something you dislike?? Ride on!

 

PMing is a targeted option that will not help with all the pressure to use the search function but it is still an option. In a perfect world if an individual was sent a PM to solve all of his/her problems he/she would return the favor by PMing the next individual that reported the same problem. Providing a link to promote passion and commitment to the brand really makes sense and hasn't been brought up in the thread over there yet. Unfortunately I'm not sure if it would do any good because admin is to worried about ticking off the sponsors. Note that many of the sponsors (Victory specific) are on all the major Victory forums so it's doubtful that any of them would care if someone were redirected to another Victory forum. The problem is that the number of Victory specific sponsors is greatly outnumbered by the dozens of other sponsors. Since it is a motorcycle.com forum it shares sponsors with all the other branded forums within the motocycle.com forum group.

 

That's why we have a choice. If you do not like something, just stay away. By posting your frustration on this site, you gave a bunch of people a link to go there. I have never been there. I will now check it out. Why give credibility to something you dislike?? Ride one!

Think of it like this. A virtual protest. When it was learned that BofA was going to raise ATM fees to $5 a month there was an outcry and people voted with their feet and started leaving BofA. BofA saw the error of their ways and rescinded the fee policy. The victoryforums.com is a decent site that's easy to navigate. Having one bad policy should be an easy thing to fix for them unless they are truly intimidated at the mere mention of another site (including this one) or, God forbid, a link to another site where the info in question may reside. Besides, I don't dislike the site, I actually like it and want to see it improve and grow on its merits just like the VOG. Many people like to go to all the various Victory forums (including myself) to see what I can learn or, if possible, see what I can do to help others. Viewing the various forums as competitors is somewhat silly to me but then I'm not a corporation only thinking of the bottom line.

 

That site is part of a corporation called VerticalScope. They exist for one and only one reason, to generate income through advertising. All of their sites maintain a fairly uniform policy of not allowing cross links to other, competing sites. Just remember, VerticalScope and all of their sites ARE NOT about the love of the product. lifestyle or pass time, they are all about the money.

 

That site is part of a corporation called VerticalScope. They exist for one and only one reason, to generate income through advertising. All of their sites maintain a fairly uniform policy of not allowing cross links to other, competing sites. Just remember, VerticalScope and all of their sites ARE NOT about the love of the product. lifestyle or pass time, they are all about the money.

That's kinda what I thought until the Administrator came into the thread and explained otherwise.

 

If you are a paying member at Vic Forums, there are no ads. I understand their position better now, originally I had posted against the policy, but now I don't see it as censorship at all. It's their site and when we signed up we agreed to the rules. Personally, I have no use for the VMC. I never renewed after the 1st year. Not my thing. Additionally, I like Motorcycle.com a lot and if I can support them in any way I will. I feel they provide the motorcycling community a service.

 

Like they say the free one is always the best THANKS ANDY I guess that's why out of the 3 sites I belong to this is the free one and where I stay the most where it is free and everyone is happy I check on the other's just because I paid for them. EVERYONE KEEP ON VOGGIN

 

If you are a paying member at Vic Forums, there are no ads. I understand their position better now, originally I had posted against the policy, but now I don't see it as censorship at all. It's their site and when we signed up we agreed to the rules. Personally, I have no use for the VMC. I never renewed after the 1st year. Not my thing. Additionally, I like Motorcycle.com a lot and if I can support them in any way I will. I feel they provide the motorcycling community a service.

I did not know that, thanks for the clarification. Can you post if you are a non paying member? Another point, in post number #62 admin states that he has a problem with "Oh, sorry, forgot to tell you. You'll need to register there" Dont you have to register there also? I would also wonder how the Admin feels about linking to the VOG? He states that the VMC is similar by having venders, advertising and discounts for the members. There is some advertising on here, it looks more like Google ads since it seems to change depending on what I search for and most of the times it is not motorcycle specific. There is no vender specific area and there are no set in stone VOG discounts (other then Andy's AARP discounts). Just curious, but not curious enough to join...

 

Think of it like this. A virtual protest. When it was learned that BofA was going to raise ATM fees to $5 a month there was an outcry and people voted with their feet and started leaving BofA. BofA saw the error of their ways and rescinded the fee policy. The victoryforums.com is a decent site that's easy to navigate. Having one bad policy should be an easy thing to fix for them unless they are truly intimidated at the mere mention of another site (including this one) or, God forbid, a link to another site where the info in question may reside. Besides, I don't dislike the site, I actually like it and want to see it improve and grow on its merits just like the VOG. Many people like to go to all the various Victory forums (including myself) to see what I can learn or, if possible, see what I can do to help others. Viewing the various forums as competitors is somewhat silly to me but then I'm not a corporation only thinking of the bottom line.

Bob, we can agree to disagree. I believe that your posts drew attention to the site. Comparing it to BOA is not hitting home either. I like all sites that help the brand. I visit the VOG and The VMC every day. I pay for the VMC because it adds value to me. I would also pay for the VOG. I have met people from both and are close friends of a few. I have been on trips that members have welcomed me in their homes. I needed advice about the bikes and numerous members helped. It's not a way of life to me, it's just a site. If they want to put in rules...that's up to them. If they make $$$$$...good for them.

 

I just think of it pretty simply... I belong to many Victory orientated sites and enjoy most of them. The sites all seem to get along with each other and most of us are members of atleast three or four sites. I see "Admin" and "Mods" from sites posting on other sites and no one seems to care. I see tag lines on here that pretty much advertise the VMC and no one cares. But once you start as a website to tell people what content they can put up (not talking about pornography, religion or Politics... That should be up to the individual site) you start turning people away. To me this situation is mostly aimed at the VMC as a competitor. I would be curious if a member of HDforums mentioned the HOG group if they would censor that. This is more then just allowing links to competing sites it includes the mere mention of the site in a forum. I just think that leaves a bad taste in allot of members mouths and if Admin didnt edit the thread it would have died long ago. Now if I could get change for my $0.02 I would be happy...

 

Been to that site a couple of times and just didn't have the urge to have all those adds flashing on my screen. And the load time is ridiculously slow in this day and age of high speed connections. Also, I would never pay to be on a site, I just wouldn't. Paying to be on that site without ads would be like paying someone to stop talking in your ear incessantly... just get up and walk away and the problem is solved.

 

I'm a member on that site and go by "Biggiefries". (Bigfoot was taken :taz: ) I mostly just read the threads and seldom post on that site. Most Victory sites have similar postings and can get repetitious at times. I too have posted questions on multiple Victory sites to get maximum exposure and hopefully an answer to my questions or concerns. I get better quality responses right here on the VOG. The fact that Andy is highly "visible" on this site and rules with an occasional wrist slap rather than an iron fist is most appreciated.

 

That's kinda what I thought until the Administrator came into the thread and explained otherwise.

I think you may have misunderstood what the Admin over there posted. I'm very much aware of what goes on at VerticalScope. I helped build and run the one of the worlds largest model specific motorcycle sites that the site owner sold to VS. This was about the same time they purchased motorcycle.com and started to expand into the motorcycle space. Their business model is to purchase high traffic sites so they can resell advertising. Of course it's in their best interest to maintain a loyal user base and grow their site hits but it's end is one goal, sell more ad space, not enrich the lives of their members. Nothing their admins posted contradicts that. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I'm just trying to put things into perspective. HC, I agree that motorcycle.com USED to be a great site. I have little to no use for it since VS took it over.

 

Can you post if you are a non paying member?

Victory forums? Yes. You can read as a guest. You must sign up to post (just like here) but it's free. Being a supporter (paid subscription) gets rid of the adds and supposedly gets you access to some VIP forum that I haven't found yet. I have been owner, co-owner, administrator, and moderator on many forums. I co-own one motorcycle forum now. It's free and there is ZERO moderation or censorship. You can say whatever you want. No language filters, and basically no rules. We find that the best response to something undesireable is NO RESPONSE. The troll wants attention. If he gets NONE he won't come back. There is also a "BOZO BUTTON"... Your posts will be visible only to you... Haven't used it yet, but it's tempting.

 

There is also a "BOZO BUTTON"... Your posts will be visible only to you... Haven't used it yet, but it's tempting.

Now that is funny! I need one of those for work just sayin