http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...threadid=98700

So we're not allowed to talk about home theater forum anymore? I didn't see it as a promotion thread. It was just informing people that it was back up after switching to VB. Many members frequent both sites. They come here to have fun, and go there to get information with out having to sift through a ton of crap posts. I wouldn't consider HTF competition. Actually HTF and DVD Talk compliment each other quite nicely. I come here and post and go there on the occasions that I want to search for info. I don't even have an account their as I've never had a question that I didn't find the answer through a search. At any rate I think it's stupid to ban discussion of a "competing" forum.

How in the world do they consider that competition???

I started that thread solely because there are so many readers who frequent both forums. The HTF only announced that the forum would be back on "Sunday afternoon", so I thought I'd give DVD Talk readers a heads-up when I noticed that the HTF had come back online. I thought by posting in the Other forum that it wouldn't come off as seeming promotional in nature. (For the record, I have no affiliation with the HTF other than being a satisfied user.)

I thought the subject "For the curious, the Home Theater Forum is back up." made my intent pretty clear. I mean, it's not like I said, "Hey everybody! Visit this great new site," trying to capitalize on DVD Talk's readership.

As Josh said, I don't think one forum would cannibalize viewership of the other. DVD Talk seems like more of a 'fun' forum -- less intelligent discussion, but more free and wild, whereas the HTF seems to be skewed towards an older audience and the discussion is more serious and more technical in nature.

I was surprised and disappointed to learn that the thread had been closed.

Way to appeal to me or Geoff by email first guys. Thanks for your support. Was your goal to get me to reopen the thread or to make a public event of this?

If Geoff thinks differently, I'll reopen, but I was just following my gut. If Geoff says I am wrong I'll accept that, otherwise I think it ought stay closed.

If you notice, I just closed the thread, and did not delete it or edit a post. It was there for people to see, but I wasn't going to keep it popping up to the top. It is a balancing act and a tough one. I appreciate the consideration you used in trying to contact me about this first.

*attempts to dodge all the flying sarcasm*

so....much.....sarcasm....


JohnnyR should be happy about this though, so he doesn't have to evade all the "bootleg" threads here.

....

whenever I need a good laugh, I just read that post.

I had no 'goal'. I was about to write an e-mail when I saw that a thread had already been started here. As the person who made the post in question, I thought I'd toss in my two cents into this already existing thread.

You didn't start the thread either, so my comment was not mainly directed at you.

v bulliten 2 looks cool though

i agree that if you have a critiscm of a mod's actions then you should email the mod first, it's only courtesy and ALL the mods have more than earnt our respect and courtesy!

sure they make decisions we won't all agree with now and then. In this particular example i'm a bit each way. I know there are strict rules about mentioning other sites which could be considered competitive

having said that, the thread probably wasn't doing much harm

I posted it here instead of e-mailing you because I wanted to see if others thought it should have been left open as well. It's always more effective to have several people say "hey that's lame to close that" than just one e-mail. I figured if enough people responded Geoff wouldn't even consider banning stuff like that. HTF isn't competition, it's a different site. This is a more fun site, and it is a superior information oriented site. There's no reason that thread should have been closed, and if people had enough interest to keep replying to it so that it stayed on top so be it. The feedback forum is here for feedback, as a mod your open to criticism, it comes with the territory.

Josh, you're a smart kid. That said, you have a lot to learn about life.

I know I do. That said I didn't start this thread with the point of criticizing you. I started it to get people to debate on the idea of banning the mentioning of sites like HTF. I was hoping to get enough opposition that Geoff wouldn't even consider implementing such a stupid rule. There was a video game site a few years ago, don't remember the name but it was british and the web masters "name" was Webslinger if I remember correctly. He started banning people from the forum for posting links to news stories on "competing" video game sites. It created quite a revolt, the site lost members and went under pretty quickly. While nothing near that brash is being done here, it is a similar concept. Threads like that might give HTF more traffic, however they're not going to take away traffic from this site. Both sites are very different, and complement each other very well. A perfect site would combine the best of both of them, but theres nothing like that so people are left to visit both sites. At any rate, I'm sorry I upset you, that wasn't my goal. I just wanted to point out the folly of having such a role and get some support so Geoff would realize that it would be a bad idea.

Josh, I'm not banning anyone. And as I already said, I let the thread live to allow a few posts, including posts saying how HTF is better than DVDtalk. Then I simply closed it. I could have deleted it if I really wanted to snuff out all people 'thinking differently'.

Still, my job is to look out for DVDTalk and I was doing my best to see that duty out. I'm fallible, I readily admit that, but I still think I was/am right in this case. However I would have been happy to discuss it one on one first. I only found out about this problem on one of my routine checks of Feedback. I come from a world where you face those you are criticizing. That is what I expect, though it may be a lot to ask.

Let me do you a favor. I only have a few years on you, but I've gotten a lot of experience in them. Anyway, it is best to go to those you disagree with *before* trying to make a larger appeal to others. I could explain exactly why, but that is something you're just going to have to learn for yourself.

In any event, I still think your best course of action is to email Geoff. When I want something done, I tend to do that.

I agree. If I had only been interested in that thread being closed, I would have e-mailed you. I was more interested in the larger issue of whether we should be allowed to discuss other "competing" sites. The thread came off sounding critical of you, and I'm sorry for that because that was not my goal. I just wanted to bring up the larger issue, and see what other thought. Geoff isn't going to pay attention to my opinion. If I get several agreeing opinions in the thread, then I can e-mail him and point him to it to show how several members feel about something. If there is no support, then I don't bother alerting him. This has proven effective in the past, and that's why I did it. Again I'm sorry for appearing critical of you, you were just doing what you thought was best. I should have justed constructed the post better. Made the title something like, "Are we not allowed to discuss sites like Home Theater Forum." Hindsight is always 20-20. Again I apologize. If I was just wanting to bitch at you for closing a thread I would have e-mailed you. I was just trying to see what other thought on the bigger issue, and unfortunately didn't construct the thread all that clearly as I slopped it down in a few seconds.

What's Home Theater Forum? :)

Why doesn't Geoff voice his opinion on this issue? What's the policy on mentioning other forums?

...And Bust thanks for the personal attack. I'm glad this type of behavior is tolerated at DVDTalk.

None of that "competing forum" gibberish here!

<b>[thread closed]</b>

- David Stein

P.S.:

My take -- mentioning the competition is fine, giving links, talking about how much better it is than DVDTalk, or promoting it in any other way is going to get me to close a thread.

As for Bust, it would be overusing the phrase 'personal attack' to apply it here. The criticism in a vacuum wouldn't concern me. If I started seeing things like this in repeated threads where you did not engage him, then I would be concerned. I think that is fair to both of you guys, ok JohnnyR, Bust?

Looking at the thread, I don't see anyone saying that the HTF is 'better'. X said something about wanting to see if the TV hardware forum there got higher traffic, and a quip was made about some goofy Other forum thread. (FWIW, the HTF isn't a commercial site driven by ads, so there's nothing for them to gain by increased readership other than more voices to add to the discussion.)

All I did was mention that the site was back up and gave the new URL so people could update their bookmarks. I didn't offer any comment on the site itself in that thread. (shrugs)

I really don't want what happened with DVD&nbsp;Coupon&nbsp;Post to repeat itself.

Your welcome. By the way, that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Region Free DVD rules!!



besides the fact that I have no idea what the section in italics means, I would just have to say, "Personal attack? WTF??" I almost don't believe what I'm reading.