I don't know why, but the posts I have made are missing. Also missing are the threads I have posted to. I had heard on another board that this site was like "Mother Russia", but thought I would try it any way. Guess I have learned my lesson. I have witnessed users being chastised for daring to mention another site, or parts house that does not pay this site. Doesn't seem too much like a good business model to me.
Later, Ratfinkf100

 

Well ratfinkf100,
I do not know what you did to have all that bad luck on this site(if in fact it really happened). But, I have not experienced any of the "vicious attacks on my opinion" that you profess to have received, and I have been scolded before for something I did that was not appropiate. So, why all the whining? Would you like some cheese with it????

 

I did not say a single thing about "vicious attacks", so thanks for all of your support. Maybe you just read a different post than I wrote.
Ratfinkf100

 

The admins will take a look at it. It may be just a clitch.

 

RatfinkF100,

I have doubts concerning your motives. You were previously registered here since January 2004 as dcotton, not just as RatfinkF100 in March of 2007 and had many posts here before you came back under a new user id.

You appear to be operating on misinformation because you are mentioning a policy against linking to one particular parts house out of the thousands out there and that policy hasn't existed on this site for years. Try it for yourself. The fact of the matter (and you seem to be slim on facts) is that our forum users have clicked on forum links to other sites and parts suppliers 8,392,595 times in the last 2 years (as of 5 minutes ago). -Edit-Matter of fact, over 200 clicks to outside sites via our forums were made in the time it took me to type this response.

You may see occasional users asking you to support our sponsors, but it is not policy to get involved in what companies users recommend. If particular users urge you to support our sponsors perhaps its because they enjoy the site, appreciate the sponsors supporting FTE and want to help those sponsors in return.

The site we don't allow here (and you know who that is as well as we do because the rare user who makes such remarks inevitably show them in our referral logs) is not allowed for numerous reasons. That site owner was tossed after we found he had hundreds of posts here promoting his site and then his forums (seems fond of signature spamming many sites). Our guidelines are quite clear about spamming our boards with competitive commercial and non-commerical sites. Furthermore, while it is likely advantageous to that site owner's agenda to continue to feed you misinformation, it is not factual.

Concerning your 2 missing posts:

One thread (which you replied in twice) was removed because a person started the thread, posting information trying to sell his bumper products and research products for sale. Only sponsors may make commercial posts on this site. If he's a hobbyist selling a few things he's made he is welcome to use our classifieds for free. This is covered in our guidelines.

As to the business model, apparently it was good enough for Internet Brands to see the value and purchase the site ( www.internetbrands.com - a company with a $100 million initial IPO price). Obviously our model is viable to them. The same can't be said for the majority of forums out there.

You're welcome here, but please keep in mind our guidelines when posting. Perhaps in the future check with the staff about issues about threads, or concerns you may have, so we may present you with the facts prior to you making public jabs at us. By doing so I believe you'll find we aren't the boogymen you portray us as.